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TOLEDO, Ohio — Stevie Beale was only 17 years old in 2006 when a deadly car accident left her paralyzed from the waist down. This past weekend, after going through rigourous physical therapy and training, Beale walked down the aisle to marry the man who she says "brought her back to life."
"I was trying not to bawl like a baby in front of 300 people," Beale's husband Jared VanAusdale, 32, told Today.com. "Seeing her on the walker, reaching that goal that she swore she was going to hit, is something I will never forget."
In June of 2006, Beale and a group of four friends decided to go on a joy ride during the summer of their junior year in high school and said they came up with the "dumb" idea to start throwing water bottles at cars. One driver became enraged and started chasing them at 90 mph, causing the accident that left the driver, her best friend Charlie, dead. Beale broke her back and severed her spinal cord. She said she didn't think she'd have a normal life again.
"(After the accident) I thought I was doomed to my parents' house, to never have a boyfriend or never get married," Beale, 24, said. "I thought I was going to sit at home and rot away."
Beale said she was at a loss of what do do with her life. She had been a softball player, soccer coach and gymnastics teacher and didn't think she'd ever be happy. Shortly after the accident, Beale made a vow to herself that she would walk down the aisle on her wedding day no matter what. Her goal helped keep her focused but she said it was hard when her recovery and physical therapy turned from months into years.
Beale said the turning point came when her parents found a new therapy program at the Detroit Medical Center's Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan that helps patients with severed spinal cords. Beale said her new program made her "feel like an athlete again."
As she continued with her recovery, Beale started reaching out to other people in her same situation. Three years ago, Beale went to go visit 16-year-old Bri Mullinger who lost her leg in a train accident. It was then she met VanAusdale. They instantly had a connecting but it was VanAusdale who first knew it was something more.
"It was one of those situations where you feel like you've known the person forever," he said. "It was effortless."
Beale said she was afraid at first to open herself up to the vulnerability of a relationship but she finally decided to go for it.
It was one of those situations where you feel like you've known the person forever. It was effortless.
–Jared VanAusdale
"And I'm glad I did," she said. "I always tell him that he gave me the ability to enjoy life again and makes me continue to want to work hard."
After getting engaged last October in Hawaii, VanAusdale encouraged Beale to attend her therapy sessions she went to three times a week. And she says it was "100 percent" with his support that she was able to walk down the aisle.
Seven years of therapy later, Beale walked down the aisle Saturday with the help of a walker. Mullinger, who is one of Beale's closest friends, was also in attendance at the wedding even though she had just had surgery on her leg.
"It was a day of pride for how hard she's worked to get down the aisle and to even emotionally prepare herself for the rest of her life," said Beale's mother Sheryl. "I felt nothing but pride and joy."
Beale is currently working towards getting her master's in counseling at the University of Toledo. She would like to help other teenagers who have had experienced terrible tragedies. She said she eventally would like to get her Ph.D. so that she can also teach. VanAusdale said he is very proud of Beale's achievements and aspirations.
"She could've felt sorry for herself," VanAusdale said. "Instead she grabbed that situation by the horns, turned a negative into a positive and helped so many people along the way. It's an awesome thing to be a part of."
