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STAR VALLEY, Wyoming — It was a new year, with prospect of new goals, and 11-year-old Abbie Metge set her sights on performing stunts as a flyer on her cheer squad. Yet, with years of cheerleading behind her, Abbie would be starting over, relearning how to do things that once came easy. This time, she was doing it with one leg.
Over Memorial Day weekend in 2019, Abbie and her family were visiting her grandparent’s farm in Star Valley, Wyoming, when the accident happened. According to Abbie’s mother, Michelle Metge, Abbie was sitting on the front loader of a tractor and dangling her feet over the edge when the loader got bumped, lowering it and pinning her under. The accident cut through Abbie’s leg, causing a gash both deep and long.
"The damage to her leg was pretty serious," Metge said in an email. "There was tissue damage on her lower thigh right above her knee that needed to be covered with a wound vac for a few days and washed out multiple times before closing her up. She could move and feel her toes from the beginning so we were just so thankful there was no permanent damage and kept saying all week that it could have been so much worse."
Things seemed to be going all right, and Abbie was sent home to heal and recover. Nine days after the accident, however, Metge said that she noticed something not quite well with her daughter.
"Abbie was home and healing and we thought getting a little better everyday," she said. "Nine days after the original accident, I noticed her toes on her wounded leg were abnormally swollen. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, so asked my next-door neighbor who is an RN about it, and she recommended getting her into the ER ASAP just to be sure."
Abbie's parents took her to the hospital in their hometown of Star Valley, but would find themselves immediately transferred to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
"When we got to Primary Children’s, the head surgeon took one look at Abbie’s leg and said that we had to get her to the operating room right away," Metge said. "By 9 p.m., the surgeon came out to tell us that they would have to take her leg, or she would lose her life. They took all they could, including the hip joint."
After an extremely hard and scary first night, Abbie got a huge smile on her face and said, 'I only have to find one sock out of the sock basket now!' When she said that, suddenly all was well in the world again for a moment.
–Michelle Metge
In a Facebook post, Metge described waiting for her daughter to wake up after the surgery, writing in part, "Our sweet, passionate, fiery little redhead is going to wake up without a leg."
On June 5, Abbie was finally awake and aware enough to be told that her leg was gone. And according to Metge, her daughter had a wonderful attitude from the beginning.
"From the start, she had an amazing eternal perspective, and is happy and thankful to still be alive," Metge said. "After an extremely hard and scary first night, Abbie got a huge smile on her face and said, 'I only have to find one sock out of the sock basket now!' When she said that, suddenly all was well in the world again for a moment."
Over the past several months, Abbie has been fitted for a prosthetic leg and has learned how to adapt to her new normal, which according to her mom, she has done very well.
"For the most part, Abbie has adapted to her new life extremely well," Metge said. "When she is up and busy, there is nothing that can get her down. But evenings are hard because it's when Abbie feels all the emotions and trauma. It’s when she’s tired and worn out from having to push herself all day through tasks that she used to be able to do without thinking. But thankfully, morning always comes and she wakes up refreshed and with a positive attitude that I was sure the night before she would never find again."
That positive attitude, Abbie says has come in part from all of the support she has received.
"There is so much good in the world," Abbie said. "So many people are willing to help out when it’s needed and are there to encourage and uplift in your hardest moments. I’m so thankful for all of the support I have received. I can’t even imagine going through something this hard without all this love and support."
A big part of that support is Abbie's Stars cheer squad who literally hold her up as she stands strong and soars to new heights.
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As Abbie was being lifted up from a low to a high flyer stance, and caught by her teammates at that first practice that January day, she was one step closer to her goal. And according to her mom, setting goals like this also showed how much faith Abbie has in the future.
"One of my favorite quotes is by Edward Teller, and it says, 'Faith is knowing that one of two things will happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught to fly,'" she said. "Through this experience we feel like we are being taught to fly."
Abbie's story has been made public on Facebook, and can be found by searching for Michelle Saunders Metge.
