"I opened my eyes and it was dark. And I thought I got home and I was waking up from a dream or something," said Teena Katz, a subway accident victim.
It wasn't a dream. Teena Katz wasn't home. And somehow, she wasn't in pain. She was awake, alert, and crushed beneath a #7 subway train that severed both her legs.
"I looked down and I saw that there was a big gash in my leg and an opening. And immediately I told whoever was speaking to me that I saw it but I wasn't going to stare at it because I didn't want to go into shock," Katz said.
That person was an EMT who was shocked to hear the 31-year-old financial analyst apologizing for delaying the train.
Katz arrived back home Tuesday after a dozen surgeries and more than two-months in the hospital.
Before the accident, her life was filled with activities like softball games, zip lines, high-wire acrobatics.
Now she faces a future of physical therapy, rehabilitation, and ultimately prosthetic legs. The mental hurdles are equally difficult to overcome.
"I was also very independent. To now need help from someone for everything, is very hard for me," Katz said.
Katz credits her loving husband for standing by her side throughout this horror and helping her navigate a life changed by tragedy.
"It's never 'oh I'll go to the bathroom, I'll be right back.' It can take 10 minutes. And even in going out requires a lot more planning. You can't just say, 'let's go out and grab dinner,'" Katz said.
To help Teena and read more about her story please visit: teenavsthe7train.com
