Samantha Wainright is proud of the pickup truck she drives to school, to church and to visit friends.
Partially paralyzed since Age 5, 'Sam' Wainright is living college co-ed life.
It's not unusual for a 21-year-old woman to pack her clothes, get her possessions together and get ready to return to college in the fall.
And it's not at all unusual for a 21 year-old,to have her own car, to rent her own apartment at college and run her own life.
But when that woman has been paralyzed since the age of 5, the feat is nothing short of remarkable.
For one Brantley County woman, it's more than unusual. It's down right admirable.
Samantha Wainright will be returning to classes at Valdosta State University this weekend, moving into her new apartment and taking care of herself. The difference between Samantha and other girls her age is that Samantha is paralyzed from the chest down.
When she was 5 years old, Samantha had long, flowing, dark brown hair.
Her family was grinding cane for syrup
and her hair got caught in the power takeoff shaft, of the cane grinder, throwing Samantha and damaging her spinal cord.
For years, she was assisted by the Savannah Shrine Club, which helped her get to hospitals and doctors in hopes of helping her walk again and giving her a solid chance at a productive life.
She had surgery on the spinal cord once. Since the day of the accident Samantha has been unable to walk.
But that limited mobility has not
stopped this warm-hearted girl from succeeding at every move she makes.
She is an accomplished violinist and carries herself with grace and dignity, driving her own vehicle and even
doing some cooking.
When she graduates from VSU, she will receive a bachelors degree in fme arts. She has plans to become a graphic designer.
Her fIrst two years of college were completed at Coastal Georgia Community College in Brunswick. Then last fall, she started classes at VSU and was housed in a dormitory on campus.
For the fall, she has rented an apartment and will be "This is going to be a learning experience," Samantha said of her new venture.
Her car has been modifIed and is equipped with hand controls, which allows her to drive.
How does a young woman handle this kind of limits on her mobility?
"I have my bad days just like everybody else," Samantha said. "At different times when I was growing up I would want to do things that other kids were doing and couldn't. But my friends and family accept me like I am and I enjoy being with them."
She has a manual wheelchair that gets her to class and into church on Sundays.
She spent the summer out of school and had an enjoyable time with her. family. She went to the beach several times in St. Simons and Fernandina and spent a lot of time with friends.
She also helped her sister, Jeannie, by babysitting for her.
No, "Sam," as her family and friends call her, is not the usual 21-year-old. ' She's an exceptional young woman who has taken the blows that life dealt used them to her advantage. Her big green eyes are filled with wonder, her heart is filled with love and compassion and her loving touch is seen in the way she responds to her two nephews the way she plays her beloved violin and in the anticipation she has for the coming years.
Samantha is a product of a loving home, a strongly dedicated family, deeply caring neighbors and compassionate, Christian friends. She grew up in a community where people lean on each other and attends a church that teaches that the love, the grace and the mercy of God are boundless.
Samantha has absorbed all of that teaching and exudes a Christian persona that should help her handle any situation that arises.
Her optimism is contagious.
"I have no choice but to be optimistic," she said. "I can't quit on myself."
Samantha has worked extremely hard to achieve a level of independence not everyone with a spinal cord injury would have achieved. She is functional and independent.
And she has more character than a lot of people who have all of their body parts working. And her will is as vast as the ocean.
