John Foy & Associates attorneys are pleased to offer the 2022 Survivor of a Car Accident Scholarship to Sophia Cranney. Alongside other scholarship applicants, Sophia “Sophie” Cranney submitted a 500- to 1000-word essay detailing her experience surviving a car accident. Her essay further detailed the impact said accident has had on her long-term health.
Sophie lives in Connersville, IN, and currently attends Brigham Young University. She expects to graduate in May 2024. She says that the $1,000 provided to her by the Survivor of a Car Accident Scholarship will give her the boost she needs to focus on her studies this semester without worrying about her tuition.
A Car Accident With Complicating Factors
Prior to her accident, Sophie describes a life full of extracurriculars and responsibilities. Her dedication to programs like National Honor Society partnered with her 4.0 kept her relentlessly busy – until that constant stream of activities wasn’t manageable anymore.
In her essay, Sophie describes getting into her car one December morning, ignorant of the severe weather warning plaguing the area. The combination of roadway ice and whiteout conditions saw her collide with a car at an intersection, then roll into a ditch. While the accident itself was severe, the true consequences of this oversight didn’t manifest until later.
Two days after her accident, Sophie was admitted to a local emergency room. There, she was diagnosed with a spinal fracture and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). While her condition didn’t merit additional attention at the time, constant fainting drove her to seek additional treatment.
Fifteen months after her accident, Sophie would be diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS, as caused by her accident.
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Living With POTS
According to John Hopkins Medicine, POTS is a blood circulation disorder that results in a higher-than-average heart rate for adults. Other symptoms include low blood pressure and unique symptoms upon standing or changing positions. Sophie reports that her diagnosis sees her body prevent her autonomic nervous system from resting.
Since her diagnosis, Sophia has undergone significant cardiac rehabilitation efforts alongside physical therapy. Her TBI also forced her to relearn how to read. The limitations forced onto her by her condition left her depressed and grieving the high-energy person she used to be.
That change, however, encouraged Sophie to recontextualize her life. While she continues to contend with the symptoms of POTS to this day, her time in recovery helped her focus not on her own ambitions but on what good she could do for others.
A Recovery Built on a Mother’s Support
Sophie says that her accident helped her refocus on what she valued in her life – like her ever-important mother. Sophie describes her mother as an entrepreneur and pillar in the male-dominated archery industry. Her mother’s business, Archer Full Throttle, stands as a representation of the perseverance Sophie says she’s tried to pass down to her daughter.
Moreover, Sophie’s accident encouraged her to reconnect with her mother. While her dedication to extracurriculars and school paved a road to a successful future, they did so, Sophie claims, at the expense of her and her mother’s relationship. In the months following her accident, Sophie made every effort to reconnect with her mother and dedicate more time to her home.
Sophie’s Academic Ambitions
Her car accident and POTS diagnosis may have changed Sophie’s plans for the future, but they have not slowed her down. As she moves into her second year at BYU, she keeps herself busy planning local events alongside the resident planning committee for her apartment complex.
She also runs an Etsy shop selling dog bandanas and sharing the profits with service dog organizations.
What’s more, Sophie allocates time between classes for projects like the Sexual Assault Survivor Advocacy Service and the Adaptive Show Choir. She is also vocal about how POTS has impacted her daily life. She says she speaks about invisible illnesses like POTS on her TikTok.
Preparing for a Future of Service
Sophie intends to continue pursuing a degree in psychology with the Survivor of a Car Accident Scholarship’s assistance. Upon her graduation, she intends to pursue her Ph.D at an accredited university. She wants to use her education to help children with disabilities, chronic conditions, and/or terminal illnesses live their lives to the fullest.
It’s her familiarity with invisible illnesses, Sophie says, that’s driven her to pursue a career helping others.
“While I cannot claim to know everything about every illness,” she reports, “I think that my story gives me the capability to help many people. I would also one day like to get into public speaking to further share my story with the world. At the end of the day, if I can significantly impact at least one person’s life, that is a job well done indeed.”
Learn More About the John Foy & Associates Survivor of a Car Accident Scholarship
Sophie is one of many survivors whose efforts to recover from a traumatic brain injury inspire the team here at John Foy & Associates to further action. Our attorneys open our hands and hearts to the families of car accident survivors throughout the country. We understand, too, that the fight to restore your previous quality of life doesn’t stop when your civil case concludes.
Our team is proud to offer our financial support to Sophie Cranney this academic year. It is inspiring to see someone facing such adversity push for continued academic and social success. We hope that the Survivor of a Car Accident Scholarship’s $1,000 can make her school year a little more manageable.
For more information about the John Foy & Associates Survivor of a Car Accident Scholarship, you can visit our community page. Our firm is proud to offer financial support to applicants on an annual basis. Interested parties can read the scholarship’s terms and conditions before preparing their essays for the 2023-2024 academic year.
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