![SURVIVING & THRIVING](https://cdn.magzter.com/1359122596/1708005963/articles/Nsxq-lYXE1708345086606/SURVIVING-THRIVING.jpg)
HER injuries were so horrific doctors told her parents the best thing they could do for her would be to turn off her life support.
Sophie Delezio was just five years old at the time and she'd already been through so much.
At the age of two she'd been playing with her friends at a nursery school in Sydney, Australia, when a car crashed through the window of her classroom. She was trapped underneath the vehicle and severely burnt when it burst into flames.
Sophie was left with third-degree burns over 85% of her body, lost both her feet, several fingers and her right ear as a result of the catastrophic damage.
Australians were shocked by the freak accident - which is thought to have occurred when the driver of the car suffered a seizure at the wheel - and rallied behind the toddler.
But their sympathy soon turned to admiration as plucky Sophie got on with her life despite the challenges she faced.
Then, in a tragic twist, Sophie was involved in another accident three years later and this time her injuries were even worse.
Her nanny had been pushing her in a wheelchair over a pedestrian crossing when a speeding car hit Sophie, tossing her 18 metres into the air.
The impact was so severe it triggered a heart attack as well as bleeding on the brain and left her with a broken jaw, shattered ribs, a fractured collarbone and a punctured lung.
"She was in a coma and because the injuries were so extensive she was on life support and she could have gone at any minute, her mother, Carolyn, says.
In the agonising days that followed, Carolyn and her husband, Ron, faced an impossible decision: leave their daughter hooked up to a ventilator and hope for the best or switch off the machine and put an end to the pain.
"No one had survived her injuries before so no one could guide us about what quality of life would mean for Sophie, Carolyn says.
Esta historia es de la edición 22 February 2024 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición 22 February 2024 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
![Our top picks to listen to and watch](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/be_00KLl11718285765213/OUR-TOP-PICKS-TO-LISTEN-TO-AND-WATCH.jpg)
Our top picks to listen to and watch
The HOTTEST things in POP CULTURE and ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK
![QUEEN OF THE COURT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/xGdZnQzPC1718287703673/QUEEN-OF-THE-COURT.jpg)
QUEEN OF THE COURT
She's just won her fifth Grand Slam title and at 23 tennis star Iga Świątek is only getting started!
![WE'RE ON A MISSION TO HELP](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/KW564HPr91718284265040/WERE-ON-A-MISSION-TO-HELP.jpg)
WE'RE ON A MISSION TO HELP
The Olifants have started an ambulance service for animals from less fortunate communities
![BARBER TO THE BOKS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/WjQT4NVkz1718287557481/BARBER-TO-THE-BOKS.jpg)
BARBER TO THE BOKS
He's been cutting hair for almost 50 years. But it's the more than 40 jackets and signed jerseys from Springbok players whose hair he's done that make him a cut above the rest
![THE SCIENCE OF DEATH](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/bMDlgE0ry1718287157930/THE-SCIENCE-OF-DEATH.jpg)
THE SCIENCE OF DEATH
New research into the dying brain suggests the line between life and death may be far less distinct than previously thought
![WE TALK ABOUT Colombia's underwater treasure quest](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/fMj4LT2lQ1718286507883/WE-TALK-ABOUT-COLOMBIAS-UNDERWATER-TREASURE-QUEST.jpg)
WE TALK ABOUT Colombia's underwater treasure quest
COLOMBIA is launching a historic underwater expedition to explore a ship that sank in the Caribbean more than 300 years ago.
![UNFORGETTABLE READS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/wcYEQQmrm1718286248131/UNFORGETTABLE-READS.jpg)
UNFORGETTABLE READS
These new releases all offer something surprising and unexpected
![EAT YOUR FILL](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/6Le2NWT1r1718284646934/EAT-YOUR-FILL.jpg)
EAT YOUR FILL
Trying to lose weight? Stock up on the foods that trigger the release of the same 'fullness' hormone as the weight-loss drug Ozempic
![ROMANTIC RUPERT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/VEgrH6HGH1718283913313/ROMANTIC-RUPERT.jpg)
ROMANTIC RUPERT
Retired media tycoon Rupert Murdoch is a sucker for love and at 93 he's got married - again!
![RUNNING STRONG](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2448/1730732/x51zmyjLY1718283154946/RUNNING-STRONG.jpg)
RUNNING STRONG
This Roodepoort mom has lost half her body weight - and she's just done her second Comrades