“Immediately upon being hit I blacked out,” Sadberry recalls. “I remember waking up surrounded by family and friends. I didn't know where I was, I was disoriented and extremely uncomfortable because I’ve never been in a hospital before.”
Sadberry suffered a fractured forearm, broken hip, a broken femur and a shattered kneecap.
“I had to have all that repaired and reconstructed,” he recalls. “I went through a lot mentally. I battled with so much because I couldn’t walk. I know I was kind of hard on the nurses because I was frustrated, but they were great. They really catered to me and made me feel like the most important person on the floor.”
Sadberry had surgery a month after the accident and finally began to walk six months later.
“Once I started to see improvement I felt better. That was my motivation,” he says. “Some days are good, some days aren't. I can't move as quickly; I definitely need to think about every movement I make because my body mechanics are completely different. I’m extremely happy and blessed to still be alive and able to function on my own, but I live a completely different life now.”
Sadberry says he looks forward to being able to play basketball and workout like he did before the accident, but knows his recovery is a marathon not a sprint.
“I know it’s a journey, so I just take it a day at a time,” he adds. “When it comes to recovering from a traumatic injury you have to be patient with yourself.”