Still Standing

One Woman's Inspiring Story of Perseverance and Faith

In 2007, Sioux Munyon-Swart was injured in a horrific horse-drawn wagon accident. Spying 'home' in the distance, her horses galloped toward the open gate to the arena a break-neck speed. Unable to slow them down, Sioux and the other driver worked the lines hard, only adding to the horses' fervor. As they approached the arena at a full gallop, the wagon's rear wheel lurched over the arena gate's ground support post and flipped over. As the wagon flipped, Sioux and the driver were catapulted in the air. Both slammed into the ground with incalculable force breaking Sioux's neck and hip, dislocating her leg and splitting her head open like a melon. Lucky to survive, it's a miracle that she can walk today. One of her doctors, a neurosurgeon, told her that only five percent of people, who sustain the kind of massive injuries she sustained that day, survive. And, of those who do survive, most are quadriplegics. Through sheer grit and determination, Sioux recovered. Forcing her broken body to work harder and harder every day, pain became an afterthought. Her one uncompromising goal was that she would return to the equestrian life she loved.