“Surviving a car accident and cancer diagnosis: Kelly Beunen’s story of resilience and strength”

Eight years ago, Beunen (32) was busy pursuing her master’s degree. It was a difficult period for her, because at the same time her mother was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. One Saturday evening she went to visit her cousin, not knowing that this car ride would change her life forever. She lost control of the car and crashed into a tree.

“It happened in a slight bend where I drove straight. I don’t know what caused it, I had a lot on my mind and was tired from the week,” says Beunen. She tried to unbuckle her seatbelt and open the door, but a dent in the door prevented her from doing so. The car caught fire and Beunen panicked. “I just thought: am I going to burn alive here?” A passerby eventually managed to free her from the car. “I was really lucky, because a few seconds later the car exploded.”

Beunen was rushed to hospital. “The first moment I remember was in the middle of the night when I woke up and looked under the covers to see if I still had my legs. External fixations were placed there. I thought I could do everything again after two weeks, but soon I had another operation. In the end it turned out that I had broken about fifty bones.”

A few days later, Beunen heard that her right foot was completely shattered. “The orthopedic surgeons told me that without an amputation I would never be able to walk again, except with a prosthesis. Luckily there was a doctor who suggested surgery to save the bone, and that’s what I ultimately opted for,” she says. After spending three weeks in the hospital, Beunen entered a rehabilitation center. She spent a year and a half there. Five months after the accident, her mother died and Kelly underwent another operation. There was hardly any time to mourn.

Beunen shared her story on LinkedIn last week because the accident happened exactly eight years ago. She writes that she has experienced the past eight years as very challenging. Still, she wanted to prove otherwise to anyone who thought she would never walk again. “I want to inspire people with my story to persevere, regardless of the difficult situation someone is in. You always have the choice to turn something negative into something positive. I received a lot of nice reactions from people who say that I am strong.”

“You can end up in a situation from one moment to the next where you can no longer do anything,” says Kelly about her experience. “The past eight years have been tough, painful and sad, but I have also experienced many beautiful moments and met special people. I was already strong but I know I am even stronger now.”