Sam Steib is on a mission, and to hear him speak is to believe he will not be denied.
“I’m not going to be in this chair my whole life,” Steib said. “I’m gonna walk again.”
It has been nearly eight months since the Destrehan High School alumnus was seriously injured in a Gulf Shores diving accident in the summer of 2016.
While vacationing with friends, Steib dove off a dock not knowing the water below was shallow. He had a severely broken neck and significant spinal cord injury, which paralyzed him chest down and in need of intensive care. He was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital and underwent a nearly 12-hour surgery.
Since the accident, Steib has been driven in his rehabilitation and made a great deal of progress. The 22-year-old has rehabilitation at a Houston facility, where he works with therapists three days a week. In the face of it all, he has kept a positive attitude and outlook, posting pictures of his progress on Instagram and keeping his eye on both short- and long-term goals.
“I feel like it’s unbelievable really, how far I’ve come since Aug. 1,” Steib said. “I’m still in shock about how much I can do now. From laying in a hospital bed and not being able to move my body to doing pushups, being able to push my own wheelchair now, it’s just crazy.”
Steib said it was difficult at first to get past despair, but he soon realized he had too much fight in him to quit. “I decided this wasn’t going to define who I am,” Steib said. “If you stay down, you let this win. You give up. I don’t want to be like this forever, and when I have therapy, I use that for motivation.”
He’s gotten great feedback from friends, family and others in the community.
“When I post stuff on social media, people are posting that they’re proud of me, people I might not even know in some cases,” he said. “They’re sharing my video on Facebook, saying they’re proud of me. It keeps you going. Stuff like that … the community is just unbelievable and I’m thankful that I’m a part of it.”
Steib hasn’t been forgotten at all by the Destrehan High School community either. Nowhere is that more evident than at Destrehan sporting events, where “Sam Strong” signs can be seen regularly. Steib was a standout baseball player in his time at the school, a multi-time All-District selection who was extremely well-liked by teammates and classmates.
Steib’s mother, Alison, who has been staying with Sam in Humble, Texas as he rehabs, said Steib is making steady progress and has been getting stronger, day by day.
“We’re hoping in the next month or so he’ll be back in-patient for more intense therapy,” she said. “So that’s what we’re working towards right now. It’s slow and steady, but he’s definitely getting stronger.”
Steib has regained motion in his arms, Alison said, and is working toward making them stronger, including exercises which have increased his function in his hands and upper body as well.
A video Steib posted of him doing pushups showed he had reached a milestone he felt especially proud of.
“I think my therapist is even more excited than me, to be honest,” he said. “I shocked myself.”
On Friday (March 31), the Sam Steib Golf Tournament will be held at Cypress Lakes Country Club with funds raised going toward helping offset the costs of Steib’s medical and rehabilitation expenses. The first flight will tee off at 7:30 a.m. (registration at 6 a.m.) and the second flight will tee off at 12:30 p.m. (11 a.m. registration). Cost to sponsor a hole will be $100, and to enter a team it will be $500. For more information, call Brett Vitrano at 985-210-0543 or Trey Granier at 504-915-4056.
Both Sam and Alison Steib expressed appreciation for the support of so many people.
“I really appreciate them staying behind me ever since it happened and never giving up on me,” Steib said. “Everybody in the Destrehan and Norco community praying, showing me that they care, I can’t say enough about how thankful I am for all of it. It definitely keeps me going.”
Be the first to comment