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Everything was fine for the Turner family, until one day it wasn’t.
“She wasn’t supposed to live. When I got there, I came upon the crash scene. I didn’t think anybody could survive that,” Kim Turner said.
Leslie was on track to be a stud softball player, but August 10th, 2017 she was involved in a car accident that killed her father. Leslie spent three and a half weeks in a coma, and four and a half months in the hospital with total paralysis to her left side.
“We didn’t think she’d be able to walk again — you just didn’t know,” said Cassville softball coach Lori Videmschek.
It was a grueling process, but through therapy and determination, Leslie did begin walking. And while she wasn’t able to play softball alongside her older sister Lauren like they’d planned, she was at least able to be there in the dugout for her senior season.
“There she is number 9. Hey, Les,” Kim said.
That was her freshman year, but she had to sit out her sophomore season too.
Did you think you’d ever be able to play again? “No, I didn’t,” Leslie said.
Her absence affected the whole team.
“When she wasn’t out here last year, they missed that,” said Videmschek.
“It was tough because we’re always used to her being there. We would look and not hear her, not see her. We were just always thinking about her and wanting her back,” said teammate Makenzi Dilbeck.
Wanting to be back was all Leslie wanted, so she kept working.
“The toughest was probably my running, because at first I was not wanting to run, so I had to overcome that,” said Leslie.
And eventually, she did. Now, heading into her junior season she’s back on the field.
“I know I’m not going to be back to how I was before, but I’m getting back there.” Are you okay with that? “Yeah,” Leslie said.
“What an athlete she was before, and to see now how far she’s come, it’s unbelievable,” said Videmschek.
Are you nervous for the first game? “Yes, just being back for the first time,” Leslie said.
And in Tuesday’s jamboree she got her first hit since being back. Making her father proud and inspiring others, Leslie Turner is our Arby’s high school Athlete of the Week.
