LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – A Penn State cheerleader from Louisville is beating everyone's expectations with her recovery after surviving a 40-foot fall.
Paige Raque is going home on Wednesday nearly 53 days after the October 13 accident that left her unable to speak for several weeks.
"I keep my eyes set on what I have for the future and just keep going towards that," the sophomore college student said during a news conference on Tuesday.
Paige fell from a fifth floor apartment window and suffered severe brain trauma. She doesn't remember the accident.
"I remember before the accident that we had a cookout for my brother's gymnastics team," she said.
"It was a family weekend, and we all went to the cookout. That's the last thing I remember, pretty much. That was early in the afternoon."
Immediately after the accident, friends, family and even strangers started praying for Paige. She says their prayers were answered.
"I needed it," she said. "I needed every single person who rallied behind me. They pushed me through it and they're the reason I'm here and okay."
Paige's doctor calls her a miracle. Her recovery is going faster than even the doctors had hoped for. Her family says it's proof that prayers are answered.
"She had not been talking yet, and about the same time I was praying, she said her first words," said Paige's mother. "And He surprised me with a phone call with her saying, 'Hi, Mom!'"
Paige's goal is to return to her studies at Penn State. She hopes she can do it next fall, but she said she's not setting any deadlines for herself.
Her doctor said he believes she can do it.
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Paige Raque
