Sunday, May 4, 2008

How Sage Got Her Name


As a nine-year-old I read the story of a little girl named Sage Volkman. At age five, Sage was in a terrible fire that changed her life:

"When Sage was first wheeled into the burn unit, the medical staff had little hope that she would make it through the night. 'They gave her a 10-percent chance of living,' Michael [her father] remembers. She had third- and fourth-degree burns on her face, arms, chest, and legs. Her nose and one ear had been melted off. Her fingers were so charred that they would have to be amputated. She lost 35 percent of her eyelids. One lung had collapsed, and another was barely functioning; a quart of soot would be extracted from them."

Sage writes, "I am happy and people wonder how I can be with all that I have gone through. I tell them you have two ways to see the world, as a good place with wonderful people to love and be loved by or you can see everything as a problem and feel anger always in your heart. I choose to be happy."

Today Sage is a graduate student at the University of Utah. You can read her whole inspiring story here.

P.S. This is a recent photo of Sage (she loves pedicures)

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I remember when we read that story together. It appeared in The Ensign.
The article contained lots of pics of Sage during her recovery process, I was so impressed by how you didn't look away but showed such compassion as we read the article. Thank you for being my wonderful, generous and compassionate daughter. I'm proud to have you be mine!

Melissa Walton said...

I love Sage's name and I love hearing where it came from! Miss you guys!

SeeCampbell said...

What an inspiring story Alicia. It made me cry to see the courage of this precious young girl. Thank you for sharing!

Rachel said...

I loved hearing how Sage got her name. You have a beautiful family, and I'm glad to be back in touch with you!

Armoredshoes said...

thank you for your post. This story is now helping my wife get through her illness. Where did you get this recent picture of Sage?