Crushed, Cut in Half, and Still Climbing: The Astonishing Life of Loren Schauers
How does an 18-year-old survive being crushed by a forklift, severed in half by surgeons, and still find reason to smile five years later?
The answer lies not just in science, but in something far more powerful: will.
Loren Schauers wasn’t supposed to survive. Not after a 50-foot fall. Not after being pinned beneath several tons of metal. Not after undergoing one of the rarest and most extreme surgeries in the medical world.
But Loren did survive. And in the years since that catastrophic day on a Montana bridge, he’s not just endured—he’s thrived in ways most people with fully functioning bodies never do.
A Moment That Changed Everything
September 2019 started like any other workday. Loren, just 18, was operating a forklift as part of a crew repairing a one-lane bridge in rural Montana. When a traffic barrier got nudged out of place, he was asked to reposition it—a simple task, but one made dangerous by the narrow path and the passing cars.
As Loren inched the forklift over, one wrong move sent the machine—and him—over the edge.
He tried to jump clear. He tried to unbuckle his seatbelt. But he was too late.
The forklift plunged 50 feet, landing on Loren’s pelvis and arm.
He was still alive. But barely.
The Surgery That Saved—And Transformed—His Life
Doctors made an unthinkable decision: a hemicorporectomy. Everything below Loren’s waist would need to be amputated to save his life. Most people don’t survive the trauma or the surgery.
But Loren pulled through.
The odds were microscopic. The pain was astronomical. And the road ahead? Unimaginable.
Love, Loss, and Life After the Fall
Enter Sabia—a young woman who refused to walk away. Loren’s girlfriend at the time of the accident, she chose to stay through months in the hospital, grueling rehab, and a completely transformed future. The two married in 2021 and now share their story on YouTube, offering a raw, real, and often humorous window into life after the unimaginable.
They answer everything—how he goes to the bathroom, how intimacy works, what mental health looks like post-trauma. Their openness has drawn millions of views and a devoted online community.
“We’ve learned how to manage the chaos,” Loren says in a recent update. “It’s no longer constant explosions. It’s more like…life.”
Five Years Later: New Normals and Backyard BBQs
Now 24, Loren lives in a newly purchased home with Sabia. They’ve begun renovations to make the space fully accessible—adding French doors, bay windows, and room to move freely. They’ve built a new kind of happiness, brick by brick.
He still deals with pain. He still has hard days. But he also goes to music festivals, celebrates birthdays with grilled ribs, and dreams about the future. He speaks of plans, not limitations.
“I’m not trying to be a superhero,” he once said. “I’m just trying to live.”
Conclusion: Beyond Survival
Loren Schauers is not defined by what he lost. He’s defined by how fiercely he chose to keep living. What happened to him could’ve been the end—but he and Sabia have made it the beginning of something deeply human and unexpectedly hopeful.
His story is a reminder: even after the body breaks, even when half of you is gone, love, purpose, and joy are still possible. And sometimes, that’s more than survival. That’s triumph.