Man Crushed By Forklift Shares What Life Looks Like Five Years After Losing His Lower Body

Who is Loren Schaeurs?

At just 18 years old, Loren was involved in a horrific accident while driving a forklift across a bridge as part of his job.

The injuries he suffered changed everything, but he’s been open about his journey. Alongside his wife, Sabia, Loren has been sharing their experiences of recovery and day-to-day life ever since.

They’ve built a community through their YouTube channel, where they answer people’s questions and talk about what it’s like to live with such a major injury.

What happened during the accident?

At the time of the incident, Loren was part of a bridge repair crew. The bridge was limited to a single lane and was being managed by traffic lights to control flow.

According to Forklift Traffic London, one of the orange water barriers had been knocked out of place. Loren had been asked to put it back where it belonged.

But as multiple cars drove past him too closely, Loren moved slightly to the edge of the bridge. That small movement caused the forklift to tip over and fall off the side.

To save his life, doctors performed a rare surgery known as hemicorporectomy, which involved amputating everything below his waist.

What’s Loren doing now?

In an update he shared last year, Loren posted a video on YouTube marking five years since the accident. In it, he told followers: “Five years later pain’s under control, life is finally managed in a way that we can control it now.”

“I don’t know how to explain it, it’s not as epic, things aren’t like bombs dropping on us any more. We kind of know what to expect with certain things, and can kind of tell what’s gonna happen.”

“Me and Sabia are doing great. We don’t get out much. We went to Lollapalooza in Chicago and had a great time obviously.”

The couple mentioned that they plan to make some adjustments to their home soon. These include installing French doors and adding bay windows to help make the house easier for Loren to get around in.