by Steve Alexander
Published: Tue, April 21, 2009 - 9:37 pm CST
Last Updated: Tue, April 21, 2009 - 9:54 pm CST
There was a special moment of triumph for a member of the Gulf Shores High School Girls Soccer Team Tuesday night.17 year old senior Toni DeVaney made the opening kick of the game against Vigor.
DeVaney suffered serious leg injuries in a traffic accident two months ago.
DeVaney's brother carried her out on his back Tuesday as she and other senior players were introduced for Gulf Shores last home game.
She suffered the injuries in February when police say a woman lost control of her mini-van and slammed into DeVaney's car head-on in Orange Beach.
DeVaney said, "I had complete leg breaks, both femurs, both 'tib' and 'fib' breaks, tibula and fibula, and then my left upper arm was broken."
DeVaney's mother, Laurel DeVaney said, "We got to see her just before she went into surgery and then she was (in surgery) seven and a half hours that night. But it was awful."
The woman in the mini-van was killed.
Toni DeVaney said, "The only thing I remember is opening up my eyes and my best friend was at the window talking to me the whole entire time."
DeVaney continues to rehabilitate from her injuries.
When asked what was the hardest part of rehabilitation so far, DeVaney said, "Its when I had to walk again because I'm not allowed to walk on one foot right now, so I'm basically like hobbling around. I just got to the point to where I can start putting a little bit of weight (on it) at a time."
But Tuesday night, DeVaney was able to make the opening kick in the soccer game against Vigor.
When asked how important it was for Toni to do that, her mother, Laurel, said, "I think for her and for her self esteem, it was everything in the world. She had set a goal and she reached that goal."
In August, DeVaney leaves for North Carolina to go to college.
She hopes to play soccer in her sophomore year.
Gulf Shores Fatal Accident
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