Finding New Roads and inspiration with North Country Chevy Dealers

CHAMPLAIN | Just a few days into a family vacation in the Bahamas, Stefanie Schaffer was excited for an oceanside adventure and opportunity of a lifetime. Surrounded by white-sand beaches and turquoise waters, Schaffer soaked up the sunshine, eager to swim with the free-roaming pigs of Exuma Islands, never knowing the steps she took onto the tour boat would be the last on her own two legs. On June 30, 2018, just three minutes into the tour, the boat exploded beneath Schaffer's seat, killing one and injuring nine, shattering Schaffer's body and life as she knew it. With only her family and strangers by her side, Schaffer was pulled from the deadly wreckage and awoke in a Florida hospital one month later, paralyzed with both legs amputated and a range of other traumatic injuries. Before that fateful day at just 22 years old, Schaffer said, "Everything in my life felt perfect…the world felt like it was open for me. "We never wanted the trip to end," the Rutland, Vt., woman recalled of moments before her life changed forever and she began the long mental and physical road to recovery. While that road is one many may not have survived, it's one Schaffer now looks back on with unwavering strength and a smile. Despite the pain, tears and hardship of more than 40 surgeries, lengthy hospital stays and physical unknowns, Schaffer has indeed found new roads with the help of North Country Chevy Dealers. Early in her healing journey, after another grueling round of physical therapy with her strength and spirits tested, Schaffer was surprised by a group of Chevy dealer executives who opened the door to new opportunities and an unexpected key to freedom and hope. Outside that appointment was a brand-new adaptive Chevy Equinox and a Finding News Roads Chevy partnership that continues today. "It was a gift of a lifetime," Schaffer recalled of the North Country Chevy Dealer sponsorship that most recently helped fund a renowned rehabilitative stay in California to help complete her recovery. While nervous about learning to drive with the use of only her hands and adaptive equipment, Schaffer quickly got back behind the wheel with ease, finding solace in the quiet moments, independence and normalcy of everyday life. "I got to be me again — feel normal again…and I was motivated by what the North Country Chevy Dealers saw in me. I could not have gotten through this without this support system," she said. "Without them, my life would not be the same." Not only did the North Country Chevy Dealers, a coalition of 15 dealerships across Northern New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, give her to the key to mobility and hope, but also the continuing support to follow her dreams and turn tragedy into inspiration. She's learned how to walk her dog and use the Equinox to load her wheelchair for new adventures across the country, most recently learning to sit ski and hand cycle her way to new places and beginnings. Schaffer's memoir, Without Any Warning: Casualties of a Caribbean Vacation, has become an international bestseller, a source of hope for those facing their own challenges and struggles. Her long-awaited speaking tour kicked off at Adirondack Chevrolet Buick in Elizabethtown June 5 followed by a next-day stop at Goss Chevrolet in Champlain, where Goss executives, staff and former Parker Chevrolet owners were on hand to celebrate her milestones. While pausing to embrace the Chevy executives who helped transform her life, Schaffer said her life today "feels like exactly where I'm supposed to be. "I would not have the voice I have today without this group." Goss Chevrolet President Brian Hoar called Schaffer's experience and visit an incredible inspiration, one felt deeply by the unique partnership and team of North Country Chevy Dealers across the Northeast. "It's such an inspiration, and I think we can all learn from her perspective," Hoar said. Retired Parker Chevrolet President Rolla Parker returned for Schaffer's visit with heartfelt words of encouragement on her new path in life- one he's watched unfold with steady support since her early days of healing. For Schaffer, her new mission is to help people find comfort and hope in her story. She credits her younger sister and family for being her driving motivation and looks forward to the many milestones they still have together as she finds her new path as an author, motivational speaker and ambassador for organizations like American Red Cross and Chevy's Find New Roads. Schaffer graduated from Castleton University with high honors and holds a degree in health promotion, working to amplify efforts to improve physical and mental health in communities across the nation. "My story and I will serve as a reminder to let in the miracles that come with being alive. Each time I've faced my fears, something amazing has happened. My biggest fear used to be public speaking, which seems silly now. I've overcome the terror of being on a stage, I've experienced opportunity, a sense of accomplishment, and only positive experiences — for both myself and for those listening in. I am so happy to be grabbing each opportunity coming my way. This is what life is all about."

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Finding New Roads and inspiration with North Country Chevy Dealers

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