Smithville native who lost both legs after being left to die at train tracks handles heartache with humor
11/21/2017 10:20 am PST
By Megan Dillard, WDAF
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- (WDAF) -- They say laughter is the best medicine, but for a young woman who said she was drugged and left to die, comedy is how she copes.
Mandy Horvath had just turned 21. She was on a camping trip with friends in Nebraska back in 2014. They'd gone to shoot pool at a bar.
“I had two beers and two shots, and after I picked up and drank my second beer, I stepped outside," she said. "I remember petting horses, and I woke up in an ambulance.”
She said paramedics found her lying on a set of train tracks. She'd been hit by a coal train, and she had no legs.
“I was found almost a half mile from the bar up on the tracks,” Horvath said.
She believes someone spiked her drink, though she'll never know who, why or what happened during the time she was blacked out.
“I'd just seen my family the week before," she said. "I worked full time. I was really active. I loved my life.”
Her life now is about adaptation and advancing. She doesn't deny anger or deep pain.
“Hey, I had my time curling up in a ball," Horvath said. "But I mean, there comes a point where I can stop feeling sorry for myself and pick up and help other people, too.”