A Michigan woman says that while her seat belt saved her life, it also left her with severe injuries following a horrific freak accident. Gina Arnold was driving home when she lost control of her car and flipped over seven times. Her vehicle finally came to a stop after it crashed into a tree.
While the seat belt may have saved her life, it also sliced into her abdomen "like a sword," leaving her with a huge life-threatening laceration. Doctors performed a risky, eight-hour operation to sew a surgical mesh across her stomach to keep her organs in place.
"I was grateful that it saved my life, but it was hard to wrap my head around all the injuries the seat belt caused," Arnold told PEOPLE. "I just call it a freak accident. I can't believe the seat belt did that to me."
The accident left Arnold without any abdominal muscles, and she must wear a belt to keep everything in place. She had to learn how to walk again and is unable to lift anything heavier than 15 pounds. She must be careful not to tear the mesh because doctors are unsure if they would be able to repair it.
"There is no plan B for if my mesh does tear. If my mesh tears, they don't know what do after that," Arnold explained. "Then I'll be left with no abdominal wall again. It would tear the remaining muscles I have, and that would be extremely painful. So I have to be extremely careful every day. This is my one mesh, and I don't have another one."
Arnold has continued to fight through her painful and frustrating rehabilitation. She says she is able to kick a soccer ball, something she never expected to do after her accident.
While her dream of being a nurse may be over, she still hopes to enter the medical field. She is planning to return to college, where she will study to become a sports psychologist.
"I'm finally going back to college at [Northern Michigan University], so I'll finally be able to live away from home without constant medical care," she said. "I'm learning what I can and cannot do. My body is using all those other muscles besides my abdominals, so my body gets worn out quicker."
Despite the injuries caused by her seat belt, Arnold says that she still buckles up every time she gets into a car.