He Was Cut in Half by a Forklift, Now He Is an Inspiration to Many People

At just 19, Loren Schauers’s ordinary workday turned into a life-or-death struggle when a forklift tipped over him. The crushing accident was so devastating that doctors had to perform an ultra‑rare hemicorporectomy—removing the entire lower half of his body—to save his life. Against overwhelming odds, Loren refused to let it define him, embarking on a journey of survival, healing, and inspiring determination.

In 2019, 19-year-old Loren Schauers fell from a bridge while operating a forklift. Crushed under the weight of the machine, Loren sustained injuries so severe that doctors were forced to perform a hemicorporectomy — an extremely rare operation in which everything below the waist is amputated. While many believed this would mark the end of his life, Loren chose to write a new beginning instead.

The accident occurred when Loren was helping guide traffic at a bridge construction site in Montana. As the forklift veered off the edge, he tried to leap free, but the heavy machinery rolled, pinning him beneath it. The lower half of his body was completely destroyed. When doctors offered him the impossible choice — undergo the radical surgery to survive or face certain death — Loren opted to fight.

Despite the drastic change his body went through, Loren is still very grateful to be alive, as he confessed.

“I have a very simple life now compared to what it used to be. There’s a lot more laying around than before.” [But] It was about three months after the accident that I finally wrapped my head around how crazy and miraculous it really is for me to be alive."

One of the most painful parts of his journey wasn’t the surgeries or physical recovery, but the reaction of people he once called friends. Loren shared that many of them pulled away after the accident.

“I’ve been mostly disappointed by most of them, I’d say,” he said, describing how some friends didn’t know how to be around him anymore — or simply vanished. His world shrank, but it also became clearer. The people who stayed truly mattered.

The most important person in Loren’s life now is his former girlfriend, now wife, Sabia. The pair had been dating for 18 months when she received the call about the accident.
Sabia stood by her boyfriend following his life-altering surgery, and the couple became closer than ever. They have since married, and Reiche is her husband’s primary caregiver.

The pair documents their life on their YouTube channel, which has more than 600 thousand followers. Loren also talks about his feelings and how he tries to stay positive in spite of all his pain.
“It’s not anyone else’s fault that my pain exists,” he stated. “I’m not going to sit here and wallow and freak out on the whole world. I’m still going to try to be as jolly as I can, even though I’m sitting here dying in pain at times.”

Loren is a true inspiration for all of us, just like the survivor of another tragic accident. You can read her story in our article: A Woman, Who Was Left Paralyzed After a Freak Accident, Smashes All Taboos and Becomes a Fashion Inspiration.