CLEVELAND — After 16 long months, a tremendous amount of pain and nearly 30 surgeries later, Kim Locker, who was severely burned and lost both of her legs when she was hit by a drunk driver, is finally going home.
It was Sept. 29, 2017 when Locker was on her way home. She stopped at Walmart to use the store's Wi-Fi to download music she planned to play on the way to an upcoming festival. About 25 minutes later, her life would be changed in a devastating way as she drove to her family's farm in Dellroy.
Locker, who was 22 at the time, was hit head-on by a drunk driver on State Route 39 in Carroll County.
Fast forward to February 2018, when she became fully awake and realized doctors had amputated both of her legs not long after the horrific crash.
After six months at MetroHealth and some nursing facilities along the way, Locker was transferred to Akron Children's Hospital where she remained until Thursday before finally going home to her parents' farm.
Staff at Akron Children's Hospital cheered Locker on as she left the hospital she spent so much time in.
"You may have taken everything away from me, but did you? You didn't take my mind. You didn't take my life," she said during an interview earlier this month. "Get better, not bitter."
Locker has big plans, including pursuing a goal she had before the accident: going to school and possibly becoming a paramedic. She would also like to be a public speaker for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.
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