In 1999, Joy Veron was vacationing with her family in the Colorado mountains when the unthinkable happened. Her three children -- Chloe, then 7, Annie, then 5, and Elliot, then 2 -- had excitedly run ahead of the adults and climbed into the family's SUV, eager to go for one last swim before heading home to Texas. In an instant, the gear slipped and the SUV began to roll -- straight toward a steep cliff at the edge of a deep canyon.
Joy screamed, watching her children trapped inside the careening SUV as it picked up speed.
"I just saw complete fear. I remember their little eyes were huge, looking at me just like, 'Help me. Do something,'" Joy later recalled on "The Oprah Show" in 2004.
To save her kids, Joy threw her body in the path of the SUV. "I remember being pulled under the car, and I remember thinking, 'I didn't make it in time and I'm getting run over. I'm going to hear a crash pretty soon,'" Joy said.
Instead, her effort slowed the SUV just enough for her father to jump inside and pull the emergency brake without a second to spare. The children were safe. Joy, however, was badly injured.
Her body had been shattered by the SUV, and though she survived, Joy was told by hospital doctors that there was a less than 1 percent chance of walking again.
It's now been 11 years since Joy shared this story on "Oprah," and, as she tells "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" in the above video, a lot has changed for her family since then.
"After the show, I went to Portugal because I'd really been searching for a cure, and that was pretty much my focus," Joy says today. "I had a stem cell transplant, and I went through surgery... I had some recovery. I had a little bit more sensation than what I had before. But, it didn't make me walk again."
That's when the mother of three realized that it was time to accept her new reality. "It was a difficult thing to accept," she admits. "I remember laying in my bed one day and being depressed and hearing my children playing outside. I remember thinking then, 'It's my choice. I can lay here, and I can be depressed, and I can miss out on a lot in life. Or, I could learn to walk again -- but maybe not walk in the physical sense, but walk in life.'"
Joy may be unable to get around without a wheelchair, but she hasn't let it hold her back, according to her children. "I actually think she does more than most moms do even walking," Annie says.
"She's definitely my inspiration," Elliot adds.
While Joy and her children are closer than ever, the accident did take a toll on her relationship. Joy and her husband recently divorced after 23 years of marriage.
"I'm hurt," Joy says. "I think that in the beginning, we should have had major counseling. I think that would have helped a lot. Unfortunately, we didn't. I think we were so caught up in my rehab and trying to get me better that we didn't pay enough attention to what he was going through."
For as difficult as it has been to deal with the end of her marriage, Joy remains as resilient as she's always been.
"It's life," she says. "I know it's something I'll make it through."
"Oprah: Where Are They Now?" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
Note: This article has been edited to remove a reference to the SUV as "already running," which is not evident from available sources.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.