GOP congressional candidate Katie Arrington plans to continue her campaign to represent South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District after being seriously injured in a fatal car accident over the weekend.
"We're going to continue our campaign forward," Arrington spokesman Michael Mule said. "Katie is going to be the Republican nominee."
Arrington broke several ribs, fractured her back, and had to undergo surgery, including the removal of a portion of her small intestine and part of her colon. She also sustained other internal injuries in the wreck, which occurred when another car traveling the wrong direction hit her car, also critically injuring her friend. The driver of the other vehicle was killed.
According to Dr. Avery Buchholz, a neurosurgeon at the Medical University of South Carolina, Arrington should be able to regain the mobility she had before the accident.
“That shouldn't be an issue for her. She is very motivated," Buchholz said, reports US News.
Republican friend Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) said he will campaign for Arrington while she is in rehabilitation, according to Mule.
"Part of her life that was saved was to give it away for public service," Scott said at a news conference Monday.
Scott said when he visited Arrington in the hospital, the first word she wrote was “miracle.”
“One thing that was written down on the piece of paper she was writing on said ‘two weeks and I’ll be back at it,’” Scott explained. “Katie’s passion for serving her community was sharpened because of the accident.”
Scott said that Arrington had an “epiphany” and thinks her life was saved with the purpose of continuing to serve the people of her district.
“The campaign motivates her to full recovery,” Scott said. (FoxNews.com)
Arrington defeated incumbent Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., in the state's primary on June 12.