On the cusp of adulthood, Sophie Delezio’s formal was the kind of night teenage dreams are made of.
Unlike her peers whose futures were likely assured from the start, the Sydney teenager has battled through two near-fatal accidents – and the visible scars they left.
Dressed in a floor-length lilac gown with long hair swept carefully over her shoulder, Sophie, 17, gleamed as she stood on the arm of close friend Chace Pilkington.
‘I’m so happy – this is about celebrating with my friends, and the best time of my life so far!’ she told Woman’s Day before the event.
On the cusp of adulthood, Sophie Delezio’s formal was the kind of night teenage dreams are made of, saying it was ‘the best time of (her) life so far!’
The celebration comes 15 years after tragedy struck then-two-year-old Sophie.
In December 2003, a 68-year-old driver suffered a seizure and crashed his car through the wall of her childcare centre, on Sydney’s North Shore.
Seven toddlers were injured – but Delezio’s scars ran the deepest after she suffered burns to 85 per cent of her body and lost both feet and one hand.
Disaster struck once more in May 2006 when Sophie was being pushed in a wheelchair over a pedestrian crossing by her nanny.
After being hit by a car, she was flung 18 metres through the air and suffered a heart attack, a broken jaw and broken shoulder.
Sophie, 17, gleamed as she stood on the arm of close friend Chace Pilkington (right, pictured at a concert earlier this year)
The long awaited for night comes 15 years after tragedy first paid a visit to a then-two-year-old Sophie, when she received burns to 85 per cent of her body
While studying for the HSC, she also balances a part-time job as a checkout chick and has recently gained her driver’s license
But despite the odds stacked against her, Sophie has continued to clear the remarkable number of hurdles in her path.
Now, while studying for the HSC, she also balances a part-time job on the checkout and has recently gained her driver’s license.
Formal night, however, was a time solely for celebration and making lasting memories with her tight-knit group of friends.
‘Going to the formal has been my dream, because it isn’t just about the end of school but a launchpad into the world. It means I’ve made it here,’ she told the magazine.
Despite the odds of normality stacked against her, Sophie has continued to clear the remarkable number of hurdles presented in her path
More than a decade after she was thrust into the spotlight following the accident, Sophie sees her infectious zest for life more remarkable than any medical obstacles she has cleared
Since the life-changing accidents, Sophie has undergone countless surgeries, including multiple operations to stretch her scalp to allow hair follicles to be implanted.
And after finding a hairdresser who could give her hair extensions, Sophie now has thicker and longer brunette tresses which she rocked on her school’s night of nights.
Still commanding national attention more than a decade after she was thrust into the spotlight, Sophie sees her infectious positivity and zest for life more remarkable than any medical obstacles she has cleared.
‘In my mind I’m not “Sophie the girl with no legs” but someone completely normal,’ she said.
‘I think of myself as Sophie the chatterbox, the socialite, the girl who loves a good hamburger and enjoys each day as much as she can.’
‘In my mind I’m not “Sophie the girl with no legs” but someone completely normal,’ she explained to Woman’s Day