How a car crash reconnected a St. Paul woman to her dream

ST. PAUL (KMSP) - A St. Paul woman had a dream of helping others heal, but she thought that dream was lost after barely surviving a hit-and-run crash last March. The connection between that accident and what Sophia Bouwens is doing today has turned into quite a story, and quite a lesson.

“She went through a stop sign that comes up on the main road going 60 miles per hour, hitting me as directly as you could. “ Bouwens said of the accident that changed her life.

Bouwens almost died last March, instead, she suffered a traumatic brain injury, missing teeth, lost memories, broken bones, and a broken dream.

Before a woman police say was drunk, hit her and fled, Bouwens was close to opening a non-profit to focus on providing healing through traditional medicine. Sophia's dream would fade, even while she was reminded why she believed so strongly in treatment like acupuncture. She credits the hospital with saving her, but holistic wellness with helping her recover.

“I'm not on any prescription medication. I don't have any pain.”

Slowly a terrible point in her life got better, little by little.

“I'm living the dream. I'm like, ‘when am I going to wake up!’”

Bouwen’s dream is now connected to her trauma at "Traditional Roots Healthcare" in St. Paul.

Her friend Valerie Overby opened up the holistic wellness non-profit while Bouwens was recovering, and recently invited her to work there.

And as Bouwens will tell you: it's easy to find pain. It’s much harder to see the connection to healing.

“After going through an experience like the accident and see the community outreach, and have things work together, how can you not see the world differently.”

The woman who hit Bouwens was charged for the accident, but is on the run from police. Although Bouwens says she hopes the driver, Danielle Sivels, is not only caught, but one can one day find healing.