A man who was cut in half by a forklift has revealed how he covers medical bills "worth millions" after his heartbreaking incident.
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Loren Schauers, from Wilsall, Montana, was just 18 when a freak workplace accident changed his life forever.
The horrific incident happened on September 27, 2019, while the then-teen was operating a forklift on a bridge in Montana. The vehicle veered off the edge, dropping 50 feet and pinning him beneath it.
Everything below his waist was crushed, and one of his arms was destroyed. The result was a hemicorporectomy - an extreme surgery in which the entire lower half of a patient’s body is amputated.
Loren survived the procedure and has since built a loyal community online, where he and his wife, Sabia Reiche, run the YouTube channel: Sabia and Loren.
The couple shares everything from daily life updates to personal reflections, drawing in hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
In a recent video, Sabia read out a fan’s question: “I know you don't discuss money, but we always hear how horribly expensive medical is in the US, and would imagine Lawrence's care runs in the millions, easily. Just want to hear that you guys are doing okay with that or if you need help?”
Loren responded directly: “Luckily, all my medical bills and whatnot are taking care of through workman's comp, and so it's no bother on our pocket.”
Sabia added, “Yeah, because of that, we don't need help with medical stuff.”
While Loren’s resilience is inspiring, the circumstances of the accident were shocking.
Reflecting on the day it happened, he shared: “Since my supervisor took a liking to me, he asked me to do practically everything he wanted done," cited by PEOPLE.
"So my boss asked me to grab the forklift, drag it across, and move the water barrier back into position. I never got trained to even drive a forklift," he said.
Sabia recalled getting the first call about her partner's accident, stating that she was initially told it was minor before being informed he was in surgery. Four hours later, she was told he was being airlifted to another hospital after "he lost blood flow to his legs".
"His pelvis was essentially - they were unable to save it. They didn't know how to save him," she added.
Sabia and Loren had only been in a relationship for around 18 months when the then-18-year-old went through the heartbreaking accident, but they stayed together. They eventually got married in 2021.
The couple often receives deeply personal and invasive questions about their relationship on YouTube. One of the most frequent is how they maintain intimacy after Loren’s injuries - something Sabia has strongly condemned.
“A question we get repeatedly is, ‘How do we have sex and how do we become intimate?’ That is a very personal question that we are never going to answer or allude to, as it’s very disrespectful,” she told the Daily Star. “You wouldn’t ask a random couple on the street how they have sex and just because our life circumstances are different, it doesn’t give people the right to ask.”
One topic the couple has been open about, however, is how Loren uses the bathroom. “A colostomy, which is my colon pulled out of my body so I can poop,” Loren explained in a Q&A.
“And I have bilateral nephrotomies, they're tubes that go into my kidneys that drain my kidneys into bags so, therefore, that is how I poop, pee, and fart,” he added. Sabia, who helps with his care, said she manages the colostomy bags as part of their daily routine.
The couple's openness about their journey continues to inspire thousands on the social media platform.
One viewer praised: “My favorite couple. You're so down to earth and real. You're warriors as well. Know that you're loved and being sent the most positive vibes. Thank you for sharing your world.”
Another applauded: "You two are such an inspiration, meeting life with grace, love, and wisdom at an early age. Thanks for sharing your strength. I don't even know where this began but I am going to catch up on your story now."