CLEARFIELD -- Life for Andrew and Lauren Brown changed the moment a truck crashed into their bedroom a year and a half ago while they were in bed watching TV.
The two now live with pain on a daily basis, and Andrew is learning how to drive again after the accident cost him the use of one foot.
The couple recently purchased a car retrofitted with hand controls that will enable Andrew to get back behind the wheel.
Through all their adversity, the couple has remained upbeat, deciding from the start to maintain a positive attitude.
"To be really honest, it's changed everything about our lives," Andrew said. "We just try to take it day by day, and sometimes it's hard.
"It's one of those things that happens in life, and we felt like it was an opportunity to see what we're really made of."
The couple decided they could either be mad, upset and miserable or move on with their lives. They have learned that being positive is a lot less stressful.
"We just felt like, overall, the best way to handle it was to learn as much as we can from it," Andrew said.
What they have learned during the last year and a half has been just as life-changing as their physical injuries.
"There have also been a lot of blessings that have come out of it, with random acts of kindness and many people who helped with the kids and housework afterward," Lauren said.
Another unexpected blessing was when the Browns were informed, mere hours after the accident, that a couple had a house they were willing to let the Browns live in rent-free for a couple of months.
The Browns' house at the intersection of 550 North and 2000 West, in West Point, had been destroyed when a pickup truck rammed into it and slammed into the bed the couple were lounging in.
In the emergency room afterward, Lauren received some shocking news. She was four weeks pregnant.
"It was not the ideal setting for that type of news."
As her pregnancy progressed, she was dealing with injuries from the accident, including bulging discs in her neck and a hip fracture. Those are injuries she will deal with for the rest of her life.
Now she is taking care of their twins and waiting for her husband to finish treatments at a rehabilitation center.
The peroneal nerve in Andrew's right leg was severed, so he's unable to walk without a cane. He also deals with continual swelling in his leg. He has had several surgeries and wears a prosthetic device to keep his foot in place.
"We've had our ups and downs for sure, and thoughts of 'Why us?' and 'Why did this have to happen?' But we decided we were just going to have the attitude that it happened and it wasn't in our control, so we'd move on from there," Lauren said.
At age 25, Lauren admits that she has had to grow up quite a bit in the last few years. However, she feels lucky they came out of it without worse injuries and blessed for how close they've become, having seen what they are both capable of in the worst of circumstances.
"You really don't know what you are capable of until you don't have another option," Lauren said.
The couple's West Point home, originally owned by Lauren's grandfather, had been in the family for years and had to be demolished because of the extensive damage from the truck.
It was hard to say goodbye to their home, Lauren said.
The Browns purchased a new home a few months ago on a quiet side street in Clearfield, far from busy streets.
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