Chicken barbecue celebrating resiliency and recovery of Sarah Sandsted

“I’m doing exceptionally well,” Sarah Sandsted said after a physical therapy session. The road to recovery from an accident that doctors speculated could have led to a serious loss in bodily motion has been one of patience, she notes. 

“It’s very difficult for medical professionals to understand why I’ve been able to make such tremendous progress,” Sandsted said. “It’s not a normal recovery for someone with an injury like mine.”

Sandsted was in Haiti on a business trip last year. After a day’s work, she decided to jump in the pool at a friend’s house.

“I misjudged the depth of the pool,” she said. “I forgot about a shallow-end platform that was in the pool. I dove into it in the dark, and I hit my head and broke my neck.”

Sandsted had five broken vertebrae in her neck.

“One of which was just pulverized. If you Google that, the outcome is very bleak,” she added. “Most people with this type of injury are quadriplegic.”

Such a concerning incident could lead some to panic. Sandsted and her mother, Reenie Baker-Sandsted, experienced something different.

“She never lost consciousness, and she called me after the accident,” Reenie said. “She and I were both very calm about the whole thing because we really didn’t know anything about the situation.”

Reenie said it was Sarah’s poise that gave her strength and kept her collected. 

“Sarah tells me she’s fine, and I’m just going to believe that she’s fine,” Reenie said. “I wasn’t freaking out. I just wanted to get down there as quickly as I could.”

Some of that poise came from Sarah’s trust in medical professionals. She did not preemptively look into the possible outcomes for someone in her situation.

“Those close to me weren’t sure if I would ever walk again or be able to really use my arms and hands again,” Sarah said. “I never really knew that that was a concern. I think it was probably for the best because it gave me such a positive attitude when I was in the hospital.”

Doctors performed an operation on Sarah the day after the incident, but the forecast wasn’t always as optimistic – so much so that people around Sarah, including Reenie, see her recovery as miraculous.

“The nurse, about a month later after the operation, told us that when he came in to look at her MRI, he thought she would be quadriplegic,” Reenie said. “The nurse thought she was never going to move again.”

A great source of strength in that difficult moment, Sarah said, came from the support she received from her friends and family in Lansing.

“All of the love and support of the people who flew in from Lansing, who came to my side … I just felt so loved and so cared for,” Sarah said. “It almost ended up being a positive experience, if you can believe that. I was surrounded by all these great people who showed up for me.”

That level of support, Sarah said, is special.

“I think Lansing is a town of people who just love each other and support each other,” she added. ”I don’t think many people outside of Lansing had that experience growing up like that.”

After months of grueling rehabilitative work, Sarah is walking again. The recovery milestones ahead, she noted, are promising.

“I’m in physical therapy four days a week, and I’m just making tremendous strides,” she said. “It is grueling and it is a lot of work, but I am very independent. I live by myself. I drive. If you saw me walking down the street, you would not know that I had had this injury.”

There is still neuropathic pain and limits to her range of motion, but these are nothing Sarah feels she cannot overcome.

“I feel very fortunate to be where I am today, that’s for sure,” she said. 

Supporting Sarah

Sarah Sandsted’s story is not simply one of tragedy; rather, it’s about  connections. She has deep ties to Lansing, where her family owned and operated Baker’s Acres for four decades. The longstanding horticulture business was retired when Reenie retired in 2021. Reenie, with Sarah’s support, operated Baker’s Chicken Coop at the New York State Fair in Syracuse for more than 70 years, selling chicken barbecue plates to thousands of fairgoers every year. 

Sarah’s grandfather, Bob Baker, was the creator of Cornell chicken barbecue sauce, a mix of cider vinegar, egg, and spices that has become emblematic of Central New York cuisine. 

Now, Sarah’s family history has come full circle. The Savage Club of Ithaca, an organization devoted to cultivating the lifelong pursuit and joy of the arts in the area, is hosting a chicken barbecue fundraiser to help with Sarah’s medical expenses. 

Jack Roscoe, the club’s president and a longtime friend of the Stansted family, said the event will take place at the Bob Baker Chicken Barbecue Pavillion in the Lansing Town Hall parking lot on Sept. 2, starting at 10:30 a.m.

“The Tarps, a rock-and-roll cover band, are going to be performing,” he added.

Roscoe’s willingness to help proves Sarah’s gratitude to the people of Lansing right. When Sarah’s father asked for Roscoe’s help setting up the fundraiser chicken barbecue, Roscoe did not hesitate.

“Absolutely,” he responded.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on Twitter @ezvelazquez.

In brief

The Town of Lansing offices will be closed on Monday, Sept. 4 due to the Labor Day holiday.