Masury woman overcomes seizures to become world champion
MASURY, Ohio - Sara Grace Carowick is a three-time world champion. She's also someone who had to overcome a lot to get to that point, and now she's hoping her story can prove to others that anything is possible.
When her family first moved to this property in Masury from Massillon five years ago, Sara Carowick wasn't exactly impressed.
"At first I didn't want to move here because this place looked like a dump," said Carowick.
The one saving grace was the horse barn.
Even though they had no experience with horses, they'd kicked around the idea as a way of helping Sara deal with Tourette syndrome.
"My initial goal for Sara when we got into the horses was to help her with her Tourette's and come out of her social awkwardness," said Kara Carowick, Sara's mother.
They named the place Gerlock Acres and almost immediately noticed a difference.
"When Sara feels that she's having a stressful day, she comes back, and she rides," said Kara.
But last February everything changed.
"I got a call one morning from the school saying she was on the floor," said Kara. "She was still seizing. She had been seizing for over 25 minutes, and they couldn't get her to come out."
"I actually remember waking up in the hospital, not knowing who my parents were, didn't know where I was at. I'm like, where am I?... They asked me about the horses and stuff. I did not know anything about that," said Sara.
"She was scared. Her father and I were petrified," said Kara. "Why is this happening?"
Doctors diagnosed her with epilepsy and said she's actually had it her whole life. Twice, she lost her memory temporarily due to seizures and turned to the horses to help bring it back.
"I had to relearn how to ride," said Sara.
Dawn Allison's been there every step of the way. As a trainer, she's seen the seizures first-hand.
"Those are my fears every time she goes in the arena," said Allison. "I worry about her. Can she handle it? Are the flashes from the cameras going to be too much?"
But she also saw the determination.
Allison got Sara into the Equestrians with Disabilities program, and this year they went to the World Championships and brought home three titles just a year and a half after the scare of her life.
Now, looking back on it all, despite initially hesitating about whether to move to this property, it seems like this is the place they were meant to be all along.
"There's a reason why we bought this place five years ago," said Kara. "Five years ago I didn't understand, other than 'Oh cool we get to have horses.' Now it's, ok this is because Sara needed it."
Now, Sara wants to take her success and use it as proof to anyone else out there who wants to quiet the doubters.
"People out there with a disability, if they think they can't do it, well this is a perfect example that you can do it. You can achieve your goals," said Sara. "You're a human being just like everybody else. You can do it."
She carries that personal belief with her everywhere she goes. The biggest goal on Sara's to-do list moving forward is trying to qualify for the Special Olympics in Berlin in 2023.
