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 | Tales of survival A gator victim who got a new high-tech hand; a mom who woke from a coma; a police officer who flatlined twice. Learn how all these people and others came through life-threatening situations. |
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 | The Week in Pictures Monsoon floods in Malaysia, darkened streets in Brazil and celebratory lights in Germany highlight this collection of noteworthy images. more photos |
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 TODAY Chimp attack victim breaks her silence Nov. 12: Charla Nash, the woman who was brutally mauled by her friend’s pet chimpanzee, speaks out for the first time and bravely shows the extent of her injuries. NBC’s Jeff Rossen reports. |
Sampson Parker
On Sept. 11, Sampson Parker was harvesting corn at a farm the construction supervisor had purchased as a kind of hobby outside of Columbia, S.C., when his right arm got caught in the corn picker. When sparks from the machinery set the corn stubble around him on fire, Parker cut off his own arm with a pocket knife.After getting out of the hospital and returning to work in November, a cheerful Parker met with TODAY, speaking from the same cornfield that had been the scene of his dramatic, life-or-death decision. He was awaiting delivery of a prosthetic arm and looking optimistically toward the future.
He’s still waiting for his new arm, which will come equipped with different attachments, including a “farmer’s hook” that will allow him to continue to pursue his hobby.
“It’s just like buying a piece of equipment,” he told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer on Friday in New York of the wait for his new arm.
“We’re waiting on the elbow part to come in from Germany.”
He looked as good as he said he felt: “I’m doing great, yes sir. It takes about twice as long to do stuff, ’cause I only have one arm. But I’m doing good.”
On the job, he said, the only time the lost limb comes into play is when he writes up his daily reports. “I have to do it left-handed, and that’s a little bit slower,” he said.
Despite his experience, he’s not giving up farming. “When it comes springtime, we’re going to be back down there planting corn,” he said.
While Parker said he doesn’t think about the accident, he does appreciate every day in ways he didn’t before.
“I thank God every morning when I wake up that I’m alive,” he told Lauer, “because I could have been gone.”
Today show
Cali Kaltschmidt
Dec. 28: Cali Kaltschmidt, who was knocked over by the football team, talks to TODAY anchor Matt Lauer about her friends’ reactions and what’s next for her after high school.
She was the high school cheerleader who got flattened by the Auburn (Wash.) High School football team on Oct. 26 as she tried to do a quick fix on the paper banner the players charged through before the game. But as many times as the video has been replayed on television and the Internet, Cali Kaltschmidt has seen it only twice, which has been more than enough.
It had been an eventful week for Kaltschmidt, who had been in an auto accident the day before she was elected Homecoming Queen and then run over by the team. The following week, she was in New York appearing on national television while the video of her accident was becoming one of ESPN’s Top 10 videos of the year. On YouTube, it has been viewed more than one million times.
In the week following her sudden fame, she said, her classmates had a lot of fun with her. “Not much sympathy; definitely just kidding,” she told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer on Friday from Washington.
But while the video lives on, her life quickly returned to normal.
“It only lasted a few days,” she said. “After that, it calmed down. It was definitely fun while it lasted.”
Cali’s cheerleading season ended with the football season shortly after her accident. Since then, the senior has been busy helping to lead the Auburn High girls’ basketball team to a season that so far is undefeated.
She’s looking forward to attending junior college while she decides what to do with her life and then intends to transfer to a four-year college. She’s also thinking about joining the Universal Cheerleading Association and participating in cheering competitions.
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Jessica and Cody Helgeson
On Friday, Oct. 5, the couple known to TODAY viewers simply as Jess and Cody tied the knot in the TODAY Show Martha Stewart Wedding. After weeks of preparation, during which viewers voted on such details as the cake, wedding dress, rings and honeymoon destination, Cody Helgeson and Jessica Mapel exchanged vows on the Plaza and were whisked away to a Breakfast at Tiffany’s reception.
They brought back videos of their idyllic honeymoon in the Seychelles and went back to Phoenix to find themselves on the cover of “Martha Stewart Weddings” magazine. They’ve since gone back to their jobs as servers at a local restaurant — the place at which they met nearly three years ago — and are continuing their pursuit of college degrees in architecture for him and nursing for her. They each have a year to go before graduation.
“It is the best thing in the entire world,” Jess told TODAY’s Ann Curry on Friday of married life. Snuggling next to her husband and with her formerly long blonde hair cropped off short of shoulder length, she told of how she and Cody have purchased a home of their own and hosted their first Christmas dinner for about a dozen family members.
They served prime rib and a turkey, which came out as perfectly as a bird that was cooked
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“It was probably my fault,” Cody said of the minor culinary faux pas, showing that he’s already learned the best way to marital bliss. “I’ll take the blame.”
Asked what advice he has to couples considering marriage, he enthusiastically urged them to take the leap. “Just get on with it and start having fun with each other,” he said.
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