LEHI, Utah — A day in the life of McKenzey Hunt looks a lot different now than it did before a bizarre boating accident. She has an ankle boot, uses a scooter to get around, and has only been able to sit on her... backside... as of this week.
"Not being able to sit or put any weight on my butt has been a new adjustment," Hunt said.
Back in August, McKenzey was tubing with friends at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina when she was hit by the boat that was pulling her.
"The guy turns around and makes a U-turn that was a little too sharp, and I'm left dragging behind and he hits me head on," she explained. "I go under the boat, get caught in the prop."
McKenzey's sister, Sydney, watched from the boat in shock and terror.
"I jumped in the water to get her and put my hands underneath her body to get her out of the water and I felt it all — all of her wounds," Sydney said.
After spending nine days in a South Carolina hospital, Hunt was flown to a hospital in Utah and is now recovering back home in Lehi.
"I have a broken ankle, two lacerations on my foot, I broke my pelvis, and then I have 5 or 6 deep lacerations all over the butt area," she shared. "It kind of got torn up, but luckily it's all put together, but I had some muscles that were completely cut off."
Sydney says her biggest worry after the accident was that her sister would not be the same person she used to be, but that fear has subsided.
"So far she's still super funny," Sydney said.
Instead of simply sending recovery updates to McKenzey's family and friends, Sydney has been updating millions of people from all over the world through TikTok videos. The sisters post story times, answer people's questions, and give updates after appointments.
"It's traumatic and people are interested in the story of it and what happened, but now that people know the story, they're just interested in her and how she's doing like random people all over the world," Sydney said. "We'll get DMs from like Germany."
McKenzey says people have reached out to share similar stories and send encouraging gifts.
"My injuries are hard, and it sucks to go through this, but for what happened, getting hit head on caught in a prop, I could not be more grateful or lucky that I'm alive," McKenzey said.
Hunt still has a long journey ahead, but she has a new puppy by her side to help make the positive recovery she's aimed for easier.
