Man loses legs in accident – now he shares his story

Sits in a wheelchair now

30-year-old after serious train accident: “Gives hope in every situation”

Alexander Sauer lost both lower legs in an accident with a tram. He tells his story online to encourage others.

Alexander Sauer will encourage other people with YouTube videos. The 30-year-old survived a serious accident with a tram in Frankfurt and reports on the video platform about the consequences and how he dealt with them. Because of his serious injuries, his lower legs were amputated. He is currently learning to walk with prostheses.

In February, Sauer wanted to shorten the route at the stop in front of Frankfurt Central Station and climb over the coupling of two tram cars – that’s when the train started. He only came to in the hospital after the operation. “It was of course an extreme shock at first,” he remembers.

He has now taken his first steps outside with the prostheses, a big milestone. It takes a lot of strength to move with it. The 30-year-old says the process of learning to walk again is very arduous and much longer than he had hoped: “It just takes time, I have to learn that too.”

Regarding his videos on YouTube, he says he wants to show that there is hope in every situation: “I was lucky that nothing worse happened.” He also suffered a cardiac arrest and temporary symptoms of paralysis in the clinic – he has all of these Fortunately, it was overcome without consequences. The videos also show the moment when he can stand again for the first time with the help of the prostheses.

Sauer thinks it’s about moving on and staying as positive as possible. Everyone probably acts negligently or ends up in a dangerous situation through no fault of their own. “Then it’s often just moments of happiness that decide whether something happens or doesn’t happen.” The achievements of Paralympic athletes also give hope. “That doesn’t necessarily have to be the case, but it’s such a small goal that I’ll keep in the back of my mind,” says Sauer.

Serious accidents between pedestrians and rail vehicles occur again and again. In October, a woman was hit and fatally injured by an approaching subway train in Frankfurt. Two other women were seriously injured in accidents involving a subway and a tram in the city in the same month. In January, a young man died after police say he stepped between two carriages of a stationary subway to cross the line.