Months after an 81-year-old woman lost both legs in a suspected DUI crash in Boyle Heights, her road to recovery continues.
Gabriela Vargas is there for her mom, Cristina, every day and encouraging her, cheering her on and reminding her she isn't alone.
"You're my best friend. I'm going to get you a cool little electric car and you're going to be hauling, and your hair is going to be flying in the wind," Gabriela Vargas said.
On July 7, the two were enjoying lunch outside Los Cinco Puntos Mexican Deli in Boyle Heights when a car jumped the curb and slammed into the outdoor dining area. Investigators suspect the driver was impaired.
"All of a sudden I just remember seeing headlights and a car coming towards us and it just pinned my mom underneath the car," Gabriela Vargas said.
Recovery has been nothing like the life Cristina knew before the crash.
"The most traumatic and saddest thing for me is that I get that the accident happened, but she lost her legs and that sometimes really tears at my heart the fact that her life is going to change from here going forward," Gabriela Vargas said.
The 81-year-old who once loved going to church, dancing, playing bingo and spending time with her family now has to learn how to do things she never imagined she'd have to again.
Months after the accident, Cristina said she still has pain in her legs after they were amputated.
"That's what really gets me, more so than the accident. Just going forward to what life is going to look like and that makes me sad because she's really social, but as long as her spirits aren't broken, then I'm cool; I can move on because she's alive," Gabriela Vargas said.
Both women are lucky to be alive, as Gabriela had to get staples in her head for a cut and is still recovering from a leg injury stemming from the accident.
"We have good days and bad days. I don't have the full range, like I can't kneel on it," Gabriela Vargas.
Gabriel Vargas said that knowing they have so many people praying for them and sending them well wishes lifts her up and it allows her to lift up her mom.
Cristina is still holding on to her faith and has a message for anyone facing their own seemingly impossible road.
"Sí se puede."