Cora Webber’s senior year at Cedarville University doubled as her first year in pharmacy school — until a horrific car accident cut it short. Cora graduated with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in May 2023 and will graduate with her MBA from Cedarville this May. She works as a pharmacist at Walgreens in Beavercreek, Ohio.
Cora was on her way to a Sunday morning church service in 2018 when her vehicle hit black ice and spun head-on into another vehicle. While she usually carpooled with friends, that morning, her car contained only herself and one passenger, who sustained a fractured femur. Cora’s injuries were far more extensive — and life threatening.
It took emergency responders 30 minutes to extricate her from the wreckage, which had to be cut apart. She broke both femurs — one a compound fracture — along with her right foot and left arm, also a compound fracture. Later, doctors discovered several broken ribs and a collapsed lung. Cora fell into a coma, and her heart flatlined briefly in the ambulance.
“Things were pitch black for me, but I remember having a weird out-of-body experience — feeling like I was in the presence of the Lord, but like it wasn’t my time to go,” said Cora.
Her parents, who were in Alaska at the time, didn’t learn what had happened until that evening. In their absence, her Cedarville professors and classmates took turns sitting with and praying for her in the hospital.
After her monthlong stay in a hospital in Ohio, Cora’s family moved to Texas to access the treatment she needed. She underwent 14 surgeries — some more than once due to complications with healing.
While recovering, Cora remained enrolled as a Cedarville pharmacy student, staying in touch with professors through email. Two years after the accident, she returned to campus to finish her degree.
“It was hard coming back between semesters,” Cora said. “I was still in pain, and everyone already had friends. I didn’t know anyone in my classes because all my friends had moved on.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, Cora remained on campus. The only other pharmacy student who stayed was Colorado native Mitchell Webber, who now serves as a fellow in the school of pharmacy at Cedarville.
“We started talking and the Lord had plans for us to be married,” Cora said. “It wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been in the accident. Mitchell had been away the same two years as me for financial reasons. I’ve learned a lot from him showing me what it’s like to be loved — he has carried me up the stairs when I couldn’t make it myself. And even though I’m in pain every day, it reminds me that I can still worship on this side of heaven — and that one day our bodies are going to be made new.”
Though the journey has been difficult, Cora sees redemptive elements in her story.
“I try to care for my patients the way I wish I’d been cared for, specifically spiritually,” Cora said. “I have to see my patients as people first, learning their lifestyles and goals to make them feel heard. And because of my history with chronic pain, I can relate to them better. Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate programs across arts, sciences, and professional fields. With 6,384 students, it ranks among Ohio’s largest private universities and is recognized by The Wall Street Journal as being among the nation’s top three evangelical universities. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics, and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.