DEER PARK, Texas – Imagine waking up in the hospital with no arms or legs. It sounds like a nightmare, but it was a reality for Sherri Moody.
The beloved Deer Park High School teacher who dedicated close to 30 years to public education and helping students through struggles and adversity through the PAL’S program (Peer-Assisted Leadership) had to retire.
Sherri’s life changed after a trip to the emergency room for dehydration turned into a life-threatening condition that caused her to lose all four limbs.
But Sherri is not giving up.
“We choose happiness I would say every morning. We remind each other to choose joy in the day,” she said.
Happiness is a choice for Sherri and her husband David Moody, even when life gets tough.
“There’s a dark road that we could easily go down…we could slip…I know Sherri smiles and she is beautiful and it’s very authentic but it’s really...the days are challenging,” David said.
David spoke on some of the challenges the family has to endure.
“Well for me watching my wife to be in a position…. I’m not going to get emotional, to see her struggle that already is tough,” he said.
It started back in April 2023 when Sherri was working as a teacher at Deer Park ISD.
“Basically, I took some of my students on a field trip,” she said. “By Thursday, I started feeling worse, a cold, we took a COVID test, and I didn’t have that, so I thought well maybe it was the flu because I started running a temperature.”
But it was something much worse.
“By the time we got to the ER it was about 30 minutes later and I was already on a ventilator. The nurses were having a hard time getting my vitals,” she said.
“From there it was just too fast. The sepsis came on, the septic shock and I could see within days the color of her skin and her extremities starting to change,” David said.
“They put me into a coma. There were several times that I did almost die, and they were not sure that they were going to be able to save me,” Sherri said.
Sherri developed septic shock. In order to save her organs, doctors had to remove her arms and legs.
“I learned all kinds of things as far as how to do my hair and makeup and brush my teeth and eat…how to exercise,” she said.
Sherri is now navigating life’s challenges. She calls her daughter-in-law Mika a happy helper. Her husband David is her best friend and a big supporter.
The community has given back in big ways! Jimmy Changas and Gringos raised over $50,000 to help Sherri with medical expenses. Christian Brothers Automotive donated a van to help Sherri appointments.
Sherri is grateful for her village and is inspiring others to choose happiness.
“When people get down, I know it’s easy to say but it’s a choice, but for me what works is to just choose it and to say quick, tell me a joke or what’s the best memory we’ve had,” Sherri said.
Sherri will continue to heal and recover until the swelling goes down.
She is scheduled to have another surgery and hopes she will be able to get prosthetic arms and legs.
The Moody’s say they are grateful for everyone who has reached out to them! They also wanted to thank the doctors, nurses, hospital staff and therapist who helped her.
If you would like to help support Sherri and her family, visit ‘Sherri Moody Updates’ on Facebook.