Life can change in a moment.

It did for Anamia Rangihaeata just 18 months ago. On what she thought was going to be a typical day, the sister of Fairfield University men's soccer junior Kaea Rangihaeata found her life changed in an instant. She suffered a life-changing event when an accident left her partially paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury.

"After an awesome family day at the beach, Anamia had a terrible accident that left her paralyzed from the chest down," Kaea said. "As Anamia was jumping off the back of the truck, she lost her balance and landed in the wrong spot at the wrong angle at the wrong time. Thanks to calm and quick thinking on the scene, Ana was given a good shot at recovery."

The Rangihaeata family came together and began working toward finding therapies and facilities that would help Ana not only improve but work her way back to where she was before the accident.

"We started with many months in the hospital and rehab," Kaea said. "When she came out, she went into rehab with the  belief that she would work her way back to where she was before the accident, and we still believe that."

While he kept in constant contact with his family, Kaea still longed to return home to New Zealand to help support his sister and assist his family.

"The first spring that it happened was really a tough time for me," Kaea said. "I wanted to be home, helping the family. The athletics department and Coach K (Krystian Witkowski) were huge in helping me through that time. They made sure I was able to get to New Zealand and visit."

Kaea has also relied on his other family, the Fairfield University men's soccer program, to make this difficult time a little more bearable.

"It's been so helpful to have my Fairfield family around me and have the brotherhood that I share with the team and coaching staff," Kaea said. "I couldn't ask for a better group of boys to push me through that. They support me 100 percent which has made it so much easier."

The team further showed its support when they decided to wear green shirts before each game this season, further showing their solidarity with Kaea and his family.

"When Coach came to me and said we have an opportunity to do something to honor her and everyone that has or is going through something like this, I thought it was an amazing idea and so did my family," Kaea said. "We wear the green shirts with the word "Whakapono" on the back,  the Maori (indigenous people of New Zealand) word for faith. That word is so big for me and my family as well as for the team because it gives us faith in the future, and in each other.

The faith that the team shares stems from the commitment that Head Coach Krystian Witkowski and his staff has toward going beyond the pitch.

"I know we are a soccer team but at the end of the day there is so much more to what we are doing here as a program and as a university," Coach Witkowski said. "This was a small way for our family to support him and his family in their journey. We talk about family and it's part of our values to be there for each other and care for each other when we are in need. It's given the guys some perspective about the opportunities and privileges that we have and shown us how to approach each day and every day with gratitude."

The support and faith shown by Kaea and his family is already having an impact on Ana. She continues to show improvement and make progress consistently.

"She is doing very well ," Kaea said. "She has made huge moves in her muscle mobility. If you look at her when she started and where she is now, she is doing the exercises and rehab with more fluency efficiency. A huge credit not only goes to the amazing people around Anamia but to Making Strides Australia who specialize in spinal cord injury rehabilitation."  

Ana is also making progress in her goal of creating awareness about Spinal Cord Injuries as well as helping raise resources to help others with spinal injuries who are in need of resources to improve their lives.

"One of the hardest things about being from a small country like New Zealand is getting access to world class therapy, "Kaea said. "So, Anamia has developed a two week intensive athlete retreat for people with SCI. It's pretty exciting to see the way that she's changing the world."

While the Rangihaeata family is grateful for the progress Ana has made, they also understand the road ahead is still long and laborious. But it is a road that they are ready to travel together.

"It's been a long journey," Kaea said. "But it's been one full of faith, full of learning, full of teaching, and full of blessings. And, I know Ana would say the same thing."

It's that faith and those blessings that will continue to change Ana's life