katie arrington wciv presser
Arrington: Campaign hasn't stopped for me
01:19 - Source: WCIV
Washington CNN  — 

South Carolina state Rep. Katie Arrington, who shot to national attention after winning President Donald Trump’s endorsement and defeating Rep. Mark Sanford in a Republican primary for his seat, spoke out for the first time Friday following a serious car accident last month.

“There are no words other than ‘Thank you, God,’ ” said Arrington, who appeared with her husband, Rob Arrington, and Dr. Avery Buchholz, one of her surgeons at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Still fresh off of her primary election victory the week before, Arrington was traveling to an event on the evening of June 22 with a friend at the wheel when their car collided with another vehicle that was going the wrong direction.

The high-speed crash killed the driver of the other car and left Arrington and her friend, Jacqueline Goff, in critical condition. Arrington suffered rib fractures, abdominal injuries and a spinal fracture, for which she underwent multiple surgeries.

Arrington is expected to make a full recovery, Buchholz said, although her healing process will continue. For now, she is headed home and, soon, back to the campaign trail.

“I’m going to take doctors’ orders very seriously,” said Arrington, “… but this campaign’s never stopped for me.”

Arrington’s Democratic rival, Joe Cunningham, paused his campaign activities for a week following her car accident, later tweeting that he was “so thankful” Arrington was expected to recover.

Among Arrington’s public well-wishers after her accident were Sanford and the President, who endorsed her on Twitter during the final hours of voting in the primary.

Arrington stunned the political world when she defeated Sanford, having highlighted his disagreements with the President while presenting herself as the more pro-Trump candidate.