Sophie Delezio has shared the story behind the birth of her first child.
Sophie, who was badly injured when a car crashed into her childcare centre when she was two and half years old, welcomed her first child, Frankie, with her husband Joseph Salerno in September 2024.
Speaking to the Canberra Times this week, the now 24-year-old said her traumatic childhood had an impact on her birth experience.
“PTSD, to me, comes out in mysterious ways,” she told the publication.
“For me, it was facing an operating theatre,” she continued. “So with a rush of adrenaline and some Taylor Swift songs playing in the background, my son was born in my most hated space in the world.”
Sophie welcomed Frankie in September last year. Credit: Instagram.
Sophie said she got through the difficult situation with the help of her husband and the kindness and support of the medical team who delivered her baby.
In September last year, Sophie announced the birth of Frankie on Instagram by sharing a photo of her newborn’s hand, alongside the caption, “Welcome to the world, Frankie
Our hearts are so full.”
The couple later tied the knot in the NSW Hunter Valley on April 12, 2025, following Joseph’s proposal on Valentine’s Day in 2023.
“There is so much hardship in life, why not just take the beautiful moments and hold onto them? Hold onto the beautiful things in your life as much as possible – and that’s what we do,” she told Woman’s Day in 2023 after the engagement.
Sophie suffered third-degree burns to 85% of her body and lost both her feet, several fingers, and an ear, when an out of control car careened into a childcare centre in Sydney’s Fairfield just before Christmas in 2003.
Sophie hasn’t let her injuries hold her back. Credit: Instagram.
Almost three years later, when Sophie’s nanny was pushing her in a stroller across a crossing, a car crashed into the pair, sending Sophie 18 metres into the air.
This crash caused her to have a heart attack and left her with a broken jaw and shoulder, bruising, a tear in her left lung, numerous rib fractures, and a lifelong brain injury that impacts her ability to learn.
Despite her extensive injuries, Sophie has not let her traumatic childhood hold her back and has gone on to travel and study abroad and work as a journalism and keynote speaker.
“In my mind, I’m not ‘Sophie the girl with no legs’ but someone completely normal. I think of myself as Sophie the chatterbox, the socialite, the girl who loves a good hamburger and enjoys each day as much as she can,” she has previously shared with our sister publication The Australian Women’s Weekly.
“Everything is a choice,” she adds.
“You can choose not to see the positive in things. You can choose to just focus on the negatives and wallow in pity. Everyone is allowed to grieve but you also need to look at the beauty in the world.”
