Surviving Wade

On April 4, 1996, the lives of Elizabeth and former senator John Edwards changed forever when their 16-year-old son, Wade, was killed in a tragic car accident.

"I looked out the front window. I saw two trooper cars pull up. And I knew immediately that must mean that Wade was in a wreck. I opened the door and went out onto the front porch and I said, 'Tell me he's alive'. All I cared about was that we had a chance to save him," Elizabeth says. "They said he was dead."

Wade and a friend were on their way to the beach to meet Elizabeth and the rest of the family when, without warning, a gust of wind overturned Wade's car, killing him instantly.

"I just collapsed [when they told me]. And, of course, was screaming. Our first thoughts were, how are we going to fix this?" says Elizabeth.