Lili Clark is one remarkable person.

While recovering from a double amputation of her legs at Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo after a Feb. 3 car accident crushed her legs, this mother of two young sons still feels lucky.

“God is with me, and that is how I am going to make it through this. I am in good spirits and very lucky to be alive. I need to get well to take care of my boys,” Clark said Monday from her hospital bed as her rambunctious sons, Jake, 6, and Sam, 4, chased one another around her small room.

“I don’t understand why this happened to me. But I want to go on with my life. I am going to get fitted for a set of prothesis,” Clark said, exposing her legs, which have been amputated above the knees.

Clark still needs more operations. She cannot be fitted for her prothesis until the swelling in her legs has gone down, according to her husband, John Clark. John, along with their sons, has been at his wife’s bedside almost constantly since the tragic accident.

Lili Clark said doctors have told her they will do skin grafts from her stomach and buttocks to be used on her legs.

“It will be a while before I can be fitted for my prothesis. But I am looking forward to taking care of my sons again,” she said, as the older boy planted a kiss on her cheek.

She said she plans to be walking within the next two months.

“First there will be the skin grafts and we have to see if she (heals) well enough to be fitted for her prothesis,” John Clark said. “And she has to learn to use a wheelchair before that happens. But Lili is so strong and determined, that I believe she will be walking within the next couple of months.”

Lili Clark won’t have it any other way.

“I intend for us to take our sons to Chile this summer, and I will walk with them on the beach,” Lili Clark said with a wide grin on her face. “You’ll see. That’s going to happen.”

Clark underwent another surgery on Tuesday. Within the next week or two, she will be moved to the rehabilitation ward at Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo.

Lili Clark is from Chile and met her husband in 1996 when he was visiting friends there. Their relationship soon blossomed into a romance. John Clark said it took several years before he could legally bring Lili to the United States.

The Clarks feared the same delay when they made plans for Lili’s parents to come to the United States from Chile to help take care of the children and Lili while she recovers.

Fortunately that wasn’t the case.

“We were able to get the visas and airline tickets, and my parents will be here Thursday,” Lili said, her face beaming.

Lili’s husband said their sons are holding up.

“They don’t really understand what happened. They know their mother is hurt and her legs are gone. I have talked to them about the accident,” John Clark said. “I’m sure there are things going on inside their heads that we don’t know. This type of tragedy will take some time to really surface for them. I just need to let them see their mom as often as possible so they know she is going to be back home soon.”

Lili Clark is grateful for the support she has received from the community.

“I just can’t say thank you enough to all of the people who have come forth. It is amazing that they would care about a person they don’t even know,” Lili Clark said.

On Feb. 3, Lili Clark, 38, was standing behind her car after securing her sons in their car seats on Terrace Drive. She walked around the back of her car to get into the driver’s seat, when she was hit by a 1990 Plymouth, driven by Francisco Pacheco. The accident pinned Clark’s legs between her rear bumper and the front bumper of the Plymouth. California Highway Patrol officers say Pacheco was drunk at the wheel. Pacheco fled the scene in his car and was found a short time later by Clark’s neighbors who detained him until police arrived and took him into custody.

Pacheco, 24, of Napa is being held without bail at Napa County jail.

He is charged with felony DUI, hit and run, driving without a valid license and having no insurance. He is on probation for a prior misdemeanor DUI conviction in January 2007. Pacheco is an illegal immigrant and could face deportation, authorities say. However, that issue will not be addressed until his criminal case is adjudicated. If convicted, Pacheco could face a maximum of six years in prison.

His blood alcohol level taken after the accident registered over .20. Anything higher than .08 is considered to be over the legal limit to drive a vehicle.

If he is found guilty, he will have to serve his prison sentence before his deportation hearing goes before the court.

His preliminary hearing is set for March 14.

A trust fund has been set up to help with Lili Clark’s recovery expenses. Donations can be made at Washington Mutual Bank, 699 Trancas St., Napa, in the name of Lilian Clark and Children.

A blood drive for Clark is set for March 11, 12 and 13, at Napa Blood Center of Pacific, 3230 Beard Road, Napa.