Success Story

After Spinal Cord Injury, Brittany is Walking, Dancing Again 

In 2008, Brittany and her family were driving to their new home in Texas when a sudden turn of the wheel caused their van to hit a concrete drainage culvert. The vehicle flipped through the air and Brittany was ejected from the vehicle.

The accident left Brittany with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Recognizing she would need rehabilitation at a facility that specialized in pediatric SCI, a therapist recommended Shriners Hospitals for Children®. Brittany soon began receiving care at the Chicago facility. 

Her initial examinations indicated she had little chance of walking again. But then, Brittany discovered that she could move one of her big toes.

"It all started happening so fast," explained her mother, Beverly. "When we got home the next day, she was able to swing her leg from side to side. From then on, there was some kind of new movement all the time." Brittany took her first steps since the accident in February 2009. 

Brittany's injury was reclassified as an incomplete SCI and significant recovery is expected. She now walks with a cane and only uses her wheelchair at the mall and the airport. 

The level of recovery that Brittany experienced is unusual and was a wonderful surprise and outcome for both the SCI team that worked with her and her family. Brittany is now back doing the things she loves, like dancing, and has decided she wants to become a physical therapist when she grows up.