12-Year-Old Girl Walks Again After Doctors Said She Would Never Move

A twelve-year-old girl from California has achieved what doctors once thought impossible. She is walking again after a spinal stroke that left them fearing she would never move another step. Morgan Lopez suffered the injury on May 12 during a dance practice when she attempted a head stand. Immediately upon returning home, she vomited. Her father Felipe Lopez took her to urgent care thinking it was merely a concussion. Everything changed in an instant as he parked his car at Kaiser.

Morgan sustained a spinal stroke right then and there. This rare event cuts off blood flow to the spine. At the hospital, medical staff warned her parents that their daughter might never walk again. The Lopez family chose not to share this crushing prognosis with Morgan. They simply held onto faith and hope instead. Now they do not have to worry about hiding the truth because she has taken her first steps on Tuesday.

Her mother Jamie Lopez explained their decision clearly. We did not tell her there was a possibility she might never move again, Jamie said. The family relied on faith during those dark hours. Felipe recalled the harrowing moments as he raced his daughter to help. He yelled for Morgan but received no response. He grabbed her from the back seat and carried her into urgent care begging for assistance. Moments later she went into cardiac arrest.

A doctor happened to be walking through the lobby when it happened. The physician dropped to the floor and began performing CPR right in the middle of the Kaiser center. Those moments felt like an eternity to the family. By grace, Morgan regained consciousness. She was rushed to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital for stabilization. Her long journey of recovery officially began there.

Spinal strokes account for only 0.3 to 1.2 percent of all strokes, according to data from Moody a Neurorehabilitation Institute. Weeks passed in the hospital before any movement returned. On May 23 Morgan moved her toe. It was way early to get our hopes up yet they had no idea what was about to happen next, Felipe noted. Nearly a month into her stay she transferred to a rehabilitation facility on June 8.

Morgan spent three months at Totally Kids Rehabilitation Hospital working with therapists. She trained hard and gained strength in nearly all her muscles. By Tuesday she walked out of the facility on her own. Seeing her now with a smile on her face takes steps, her mother said. The look on my daughter's face in that moment is something I will never forget, Felipe added. It is an image that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

She was so excited to walk for the first time." That is how one observer described the moment. Morgan told the news outlet that she finds real strength in her burning desire to dance again. Right now, she remains under treatment at another hospital before she can return home. She expressed deep gratitude for the support pouring in from friends, fellow dancers, and family members. Hundreds of people rallied around her through GoFundMe. Those donations will go directly toward medical expenses, treatments, and the resources required for her recovery.