4-Year-Old Girl with Cerebral Palsy Has Precious Reaction After Taking Very First Steps
We can often take for granted the most important things in life. Breathing, speaking, and even seeing are so basic, it can be easy to forget not everyone comes by these things so easily.
For those with conditions such as cerebral palsy, simply standing on one’s own two feet and taking a step forward is a struggle.
Imagine being a child with CP. You can’t run or climb like the other kids on the playground. You can’t try out for the soccer team or strive to be the prima ballerina.
Maya Tisdale of Traverse City, Michigan, isn’t your average 4-year-old. At a very young age, a life with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy became Maya’s reality.
Her condition causes tightness throughout her body and makes it extremely difficult for Maya to walk or stand unassisted.
But that hasn’t stopped this sweet little girl from remaining positive, confident and independent. She has definitely earned her nickname, “Mighty Miss Maya.”
It is because of her “mightiness” that her family decided to take the next step and raise funds to put toward a special surgery for Maya.
The selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery would “one day allow Maya to walk independently,” her fundraising page on YouCaring.com reads. “A dream come true for our fiercely independent Mighty Girl.”
With the help of many kind donors, the Tisdales were able to raise over $20,000 of their $25,000 goal to put toward the procedure and post-therapy.
Still, the road ahead would be a long one, and doctors predicted Maya would take a lot of time and physical therapy before she was able to walk on her own.
Now she’s defied the odds. An Instagram video features Maya taking her first steps less than two months following her surgery.
The moment is priceless. Watching this precious girl’s reaction, it’s impossible not to shed a few tears. What an amazing, heartwarming moment.
“I’m walking! I’m walking!” Maya squeals through her delighted giggles. “I even took a big step!” You can hear in her parents’ voices how very proud they are.
Though this is just the beginning of Maya’s lifelong journey with CP, her bright spirit and infectious smile are truly inspiring for anyone who desires to believe in the impossible.
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