Stories

Woodlands Teen Overcomes Rare Disease to Walk Again

January 27, 2016

Brooklyn Brumfield was 16 when she was given a grim prognosis.

She would likely spend the rest of her life in treatment and would need physical therapy. Her illness rapidly progressed, and one year later, she became paralyzed from the waist down, unable to stand and totally numb. She was wheelchair-bound and, on many days, bed-ridden. Within a year, her parents, McCullough Junior High School theater teacher Keith and his wife Bari, saw their daughter change before their eyes from their little girl who loved horseback riding to a child who was barely able to get out of bed.

Brooklyn was diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which affects the body’s connective tissue. Gravity would pull her hyper flexible joints out of place even when she lay still. She became so feeble that she was unable to even lift a pencil. And although Brooklyn stayed positive for herself and for her family, some days were trying.

“I forgot how it feels to walk,” Bari recalled her daughter saying during her darkest hours.

Earlier this year, Bari had just one wish: That Brooklyn could walk again.

Read more at the Source.

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