A teenage girl who was left paralyzed in a horrific car crash is defying the odds to walk again.
Lacy Johnson, from Houston, Texas, was in a car with her best friend and her best friend’s mother, who was driving, in early June.
The mother began having a seizure, and Johnson unbuckled her seat belt in an attempt to get the the vehicle under control – but was ejected when it crashed.
The 17-year-old was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries including her spine broken in four places and her skull detached from her spine, ABC 13 reported.
Johnson was paralyzed on her left side and unable to speak, and doctors told her family she might not survive.
But she has slowly recovered and, in addition to regaining function of her left arm and leg, is finally walking again.
Lacy Johnson, 17, from Houston, Texas, was a passenger in a car with her best friend and her best friend’s mother, who started seizing as she was driving. Pictured: Johnson in the hospital
Johnson unbuckled her seat belt in an attempt to regain control of the car, but was ejected from the vehicle when it crashed. She was rushed to the hospital with injuries including her spine broken in four places, a collapsed lung and her skull detached from her spine. Pictured, left and right: Johnson at the rehab hospital
Johnson doesn’t remember the black Kia Optima hitting a curb and then hitting another car, causing it to roll over, reported the Houston Chronicle.
According to a GoFundMe page, both the best friend and her mother sustained only minor injuries.
Johnson, however, had to be transported via Life Flight to an area hospital.
Doctors found her spine broken in four places, a collapsed lung, a cut on her arm that extended all the way down to her bone, a lacerated liver and her skull had detached from her spine.
Additionally, Johnson was paralyzed on her left side and couldn’t speak.
‘The doctors told my family I may not make it,’ she told ABC 13.
After surgeons performed several operations and stabilized her, Johnson was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston in early July.
‘When I got here I kept telling them: “I’m walking out of here”,’ she said.
Johnson (pictured, on her left side) was left paralyzed on her left side and couldn’t speak, and doctors told her family she may not survive
The teenager has since regained function on her left side and is walking again. She will be discharged from TIRR Memorial Hermann on Tuesday. Pictured, left and right: Lacy in the hospital
She has since regained function of her left arm and leg, is improving her strength and has even begun walking again.
‘God is real. Without him I wouldn’t have made it at all,’ Johnson told ABC 13.
An update on the GoFundMe page says Johnson will be discharged from TIRR Hermann on Tuesday.
ABC 13 has reported that Johnson will not be returning to Cy-Ridge High School in the fall and has since dropped out, but still plans to graduate at some point.
‘I’m getting my diploma,’ she told the station. ‘I want to talk to juveniles.’
A family friend who started the GoFundMe page said the money will go towards a wheelchair, medical equipment and making adjustments to the family’s house so it is handicap accessible.
As of Tuesday morning, more than $11,200 has been raised out of a $25,000 goal.