WATCH – Teenager Strolls Out of Rehab After Being Told She May Never Walk Again: ‘She’s Strong-Willed’

A teenager in Big Rapids, Michigan, is finally home following a spinal cord injury that left the young woman paralyzed.

Thanks to physical therapy, occupational therapy, faith, and determination, Katelynn Bechaz, 18, walked out of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital recently, WOODTV reported Friday.

“When I first got to Mary Free Bed the one thing I said to the therapist and nurses was that I would walk out of here and I stuck by that,” she told the outlet.

In July, the young woman was driving with friends on a country road when a deer leapt in front of the vehicle. She lost control of the car while moving to avoid it and the car flipped multiple times.

Her friends suffered minor injuries.

“I remember waking up and becoming conscious and sitting there like oh I can’t move. What’s going on,” she recalled. “I remember screaming someone get me out of the car because the feeling of not being able to move was just terrifying enough.”

“The doctors at Devos said I’d be lucky to move my arms,” she added.

The accident resulted in Katelynn being paralyzed from her neck down. She was eventually transferred to rehab and resolved to beat the odds.

Rehabilitation requires determination, hard work, and large amounts of courage, the hospital’s website said.

As time passed, she made huge progress and Katelynn finally regained feeling, then was able to hold up her head and move her limbs.

“No one thought that would ever be a possibility,” Pediatric Inpatient Occupational Therapist Sydney Krol explained.

Krol spent approximately one hour every day with Katelynn. The young woman had limited sensation and underwent speech therapy to aid with breathing and talking.

“She’s so strong-willed. I’ve never seen anything like it on the adult spectrum versus on the pediatric level as a 17-year-old woman,” Krol said.

After 123 days in intensive rehab care, Katelynn left the hospital on Wednesday.

A photo showed her walking out of the building with a huge smile on her face:

Now, she wants to inspire other people to reach their goals.

“Do not let the little voice in your head talk down to you or get you down about your progress or anything you are trying to do,” she stated.

She also plans on learning how to drive once more and going back to work.