Just two days before Christmas, mother Kylee Hoelscher found her daughter, Eden, lying prone on the floor, very quickly losing the feeling in her feet and legs. This is Eden’s story.
6-year-old Eden Hoelscher was performing backbends in her family living room last year, just before Christmas, when the unimaginable happened: she hyper extended her spine, causing her spine to go into a stroke.
Eden’s family rushed her to the hospital where, sadly, the doctors could do very little aside from diagnosing the extent of her injury.
The hyperextension didn’t just cause Eden to lose the feeling in her feet and legs. It paralyzed her from the waist down.
As soon as doctors felt Eden was ready, they sent her to physical therapy, in hopes that the resilient little girl would be able to overcome her injury.
Over the past year, the Hoelscher family has made many sacrifices to help Eden on her journey to recovery. The entire family relocated from California to Louisville, Kentucky, so Eden can be treated at the famous Frazier Rehabilitation Institute.
Since the move, Eden has reached many milestones.
At first, the little girl was only able to take a couple of steps with the help of physical therapy aides who supported most of her weight. Eden then progressed to being able to do something similar on her own, in a treadmill harness.
But when her best friend, Violet, from back home in California, came to visit, Eden declared to her mom, “Hey Mom, I think when Violet comes, I think that she loves me so much that I’m going to walk when she comes.”
And when Violet was there for her visit, the two engaged in a play sword fight during which Eden did, indeed, begin to take steps of her own volition.
The aides were still by her side, supporting some of her body weight, but it had been Eden’s decision and motion to move her leg forward toward her friend.
Although Eden is moving forward in her recovery journey, doctors have yet to see any solid progress.
They remain, however, unendingly hopeful because Eden’s resilience and spirit remains unbroken.
Occasionally, the little girl will ask her mom, “Mom, am I ever going to get better?”
In response, Eden’s mom, Kylee, will show Eden the video of her walking during her sword fight with Violet and say, “What do you think?”
“Yeah, I am,” Eden always replies.
