ATLANTA — An 18-year-old cheerleader who had to have her leg amputated after and accident got some very special encouragement from her team of caregivers at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Nan McMahan lost her leg at 17 years old after an accident that also claimed her father’s life. Ever since, she’s been working with CHOA’s robotics team to learn how to use her prosthesis and walk on her own again.
McMahan was a cheerleader at Lakeside High School in DeKalb County, so her care team decided to turn the tables and cheer her on with a “mat talk” during her grueling physical therapy sessions.
Sweet video shows Nan taking some of her first steps on her prosthetic with a line of hoots and hollers and pom poms from the staff.
Hospital workers said Nan’s passion for cheerleading got her through the rough period after her accident.
“Nan’s passion, determination and positivity from her years of cheerleading helped her make huge strides in recovery,” A CHOA spokesperson said.
The hospital is hoping to take Nan’s cheer-inspired encouragement a step further.
Nan is a huge fan of Netflix’s “Cheer.”
Some of the Navarro cheerleaders featured on the show saw the videos on CHOA’s Twitter account last night and have already sent tweets of encouragement.
Now, the hospital is hoping they can get Nan and in-person mat talk session from the Navarro team.
“We hope to have something even more special up our sleeves: some live mat talk from the Navarro Cheer Team themselves!” a CHOA spokesperson said.
Nan says her favorite cheerleader from the show is Jerry (Hint, hint Navarro!).
“He’s just so positive and exciting. And he lost a parent, I lost a parent,” Nan said. "And he just still is so positive and just shows love to everyone, and that is just so special to me.”
McMahan is set to graduate in May and plans to go to the University of Georgia to pursue a career in occupational therapy. She hopes to return to CHOA one day a s a therapist to help other kids and teens the way her care team helped her.