PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — The parents of a teenager who suffered a severe brain injury when a driver hit her say it is a miracle she is now able to stand up
Doctors said Kendall Thomas would never get out of a wheelchair, but the teen is proving them wrong.
Kendall is not only standing, she is talking, even reading scripture in church.
“Raise your right foot down,” Kendall’s mother, Shanna Thomas, says to her as she prepares to show Channel 2’s Tom Jones her progress.
They say Kendall is about to do something doctors thought impossible
“So this progress y’all, is all Kendall,” her father, Kelvin Thomas says, as he helps Kendall stand.
Kendall is standing and even taking steps with the help of a treadmill and brace.
“Everyone who does not provide for their relatives,” Kendall says in a video posted on YouTube showing her reading in front of a church full of worshippers.
Her parents say her recovery from a horrible, life-altering crash is a miracle.
“With Kendall’s injuries, the extent of her injuries, she shouldn’t even be here. It’s a miracle,” her mother said.
It was back in 2022 when Georgia State Patrol says a driver hit Kendall as she walked on the North Paulding High School campus. The ninth grader was on the way to football practice.
Kendall suffered a severe brain injury, and doctors thought she would never walk or talk. But she has made amazing progress.
“I can stand up, Kendall told Jones.
He asked Kendall about reading scripture in church.
“That was good. Fantastic,” she said.
Her parents say Kendall is motivated to get better every day. Her father says seeing Kendall stand for the first time after two brain surgeries was a blessing.
“To see her raise up. Tom, it was like God said, ‘Stand.’ I was shaking,” he said.
Kendall’s mother has written two books about their journey.
She says Kendall has gone to concerts and on cruises.
“Our next step is catching flights. Like we’re trying to get her back to where she was,” she said.
As Jones wrapped up his interview with the family and recorded promotional teases for the story, Kendall said “cut” and laughed after he finished - further proof Kendall is on the road to being her old humorous self.
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