BRIDGE CITY, Texas — A Bridge City High School student has made miraculous strides after suffering a traumatic brain injury.
Addison Minter was on her way home from cheerleading in Houston, when she and her family got in a car accident that fractured her skull and shifted her brain.
After the crash, Minter traded in the football field sidelines for the hospital hallways, where she was cheering on other patients as they pushed through their own struggles.
Through her recovery, Minter credits her family, friends and healthcare workers with helping her get to the place she is now, three months after the crash.
"She preserved, and never once complained, always showed up with a smile on her face and gave 110%," said Speak Language Pathologist at TIRR Memorial Herman, Chelsea Miller.
Instead of years or months, Minter finished in-patient rehab in just over two weeks.
"I just wanted to be home for Christmas. I said that everyday, I better be home for Christmas," Minter said.
Bridge City High School cheerleader makes miraculous strides after traumatic brain injury
When Minter first arrived at their facility, she required assistance of a person at all hours of the day for her own safety and awareness of self said physical therapist TIRR Memorial Herman Molly Filigrana.
Now, healthcare workers are stunned at what Minter is capable of doing so quickly after experiencing such a traumatic injury.
"She was walking in high heels and she you know, is safely doing all her function mobility all throughout her high school and doesn't need anyone to help her with anything," Filigrana said.
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant at TIRR Memorial Herman Christine Malone says it was a privilege to be apart of Minter's recovery.
"She just left us and we are already getting that news and it's absolutely amazing that's she's going to go on to graduate this year and go to college," Malone said.
Miller, Filigrana and Malone all equally agree it was very rewarding to witness the progress Minter made.
"That short of a time frame, I mean, there are no words, it's incredible," Filigrana said.
And just like Minter would cheer for her team in school, she began cheering on patients at the hospital.
"I would like go up to random people and give them hugs, and then my therapist had to be like okay Addison, you need to start asking if you can hug them," Minter said.
Outside hospital walls, she had an entire community encouraging her and of course, her parents were there every step of the way.
Her father, Todd Minter, says it was comforting to know that they weren't alone through all of this.
Her mother, Amy Minter, is proud to call her daughter her hero.
"She's always positive, her personality has stayed, the same, and I mean she is, she is my hero, there are a lot of people who would feel sorry for themselves, and she hasn't," Amy Minter said.
Addison Minter is back at school now, where she was recently crowned winter formal queen.
She will now move forward as she always has, this time with a new outlook on life. She hopes to start cheerleading again, but in the meantime, she helps out the squad in a coaching role.
"Just don't take life for granted," Addison Minter said.