"She had a stroke when she was six months old," says Tori Evans, Gracie's mom.
"Followed by a seizure and they found an aneurysm at that," says Heidi Smith, Gracie's physical therapist.
The stroke affected Gracie's left
side of her body. Her family says it wasn't just her body that was left
impaired, but her childhood too.
"They said be careful with her, don't hurt,
don't make her run fast," says Jacob Evans, Gracie's brother.
"She wants to ride her bike without training
wheels, she can't right now because she has weak hips," says Tori. "She also
wants to jump rope...she's never been able to do that."
As days rolled into months and
months turned into years her family never gave up hope that she could walk
normally again. And thanks to this device their
dream has become reality.
"I've just wanted this for her for so long she's
never known any difference but I've known the difference," says Tori. "It really
means a lot to me that she's going to be able to do the things that she hasn't
been able to do."
"I Can't wait for her to run and play better with me," says Jacob.
But in the mean time...Gracie's taking it one step at a time.
A fundraiser will be held in at Memories from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. to help raise money for those who can't afford the walking device.
