A 17 year-old girl who was paralyzed two months ago in a horrific accident has now beaten the odds by learning to walk again.

Lacy Johnson was seriously injured on June 7 when she was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by her friend’s mother, who had a seizure behind the wheel. Lacy desperately tried to regain control of the vehicle, but she was not able to do so and it rolled over. Though everyone else in the car walked away with only minor scrapes and bruises, Lacy was thrown from the car and was left with major injuries.

“The doctors told my family I may not make it,” she said, adding that doctors said that if she did pull through, she would never walk again. Lacy, however, was determined to both live and walk again, with her younger sisters serving as her motivation.

“We never thought we were going to spend the summer in the hospital, everyday,” said her sister Olivia.

Lacy has been at TIRR Memorial Hermann since early July, and during that time, she has made progress gradually. The work she has put in towards recovering has been brutal, but it’s already paid off big time.

“When I got here I kept telling them I’m walking out of here,” Lacy explained.

She achieved this goal a few days ago, and she gives all credit to God.

“God is real without him I wouldn’t have made it at all,” Lacy said.

This experience has shown Lacy that there is no limit to the things she can achieve in life. She dropped out of high school as a sophomore, but now she intends to go back and finish to get her degree.

“I’m getting my diploma,” she said. “I want to talk to juveniles.”

Grateful to still be here, Lacy feels that her purpose on Earth is to inspire the next generation. Find out more about this incredible young woman in the video below.