This is the heartwarming moment a preschooler with cerebral palsy takes her first steps after her mother taught her to walk despite the odds that might never be able to stroll on her own.
Four-year-old Kinley Jones of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was diagnosed with the motor disability at age two.
In the video, posted to Facebook just after New Years, Kinley ditches her walker and practices walking as her mother, Shanell Jones, cheers her on.
‘Mom, I want to go to the house,’ Kinley says
Jones replies: ‘You want to go to the house? We can go wherever you want to go… Look at you walking!’
A video has gone viral of four-year-old Kinley Jones with cerebral palsy taking her first steps (left and right). Kinley, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was diagnosed with the motor disability at age two
Her mother, Shanell, gave her daughter lessons, and said she was determined she would walk one day. Pictured: Kinley with her walker
‘It brings joy to my heart that my daughter is bringing hope to people,’ Jones told Good Morning America.
‘People reached out saying, “I didn’t feel like my child was ever going to walk, but this video helped me have faith.”‘
When Kinley was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Jones said she wan’t expecting the news.
‘It was a shock to all of us, my parents as well,’ she told the morning program.
‘We were looking at each other thinking: “What can we do to help her out?” It does affect her when she walks.’
Cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability in childhood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It occurs from a brain injury sustained during fetal development or birth, and about 8,000 babies are diagnosed every year.
Sufferers muscles often develop improperly. Some may be too tight and stiff, others may be too loose, giving them the appearance of being floppy.
Her mother, Shanell, said she and her grandparents help strengthen Kinley’s leg muscles by practicing walking up and down stairs and jumping on trampoline. Pictured: Kinley
Two videos showing Kinley’s progress have a combined 2.7 million views and have been shared more than 52,000 times. Her mother says she hopes her daughter’s progress brings hope to other parents of children with cerebral palsy
There is no cure for cerebral palsy, and treatment consists of alleviating the symptoms of those with the condition.
Kinley was in physical and occupational therapy and her mother and grandparents help strengthen her leg muscles by practicing walking up and down stairs and jumping on trampoline, reported Good Morning America.
Jones, who was determined Kinley would take her first steps, shared two videos side-by-side on Facebook, one from January 2019 and one a year later showing her daughter walking.
‘I cannot stop crying tears of joy for my precious Princess,’ she wrote in the post.
‘…No matter how many people told me about good wheelchairs and why don’t you push her instead of carrying her ‘heavy’ self, I just knew God was pushing her to ‘exceed all expectations.’
The two videos have a combined 2.7 million views and have been shared more than 52,000 times.
