Ohio native Leah Weiher, a young mother, was on a hunting trip in 2023 with her boyfriend Mason Darnes. After falling out of a tree, the accident left her paralyzed. However, thanks to hard work, physical therapy, and her 1-year-old daughter, Weiher learned to walk again.
Weiher went hunting at Battle Darby Creek Metro Park in Galloway, Ohio when she fell from a tree after a tree stand collapsed while she was climbing up.
In an essay in People, she wrote, “I couldn’t move and instantly thought I was dying. I remember staring at the sun and Mason said that I had a death moan. He instantly called 911, but we were in the middle of the woods.”
It took some time for emergency responders to get there. She wrote, “It took about 35 minutes for the ambulance to get there. Then medical responders ran an IV and gave me pain medication, which completely knocked me out. I do not remember getting from the ground to the ambulance, but I do remember waking up in the ambulance to super bright lights — to the realization they were cutting my clothes off of me.”
The injury left her paralyzed. Doctors told her that they would have to perform surgery on her spine in hopes of walking again. Ultimately, the young mother agreed to the idea.
She wrote, “After probably about an hour in the ICU room, doctors came and said that I would need to have surgery if I wanted to have the chance to walk again. If I didn’t have the surgery, then they said there was no way it would happen, because due to the [fracture on my L2 vertebrae], the bone was pushing onto my spinal cord, which is what paralyzed me.”
After surgery, Weiher still wasn’t out of the woods. She underwent strenuous physical therapy and months of recovery with no sure bet that she would walk again. The stress of recovery put a strain on her relationship with her boyfriend breaking up with her. However, Weiher turned to her own daughter for strength.
Young Mother Learns To Walk Again
She wrote, “Laken was also a big motivator. I know many people would probably say, ‘Oh, I couldn’t do it without this person,’ and I truly believe in my heart that I would not have been as motivated if I didn’t have my daughter because seeing Laken walk or take her steps made me take mine.”
Progress was very slow to start, but Weiher finally walked for the first time while at her home. She wrote, “I took my first steps again at home. I walked in my kitchen to my front door and back, so maybe 15-20 steps? It was a very slow process, but I still did it. Laken was walking with me at the same time and she was thrilled and cried. Walking together with her was indescribable. I felt like I was dreaming.”
She learned from her injury to never give up, writing, “‘Never give up’ is my takeaway from my accident and my recovery because you naturally want to give up in situations like that sometimes. If you’re not in a good mental head space, then you’re going be like, ‘I can’t do this or it seems impossible,’ but it’s not. You just have to push yourself.”