For Florida Teen, Sweetest of Senior Moments

ORLANDO -- A girls' soccer team retired the No. 12 jersey the other night. The person wearing it hadn't scored a goal or even played a game all season.

Just attending Freedom High School's final game was reason enough for the crowd to cheer. Bree McMahon wasn't satisfied with merely being there. Number 12 got out of her wheelchair, grasped her crutches and wobbled across the field on her loaner leg.

"It meant so much to be able to walk on Senior Night," she said.

They were the latest steps in a journey nobody would want to take. But if you're a bit exhausted by the usual sporting headlines, you could probably use a Bree break.

Her story began on a Saturday morning in September. Her soccer team was having a car wash to raise money. A player got in an SUV and her foot slipped off the brake and hit the accelerator.

Bree was pinned between the bumper and a brick wall. Her legs were crushed. Her spirit was untouched.

"This whole journey has been surreal in so many ways," said her mother, Kathleen. "The shock of the accident itself, the shock of the severity of her injuries, and the way she's handled it."

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Her parents knew their daughter was tough. They didn't realize her determination would rise to celebrity level.

There have been fundraisers and well wishes from around the country. Bree picked up the phone one day and it was U.S. Olympic star Mia Hamm.

"You're my hero," she told Hamm.

"No, you're my hero," Hamm told Bree.

Minnesota kicker Ryan Longwell, who lives in Orlando during the offseason, has become her buddy. Jenna Bush Hager interviewed her for Today.

People feel sympathy, sure. More than that, spending two minutes with Bree will remind you there is adversity, like when the BCS shafts your favorite team. Then there is adversity, like when doctors say you'll never walk again.

There is also grace in the face of adversity, like when you're 17 and full of life and one of your teammates accidentally hits the gas and changes your life forever.

You know what Bree told her frantic friend as they waited for the ambulance to arrive?

"I love you. I'm not mad. It was just a terrible accident."

Note to Gilbert Arenas: that is how you diffuse trouble with a teammate.

Bree's left leg was beyond saving. Her right leg was iffy. The bones were shattered and there was extensive nerve damage.

Doctors said her right foot would probably be useless. A few weeks after the accident, Bree started wiggling her toes. Then she got her ankle to rotate.

"She never stopped willing her foot to move," Kathleen said.

She spent 32 days in the hospital and underwent eight operations. She got out and threw herself into rehabilitation, drawing a big mental circle around Jan. 13. It would be her last high school soccer game and she didn't want to take it sitting down.

Bree got her first prosthesis on Dec. 23. It looks fancy enough with its tubular construction, but it's just a loaner until a customized one is made. After three months of sitting, a fake leg never felt so good.

"I was so excited," Bree said. "I did so well they let me take it home."

If taking the smallest step was painful -- and it was -- Bree didn't show it. You sure couldn't tell Wednesday night when she put on her jersey one last time. She laced her old green soccer shoe onto her prosthesis and walked onto the field.

"Basically it was her way of saying, 'I'm back!''' Kathleen said.



She's not completely back, of course. Bree's right knee joint bends only 30 degrees. Her shattered femur is still healing, and all the rods and plates holding it together have caused three infections.

"It's a very tough road," Kathleen said. "When the doctor tells her what she doesn't want to hear, she'll listen. She'll tear up sometimes, but 24 hours she's shaken it off and is saying find somebody else."

Bree doesn't do negativity. That's why everybody at the Freedom High knew she meant what she said to her teammates before the game.

"Never give up. If anyone says 'No' or that 'You can't' then push harder and prove them wrong. If you try your hardest and never give up, you'll never have anything to regret."

Bree still dreams of playing soccer, a sport she's loved since she started playing as a 5-year-old. She was offered a scholarship to Brevard College in North Carolina.

The school is still honoring its pledge, and Bree plans to enroll there this fall. She'll show up with her new prosthesis, and it will be covered in butterflies.

"It's a long story," Bree said.

Not really. A friend of her mother's used to raise butterflies. After he died, whenever his family got together butterflies would appear. And when Bree awoke from her first operation, she had a scar on her left hand.

"It looked like a butterfly," she said.

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What some would find depressing, Bree found inspirational. So she spent Thursday afternoon looking for butterfly-print fabric that will be laminated onto her prosthesis.

She also wanted to get some fabric to make a blanket. A girl who attends Evans High in Orlando was paralyzed recently in a gymnastic accident. Bree doesn't know her, but she can relate to her plight.

"People have done so much for me," Bree said, "so why don't I make something for her?"

Why?

If I were her, I'd say because I'm tired or my leg is killing me or I'm too busy feeling sorry for myself. Needless to say, I never would have made it to Wednesday night's game.

"I wanted to walk out on that field with my uniform on," Bree said.

For her next trick, she plans to walk across that stage to get her diploma in a few months.

"It will be big," Kathleen said, "but I'm not sure walking to get her degree is as important as the prom. She's really excited about that."

What's she going to do, dance the night away?

"Yep," Bree said.

Anybody doubt she'll steal the show?