Join Team Maddii as she fights to walk again

We have been following the story of Madelyn "Maddii" Quiroz, who was paralyzed during a horrific accident just two years ago this week. That tragic day came on Jan. 23, 2020, and she has fought tirelessly with the support of her family ever since to one day walk again.

During the accident, Quiroz sustained numerous bodily injuries, including five broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, head trauma, internal bleeding, a ruptured spleen, three breaks in her left arm, damage to the radial nerve in her left arm, a broken foot, a broken back and a severe spinal cord injury leading her to become a paraplegic.

"These issues were so viciously painful, but I'm happy to be recovering," said Quiroz.

Since then, she has fought tooth and nail in the hopes of one day walking again.

Those odds have recently found great potential to increase after being accepted into a research study with the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD. The center is the premier institution in the United States and the world.

The center works to improve the lives of children and young adults with pediatric developmental disabilities and spinal cord injuries like Quiroz has endured.

"I'm so excited since the beginning. I knew I wanted to be in a trial to help myself and the research," said Quiroz.

That study is expected to take two months and will begin after she participates in an intensive rehabilitation program in Chicago, IL. There she will take her fight to the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.

Quiroz is excited for the continued opportunity to continue rehabilitating at such an excellent facility and how her ability to continue that work has grown since the early stages.

"I couldn't do what I do now. I had so many injuries and surgeries in my body," she said.

Perhaps the most significant fight she and her family face is the mounting cost of the healthcare she desperately needs. Her parents, Flavio and Marina Quiroz have exhausted the family's resources and are now looking to the community for help in their battle.

The family has set up a Go Fun Me account in hopes of having enough funding to assist their daughter. The family believes any amount is a blessing.

You can visit the link and make a donation and be an interictal part of Team Maddii.

Visit https://gofund.me/b17f5315 to donate, or if you would prefer, you can contribute via Venmo at @TEAMMADDII.