IJAMSVILLE, Md. — When Hailey Smith fell from a rooftop in 2019 and became paralyzed from the waist down, she accepted what had happened would possibly put her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. What she didn't accept was giving up on her athletic dreams.
In leg braces, Smith took the field at third base Wednesday evening for the opening pitch of Urbana High School's softball senior night. She has been a part of the team since she was a freshman. And even though she can't play in games, she's still a part of it all.
The leg braces that Smith can minimally stand up and move in, helped her briefly make it out of the dugout to the softball diamond in front of family and friends that have seen her come so far since the accident.
"I don't get emotional too often, but I've gotten more emotional with this kid over the past year or so than I think I've gotten with any of the players in the 20-plus years I've been coaching high school ball,” Coach Hudson of UHS’s softball team said.
Smith broke the 10th thoracic vertebra (T10) in her back in 2019 and has come a long way since adjusting to life in a wheelchair -- which she has to primarily use to be mobile in life.
One thing that has helped Smith through this traumatic experience is still striving to play sports -- doing the things she once loved but in a different compacity.
A few of the sports she has participated in since the accident include wheelchair basketball and sled hockey.
This inner motivation from Smith has now led her to athletic endeavors in college.
She has been accepted to be on the women's wheelchair basketball team at the University of Illinois next school year, signing a National Letter of Intent last fall.