[The Human Santapede]

Feel like we need a dose of happier news after this week.

Dancing Wheelchair’ Helps Paralyzed Teen Feel ‘Cool’ Being a Different Sort of Dancer

With a little ingenuity, and some modifications to an old piece of tech, 11-year-old Desa Kaiser is back where she belongs: on the dance floor.

Being paralyzed from the waist down is no impediment to the girl from Pennsylvania, who suffered the debilitating injury in a crash that saw her spend Thanksgiving of 2022 at the hospital.

She can spin around—just like she did in ballet, jazz, and funk dance classes before her injury. She can lean all the way back and touch the ground in this flexible “dancing wheelchair.”

Speaking with CBS News 3 Philadelphia, Kaiser said it’s cool to be different.

“It’s cool to be different from other people and more unique in different ways. It’s an amazing chair that’s different from others, because you can be more free in it and you can express a lot more in it.”

Following the car collision, Kaiser was treated at Shriners Children’s Hospital, where she still undergoes physical therapy for her trunk and arms. It takes a lot of puff to spin that chair around to the beat of the music, and physical therapist Maggie Reilly is helping her build up the strength for it.

“We wanted to bring her a chair that would allow her to dance and do what she loves,” Reilly said. “One thing that we strive most to do here at Shriners is letting children achieve their goals in whatever way that may be possible.”

Kaiser’s parents said that unlike 3 years ago, this Thanksgiving they had a lot to be thankful for.

Youtube video

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/danc...-dancer-watch/