Teen who woke up paralyzed now walking and running again

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A teenage girl is celebrating that she's regained the ability to walk after suffering sudden paralysis.

According to ABC affiliate WKRN-TV, Jessica Shainberg, 15, woke up with no feeling below her waist in mid-January.

She was very calm," her father, Jeff Shainberg, told ABC News. "I didn't believe her at first, (I said) 'You gotta wake your legs up and we got to go to school.'"

A few days earlier, Jessica said she felt a tingling in her legs, but emergency room doctors found no signs of anything serious and sent her home, said her father.

Doctors at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital diagnosed Jessica with transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord. According to Jeff Shainberg, doctors told the teen and her family there was only a one-third chance she would be able to walk normally again.

If she didn't begin to walk again within six weeks, she would mostly likely never walk again.

To help the teen rehabilitate her legs in the short time frame, the family traveled to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite Hospital. During the weeks of rehabilitation, the teen surpassed all of her doctor's expectations, according to her father.

Now, just six weeks later, Jessica is not only walking again, but also able to do some light running.

"Every day she's getting better and stronger. It's a miracle," said Jeff Shainberg. "She just always had a great attitude and was willing to do the work with the therapist. They loved her attitude and they wanted to work with her continuously."

In Atlanta, doctors also realized that Jessica had signs of a rare inflammation of the brain, called Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), in addition to her inflamed spinal column. They believe that the second diagnosis could explain why she was able to recover relatively quickly, because patients with ADEM tend to have better recovery rates.

"The doctors didn't expect her to recover like that," said Shainberg. "They were so impressed with her rehab. They hadn't seen a patient like this in a while."

For now, the high school freshman remains out of school while she gets her strength back. Her father said she has a walker and wheelchair -- but never uses either unless she's standing for a long period of time and needs to sit.

"I'm so blessed and lucky to be able to be walking again," Jessica Shainberg told WKRN-TV.

While the teen is likely to start school in a few weeks, doctors are keeping a close eye on her as she recovers. If the rare symptoms reappear again, there's a chance it could be a sign of multiple sclerosis.