When You Realize Why This Girl is Dancing With a Wheelchair, You’ll Cry a Lot

This dance routine starts out like any other dance routine, then an empty wheelchair rolls out. The wheelchair belongs to the performer’s sister, a girl named Rachel who was struck suddenly with several debilitating health challenges including a traumatic brain stem injury, chronic Lyme disease, and P.O.T.S in the fall of 2012. In this touching video, Rachel, who is generally unable to leave the house due to her physical condition, is wheeled by her sister into an empty auditorium for what she’s been told is simply a simple “surprise”. She has no idea what to expect when the lights go down, and a separate camera captures every moment of her reaction. Little did she know that, in addition to her sister’s involvement, several other friends and family members of hers had learned to dance for the first time just for her. Grab a box of tissues and get ready to believe in miracles again. This video will touch your heart. Make sure you watch all the way to the end.

I had the privilege of personally helping with this surprise for Rachel two years ago, and I can attest to the fact that there wasn’t a dry eye in the room when the lights came back up. It has been nearly four years since the accident that triggered Rachel’s deteriorating health, but to this day, she remains more cheerful and positive than most other people I know. Rachel, a dancer herself and a woman of faith, is still believing for a miracle and hopes her story will help encourage others struggling through difficult health situations. While she still spends most of her time in bed, she writes about her ongoing journey towards recovery on her blog Rachel’s Radical Road.