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A Toddler Paralyzed by a Tumor Is Learning to Walk at Six

Sep 3

1 min read

The story

Matias was 7 and a half months old when doctors found neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. A tumor pressed against his spinal cord. He was paralyzed from the waist down before he had language for what that meant.

Childhood cancer already asks too much of a family. Paralysis on top of it can make the future look narrow. His people chose the long hallway of treatment and rehab anyway.

What happened next

Now six, Matias works at Kennedy Krieger Institute on stepping, balance, and control. When therapists offer an easier version of an exercise, CBS reported, he would rather try the hard one. He is walking. Not finished. Walking.

A lesson you can use this week

Cheer the unfinished version of a person you love, including yourself. Progress that still needs therapy is still progress.

Sources

People magazine, Sept. 1, 2026, “6-Year-Old Walks Again After Cancer Diagnosis and Spinal Cord Injury,” citing CBS and Kennedy Krieger Institute; Cleveland Clinic overview of neuroblastoma.

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