Eden Hoelscher was paralyzed from the chest down after hyper-extending her spine.
A 5-year-old who was paralyzed as she performed a backbend is showing signs of improvement by crawling and pushing down on her legs.
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Eden Hoelscher was a typically active child until she attempted a backbend in the living room of her family's California home last December.
“I look at her and she's collapsed on the floor from the backbend position," her mother, Kylee, told INSIDE EDITION. "She's crying, crying, ‘My back hurts, my hips hurt, my legs hurt! It all hurts!’ All of a sudden her expression just changed.”
Eden was unable to move her legs and said her foot felt as though it was asleep. Kylee rushed her daughter to the hospital where doctors discovered she was paralyzed.
They said that while doing the backbend, Eden had hyper-extended her spine -- cutting off the blood supply to her spinal cord and triggering a stroke. She was paralyzed from the chest down.
Eden's dad, Nicholas, is still coming to terms with the impact a simple backbend has had on their lives.
CrossFit trainer Christina Gloger said when performing a back bend, children should stay away from wood and tiled floors.
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“Don’t do it wearing socks and ask your parent to spot you," she said. "Any parent should be able to spot a 6-year-old, they're not heavy. All you have to do is put a hand under their back.”
Eden is undergoing intensive therapy at the Frazier Rehab Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The institute has a pioneering program with a new approach to spinal cord recovery.
“They've discovered that our spine is a mini-brain and it can learn again,” Kylee said. “They send messages up from the bottom and teach your spine.”
Click here for more information on Eden and her recovery and to donate to her GoFundMe page.
Watch: New Technology Allows Paralyzed Man to Move His Hand By Using His Thoughts
