It was a sunny June day when ten-year-old Alexis Simon was riding her bike near her home. Distracted by kittens that intersected her path, she crossed the road to play with them. On her way back across the street she was struck by a car in the crosswalk. The front of the car hit the back tire of Alexis's bicycle, causing her to flip over the windshield.

 

Rushed to an acute care hospital, Alexis underwent seven hours of surgery. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, a fracture of her C7 vertebrae, a broken leg, ruptured spleen and needed multiple skin grafts. Alexis's mom, Katrice, has lost count of how many surgeries her little girl endured.

 

When it was time to leave the acute care hospital, a social worker suggested that Children's Specialized Hospital would be the perfect fit for Alexis. Upon her first arrival to CSH, she was in so much pain that she couldn't stand to be touched - she had to learn to walk all over again.

 

She began intensive therapies at Children's including cognitive, occupational, and physical therapy in what her mother described as a "nurturing and  supportive"  environment surrounded by other children facing medical challenged.

 

Alexis and her mom, Katrice, will never forget the first time she was able to walk up the stairs again. Alexis was elated and so happy to show her mom what she had learned in therapy and how far she had progressed since the accident.

 

Alexis even explained to her mom that being at Children's was like "being at sleep away camp." She loved being with other kids all the time, eating in the cafeteria with them and socializing in the game room. Alexis built a close relationship with her roommate and they still stay in touch.

 

It's been four years since Alexis' tragic bike ride. Now a full-fledged teenager, Alexis has decided to take up acting and will maker her off-Broadway debut in the Shakespeare play Two Gentlemen of Verona this summer. Alexis still bears the physical scars of her accident on her face, shoulder and arm but doesn't let them bother her. She's proud of her scars and enjoys telling her story.

 

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