"My hero is not someone older than me, it's my 6-year-old princess," Lovely Johnson said of her daughter Love
A Texas mother recently watched in awe as her 6-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy took her very first steps without any assistance — a moment she said made the little girl her hero.
The unexpected feat happened last week while Lovely Johnson was with her daughter Love in their Austin home.
Love, who suffers from the congenital disorder that affects movement, muscle tone, or posture, decided she would try to walk on her own without a walker or her braces — and luckily, Johnson was recording the successful attempt.
“Most of you know my daughter has cerebral palsy and needs her walker to get around,” Johnson wrote beside the emotional video she shared on Facebook. “She decided to get up and try walking without her walker and braces.”
“My hero is not someone older than me it’s my 6-year-old princess,” she sweetly added of Love. “I’m so proud of my baby. She proved that anything is possible 😊😍”
In the video, Love can be seen holding onto the furniture as she carefully makes her way across the room before letting go and successfully walking by herself, her eyes wide in disbelief.
The child’s priceless reaction was then echoed by her excited mother, who told Love as she got back up and walked in the opposite direction, “That is amazing!”
Since posting the video on Friday evening, it has been recirculated all over social media. In particular, Johnson’s post has gained more than 53,000 reactions and over 39,000 shares.
“I’m so amazed [at] how many hearts my daughter touched,” Johnson wrote on Facebook Monday. “The love she is getting across the world is beautiful.”
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Speaking to CNN after the heartwarming clip went viral, Johnson explained that her daughter had asked to be recorded at that moment because she felt like she was ready to walk on her own.
“She asked me to record her. Because she felt and knew she could do it,” Johnson told the outlet of her daughter, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 4 and has been using a wheelchair and walker over the last year. “She’s a very independent and intelligent girl and worked so hard for this moment.”
“[She said to me] ‘Mom, I can now walk like the other kids,'” Johnson sweetly recalled of Love’s reaction after she stopped recording.
But the emotional moment wasn’t just impactful for Love — it was also incredibly meaningful for Johnson, as well.
“This moment felt like a dream come true,” she told CNN. “I looked at her the way I looked at her when I gave birth to her. My heart was racing. I saw how excited my daughter was, and I knew a new chapter was about to begin.”
