Teen injured in ATV accident vows to walk at graduation this week

CHARTIERS, Pa. — A high school senior paralyzed in an ATV crash may need a wheelchair for the rest of her life, but she’s not going to let that stop her from walking across the stage at graduation.

The crash that changed Audriana Michrina happened in 2016, and she’s told Channel 11’s Cara Sapida she’s spent every moment of recovery focused on this week.

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"When I practiced it, I almost started crying," she said.

Last year, doctors said there was only a 10 percent chance Audriana would ever walk again after breaking her back in the crash. She immediately lost feeling in her legs.

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"It was hard. All I kept hearing was the paralyzed word," Audriana's mother, Holly Wargo, said.

Doctors put two metal rods and 12 screws in Audriana's back. She spent months in a rehab center and is now in intensive physical therapy.

She recently got feeling back in her hips and has a no-fail attitude when it comes to walking again.

"What am I going to do about graduation? When I get married? All the things you dream about, here I am and I can do it because I didn't give up," she said.

One month ago during physical therapy she took her first step on her own.

On Friday, she hopes to walk across the stage with help from her friends to accept her diploma.

"They're going to take me up the steps onto the stage. From there, I will lock my braces, stand up and walk across the stage," she said.

Audriana plans to go to Duquesne University in the fall and hopes to have a career helping others in the medical field.

Cox Media Group