7-year-old boy paralyzed in car accident 'dances' again

Bruce Mansy is getting therapy through Project Walk.

ByABC News
March 18, 2017, 1:35 PM

— -- A young boy who was paralyzed by a car accident is 'dancing' again.

Bruce Mansy, 7, of Fresno, California, was paralyzed from the waist down by a spinal cord injury that he suffered in a car accident on Sept. 17, 2016.

The accident happened while Bruce was riding in a car with his father, Samuel, and three siblings, who all suffered minor bumps and bruises.

The young boy was taken to Fresno Community Regional Hospital where after multiple tests he was diagnosed with a severe tear in his spine, his mother, Lyhoy Mansy, told ABC News.

"He’s no longer able to feel sensation or possibly have any motors skills [below the waist]," she said.

Bruce, now a 2nd-grader, also had to have surgery back in September for internal bleeding near his large intestine.

PHOTO: Bruce Mansy is visited by his aunt Lykeav Mansy as he recovers in Fresno Community Regional Hospital after a September 2016 car accident left him paralyzed.
Bruce Mansy is visited by his aunt Lykeav Mansy as he recovers in Fresno Community Regional Hospital after a September 2016 car accident left him paralyzed.

Doctors told the Mansy family that Bruce may never walk, run or dance again. He requires round-the-clock care.

"It’s definitely challenging," Lyhoy, 33, said, noting that she tends to her son's catheter every four hours.

Every night Lyhoy or her husband, Samuel, also 33, rotate their son in his bed every two hours "so he doesn’t have any pressure sores," she said.

Lyhoy heard from her older sister, Lykeav, Bruce's aunt, about Project Walk, a paralysis rehabilitation center in Walnut Creek, California, approximately three hours from their home.

The family began in December to take Bruce twice a week to the facility, where he does harness therapy, designed to stimulate and improve motor function below the waist, and other therapies.

A video of Bruce that is getting a lot of attention online shows the 7-year-old happily dancing during harness therapy.

"I feel excited when I go," Bruce Mansy told ABC News. "They put me on my feet and I can dance again. It makes me happy."

His mother said her son's excitement is the only reason why they continue to trek the three hours.

PHOTO: The Mansy family was involved in a September 2016 car accident that left 7-year-old Bruce paralyzed.
The Mansy family was involved in a September 2016 car accident that left 7-year-old Bruce paralyzed.

"He’s learning how to live with his condition," Lyhoy said. "Their goal is to focus below the injury, and they work with Bruce, saying, 'Look at your legs, kick, kick, kick!' They’re trying to stimulate his brain to find another way to eventually be able to move his body."

Bruce's mother said she hopes that her son will grow up without feeling constrained by limitations.

"Obviously, there will be certain things, but if he thinks he can't do it, then I hope he says, 'Let's just try it a different way,'" she said.

The mother of four said her and her son's faith keep her strong.

"Never once have you heard him complain or say, 'I can’t believe I’m not walking.' He’s still happy, and part of the reason why is because he still has that faith," she said. "Whatever God has planned, he’s going to be OK."