“He said, ‘OK, Natalie, I’ve heard you’ve done great things this weekend,’” Higgins recalled; he then asked her to try to walk.
Natalie stood up from the chair she was sitting in, and her trainer held her under her arms. Natalie tentatively took a step, and when she realized what she did, she took another — taking five steps before stopping to rest, Higgins said. Natalie then got up again and did more sets of steps, doing 15 before saying she thought she was done for the day.
“It was incredible to watch, because she had so much confidence in herself,” Higgins said.
Two days later, unbeknownst to the Buchoz family, Natalie’s elementary school prepared an elaborate surprise for Natalie during their school play. Eader Elementary chose to put on the same ’50s-inspired play Natalie starred in herself during her days there. They named the auditorium in the play after Natalie, but the treat didn’t end there.
During one song-and-dance routine, the girl who took on Natalie’s role in the play crowned her with a tiara and wrapped a pink-feather boa around her.
“She’s really changed a lot of lives, and she’s such an inspiration to everybody,” Higgins said. “I’m so glad I’m her grandma. … Things are looking up for them, and I’m just so happy to be a part of it.”
