SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio teenager has inspired millions around the world with the video of her taking a few steps on her prom day after she lost her ability to walk — including her mother, who is battling her own health issues.
Morgan Coultress, 18, graduated from Health Careers High School on Thursday. She had been working hard to get strength back in her legs and the coordination to be able to walk the stage alone.
The strength she has shown has encouraged her own mother, who has been going through a dark storm of health problems herself.
Morgan Coultress and family
Coultress lost her ability to walk during the summer in 2017. The following fall, her mother, Melissa Coultress, was diagnosed with two forms of cancer.
“In October, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer during testing for surgery. They found lymphoma cancer,” Melissa Coultress said.
The news hit Morgan hard, but she helped pull the family together, working harder on her recovery and helping her mother through hers.
“She says, 'Mom, this is our path. We’re going to get through this.’ I remember seeing her face. She said, ‘Don’t question it mom. Don’t question God anymore. Don’t question Him. Just ask Him to walk with you,’” Melissa Coultress said. “My family, my kids, she inspires all of them. They got behind me and we battled it.”
In April, Melissa Coultress beat lymphoma cancer and is now in remission. In July, she will undergo surgery to remove the kidney cancer.
Melissa Coultress said her strength has come from watching her daughter be determined to learn how to walk all over again.
“She puts it all in God’s hands. That’s what we've learned to do as a family. She learned to just put it in His hands, and we've been truly blessed,” Melissa Coultress said. “We're on our way to recovery. And she's going to walk, and I’m going to beat both of these cancers.”