The Beginning...What happened to Brooke?

She was hit by a car. I missed the first few minutes as well, but from what I can tell was walking somewhere (she wasnt supposed to be) and was hit by one - possibly two - cars.

yeah the movie didnt even show what happin.yer jest sapposed ta giss cuz it shows her shoe layin in the street and a bunch of her papers.thats all it shows.an the only time she says aneything bout it is when she first wheels inta the harverd auditorum and sum kids is lookin at her all crooked and she says "hi im brooke i wuz hit by a car when i wuz 11"

Yes she was hit by a car trying to walk home from Robert Murphy High School in Long Island. I went to that school and I was in 7th grade when it happened. She missed that year, but was back the next school year. I used to see her all the time in the hallways between classes. It's incredible the obstacles she overcame, and she deserves no less than the highest respect for what she accomplished.

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Brooke Ellison was hit by a car on Nicolls Road in Stony Brook, Long Island. Instead of taking the bus home like she was told to, she decided to walk home across Nicolls Road with her friends. She was hit by a car and left paralyzed. I live about 2 streets away from Nicolls Road. Although Brooke went to Murphy Junior High, I go to the rival school Gelinas (we're in the same school district).

The real point is, what happened to her is unimportant in the long run, and unimportant to her story.

I'm a paraplegic, and how I got that way really makes no difference. What counted was what I did with my life after my injury. Immediately post-injury, I spent months in a rehab facility that specialized in people with spinal cord injuries, both paras and quads. While some people dwelled on what happened to them and felt sorry for themselves, most of us just concentrated on doing what we could to return to life outside of hospitals and rehab centers. Those that spent time reliving the past never made much of their lives after they were injured. Those of us who didn't went on to hold jobs, raise families, even play sports. We do much of the same things that everyone else does.

I don't know if this is easy for able-bodied people to understand, but for those of us with spinal cord injuries, how we got that way doesn't matter. We deal with our situations as they are now, and live life as best we can in the present. The past doesn't really matter. Our stories start with our recoveries, not with the causes of our injuries.