By Autumn Klein
Published: Jun. 20, 2024 at 7:38 AM EDT|Updated: 16 hours ago
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - One high school student in Summerville has taken the hand she was dealt in life and turned it into something doctors said she never could.
Grayce Woodall, 16, was born with Caudal Regression Syndrome. Also known as sacral agenesis, Caudal Regression Syndrome, is a very rare disorder that impacts only around one to three newborns per every 100,000 births. The disorder impacts the lower half of the spine and the development of the lower body. It can lead to several other complications.
When Woodall was born with eight vertebrae missing from her spine, she was given a list of things that she would never be able to do, like walk, crawl or sit up. Yet, on her own, she has defied all odds.
“I’m doing everything that they said I couldn’t do,” Woodall says.
Woodall’s grandmother, Marti Jenkins, was there to see it all.
“She stood up. She walked. She crawled. She did everything,” Jenkins says.
Jenkins says that Woodall did all of this on her own.
Now, at the age of only 16, Woodall has not only defied every single odd against her, but she is on track to graduate high school with an associate degree and is a published author.
This year she published a children’s book. The book was inspired by her 11-year-old little brother’s struggles with anger. She wrote the book as a school project that could help inspire other children with anger find healthy ways to cope.
The book became much more than just a school assignment though.
Woodall ended up publishing the book, which is titled,“Jamie’s Bad Case of Anger,” and it is now available for purchase online. She plans to use the proceeds to put toward her college tuition.
Woodall says that growing up, since she couldn’t do all the same things that other children were, she put all her focus on academics. She hopes to continue writing and one day pursue a college career at UNC Chapel Hill.
“I think that she’s an amazing kid, an amazing human. I think she has overcome everything that they ever said she would never do and then some,” Jenkins says. “She’s going to do whatever she wants to do.”
While many agree that Woodall’s story of perseverance is inspiring, she has not always received positivity from those around her. Woodall says that she has experienced a lot of animosity throughout her life because of her disability.
“I’ll pass by people, and they’ll be like ‘poor girl,’ or they’ll make car noises or something like that,” Woodall says. “There’s nothing different about me from other people except for the fact that I’m in a wheelchair and that’s it.”
She emphasizes that she wants to be known for her writing and not her disability. Caudal Regression Syndrome is only a part of her; it does not define her.
“Having a disability, it doesn’t really change me. Like everybody else, I am just living my life so it feels normal to me,” Woodall says.
Jenkins says that this has been a theme throughout Woodall’s life. She says that she is so proud of her granddaughter and that her name is so fitting for her, as she is the epitome of grace.
“We don’t want her to feel that she is any different because she’s not. She’s just Grayce,” Jenkins says.
In typical Woodall fashion, she doesn’t let anyone or anything bring her down. She overcame and she conquered, and she does not let what anyone else has to say bother her. Her only hope is that her story can inspire others to do the same. She wants other people who may be going through something similar to know that they can do anything they put their mind to. She wants to be an inspiration to people to chase their dreams, to write that book and to never let anyone stop them from doing what they love.
“I want a lot of people to know that you can get through anything. You’re probably going to succeed more than the people that are making fun of you and being rude to you,” Woodall says.
Woodall is walking proof that people truly can do anything they put their mind to, even when it feels like the world is against them.
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