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Parade for progress: 11-year-old's journey back from 2019 car crash celebrated

"We're very blessed with the amount of support we have. It's been very moving."

SAN ANTONIO — It was a parade for progress as a line of cars rolled down the street, pushing forward just as Sophia Munson is.

One year ago, the 11-year-old was badly hurt in a car accident while her family was in Corpus Christi for Memorial Day Weekend.

"My daughter got the brunt of the accident," said Jackie Martinez, Sophia's mom. "We were in the hospital for 101 days."

Sophia suffered a stroke and traumatic brain injury. She was put in a medically induced coma for weeks, undergoing surgeries to her skull, jaw, nose, shoulder and more.

She's still in therapy to help her walk and talk again. Martinez said her daughter is getting stronger every day.

"She can hold her head up, she's now standing with help, she's moved her left side on command a couple of times," she said.

So why live in the past when they can look toward the future?

"We decided that, you know, instead of trying to be sad about today, we wanted to celebrate it," Martinez said.

So, on this Memorial Day, Sophia sat in her front yard surrounded by her loved ones. She watched as dozens of cars drove by, honking to honor her hard work. People also stopped to drop off gifts and balloons.

"She's an inspiration, just overall how motivated she stays," said Steven Munson, Sophia's dad.

Munson said faith and family have gotten them to this point.

"We're very blessed with the amount of support we have," Munson said. "I've gotten so many phone calls, it's been very moving."

Monday was another reminder that Sophia isn't in this alone.

"We see the goal where she's gonna walk and we see the goal where she will talk," Martinez said. "Because she's not giving up." 

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