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2-year-old Michigan girl born with Spina Bifida takes first steps without walker

Posted at 8:22 PM, Aug 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-03 07:31:38-04

A Detroit 2-year-old born with Spina Bifida has defied the odds and taken her first steps without a walker.

A video, which has been shared thousands of times on Facebook, Skylar Turner taking her first steps into her father's arms without her walker.

Shawn and Unissa Turner say Skylar is beating the odds and proving to everyone that she will walk.

"It was amazing," Shawn Turner said. "It was unreal because this is the moment you always wish for."

At just two years old, Skylar has already endured more than most girls her age.

"When you’re told that your child has a birth defect before they come out, it changes your whole outlook on life," Shawn Turner said. 

Spina Bifida is a birth defect where the spinal cord doesn’t fully develop, making it difficult for those affected to walk.

At first, Unissa Turner took Skyler's diagnosis really hard, and says she still tends to blame herself.

"I do still feel that it’s my fault, but I know it’s not," she said. "But, I definitely took it really hard."

A determined toddler, Skylar wasn’t going to let her condition stop her from taking her first steps, or even dancing. She loves Taylor Swift and dances when one of her songs is on.

The special moment of Skylar trying to walk to her father, not once, not twice – but three times, until eventually making it into his arms was all caught on camera. The video, which was posted to Facebook on July 23, has been viewed more than 190,000 times and shared over 3,000 times. 

"I’m just so thankful, so grateful, just overjoyed that we have so many people rooting for us to get her where she needs to be," Unissa Turner said.

For Skylar, it’s just the beginning of the endless possibilities and more miracles to come.

"When she walked into my arms and after I got over the initial feelings, I knew this was only the first step," Shawn Turner said.

The Turners say one day they would like to have another child, but not anytime soon.

Watch viral video below: