Teen soccer player paralyzed in boating accident

A rising teen soccer star from South Carolina was paralyzed from the chest down after a devastating boating accident, according to her club.

McKenna Woodhead, 14, a longtime Carolina Rapids player, was riding on a small vessel on Lake Wylie with another girl last Monday when the pair slammed into a retaining wall.

Both girls were taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where the athlete was told she was paralyzed, according to a GoFundMe page set up by her soccer club.

“She was given the information…from the neurologist that she will be permanently paralyzed from her chest down,” her mother, Michelle Woodhead, reportedly wrote in a group text to friends and family. “But all she talks about since the news is that she can’t play soccer any more – the game she’s trained her whole life for.”

“She might always have been that quiet girl, but she is determined, strong and hopefully a fighter; she will need us all going forward,” the distraught mom continued.

The mom’s Twitter account is full of videos of McKenna practicing her soccer skills.

The teen will be undergoing a rehab program at a local children’s hospital, her mom wrote.

She also showed posters her friends and teammates made to hang in McKenna’s hospital room.

“You are amazing. You are strong. You are brave,” one read.

“It’s been a long difficult week,” Michelle Woodhead posted. “The outpouring support of our friends, family and the community has been so humbling. We are so fortunate to be in your prayers.”

The fundraiser had more than doubled its $20,000 goal as of Monday.

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