Alexis Verzal celebrates her 5th Birthday

On the morning of April 3rd, 2008, authorities believe 14-month old Alexis Verzal was violently shaken and thrown by her day care provider causing a traumatic brain injury. After 10 days in a coma, Alexis slowly awoke lacking any abilities she had prior to her injury. She was blind, unable to talk, had no ability to move her arms or legs, eat or drink. Doctors predicted she would have nothing more than the capabilities of an infant for the rest of her life. After nearly 2000 hours of rehabilitation, Alexis is thriving despite her disability. She is an outgoing, happy, determined and increasingly independent five-year-old. Her eyesight has almost completely returned, her speech is ahead of normal children her age and she walks everywhere with the assistance of a walker. Her traumatic brain injury has shaped her personality, which brightens every room she enters. Her intense dedication to recovery inspired comedian Larry the Cable Guy to donate $1.2 million in 2009 to build a new facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, named the Alexis Verzal Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital at Madonna.