Janae Edmondson makes 1st appearance at Smyrna High without crutches after losing legs in horrendous accident
Janae Edmondson, a former Smyrna High volleyball standout who lost her legs in a horrific accident in St. Louis in February, walked onto Smyrna High's Bud Raikes Stadium on her prosthetic legs during halftime of the Bulldogs' game vs. Stewarts Creek on Friday evening.
It marks the first time Edmondson has walked in public with her prosthetics and without crutches.
"I was about to cry (during the walk)," Edmondson told The Daily News Journal. "It felt good to actually be up and walking."
Fans in attendance at the game cheered her on as she walked on the track at the stadium.
Edmondson said she hopes to be running without assistance soon.
Edmondson was critically injured when she was struck by a vehicle while walking back from a club volleyball tournament in downtown St. Louis. The accident almost cost her her life, and both of her legs had to be amputated.
Since the accident, Edmondson returned to school, signed with MTSU volleyball as a manager, went to her senior prom, graduated, and began classes at MTSU while being a manger on the volleyball team, all the while continuing rigorous rehab, getting fitted for prosthetics and learning to walk with them. She had numerous surgeries following the accident and since leaving the hospital.
MORE: The horrific accident that took Janae Edmondson's legs changed her life − but not her spirit
A lawsuit was filed in late June on Edmondson's behalf against five defendants related to the accident.
It was senior night for Smyrna's football team, who was playing rival Stewarts Creek to maintain a share of first place in Region 5-6A.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Janae Edmondson walks on prosthetic legs onto Smyrna football field