EDMONTON - At the age of 12, Bethany Schultz was an honours student, a soccer player, and the lead in the school play. But her life was forever changed when she went to bed one night and suffered a massive stroke.
"They said that there was no further hope of recovery. They used bigger words but basically she was a blind quadriplegic vegetable," said Bethany's mom, Karen.
"The doctor said if she can learn anything it would take so long. I said 'no it won't,'" she added. "Before this all happened, I thought she would be the next brain surgeon. She had an IQ of 143, she was in an academic challenge program. I believe, given the right amount of therapy and time, she can still be what she wants to be."
Despite her mom's optimism, doctors suggested that her family institutionalize her. Instead, after Bethany had spent more than a year in hospital, her family brought her home.
They're now trying to give her something every teenage girl desires - the privacy of her own bedroom.
Bethany's mom says they'd just completed her new teenaged bedroom four months before the accident. Since coming home, the teen has had to live in the middle of her family's living room, where she spends most of her time doing hours of daily therapy and learning to paint.
With three younger siblings, though, concentrating and having any sort of privacy hasn't been easy. She also has to stay covered under a mountain of blankets to stay warm as visitors, therapists and others come and go through the front door, which sends blasts of cold air into "her room" during the winter.
That's why Bethany's parents are doing some major renovations to give their daughter what she needs. That includes an indoor ramp for her wheel chair, and a bathroom on the main floor so she won't have to be limited to showering at a Rec Centre, as she is now.
The renovation will cost nearly a quarter of a million dollars - a cost that the family believes is worth every penny.
In order to help fund the project, the family will be hosting a "Build-a-Bedroom" fundraiser on March 10th.
To see how you can help, click here.
With files from Kendra Slugoski, Global News
© Shaw Media Inc., 2012. All rights reserved.