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Aubrey Garcia, a 7-year-old girl from Plainville, Kansas, had a crowd of people in tears of joy as she pushed her way through her first-ever track race, a 50-meter dash, on May 14.Her mom, Chelsea Garcia, watched as Aubrey stumbled at one point, but kept going, her determined grit shining through as she pushed forward in her leg braces one step at a time.“I don’t even know how to describe how we felt to watch her accomplish something like this,�� she told Runner’s World. “It was just breathtaking to see something happen that you never thought you would witness.�� For Aubrey, the race represented victory over her battle with spina bifida, a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord doesn’t develop or close properly, according to the Mayo Clinic. Depending on severity, it could cause walking or mobility problems, as well as weakness in the leg and back muscles. The day after Garcia’s 20-week ultrasound, they learned that doctors had found a fluid sac on Aubrey’s back, and one of the ventricles in her brain was enlarged �� both common indicators of spina bifida. They were sent to a maternal fetal specialist, who confirmed the diagnosis. “I was standing at my kitchen counter when my obstetrician called to give me the news, and I just remember how terrified I was having no knowledge on any of this. I then called her father and relayed the information to him,�� Garcia says. “We were both incredibly shocked and asking ourselves, ‘Why our daughter?’”Aubrey had her first surgeries just 24 hours after she was born. “These included a surgery to repair her spinal defect that had left her spinal cord protruding in a sac outside her back, as well as placing a VP shunt used to help drain the extra cerebral spinal fluid from her brain into her abdomen,�� says Garcia. Since then, she’s had a second surgery to replace that original shunt, and has gone through many pairs and kinds of orthotics to help her mobility. She’s also attended intense physical therapy since she was a month old and has recently started with occupational therapy, too.But her battle to be able to walk started with the ability to stand. At first, she was only able to place weight on her feet while belted upright in a mobile prone stander. Using the wheels attached, she was able to propel herself forward.Once she was able to try to “walk,�� holding onto furniture, her parents introduced a forward-facing walker, which progressed into a rear-facing walker that was pulled behind, which required more core strength.As she got stronger, her therapist introduced her to crutches. “She just blossomed from there,�� says Garcia.By age 6, she was soon walking short distances without her crutches, and it didn't take her long to build up enough strength to toss them to the side.But Aubrey wasn’t content just to walk: After seeing her older sisters participate in community track events, Aubrey was determined that she would run, too.Joining the team, with its frequent practices, would be too physically draining for Aubrey. But then her parents heard about a single, standalone meet �� a one-day event called the “Little Cardinal Track Meet,�� which wouldn’t require extra practices.Once she heard about the 50-meter dash at that event, Aubrey knew she wanted to run it. She used her sisters�� track meets as a way to get in some extra practice to prepare for her big day. “Aubrey was attending all of the track meets, and would periodically practice running up and down the track while her sisters were waiting for their turn in throwing events,�� says Garcia. The day of Aubrey’s race, her whole family was at the track �� including a great grandmother, grandmother, a great aunt, aunt, uncle and cousins. “Everyone was holding their breath in anticipation of the race starting,�� says Garcia.They all spread out along the track to cheer Aubrey on as she made her way.“I stood at the starting line, father was at the finish line, and her sisters stood in different spots down the lane,�� said Garcia. Afterward, Aubrey was ecstatic with the race, grinning from ear to ear as the crowd congratulated her as she made her way back through the stands. “She just kept telling us that she did it,�� Garcia says. With her first race done, Aubrey is already looking forward. Not only has she already asked to participate in next year’s track meet, but she is also excited over the possibility of competing in the Special Olympics in February of next year.“Aubrey could easily get frustrated or be upset about having the trouble that she does, but instead, she wears a smile all day, every day,�� says Garcia. “This is her ‘normal�� and we wouldn’t change her for the world.��