TAMPA, Fla. – The crowd at Monday's graduation ceremony for Earl J. Lennard High School erupted in cheers as Hailey Highsmith walked across the stage to accept her diploma. Highsmith, 17, suffered a brain bleed last June that left her unable to walk or talk.


What You Need To Know

  • Hailey Highsmith, 17, walked across the stage to accept her high school diploma almost a year after a brain bleed left her unable to walk

  • Overnight, Hailey lost her mobility, ability to speak, and cognitive ability

  • Hailey began to be able to understand and communicate again in September and has been working hard at physical, speech, and occupational therapy since
  • She got her diploma with the help of her therapists, who encouraged her to make the walk

"We had actually grieved her graduation, that it just wasn't going to happen because her recovery was very, very slow, but there was always progress," said Hailey's mother, Robin Highsmith. "And so kind of grieving that and letting it go and then kind of seeing it reborn and actually be able to be here, and not only did she get to graduate with the honors that she earned for so many years, but that she walked across the stage - it's just incredible. I can't even explain it."

Robin Highsmith said Hailey, 17, suffered a spontaneous brain bleed last June 15. Her sister, Natalie, heard her cry out in the night.

"She came and got me, and I went in to go see what was wrong. She was obviously very ill, and we recognized that something was wrong and we called 911. Had she not woken me up, if she hadn't gotten out of bed and made that decision, you know, there's a really good possibility Hailey wouldn't be here right now," Robin Highsmith said.

Overnight, Hailey lost all mobility, speech and cognitive ability. 

Hailey Highsmith was hospitalized following a brain bleed in June 2021. (Courtesy: Robin Highsmith)

"She really emerged back in September, was when she was able to kind of, not communicate again, but she was understanding and she was able to respond to things," Robin Highsmith said.

Four days a week, Hailey is at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital for physical, occupational, and speech therapy. A team of therapists have been by her side through it all.

"We went from no mobility to now independently transferring and from no speech now to speaking in full sentences," said Physical Therapist Assistant Nicholas Hamilton.

"It's honestly amazing. She comes in every single day, and I mean, she's in the clinic sometimes for anywhere from an hour to four hours a day," said Physical Therapist Marissa Lisenbee. "She puts in that work. We just give her the tools, and she knows all about hard work, and it's really awesome to watch her grow and just get better every single day."

Robin Highsmith said it was actually Lisenbee's idea to walk across the stage.

"We were talking about graduation and if she's excited about it. I kind of looked at her, and I was like, 'Alright - are we gonna walk across the stage?' And she looked at me and was like, 'No.' I was like, 'No, we're gonna do it. We're gonna walk across the stage. Is that something that you want to do?' And she was like, 'Okay,'" Lisenbee said.

And with Hamilton and Lisenbee by her side, that's what she did.

"Trying not to cry," said Hamilton of his reaction to the walk.

"Yeah. Honestly, it was an amazing feeling to be up there with her. She's put in all this hard work, so it was really awesome to share that experience with her," Lisenbee said.

Natalie Highsmith pushed her sister's wheelchair onto the stage.

"The moment when she stood up, I was like, 'She's gonna do it. She's walking. She's gonna get it. She's smiling her face off right now. I know it.' So, it was just amazing," Natalie said. 

Robin Highsmith said Hailey was dual enrolled at Lennard and had been working toward her associate's degree. The hope is that she'll be far enough along in her recovery to complete that beginning this coming fall or spring, then head to the University of Central Florida next fall.

"She's always been brilliant and passionate, but I think after this, there's nothing that she won't be able to take on," Robin Highsmith said.