At 18, Caylie McMahon had emergency surgery to remove a tumor from her spine and woke up unable to feel or move her legs. Doctors told her she might never walk again. She set out to prove otherwise, one hard-won step at a time.

Five years after she relearned how to walk, Caylie ran the Boston Marathon alongside her lifelong friend Lindsey Stagg, in honor of the rehab hospital that helped her get back on her feet.