When Harper Comparin was born, doctors told her parents that she may never be able to walk.
The little girl had been diagnosed with spina bifida, a severe birth defect that occurs when the spinal cord doesn't form properly.
But one doctor at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St Petersburg, Florida, had a novel idea, reported WFTS.
She saw that Harper loved the children's song Baby Shark with its infamous 'doo doo doo doo' chant that plays throughout.
Using it as a metronome, she helped the two-year-old learn to walk to the beat on a treadmill, and now the toddler is walking - and even running - across a room on her own.
Harper Comparin, two (left and right), from St Petersburg, Florida, was diagnosed with spina bifida before she was born. Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spinal cord doesn't form properly,
Harper's parents were told that she would likely never walk, until they met a pediatric physical therapist at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St Petersburg, Florida. Pictured: Harper walking in physical therapy
Harper was diagnosed with spina bifida while her mother, Erica, was pregnant with her.
Spina bifida is a defect of the neural tube, a structure from which the brain and spinal cord form.
It normally closes early in pregnancy. But, in those with spina bifida, the neural tube fails to develop or properly close,
This leaves the spine and the nerves susceptible to trauma and damage.
The condition's symptoms can range from mild to severe, and leave sufferers with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Children often suffer from
