'17 Years Old With a 60-Year-Old Back'

Recent graduate Danielle McBride had her passion ripped away from her when she found out she wouldn't be able to light up a cheerleading routine again.

McBride, 17, was a star competitive cheerleader, but she can no longer participate after doctors discovered she inherited a degenerative disc disease.

She’s been involved with competitive cheerleading since age 3, most recently with Orland Park’s Ultimate Athletics team. But her risk of being paralyzed is so high now that she can no longer participate.

“It was very hard to hear that,” McBride said. “It’s something I love so much and have done all my life.”

Still, the bubbly Manhattan resident had a big smile Feb. 26 as she was one of 129 patients . Over Thanksgiving she was diagnosed with the degenerative disc disease, meaning she has bulging and herniated discs in her back. She was admitted to the hospital again last week for an epidural to try to alleviate her pain.

“I’m still in pain when I walk,” she said. “I’m 17 years old with a 60-year-old back.”

This genetic disease has impacted a large portion of McBride’s family. Her father, Thomas McBride, first experienced the pain when he was 20, and he’s had five back surgeries since.

All of Thomas’ siblings have the disease, and so does his son, also named Thomas. The father has permanent nerve damage in his right leg and cannot work because of it.

Her father’s advice is to “know you limits,” and for McBride that means limiting what she can do physically. Her stay in the hospital conflicted with a national cheerleading competition she would have been at in Texas.

She graduated high school a semester early in December and still plans to attend college after her recovery. She didn’t cheer at Central because of her competitive team, but she helped coach the JV squad and said she’d love to get back into coaching again.

That’s not her passion, though. She wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a nurse. Her mother is a registered nurse at Silver Cross Hospital, working on the same floor McBride was transported to Sunday.

McBride is enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College in North Carolina, where her grandmother lives. She’s looking forward to taking classes and eventually becoming a nurse.

“Ever since I was 3 I wanted to be like my mom,” McBride said. “Just helping people out and knowing you can make a difference and save that person’s life or help them feel better.”