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67. US Soccer Family News

US SOCCER FAMILY NEWS: HANNAH BEDAL IS WALKING AGAIN!
Posted March 23, 2017
By: Rachel Jones

Last October Hannah Bedal, Tim Howard's younger half sister and Christian Pulisic's girlfriend, was involved in a car accident in Paris with her friends that left her with severe injuries. She was released from the Parisian Hospital and came back to the United States. Bedal moved to Colorado to live with Howard.

Bedal shared just a few days before Christmas that she was back in the hospital with Howard by her side. Pulisic revealed in some comments that he was on his way to Colorado to be with his lady. He shared a sweet picture of them laying in bed together, and support flooded in from friends and family. Howard then revealed on Christmas that Bedal suffered a complication where spinal fluid was leaking into her back, causing temporary paralysis which was reversed.

Bedal was released just before the New Year which she celebrated with Howard and the Pulisics. She shared a picture of she and Pulisic kissing. Since then she's been quiet on social media. She has been commenting on her family and friends' posts, but hasn't posted since the New Year. That all changed late last night when she shared a picture of her hugging Maggie Pulisic.

Bedal via Instagram

Happy reactions flooded in from everyone. This is welcome news for Bedal who, before her accident, was dancing with the Royal French Ballet Theatre after moving there at the end of May.

We had the chance to catch up with Bedal yesterday when we saw her at the USMNT's first training.

RJ: Hi Hannah! Nice to see you again! How are you?

HB: Hi Rachel! It's nice to see you too. I'm doing very well thank you. How are you?

RJ: I'm great thank you! Last night you posted a picture of you and Maggie hugging. How was it to see her and DeeDee's reactions?

HB: It was amazing! Maggie screamed and ran over crying to me. We were hugging and crying, and DeeDee just dropped her bags crying and clapping. We made such a scene, but it was totally worth it.

RJ: I can't even imagine how amazing that must've been for all three of you. How long have you been walking?

HB: I've been walking for only a week without the crutches so this is very new to me. I have to go slowly, and I do get tired pretty quickly, but I'm just so happy to be back on my feet.

RJ: Congratulations! I'm sure everyone is happy that you're back walking around. What were the guys' reactions? How did you show them?

HB: We showed them last night at dinner. Tim, Christian, and I were the last ones to walk into the room. Everyone else was already sitting down, eating, chatting, and then we walked in. Me first with Tim and Chris behind me. It was incredible. I walked in and said, "anyone miss me?" And everyone went slack jawed when they saw me. Michael [Bradley] was the first to come over and hug me. He covered that room in two strides. It was so incredible. I've really grown up with these guys. There was so much love. DeAndre was crying so hard, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. Everyone was so excited and happy for me. They knew how much I've struggled. I was overwhelmed with the love and support. There is nothing like celebrating with them.

RJ: That sounds absolutely amazing.

HB: It was. It was—there really aren't enough words to describe it properly.

RJ: How did you tell Christian that you were walking again?

HB: Tim FaceTimed Chris saying he had something important to show him. Chris was like "it's 2am but okay?" Tim flipped his camera around so Chris could see me walking over to him. Christian instantly woke up screaming and shouting. It was so cute how excited he was. He was just wide awake as soon as he saw me walking. It was really sweet, and then all three of us were crying. Christian was so excited and happy for me that he sent me a very large bouquet of roses which were delivered to Tim's door.

RJ: That's so sweet! This is one of just the many reasons we love the two of you! So now that you're walking, is the next step dancing?

HB: I definitely hope so. Ballet is my life. I've been doing it since I was three. Doing pointe is so hard no matter how beautiful, graceful, and easy we make it look. It takes years of hard work and training, and it hurts. That's honestly my biggest concern. Uhm, I'm in a lot of pain most of the time from just well, everything, so I'm worried about my pain tolerance when I add pointe back into the mix.

RJ: Understandable. There's a lot of unnatural movements in ballet, and that can't be easy anyways. What are your plans when it comes to ballet?

HB: It's definitely not easy. My current plans are to go back to Paris late July, early August. That gives me time to get my walking better, and hopefully I can start some light dancing before I go back to Paris.

RJ: It sounds like you've got a great plan!

HB: For sure. Hopefully it all goes well.

RJ: We hope so too! Congratulations, Hannah. We'll talk to you soon!

HB: Count on it!

After her interview with us, Bedal went and joined Maggie on the sidelines. Christian ran over and hugged her tightly. The two teens seem just as in love as ever.

We wish Hannah the best with her recovery, and the National Team the best of luck against Honduras on March 24!