Second-grader inspires best friend to walk again after car accident
Rush Monday and Quinton Neal, two second grade students from Reidsville, North Carolina, are inseparable. They're so close, they say they're twins. The boys often dress alike and they're always there to help one another when one is down.
So, when Rush got in a car accident, 8-year-old Quinton was worried for his best friend.
Rush's mom, Tara Monday, told CBS News she was driving with her daughter and son when the devastating accident occurred in October. "It was kind of bad weather here ... And all of a sudden, a car crossed the center line and hit us head-on," Monday said. "It was the scariest moment of our lives. And Rush was injured the worst out of all of us."
The family was taken to a hospital and separated into different rooms. Monday's 7-year-old son had internal bleeding and had to be rushed into surgery. "Rush was feeling very scared and sad and defeated," Monday said. "He's only 7. He was in a lot of pain. And he didn't want to move, he did not want to get up and walk."
When Monday told Rush Quinton was coming to the hospital for a visit, he immediately perked up. "And he said, 'When Quinton comes, I'll get up and walk,'" Monday said.
Sure enough, Quinton and his family visited Rush and the 7-year-old kept his side of the bargain. He agreed to try walking again –only if his best friend was by his side. Rush's family took video of the two second-graders walking side by side down the hospital hallway.
It was difficult for Rush, who was hunched over. But Quinton gave him the strength, and helped teach his friend how to walk again.
The video of the boys' short walk down the hospital hallway together went viral, and their story is inspiring people across America, and their moms couldn't be prouder.
Rush's mom pointed out that her son is larger than Quinton, despite them being in the same grade. Rush is white and Quinton is black. And despite these differences, they're still best friends – or twins, as they say.
"They don't see in size difference, they don't see in color differences. We don't see like that," Monday said. "And we want Rush and Quinton just to show the world, 'Hey, it doesn't have to stop when you're seven and eight. It can be like this all the time.'"
When asked about how close they are, Rush and Quinton said in unison, "we're brothers from another mother."