NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
Matias was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at 7\u00bd months old<\/p>\n
A tumor pressing against his spinal cord left him paralyzed from the waist down<\/p>\n
Now 6, Matias is walking and continuing rehabilitation to improve his mobility<\/p>\n
A 6-year-old boy<\/a> who was paralyzed from the waist down as a baby after a tumor pressed against his spinal cord is now walking again.<\/p>\n Matias continues to undergo specialized rehabilitation at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, where he works on his strength, balance and movement, according to CBS<\/a>.<\/p>\n During therapy, Matias practices stepping, balance and body control, using sensors and specialized exercises to help improve his movement and coordination. And when he’s given the option to try a different approach to an exercise, he has a straightforward answer.<\/p>\n “I can do it,” Matias said, according to CBS.<\/p>\n At the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Matias has worked with physical therapist Rachel Mertins since he was about 18 months old, per the outlet.<\/p>\n “He’s positive and he is upbeat, and he makes jokes, and he interacts with adults and the kids and everyone in this place and brings so much joy,” Mertins said.<\/p>\n But Matias’ road to rehabilitation began with a diagnosis his parents never expected.<\/p>\n Matias’ parents, Rachel Osborn and Jason Kling, spent five weeks trying to understand what was happening to their 7\u00bd -month-old son, taking him to his pediatrician eight times as a number of unexplained symptoms<\/a> emerged, according to CBS.<\/p>\n “We started noticing some symptoms that we really didn’t know what they were,” Rachel said. “They were kind of loosely connected.”<\/p>\n Still, the family didn’t have an explanation.<\/p>\n “We still didn’t have the answers,” Rachel told the outlet.<\/p>\n Tests revealed that Matias had neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer that develops from immature nerve cells, per the Cleveland Clinic<\/a>. Doctors also found a tumor pressing against his spinal cord<\/a>, according to CBS.<\/p>\n Surgeons removed what they could of the tumor, and Matias underwent chemotherapy<\/a> to treat the remaining cancer, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n Then came another devastating development.<\/p>\n “Matias went to bed with full use of his legs and when he woke up the next time he was paralyzed from the waist down,” Rachel said, according to CBS.<\/p>\n Even after the tumor was removed, his family didn’t know how much movement he would ultimately regain, according to CBS.<\/p>\n Rather than wait, his parents began looking for ways to help him recover. Once Matias was medically cleared, they started physical therapy immediately.<\/p>\n “We knew that there was a really narrow window of time to start physical therapy,” Rachel told the outlet. “Literally the day that he was cleared we started physical therapy.”<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n The family eventually learned about the Kennedy Krieger Institute<\/a> from another family who had experienced a similar situation.<\/p>\n “We came to learn there was a world-renowned spinal cord injury center 45 minutes away from where we live,” Rachel told CBS.<\/p>\n