Haley Newman
“My injury challenged everything I knew about myself, but it also brought out a level of resilience I didn’t know I had. The support from the Be Perfect Foundation and my training at The Perfect Step helped turn what felt like impossible goals into everyday victories.”
On June 1st, 2019, Haley Newman and her father set out for what they thought would be a memorable day hike in Cabazon, California. That memory turned into a moment that would redefine her life forever. While hiking near a waterfall, they both lost their footing and fell 30 feet onto the rocks below. Miraculously, her father walked away unharmed. Haley, however, sustained a traumatic spinal cord injury at the L1 level. She was airlifted to a nearby hospital where she underwent emergency spinal surgery to decompress her spinal cord.
Doctors weren’t sure what her future would hold. But what followed was nothing short of extraordinary.
Haley was discharged from the hospital on five different medications, uncertain of what independence would look like in her new life. Today, she is completely medication-free. Her recovery journey began in a wheelchair, but over time—and with relentless determination and the right support—she made the transition from wheelchair, to walker, to two canes, to one, and ultimately to walking independently. Along the way, she relearned how to drive, moved into a home with roommates, and reconnected with life in a powerful way through her church community, where she’s now an active member with a thriving social life.
“My injury challenged everything I knew about myself, but it also brought out a level of resilience I didn’t know I had. The support from the Be Perfect Foundation and my training at The Perfect Step helped turn what felt like impossible goals into everyday victories,” Haley shares.
Thanks to Be Perfect’s support and the specialized care provided through The Perfect Step, Haley is now working toward her next set of goals—most notably, running. She has already begun light jogging, something she never expected to happen this early in her recovery. Looking ahead, she dreams of starting a family and becoming a mother—another goal that, with continued progress, no longer feels out of reach.
Haley’s story is not just about recovery. It’s about reclaiming independence, rewriting expectations, and proving that with faith, community, and perseverance, healing can become transformation. Be Perfect is honored to be part of her journey—past, present, and future.