Teen paralyzed by bullet gets 'magic moment'
MONTGOMERY, AL -- Marquisha Jones stood up the moment the gunshot came through the wall. She has not been able to stand since.
It was the summer of 2015 at her aunt’s apartment on Moorcroft Drive. Jones, then 14, was watching TV on the floor when a spat of gunfire from outside found its way inside.
Although Jones’ life changed drastically in that moment, a lot has remained the same since she was released from the hospital.
Jones is still paralyzed, unable to move her arms and legs. The person who pulled the trigger has still not been caught. The bullet is still lodged in Jones’ spine. Jones still wants to go to law school.
On Friday, 19 months after an incident that could have robbed Jones of her future, wish-granting program Magic Moments and local law firm Hill Hill Carter teamed up to show Jones her dreams were still possible.
Magic Moments regional board member Bubba Armstrong had heard about Jones’ struggle months ago and began looking for a sponsor to give Jones her own moment.
Armstrong reached out to his friend, attorney Spud Seal, and Seal and the rest of the Hill, Hill Carter staff enthusiastically agreed to sponsor Jones’ special day.
“He just took it over and ran with it at his law firm,” Armstrong said.
Hill, Hill Carter decided they would invest in Jones’ future. They bought her a laptop, an iPad, a mount for her wheelchair and a voice-to-text software that Jones can use to type documents since she lacks mobility in her arms.
Jones’ mother, Leisa Fuller, and other family members kept it a surprise, but Jones knew something was going on. She just didn’t know what.
“I thought I was getting a new wheelchair,” Jones said. “I kept asking my mama to tell me what it was, but she wouldn’t tell me.”
Jones was brought to the Carver library under the guise that she would be talking to local lawyers about what she needs to do to become a lawyer. And she did.
The attorneys told her what classes she would need to focus on, gave her business cards and told Jones they hope to hear from her after law school or any time she needs help. Then they unveiled the gifts.
The “magic moment” left Jones speechless, but her tears and her smile said it all.
“I was very surprised,” Jones said after the shock wore off. “I always wanted a laptop, but I never knew how I was going to use it.”
Jones said she gets frustrated doing schoolwork sometimes. Not because the work is mentally taxing, but without the use of her hands, she sometimes gets stressed and thinks about giving up.
When asked what the gifts meant to her, Jones said, “Everything.”
"I'm happy I'll be able to pursue my dreams," Jones said.
For Magic Moments and the Hill Hill Carter staff, it was rewarding to give Jones the tools she needed to achieve a goal that was nearly taken from her.
“The look on her face was pretty incredible. It made it all worth it,” Seal said.
It was especially rewarding for Jayne Harrell Williams, an attorney who grew up on Moorcroft Drive and still owns a house there.
“When I heard her story many, many months ago, I felt a pull in my heart, because I know that street very well,” Harrell Williams said. “She can do anything she wants to do. I told her that to be a lawyer you have to be tough, and she’s already proven she’s tough.”