Go, Lilly go!

Anyone who knows Lilly Barnett's story knows that anything is possible.

The 12-year-old from Harbeson has beaten the odds countless times since a horrific car crash nearly took her life in July 2011. Now, just three years later, Lilly is working toward becoming a world championship athlete.

With the help of the Firm Fitness Center's Paul Timmons, Barnett is training to compete in the World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston in March. She has a legitimate shot to win, Timmons said.

“In my 25 years of doing this, I've never trained anyone to a world championship,” he said. “This little girl could win. She's inspiring everyone here.”

Lilly will compete in a division for children with physical disabilities, and so far her practice times are very competitive with previous winners, Timmons said. She trains twice a week with Timmons, working hard to get healthier, improve her core strength and post faster rowing times.

In July 2011, Lilly and her grandmother were driving on Route 1 near Milford when their car was struck by a high-speed motorcyclist. Lilly was flown to A.I. duPont, but wasn't expected to live. Miraculously her condition slowly improved. The crash caused two collapsed lungs, five broken ribs and a diffuse axonal injury – a traumatic brain injury similar to shaken baby syndrome. Doctors did not expect her to recover.

A feeding tube was installed and she was in a coma for 18 days, and it was thought likely she would remain in a vegetative state. But one day she responded to light; then she could squeeze her mother's hand. Several months later, she could speak, then walk with assistance.

Now, she's attending school at Mariner Middle School and is a member of the cheerleading squad. She's broken through every barrier she's faced, and now her sights are set on a world championship.

Lilly's father, Bryan, contacted Timmons about helping Lilly get stronger. Most physical therapists and doctors agreed she needed to get stronger in order to keep making progress. Timmons said his first reaction was that he couldn't do anything. Lilly convinced him otherwise.

“Thirty seconds of talking to this wonderful little child, I was like 'OK, I have to see if I can do something,'” he said.

He racked his brain trying to come up with a workout plan that would work around Lilly's disabilities. At the time, she was wheelchair bound and could not walk without assistance. He came up with indoor rowing, which provides a low impact, total body workout. The Concept 2 machine mimics outdoor rowing, requiring a similar motion.

“I'm a bit rowing focused anyway; this has kind of become my sport,” he said.

He started working with Lilly in February, and she took to it quickly.

“Her form, it's that good,” he said. “Fundamentally, it's really sound. Everything I tell rowers to do, this little girl does. It's better than some of my other guys in here who can go really fast.”

Her personal best time over 500 meters is 2:50, much faster than her first test, when she rowed 500 meters in a little under 4 minutes.

“If she can hold a little bit slower than [2:50] for 1,000 meters, she'll be right in the mix in Boston,” Timmons said. “Honestly, I'm not going to win. I know what the times are, and I know what I can do, and these world-class people will kick my butt. Lilly's got a shot, though, much more so than I do.”

The Firm is sending four people to Boston to compete. Joining Lilly will be Timmons, Elise Coar and Heather Kenton. All will compete in the lightweight division and, Timmons said, all will be competitive.

Bryan Barnett said he is excited to see his daughter's progress since starting at The Firm. The goal, he said, is to keep taking Lilly to the next level. Long term, he said, he hopes she can have short intervals of independence, like walking to the ATM, but he suspects a wheelchair will always be in the picture.

“Who knows, I might be completely wrong and in 10 years she'll be beeboppin all over the place,” he said.

Working with Timmons has rejuvenated his hope. “Not that I ever lost it,” he said.

“Paul has been the best decision I've made with Lilly,” he said. “She's gotten so strong since we started in February. In that first month of the ICU, if you would've told me we'd be here, I wouldn't have believed you.”

The family is continuing its fundraising effort to put money in a trust for Lilly's travel expenses to Boston as well as ongoing medical bills. Fins Ale House on Route 1 will donate 15 percent of the day's proceeds to the trust on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The family is also selling wrist bands for $5 that say “Go, Lilly, Go Boston” at The Firm Fitness Center in Rehoboth, Thomas David Salon in Milton and CK's Hairport and Bodyport in Lewes. Additional donations may be made to Lilly Ann Stephanie Barnett Special Needs Trust, care of Stayton and Dickens LLP Accountants, 117 S. Bedford St., Georgetown, DE 19947. For more information, go to www.caringbridge.org/visit/lillybarnett.