Former MDN Athlete Krysten Muir Partially Paralyzed After Accident

Arizona Sports News online

Krysten Muir made an impact when she was at Marcos de Niza. 

As a sophomore in 2014, she ran from the football field to the volleyball court on a given day and played soccer in the winter. Over the next two seasons, she focused full-time on football as the Padres’ kicker. She set the state record for points scored by a girl in an Arizona football season and made local and national headlines for her accomplishments, inspiring countless girls across the country. 

Padre Pride: MDN Community Continues To Embrace Kicker Muir

Now, her family is in need of support from that same Marcos de Niza and Arizona sports communities. 

On Sunday, Muir and her boyfriend were in a rollover accident driving back from Payson. She is currently paralyzed from the waist down on her right leg and has partial paralysis in her left leg. Her boyfriend suffered an arm injury, and both have had multiple procedures since the accident.

Muir has had five vertebrae fused together. She is starting physical therapy on Wednesday and the family is hopeful she’ll be able to walk again.

“We know we have a long road ahead of us,” Kathy Muir, Krysten’s mom, said.

Both passengers have been transported back to the Valley, and Krysten’s timeline to get out of the hospital and into a rehab facility has not been determined yet. The Muirs must also resort to FaceTime to communicate with Krysten because of limited hospital capacity due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I want to be there with her,” Kathy said. “I want to be able to hold her hand. I want to be able to help her, hug her, kiss her, hold her and tell her everything is going to be OK. It’s difficult because I’m doing it over FaceTime.”

There are two separate GoFundMe accounts set up for Krysten individually and for both passengers to help offset medical costs and renovations to make the Muir home wheelchair accessible as they start their road to recovery.