ORLANDO, Fla. — If real change comes from challenge, then how many lessons must Grace Braswell have already learned or taught others in her short life?

“She’s working 10 times harder than anybody else to do the same thing,” said Stephen Braswell, Grace’s father. “And not only is she doing it, she’s crushing it.”

The 16-year-old Crooms High School junior was born in renal failure, without hands or feet. Her parents said doctors gave Grace a 50/50 chance to survive on her first birthday.

By the age of 2, the child was the recipient of a kidney transplant. And soon, she would also be receiving the first of a lifetime of prosthetic devices from Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa.

The latest device, called a Sky Hook, has allowed the youth, now a teenager, to climb to new heights quite literally. Grace now regularly rock climbs at a gym in Longwood.

“She surprised her mom and I like, ‘I want to get into rock climbing.’ We’re like, ‘Okay… let’s figure that out',” said her father. “Watching her now from when she started, it’s incredible.”

“Some camps we’ve gone to have had rock walls, and I’ve really enjoyed that. I wanted to continue doing it,” Grace said. “I like things (that cause) a rush of adrenaline. This is that for me.”

And since Grace is also visually impaired, her father snaps photos of climbs in order for her to hone in on her placement up and down the wall.

“This reminds me she can do hard things. She is strong,” said her mother, Alison. “We named her Grace for a reason. But she is also a typical 16-year-old who drives her parents absolutely crazy.”

In December, Grace donned new prosthetics from Shriners for her school’s homecoming dance, slipping into her first pair of high-heeled shoes. The silver heels were a far cry from her casual red-canvas kicks.

“I’ve wanted to wear heels for a while but haven’t been able to because I’m pitched forward way too much,” said Grace, admiring the shoes. “I’ve been able to do all the things I’ve wanted to.”

Shriners Children’s system makes roughly 3,500 prosthetics per year, all custom made to meet individual patients’ needs and goals.

Of the total, the Tampa location produces 500 to 1,000 yearly.

In the future, Grace said she hopes to work with animals or perhaps even make prosthetics herself. She also dreams of skydiving and exploring, though for now, she’s content to continue honing her rock-climbing skills.

“All of us, we’re pretty positive people. Do what you can with what you have,” Alison said. “My hope for her is to do good in this world … spread peace, love and joy as she goes through her journey and to be happy.”

“It’s been good having faith that God has a plan or our lives, (it’s) something our family’s rooted in,” said Grace’s father. “And we believe God chose to put Grace in our lives for a reason. We can depend on each other when things get hard, which they do.”