At 19, most adolescents are busy extending their wings, perhaps enjoying the stimulating freedom of university life, traveling around the world or getting into trouble.
Certainly, they are not in the habit of receiving personal phone calls from the White House.
But, again, most 19 -year -olds have not gone through the same traumatic test as Payton McNabb.
In September 2022, McNabb's life changed forever. After 17 years, the native of North Carolina was news after he stayed with severe brain damage when he was hit in the face with a volleyball that had been fired by a transgender opponent.
She still lives with the devastating impact.
However, just over two years later, a wonderful postponement: Payton was called by West Wing staff last month, inviting her to attend President Trump's joint speech to Congress on Tuesday.
Payton McNabb, a former volleyball player, attended Donald Trump's speech against Congress. She sat next to the second Lady Usha Vance (medium)
The president presented the 19 -year -old and her history during her speech at the Capitol.
McNabb, who stayed with serious brain damage after she was beaten in the face with a volleyball that had been fired by a transgender opponent, spoke with the Daily Mail.
Sitting for an exclusive interview with The Daily Mail, McNabb described the action of the night behind the “surreal” scene
Dressed in glamorous black, she met at night with the second lady Usha Vance, while Trump delivered a speech that McNabb describes as “the best he has given.”
Sitting for an exclusive interview with The Daily Mail, and even in an amazing stunning about his front row, McNabb, now a feminist and open ambassador for the Independent Women's Forum, described the action of the night behind the “surrealist” scenes.
“(Usha Vance) had already known about my story,” McNabb said about his conversations with the second lady. 'She had read about it. She told me how I was proud of me for defending what is correct and for turning something so bad.
'She was really kind and a genuine person. It was incredible to meet her.
It is not just Usha for what she praises.
In the Capitol building, McNabb ran into Lara Trump, wife of President Eric's son, in the bathroom. The couple joined their shared roots from North Carolina.
Meanwhile, Brurator Tom Homan visited McNabb in the presidential box.
He came and talked to us. He was very kind to do that, he didn't have to do that at all, '' he said.
But the main headline? The first lady.
McNabb was one of the 15 'everyday Americans' selected by Melania Trump to attend the address as her guests. The guests spent the day together, exchanging stories and sharing their experiences, before addressing the White House. It was the opening ceremony before the main event.
There, they toured the private presidential residence before having an audience with Melania.
“We have a photo with the first lady,” McNabb said. 'He was so kind, so elegant and so sweet. You can say that she really cares.
From there, they made the pilgrimage to Capitol Hill, where McNabb and their difficult situation took the center of the stage. After telling his audience that 'the United States has returned' and that 'our country will no longer wake up', Trump directed his attention to the issue of trans athletes in women's sports and highlighted the history of McNabb.
When he was Junior in Hiwassee Dam High School in Murphy, North Carolina, McNabb was unconscious for 30 seconds after being beaten in the face by a ball that travels to 70 mph during a volleyball match.
The strike came from a 5 -foot and 11 -inch player in the opposite team. The blow was so powerful that he left McNabb on the floor with his arms locked up in a vertical position in a “fencing” position, an involuntary posture that is often a sign of brain shock or a brain injury.
That was his last day playing volleyball.
McNabb was invited as guest of the first lady, Melania Trump
The doctors diagnosed McNabb with a traumatic brain injury, brain shock, paralysis on the right side of their body, cervical whip and vision problems. The physical damage ended with his dreams of practicing sports and has made it difficult to walk without falling.
But on Tuesday night, the president was talking to a divided house. The history of McNabb may have rooted with the Republicans, who stood up and applauded. But with the Democrats, he found himself with stony silence.
“I think that was his best speech he has given,” said McNabb. 'He was very prone, and witnessed that it was a blessing.
'The whole environment there felt so patriotic, at least one side anyway. It is definitely not the other side.
Most of the Democratic congressmen attending carried Rosa, in an apparent protest of women's rights against Trump. However, they did only one day after the Senate Democrats voted almost unanimously to block the protection of women and girls in the sports act.
The law would have helped establish a stricter precedent to keep trans athletes out of women's sports throughout the country. Not a single Democratic senator voted to approve it.
The irony was not lost in McNabb.
'The Democrats are ashamed, not only to themselves, but to their entire party. They were disrespectful from the beginning, “McNabb said.
'Hypocrisy is wild. They coordinated their pink attire; They had their shirts and their signs (used as another silent protest on Tuesday night). They claim that their party is the party for women and that they protest the rights of women, but the day before, zero democrats voted for the protection of women and girls.
'It's stunned, because it's very ironic, and I can't believe they really think that way. To affirm that yours is a part for women and that they do not even stand up and recognize when the president told my story. They don't even care. They really showed their hand. They have no moral, and honestly it is sad to see.
However, that rejection of ice cream is nothing new to McNabb. And it is far from being the worst you have experienced.
McNabb has now dedicated himself to campaigning against Trans athletes competing against girls and women, but not without consequences.
“They have called me every name in the book,” he admitted. 'I have been Doxed. I have received death threats. People have even said they are happy to have a brain injury.
'At the end of the day, I know that I am on the right side of the story. I am grateful to have a mind that works and common sense. The violent reaction is definitely there, but the support is overwhelming. I really drowns it.
While the support can decrease the bite of the reaction, it is not enough to offer a sense of security.
Now, second year student at Western Carolina University, McNabb, communications student, reveals that he has been forced to return home and continue his studies virtually.
“I didn't feel safe at my university, which is absolutely crazy,” he said. “Apest because I wanted some kind of normal.”
He has also made an existing academic challenge even more insurmountable.
After its 2022 incident, McNabb's mental acuity is also damaged. His academic performance has been harmed and has needed “accommodation in school for tests.” He fought with worsened vision, anxiety and depression while fighting to recover from his wounds.
North Carolina Native had a front row seat
Democratic congressmen had pink to protest Trump in support of women's rights
For now, she is not sure what the future holds: “I will continue to follow the Lord's plan and continue fighting this fight until we no longer need.”
That fight took another step to his goal on Tuesday when Trump promised to reduce federal funds to any American school that allows Trans athletes to compete against girls.
“It was incredible to be a guest of the president and the first lady, and witness the story that happened in front of me,” McNabb said. 'I feel incredibly honest. I am very grateful that we have a president who thinks that my story is important enough to give him a voice and a platform.
It definitely gives me hope for the future. I felt very proud to be American after Tuesday night.