Kellie Morris, 20, is one of two victims recovering at UT Medical Center after diving into Fort Loudoun Lake this summer.
"The most athletic person who has had her life altered in a split second," Karen Mooney said about her 20-year-old daughter, Kellie Morris, Monday from the UT Medical Center campus.
"Her life will be forever altered by one small, little dive into a lake," Morris explained why she's at the hospital.
On June 30, Morris was in the middle of Fort Loudoun Lake in Louisville when she jumped into the water head first.
Mooney says her daughter didn't know the murky waters underneath were too shallow. Morris struck that debris head first, severing her spine and losing feeling from her chest down.
"We don't know if she'll ever walk again or do the things she can do before this accident," the mother added.
Doctors at UT Medical Center said Morris is the second diving accident case in two weeks; both have similar injuries and both were at Fort Loudoun Lake, they said.
"There could be submerged logs, the water level could be lower than last time if you were at the same spot," Morris' doctor, neurosurgeon Dr. Todd Abel, said.
TWRA said the recent storms have brought extra debris into the waters.
Dr. Abel fears that, along with lower water levels in several state waterways, an increase in diving-related accidents could be on the horizon.
"All the lakes in Tennessee have rocky shorelines and with the drought, the water may be low," Dr. Abel added.
However, some people said they will still jump into those unknown waters, head first.
"For tubing or something like that, try and stay away from everyone else. Stay away from the banks," Dallas Hill described when he typically jumps head first into Ft. Loudoun Lake.
Meanwhile, Mooney wants to relay a message before anyone decides to enjoy Tennessee's lakes and streams: be careful.
"If you swam into there a million times, (jump) feet first," she said.
On average, UT Medical Center handles 5-10 diving-related accidents a year. Many of these cases end up with permanent paralysis and long-term therapy.