The Boston Globe

Lisa and Rick Reckis, parents of 16-year-old Samantha Reckis, waited in the living room to talk to the media Friday following this week’s verdict awarding the family $63 million in their trial against Johnson & Johnson. (Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

By Bella English Globe Staff

PLYMOUTH — At 16, Samantha Reckis has the long auburn hair she had as a child, the same laugh, the same spirit. But she is not the same person, nor are her parents, since she suffered devastating injuries after taking Children’s Motrin for a fever at age 7.

A Plymouth County jury awarded Samantha and her parents a record $63 million in damages this week against drug maker Johnson & ­Johnson for failing to adequately warn patients about the painkiller’s potential side effects.

In an interview with the Globe Friday, Samantha’s parents, Lisa and Richard Reckis, spoke about their daughter, the verdict, and the challenges she still faces. Her parents, who are divorced, did not want Samantha to speak to the press. They have always fiercely guarded her privacy.

She doesn’t talk about her ordeal, her parents say. “She acts as if it never happened,” ­Lisa says. “She doesn’t want anyone to pity her.”

Now a high school freshman in Plymouth, Samantha has remained on the honor roll despite six brain surgeries and dozens of other operations.

“She has to work twice as hard as other students to keep up her grades,” says her mother. “She just wants a normal life.”

Samantha’s life is as normal as it can be, her parents say. They describe her as “a happy kid,” strong willed and driven. She’s on the quiet side, but remains upbeat, loves to laugh and to make others laugh. She has sleepovers with friends and goes to school events, including dances.