Born a healthy triplet, Victoria Arlen enjoyed dancing and showing off her athletic abilities as a young child.
But around the age of eleven, Victoria started to exhibit concerning flu-like symptoms. She had pneumonia and fainted multiple times.
She was paralyzed from the waist down just two weeks later. Part by part, her body shut down. Her entire life had been ruined by a serious infection of the brain and spinal cord.
When Victoria lost her ability to speak, eat, and move freely, her family could only watch in terror.
However, her amazing tale was only getting started. Her family and doctors would both be shocked by what transpired four years later.
Victoria was “trapped” inside her own body for nearly four years.
Her family was informed by doctors that she was in a vegetative state. She only received the nourishment she needed to survive by being fed through a tube.
Early on, her parents were informed that her chances of recovery were quite slim.
Jacqueline’s mother said, “We lost her.”
Victoria could hear her loved ones next to her hospital bed, but no one knew this.
She “woke up” intellectually two years after going into a coma, but she was still unable to move her body. She wanted to respond to the conversations going on around her, but her body refused to comply.
Victoria had no way of communicating what was happening to her to others in a circumstance that resembled something out of a nightmare.
Prognosis from doctors
By this point, medical professionals had identified the peculiar illness that was causing Victoria’s brain and spinal cord to become inflamed.
She overheard medical professionals inform her family that she was essentially brain dead. She would spend the remainder of her life in a vegetative condition.
However, my parents had faith in me. They took care of me and put up a hospital room in our New Hampshire home. I’m a triplet, and we have an elder brother. My three brothers spoke with me and informed me of events happening outside of my room. They gave me the strength and courage to fight. According to ESPN, Victoria claims, “They didn’t realize I could hear them, but I could.”
Victoria had battled her way out of vegetative state in 2010.
It began when she was able to see her mother in the eye in December 2009. She then started to slowly regain consciousness. After first being able to move a finger, she eventually advanced to waving her hand. She eventually had the ability to construct words, which eventually developed into sentences.
Victoria Arlen posted this on Thursday, April 23, 2015.
She began eating pudding by herself before moving on to solid foods. She then learned how to “poke” someone on Facebook and was able to handle her phone.
Nevertheless, despite the remarkable progress, she was still unable to move her legs.
Victoria was informed that she had suffered irreversible harm as a result of the swelling in her brain and spinal cord. She would be permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
She received the same advice from each specialist: “You have to get used to sitting in a wheelchair.”
Being teased because of her wheelchair
But Victoria has more willpower than most people. She persisted in fighting despite what seemed to be insurmountable difficulties.
She refused to believe the doctors when they informed her she would never be able to walk. She was not destined to sit on a chair all her life.
But when she returned to high school in a wheelchair, some of her peers started bullying her.
Although she had eagerly anticipated returning to school, she had little desire to do so after her first day.
Victoria was completely devastated and on the verge of tears when she got home. Her parents made a commitment that day that they would stop at nothing to give their daughter the courage to go again.
They never gave up hope and honored their word.
Victoria’s only hope was that she would be able to walk again, but reason told her otherwise.
Her struggles during this period were summed up in one quote: “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” Without confidence and optimism, nothing is possible.
Victoria’s life eventually reached a turning point.
Victoria was accustomed to the water, having grown up by a lake and learnt to swim at a young age. At the age of ten, she had joined a swim team and participated in tournaments.
Victoria thought she would never be able to swim again while she was recuperating from her illness. Without her legs, she believed it was impossible.
Her brothers, however, had a different opinion. She was thrown into the family pool in 2010. At first, she was afraid, but this gave her the motivation she needed.
She claims to have regained her life’s “jump.” Victoria was unrestrained by the chair while swimming, and to her own amazement, she maintained her swimming strength.
Furthermore, the water offered confidence in addition to freedom.
Victoria participated in the Paralympic Olympic Games with the United States in the summer of 2012 at the age of 17. In the 100-meter freestyle, she won three silver and one gold medal. In the latter event, she also set a new world record.
A large portion of the world was aware of her identity when she returned from London. People in the area started to recognize Victoria after she was asked to give a talk.
She started sharing her tale with periodicals and television reporters, and she inspired millions of people worldwide.
But that wheelchair was the one thing that continued to annoy her.
Victoria relocated to San Diego in 2013 to take part in the Project Walk initiative, which helps those who are paralyzed regain their ability to stand.
In order for me to train every day, my mother and I temporarily moved to San Diego and lived with relatives. Although we were aware that this location could be helpful to me, we were opposed to living hundreds of miles away from my father and brothers. My family chose to launch the first Project Walk franchise on the East Coast in order to fulfill their pledge. In this manner, individuals in my hometown might regain the optimism they required, and I could practice daily and accomplish my objective,” Victoria explains.
Nevertheless, hospital experts had doubts about Victoria’s ability to walk.
Her parents were informed by a doctor that he would not “mortgage his house on it.” In response, they took that precise action, which allowed them to launch a Project Walk Boston.
The first tentative steps Victoria took were on November 11, 2015.
Two coaches assisted her in moving her legs while she was restrained in a harness atop a treadmill.
She had not “woken up” for six years by that point. Several doctors had repeatedly pronounced his legs dead.
Nevertheless, Victoria woke up each day and trained for six hours in order to accomplish her objective.
She started to move again slowly. She eventually gained the ability to walk with crutches.
She stopped using crutches entirely on March 3, 2016, five months later, and started walking on her own. Since then, she hasn’t stopped.
This is not to imply that every day is flawless. I still have severe disability, and walking is still difficult for me. I use leg braces, train for two to three hours every day, and keep my chair or crutches ready for use on days when my legs seem more immobilized. However, my difficulty is now less obvious,” she says.
The magnitude of the harm and the amount of work required to keep improving every day are only known by her coach and her immediate family.
However, it’s all worthwhile. Ten years have passed since I was able to look someone in the eye rather than spend my days gazing at their assholes.
Victoria wasn’t sure what to think as she got out of her wheelchair for the first time.
She didn’t know what people would think of her.
“But then I understood that this is my journey and no one else’s, and perhaps it can inspire hope in those who are most in need.”
After a difficult ten years, Victoria has finally found her new identity today.
She is an ESPN sports channel program leader, a gold medallist in the Paralympics, and most importantly, a survivor.
Victoria is frequently seen as an inspiration to everyone and a walking, talking miracle. However, she takes care to highlight one point:
“I am thankful to everyone who has supported me up to this point; I didn’t do this alone. I’m getting used to my new situation every day. On March 3rd, I believed that would be my last step. However, in actuality, they were just the start.
What an amazing journey this courageous, strong, and inspirational woman has taken!
Sharing her story is the least we can do to give our friends and family the opportunity to be motivated by her struggle as well!
“Optimism is the faith that brings success.” Without confidence and optimism, nothing is possible.
We hope the future holds the best for you. Victoria.
