This woman spent 4 years of her life in a vegetative state and then miraculously regained her speech

Although medicine has advanced considerably today, patients sometimes outwit doctors' diagnoses. One such case is Victoria Arlen, who surprised the scientific community by miraculously recovering from two rare diseasesthat left her in a vegetative state for more than 4 years.

4 years in an unresponsive state

In 2006, the young woman suddenly lost the use of her limbs and realised that she could no longer communicate or swallow food properly. Victoria told ESPN:

It was as if someone was slowly turning off the switches in the circuit that controlled my body and my brain.

She spent two years in a coma before waking up in a body unable to move, but with a fully conscious mind. She recalls:

Two years later, I woke up inside a body that could not move. I was locked in. I could hear the conversations going on around me, but I had no way of alerting anyone that I was aware they were there

Two rare conditions diagnosed

It was only 3 years later that doctors diagnosed two very rare conditions: transverse myelitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. These autoimmune diseases caused Victoria Arlen's brain and spinal cord to swell. With the right treatment, they gradually disappeared and she regained control of her body.

However, these conditions could have been cured quickly with a simple steroid injection if they had been identified earlier. Instead, the doctors were unreassuring to her family and told them that she would remain in a nonresponsive state for the rest of her life.

A lust for life

But Victoria Arlen's family never gave up on her and kept her fighting. After she woke up, she regained the use of her upper limbs, only her legs took longer to regain their motor skills. Meanwhile, in a wheelchair, she participated in the London 2012 Paralympic Games and won 4 medals at the age of 17.

Today, Victoria Arlen has regained the use of her lower limbs. Filled with projects, the American paralympic athlete is enjoying life to the full and is sharing her story. After setting up a charity, she published her autobiography Locked In. She is now in good shape and has control over all of her limbs and even participated in the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars.

This article was translated from Oh!MyMag FR.

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