Olympic Gymnast Aly Raisman Hospitalized Twice After ‘Complete Body Paralysis:’ 'It Was So Scary'
Aly Raisman — who's competed in two Olympic Games — revealed she was hospitalized twice after suffering body paralysis.
On a recent episode of 'Call Her Daddy' podcast, the now-retired gymnast explained two separate situations where she was admitted into the hospital after having stroke-like symptoms, per 'Entertainment Tonight.'
The 30-year-old first encountered the alarming symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning she had to ride in the back of the ambulance to the hospital all alone.
"I can't remember my name, I'm slurring my words, I can barely speak," she described. "Both times I was tested for a stroke because I literally couldn't move my body. It was so scary."
In addition to the mystery ailments, Raisman also admitted she was battling with PTSD, and was concerned as to whether she would be taken advantage of during her most vulnerable moments.
"They're asking me what my name is, but I can't remember my name or say what my name is," she detailed. "I was aware enough to know like, 'Oh my God, I have two men [with me and] I can't move my arms and my legs. I can't move my body. I can't speak, like... what if they take advantage of me?' "
The thought was triggered by the fact that Raisman is a trauma survivor who suffered at the hands of USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. After 18 years, more than 265 athletes came forward detailing the sexual abuse they faced.
A judge sentenced Nassar to 40 to 175 years behind bars for seven counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree in 2018. "I was like, really still struggling a lot with PTSD," Raisman admitted. "People don't realize how much it still lives with you when you've been through something traumatic."
"It was just the most [challenging] to be able to go from being like an athlete and being able to push myself so much to being able to literally not even be able to move my fingers, move my legs. I had complete body paralysis," Raisman recalled.
She concluded: "There's gonna be a lot of triggers. I might see someone that maybe didn't protect me in the past. So, it's working on that. It's very complicated." The athlete said that stress enhances her symptoms, so she has to be "on top" of therapy when she's "starting to feel off."
