Woman was ‘locked inside her body’ for four years and one moment could’ve stopped it all

A woman was left ‘locked inside her own body’ for four years, but it’s thought one thing could’ve prevented it.

Victoria Arlen is a famed Paralympian and sports presenter, but her journey to get to there has been tumultuous.

At the age of 11, the American developed two rare conditions; transverse myelitis (TM) and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). She lost the ability to move, eat or speak, and it was feared any recovery was unlikely as doctors believed her chances of survival were low.

However, Arlen fought back and reclaimed her health, and at the age of 15, she began to relearn everything. And before she could even walk again, her brothers took her swimming which led to her going on to win one gold and three silver medals at the 2012 London Paralympics.

She was just 11 when she ended up in hospital. (Facebook/Victoria Arlen)

Now 31 years old, Arlen has previously claimed her frightening experience of being ‘locked in’ her own could have been prevented.

She previously wrote on Facebook: “Did you know that had doctors known about this sooner/been more proactive, everything I went through; the 4 year vegetative state, re-learning how to do EVERYTHING including learning how to walk after being paralyzed for 10 years... all of this could’ve been prevented and treated.. had it been caught early and doctors were more proactive and aware of TM. But back in 2006 that wasn’t the case.”

Arlen has described spending time dragging her feet and losing ability in her legs before her diagnosis but that doctors thought she was ‘trying to get attention’.

However, she’s said that within weeks, her legs ‘were gone’ and all she can remember is going into an ambulance.

A child at the time, she ‘slipped into a vegetative state’ and while she was ‘completely aware of what was going on’, she couldn’t communicate or move.

She ended up winning gold in 2012. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

But she claimed in a previous interview: “It all could have been prevented by a single dose of steroids.

“By the time I became unresponsive, it was too late for anything.”

TM has been adopted as the term to describe inflammation of the spinal cord due to a misdirected immune response and early treatment can be crucial.

The first line of therapy in treating it is typically intravenous steroid treatment as time can be critical in how it develops.

ADEM is also a rare inflammatory condition affecting the brain and spinal cord, often following a minor infection like a cold. Treatment can also be from corticosteroid injections.

However, Arlen’s case was not picked up soon enough, causing her to end up in the ‘vegetative’ state as a child. Having still been in a wheelchair during the Paralympics, she has since learned to walk again and even took part in Dancing with the Stars in 2017.