Former Olympian From Exeter Talks Recovery On Megyn Kelly TODAY

EXETER, NH - Last week, Exeter native, Paralympic gold-medalist and ESPN host Victoria Arlen spoke to Today show correspondent Megyn Kelly about the horror of being locked in her own body for four years. According to an article on Brinkwire, Arlen was struck with two autoimmune diseases that caused severe inflammation in her brain and spinal cord, triggering rapid deterioration to the point that she was in a vegetative state when she was 11.

Over the span of just two weeks Victoria was paralyzed from the waist down, and within months she slipped into a vegetative state that would last for four years as doctors struggled to understand what had caused her rapid decline. After three years she was ultimately diagnosed her with two equally rare conditions: Transverse Myelitis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis.

By the time she was 15 in late 2009, Victoria’s conditioned had worsened and she was having nonstop seizures 20 hours per day. She hadn’t been sleeping so doctors gave her medication that ultimately didn’t put her to sleep but did stop the seizures by targeting the neurotransmitter that had been causing them.

Shortly after being given the medication, Victoria realized that she could control her eyes.

For the next six months Victoria had to slowly relearn everything from wiggling a finger to making noises with her vocal cords.

Arlen competed with the USA Paralympic swim team at the London Games, bringing home three silver medals and a gold in the 100-meter freestyle in 2012. Last fall she competed on Dancing With The Stars, making it to the semi-finals.

You can read the full story here at Brinkwire.