Paralyzed US
Woman Holds Hope In Costa Rican Treatment
By Nicole Beyer
TEMPE, AZ -- It was May of 2007, when Trish
Stressman was paralyzed from the chest down
during an ATV accident in Mexico with her
husband.
"I was like 'Scott let's go see the
seagulls' and we wanted to drive out to them
and see them fly," said Stressman. "That's
the last thing I remember."
She was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital
where she said doctors told her, "'This is
horrible,' before I went into surgery they
told me when I was all alone in my room I
would never walk again."
Confined to a wheel chair, she continues to
fight two years later.
She said doctors in the US told her this is
as good as it would get because she burst
her T6 vertebrae.
"And a chip of it hit my spinal cord, now
I'm paralyzed from the chest down," she
said.
"Accepting it at first is hard because
you're used to being such a go-getter, I was
a teacher for 15 years in the Kyrene School
District.
But this former teacher recently found hope
in Costa Rica.
"This is not available in the US yet at all,
that's why we have to go out of the
country," said Stressman.
That's why she's back in physical therapy at
the Neuro Institute in Tempe.
It's all to gain strength for her upcoming
non-embryotic, cord blood treatment.
"I get eight injections into my injury spot,
into my spinal cord," she said, "They
actually do a spinal tap where they remove
some of the fluid first and then they put
the stem cell in that spot."
To Trish, walking without help would be a
miracle.
"Of course, that would be my dream,
realistically, my goal is to work my hardest
and see what comes back."
That's why you'll find her doing crunches,
tricep dips and chip-ups with a smile.
Nothing is too much.
"I mean you can work your hardest and maybe
nothing will come true," Stressman says.
From therapists, to her family, she wants
everyone, including her two sons, to learn
from her stamina.
"There's going to be challenges in their
life and maybe they can look back to say Mom
didn't quit," Stressman said.
As for her strength, she said it comes from
her husband, who is always at her side.
"We're a great team, we can do anything,"
according to Stressman.
She leaves for Costa Rica on Saturday.
She has a blog and will be writing about her
treatments the whole time she's in Mexico.
Stressman's family is also raising money to
cover the $30,000 worth of medical expenses
plus travel costs.
To help, just log visit
tstressman.blogspot.com. |
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