courage

AN INCREDIBLE STORY OF RECOVERY AND HOPE

nancyvalko brain injury, courage, disability, faith, futility, inspiration, medical, medical ethics, mental health, pro-life, vegetative state

I was watching ESPN’s Sports Center show with my husband when I commented on the smart female sportscaster Victoria Arlen who held her own with the male sportscasters. Then my husband told me she had an amazing story and I had to check it out for myself.

A LIFE-CHANGING ILLNESS

When she was 11 in 2006, Victoria Arlen developed two rare conditions: Transverse Myelitis (“a neurological disorder caused by inflammation of the spinal cord”) and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (” a neurological, immune-mediated disorder in which widespread inflammation of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) damages tissue known as white matter”) . 

According to her website, she quickly lost the ability to speak, eat, walk and move and slipped into a “vegetative state”. The doctors thought she was a lost cause. “Victoria spent nearly four years “locked” inside her own body completely aware of what was going on just unable to move or communicate.”

But she didn’t give up.

Amazingly, she was able to improve and according to the May 10, 2023 issue of People magazine:

“After winning gold at the 2012 Paralympic Games and getting a job as one of the youngest reporters at ESPN, she spent year in physical therapy relearning to walk (something doctors thought she’d never be able to do)— and then dance, placing fifth on Dancing with the Stars in 2017.

By all accounts, Arlen had seemed to triumph over her tragedy.

THE RELAPSE

But on March 17, 2022, Victoria had a relapse-her worst fear.

But because her relapse of just the transverse myelitis was recognized early, doctors were able to treat her and prevent lasting paralysis. But her recovery was “grueling”, learning to sit up and take steps again with daily rehab.

She said ” I needed to prove to myself that I was going to be okay” and “”I keep believing in miracles I choose to have faith that I’m going to be okay, and I choose to have hope that things are going to continue to get better,

She continued to have nerve pain but is now back at ESPN’s Sports Center and says, ” “I’ve been given another second chance, and I make a conscious effort now more than ever to appreciate every single moment,” she says. “Because in the blink of an eye, it can be taken away.”

Her webpage reveals that:

“Victoria is also the Founder and Co- Chair of Victoria’s Victory Foundation, a nonprofit that assists those with mobility related disabilities. Since 2017, VVF over provided half a million dollars in scholarship funds to those who need it most.

Victoria’s book titled Locked In hit stores worldwide in August of 2018 as well as her 30 for 30 titled Locked In, that Victoria narrated and produced. Victoria continues to share her story on various speaking tours throughout the world.”

CONCLUSION

Ms. Arlen ends her story with an inspirational message that should touch all of us-especially healthcare providers:

“Heroes in real life don’t wear masks and capes. Sometimes they don’t stand out at all. But real heroes can save a life or many lives just by answering the call in their heart. In the darkest period of my life, when I couldn’t help myself, my heroes were there. … Sometimes we just need someone to lean over and whisper, ‘You can do it!‘ (Emphasis added)

A New Profile in Courage

nancyvalko courage, inspiration

I will never forget turning 13 and watching President John F. Kennedy on television during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

My whole family was watching when the president told us that a nuclear war with Russia could be imminent.

I was terrified, especially since my parents were leaving for a golf trip the next day and I was left in charge of my younger brothers and sister.

I tried to be calm and brave like President Kennedy so that my siblings wouldn’t be upset. It was very hard.

When the threat was over and my parents returned home, I read President Kennedy’s book “Profiles in Courage”. I was so inspired by these stories of brave politicians standing up for their principles that I started reading the two newspapers (one liberal, one conservative) and news magazines that came to our house to try to better understand politics, economics, etc.

But over the next several decades, it sadly seemed that real courage was often in short supply-especially in politics-until now.

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY AND THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE

President Volodymyr Zelensky is a 44 year old former actor and comedian, who is now the sixth and current president of Ukraine. President Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city in central Ukraine. He is Jewish and married with three children.

In 2015, he played the lead in the tv series “Servant of the People”, a satire about an ordinary history teacher who is caught on camera ranting about his country’s rampant corruption and cynicism and surprisingly becomes the president of Ukraine.

His characterization of the honest and dedicated teacher-turned-politician amazingly resulted in Mr. Zelensky’s own election to president of Ukraine in 2019 in a landslide. (Subtitled episodes of his show “Servant of the People” are available on YouTube.)

Then, when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, President Zelensky became the face-and heart-of the beleaguered country of Ukraine.

In an interview just after the Russian invasion began and he was offered help to safely get out of the country, President Zelensky famously said “I don’t need a ride [out of the country]. I need more ammunition.”

Instead of hiding from the Russian attacks and by using social media videos,  President Zelensky went out into the streets to show that he was with his people despite the personal danger to himself. He also called for the US and other countries to help him and his people fight the unprovoked Russian invasion.

So far, President Zelensky has survived 3 assassination attempts to continue communicating with his people and the world. On March 8, he addressed the UK Parliament by video and spoke emotionally about his country’s attempt to stop the Russian invasion and how the Ukrainian citizens have rebelled against the Russian forces. President Zelenskyy received a standing ovation from the UK parliament with many members wearing pins with the Ukrainian flag colors.

 Despite overwhelming odds, the Ukrainian people have been able to survive and fight back for weeks so far.

Many other countries have now sent reporters to Ukraine where they have chronicled both the atrocities of the Russians and the bravery, kindness, and resolve of the Ukrainians trying to save their country.

CONCLUSION

Like many other people, I have been riveted while watching this new war on tv and seeing the terrible suffering of the Ukrainian people. It is heartbreaking to watch.

But what has surprised and inspired me is the conduct of President Zelensky and his people.

Despite the terrible hardships and suffering, President Zelenskyy and his people have shown tremendous resolve and determination not to respond with anger or with the same cruelty that they receive. They just ask to live in peace in their own country.

The news videos of caring citizens helping the elderly, mothers with small children, the wounded, etc. to get food, water, and medical care as they try to escape to a safe country are unforgettable.

President Zelensky continues to be composed but emphatic about what he and his people need to survive and save their homeland.

Those of us who can help through prayers, donations through organizations like the Red Cross, etc. should do so.

No one yet knows what the final result of this terrible invasion will be but the we should never forget the bravery and dedication of Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy and his people.

I know I won’t.