A 5-year-old girl has been left paralysed from the waist down after doing a gymnastics move at her home in California.
On the Go Fund Me page called ‘Stand For Eden’, her family explain how she was doing a bridge on the living room floor days before Christmas when she collapsed onto the ground.
Her mum, Kylee Hoelscher, said she “shook it off” because the toddler was known for being adventurous and determined.
She explained: “When she cried that her legs, back and hips hurt, I gathered her in my arms and rocked her, shushing her, telling her to calm down.
“But this time, Eden didn’t pick herself up off the ground, dust herself off and go on her next crazy adventure.
“Thirty minutes after she started crying, she stopped. Her face changed—it kind of filled with wonder—and she told me, ‘Mom, I feel like my feet are sleeping.’
“I looked at her body, which seemed to be posed awkwardly on the bed, and told her to move her leg. She stared at it, saying, ‘I can’t, Mom.’”
She rushed her daughter to hospital where they were told that the backbend, a move which Eden had done hundreds of times before, had hyperextended her spine and caused the artery that feeds her spinal cord to stop pumping blood, causing a stroke in her spinal cord.
Hoelscher explained: “The extent of damage is unheard of… In one instant, that backbend altered our lives forever.
“Eden is now in a wheelchair. She lost the ability to sit up on her own. Her bowels and bladder do not work. We have to wake up twice a night to move her so she won’t get pressure sores from sleeping in one position too long.
“She also must remember to do pressure relief exercises every fifteen minutes she is in her wheelchair to protect her skin. She cannot regulate her temperature so we have to watch her for signs of her getting too hot or too cold.
“She cannot reach a sink to wash her hands or brush her teeth. Our bathrooms are not equipped for her to easily shower or bathe. The list of what she now cannot do could span pages.”
Despite what has happened, Eden is still a daredevil and has apparently accomplished more than expected in rehab. She also returned to school one week after being discharged from hospital.
Whilst she and her family still have a long way to go and lots of challenges lie ahead, they are hoping that the Go Fund Me page will help to cover treatment for Eden and spread awareness.
