Aly Raisman said that she suffers from “stroke-like symptoms” and has been admitted to the hospital on many occasions.
The thirty-year-old gymnast, who had previously competed in the Olympics, made an appearance on the podcast hosted by Alex Cooper on July 17 and claimed that the medical issues were the result of stress and trauma catching up with her physically. She remembered reading a post on Instagram that stated, “If you don’t pick a day to rest, your body will pick it for you,” which she believes “encapsulates” her health issue. She also recalled seeing the post.
“It has happened twice where it has been this intense — I feel like I have different minor issues as well, depending on what I’m going through at the time — where I have literally stroke-like symptoms,” Raisman added. “It’s been this intense on both occasions.” There is no way I can recall my name. I am slurring my words at the moment. I am hardly able to talk. Two times, I was examined to see whether or not I had suffered a stroke since I was unable to move my body.
According to Raisman, the fact that she was receiving therapy as a result of the abuse she had experienced in the past at the hands of a physician was what made the scenario “so scary.” The athlete was one of the dozens of gymnasts who came out in 2017 and accused Larry Nassar, a doctor who specializes in gymnastics in the United States, of sexually abusing others. In the latter part of that year, he entered a guilty plea to many allegations of criminal sexual behavior, and in 2018, he was judged to be sentenced to 175 years in prison.
It was during the COVID when it occurred for the first time. She recounted that as a result, they refused to allow her mother to ride in the ambulance with her child. “I was conscious enough to make the realization, ‘Oh my God, I have two men [with me], I am unable to move my arms and legs, I am unable to move my body, and I am unable to speak.’” Is it possible that they will take advantage of me?’”
According to her further explanation, “I was really still struggling a lot with PTSD.” “People don’t realize how much it still lives with you after you’ve been through something traumatic,” said the speaker. That was a really challenging situation for me.
She was hospitalized for three days with “complete body paralysis” after experiencing these stroke-like symptoms for the second time, according to Raisman, which occurred a year and a half after the first time she began experiencing them.
Due to the fact that I was unable to sit up on my own, they refused to release me. It took me a very long time. Her explanation was that she need assistance with walking and going to the restroom. “Being able to go from being an athlete and being able to push myself so much to literally not even being able to touch my fingers or move my legs was the most hardest thing that I had to go through. “It was so terrifying.”
A statement made by the Olympian said that she was originally “ignored” by the medical staff at the hospital until they became aware of who she was.
“It’s absolutely awful,” she said. Each and every person has the right to get high-quality medical care. Because I already have trust problems with physicians, it was not until they learned that I was a very high-level athlete that they were really friendly to me and took care of me. This is also triggering for me because I already have trust issues with healthcare professionals.
Based on her statement that stress “exacerbates” her medical condition, Raisman is now undergoing treatment in order to learn how to manage her stress and trauma in order to prevent them from having an adverse effect on her health.
An important test is going to occur later this month when she is in France for the forthcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, according to the former gymnast who joined ESPN as a gymnastics commentator in January. She believes that this will be a significant test. It was announced by NBC that she would be serving as an official hospitality ambassador with Michael Phelps at the Summer Games.
I’m going to have a lot of things to do. The number of triggers is going to be rather high. During the podcast, Raisman said, “I might run into someone who, in the past, may not have been able to secure my safety.” Consequently, it is working on that. It’s a pretty difficult situation.”