A North Carolina student is paralyzed from the neck down after suffering from migraines as a child.
Sarah Todd Hammer, now 22, was eight years old when she felt severe pain during dance class.
“I was in ballet class and got a terrible headache and neck pain, and when I left the class my arms and hands stopped working,” Ms. Hammer said in a TikTok video.
About 10 minutes later, she could move her legs, but could no longer walk. The next morning she lost mobility in her legs. “I was completely paralyzed from the neck down,” she said.
Ms Hammer was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), which is usually caused by the body’s overreaction to a virus or infection.
Mrs. Hammer shared TikTok videos about her paralysis and her additional medical issues
Ms Hammer was just eight years old when she suffered a spinal cord injury from the rare condition acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). She is now active in disability advocacy and spreading accessibility awareness on her TikTok account, which has 83,000 followers
It causes devastating inflammation around a part of the spinal cord called gray matter, which leads to weakening of the muscles and reflexes in the body.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition mostly affects young children, who often develop infection from the enteroviral virus.
MRI scans show that people with migraines have physical changes in the brain
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles analyzed 25 brain scans and found that migraine sufferers have significantly larger perivascular spaces, which are fluid-filled spaces around certain blood vessels in various organs, including the brain.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began monitoring AFM in 2014. There have been 736 confirmed cases in the US so far.
The CDC estimates that 90 percent of these cases occurred in young children.
She said that dancing is not until Me. Hammer’s AMF did not lead. The timing was fortuitous.
She was in hospital for two months, including twelve days in the intensive care unit.
During her stay in the care unit, Ms. Hammer told People that she underwent plasmapheresis treatment, which replaces blood plasma, an element made up of electrolytes and proteins.
It meant she could walk again.
She also underwent a five-week clinical follow-up examination. “I did a lot of physical therapy and occupational therapy there and literally pushed my manual wheelchair with my legs,” she told People.
Ms Hammer is now partially paralyzed in both arms and hands.
“I can’t move my left hand at all.” I can’t move my shoulders. “I can move my right hand, but it is extremely weak,” she said. “I have a lot of patchy paralysis.”
AFM has left her with several lasting ailments, including scoliosis – a sideways curvature of the spine – and reduced lung capacity. She also struggles to regulate her body temperature and her muscles become tired and tense from overuse.
Mrs. Hammer is now active in disability advocacy and spreading accessibility awareness on her TikTok account, which has 83,000 followers.
“In addition to sharing my story, I also started educating people about disabilities. I want to spread the message that I have a great life, and not despite my disability. My disability has made so many great things happen for me,” she said.
“It definitely took me a while to accept my disability because my whole life has changed, but kids are just very resilient. “I think my age helped a lot.”
“My disability is an essential part of me and I don’t want to change it, because then my life wouldn’t be the same.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
