Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman describes her terrifying hospitalizations.
Aly Raisman discusses her health issues. On the newest Call Her Daddy podcast, the 30-year-old Olympic gymnast described her two stroke-related hospitalizations.
“I forgot my name. Slurring my speech. She remarked, “I barely speak.” “I was examined for a stroke twice because I couldn’t move. It scared me.”
Raisman had to travel the ambulance to the hospital alone during the COVID-19 epidemic.
“They’re asking me what my name is, but I can’t remember my name or say what my name is,” she said. “I realized, ‘Oh my God, I have two guys here and I can’t move my arms and legs. My body is immobile. Can’t talk. What if they exploit me?”
Since Raisman was abused by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, the encounter was traumatic. Nassar pled guilty to various crimes in 2017 and was sentenced to 40–175 years in prison in 2018.
“I was like really still struggling a lot with PTSD,” Raisman said of her ambulance trip. “People don’t realize how much it still lives with you when you’ve been through something traumatic.”
A year ago, Raisman struggled with symptoms that were quite similar.
Due to the fact that I was unable to sit up on my own, they refused to release me. In order to walk and use the restroom, I need assistance. “It took me a very long time,” she said. “It was just the most [challenging] to be able to go from being like an athlete and being able to push myself so much to being able to literally not even be able to move my fingers or move my legs. It was just the very best thing that could have happened to me.” My whole body was paralyzed because of it.
Raisman said that stress makes her symptoms worse, which is why she has to “be very on top” of her therapy sessions. She also has faith that her therapist would guide her through the process if she is “starting to feel off.”
Now, Raisman is getting ready to go to Paris in order to compete in the Olympic Games in 2024. Although Raisman has retired from the sport of gymnastics, she is scheduled to participate in the Games of this year by acting as an official ambassador for hospitality during the competition.
According to her, “I’m going to be so busy.” “A great number of triggers are going to be present. It’s possible that I’ll run across someone who has proven to be untrustworthy in the past. Consequently, it is at work on that. It’s a pretty difficult situation.”