Olympic Gymnast Aly Raisman Hospitalized Twice After ‘Complete Body Paralysis’

Aly Raisman is opening up about her health struggles. On the latest episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, the 30-year-old Olympic gymnast detailed the two times she was hospitalized after experiencing stroke-like symptoms.

“I can’t remember my name. I’m slurring my words. I can barely speak,” she shared. “Both times I was tested for a stroke because I literally couldn’t move my body. It was so scary.”

Raisman first encountered this alarming medical issue amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant she had to ride in the ambulance to the hospital alone.

“They’re asking me what my name is, but I can’t remember my name or say what my name is,” she recalled. “I was aware enough to know, like, ‘Oh my God, I have two men here and I can’t move my arms and my legs. I can’t move my body. I can’t speak. Like, what if they take advantage of me?'”

This experience was particularly triggering for Raisman due to her past as one of the athletes who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Nassar pleaded guilty to several charges in 2017 and was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison the following year.

“I was really still struggling a lot with PTSD,” Raisman said while recalling her ambulance ride. “People don’t realize how much it still lives with you when you’ve been through something traumatic.”

Raisman faced similar symptoms last year.

“They wouldn’t release me because I couldn’t sit up on my own. I needed help walking, going to the bathroom. It took me so long,” she said. “It was just the most challenging to go from being an athlete and pushing myself so much to literally not even being able to move my fingers, move my legs. I had complete body paralysis.”

Raisman emphasized that stress worsens her symptoms, necessitating diligent attention to therapy. She trusts her therapist to work with her if she starts feeling off.

Now, Raisman is gearing up for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Although she has retired from gymnastics, she’s set to be involved in this year’s Games by serving as an official hospitality ambassador.

“I’m gonna be so busy,” she said. “There are going to be a lot of triggers. I might see someone that maybe didn’t protect me in the past. So, it’s working on that. It’s very complicated.”

Source: Call Her Daddy podcast, USA Today