Victoria Arlen: ESPN host reveals 'nightmare' experience of relapse with rare neurological disease

2023-05-11 17:59

Victoria Arlen returned to 'SportsCenter' three weeks after the recurrence of a rarely fatal disease brought on by spinal cord inflammation last year

The ESPN host Victoria Arlen has recovered from a second attack of transverse myelitis, a rare neurological condition that temporarily incapacitated her. Arlen returned to 'SportsCenter' three weeks after the shocking recurrence of the rarely fatal disease brought on by spinal cord inflammation last year while remaining to feel like she's "being completely electrocuted."

The former Paralympian, American Ninja Warrior Junior host, and Dancing With the Stars candidate initially fell ill when she was just 11 years old with transverse myelitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which cause inflammation in the central nervous system.

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Who is Victoria Arlen?

Victoria Arlen started working for ESPN in May 2015 and does both hosting and reporting. She covers all media platforms and hosts several shows on them, including 'Sportscenter', 'First Take', 'The X Games', 'Special Olympics', 'Sportscenter on Snapchat, and many others. She was one of ESPN's newest on-air personalities when she was hired at the age of 20. At the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, she made her ESPN tv debut as a features venue reporter. Arlen attained success as a gold medal-winning swimmer, novelist, television host, and motivational speaker, as per Special Olympics.

What is she suffering from?

When Arlen was just eleven years old in 2006, she was diagnosed with two extremely rare diseases called Transverse Myelitis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis. Arlen spent four years unwilling to communicate or move, according to People Magazine. She hosted 'SportsCenter' and other nationally broadcast television programs after taking home a gold medal at the 2012 Paralympics, but on March 17, 2022, she was once again disabled by the illness. "The whole right side started to droop," Arlen told People. "All my internal alarms were going off. I knew something was seriously wrong... "At least it's not a relapse,'' she thought. The reality conflicted with her hopes and her 'worst fear' was realized.

'This isn't how the story is supposed to end'

Doctors had given up hope that she would ever fully heal, but she had shown them wrong. The thought of succumbing to immobility "has always been my worst fear," Arlen says. "I feared I wouldn't be so lucky the second time around." Her body began to shut down quickly in the hospital, confirming her worst concerns. She was unable to move her legs or limbs and had difficulty speaking. She couldn't feel her mother's hand when she arrived and stretched for it. Doctors determined Arlen wasn't having a stroke. She was relapsing. "They said, 'We have a very short window before you could end up completely paralyzed—or worse'," she says. "I'm lying there thinking, 'I can't die like this'. I prayed harder than I've ever prayed before. I was like, 'No, God. This isn't how the story is supposed to end'," she said.

'It was a very weird hurdle'

Arlen was unable to move her arms or legs anymore. Speech became an increasing issue before medical professionals promptly took action to correct the worrisome condition, According to People, Arlen had intravenous steroids to treat the inflammation and prevent long-term paralysis. But the difficulties didn't end with being paralyzed. The 28-year-old no longer experienced the ease of human mobility. "Sitting up was a process again. Just being able to take steps and stand was a process again,' she told. "Mentally I didn't feel safe in my body for a long time. It was a very weird hurdle that I had to overcome. I keep believing in miracles I choose to have faith that I'm going to be okay, and I choose to have hope that things are going to continue to get better."

What happened next?

She underwent six years of rigorous physical therapy before regaining her ability to walk in 2016. Shortly after, she demonstrated her improved dancing abilities on 'Dancing With the Stars', and her career "entered this launchpad," as she puts it. She cohosted 'American Ninja Warrior Junior', founded a nonprofit organization called 'Victoria's Victory Foundation' to assist people with mobility challenges, authored her autobiography, 'Locked In', and landed a position in the 'SportsCenter' studio.

'Another second chance'

Arlen is concentrating on the good right now. She has resumed her active lifestyle, which includes working out, skiing, and hosting the X Games earlier this year. "I've been given another second chance, and I make a conscious effort now more than ever to appreciate every single moment," the woman says."Because in the blink of an eye, it can be taken away."