The American Martina (24) revealed how her life radically changed within one day. Tingling, which medical professionals considered a symptom of a panic attack, turned into an unexpected but extremely serious condition. , the young woman was unable to move a few hours later.
- Out of nowhere, Martina began to feel tingling in her shoulders.
- The rescuers considered her initial difficulties to be a normal panic attack.
- Within hours she was paralyzed from the neck down.
- Tests revealed that the young woman had suffered a spinal cord stroke.
- Martina is currently in a wheelchair, but thanks to physiotherapy, her mobility is slowly returning.
Before Valentine’s Day, Martina’s life was completely normal. She was a healthy young woman who loved her independence. Everything changed when she stood up during a movie night with her cousin and felt something unusual in her body. “It started with tingling in the shoulders that quickly spread. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew it wasn’t normal“, she stated.
While Martina was walking around the house trying to shake off the unpleasant feeling, her cousin called an ambulance because her condition was not improving. To her surprise, according to her words, the medical staff assessed that it was not a serious condition, but a normal panic attack. But when her mobility began to deteriorate, they took her to the hospital. At first, she was still able to walk from the ambulance to the building, but then she could no longer move. “Within four hours I was completely paralyzed from the neck down,” revealed a shocked Martina.
At the hospital, she underwent a CT scan, lumbar puncture and magnetic resonance imaging, but all results were negative. Both Martina and her doctors were confused because they couldn’t find any answers.
After 48 hours, they repeated all the tests and did a magnetic resonance imaging (MRA) of the blood vessels. It was this examination that showed ischemia (reduced blood flow and oxygen supply) in the area of the cervical spine. A lumbar puncture also revealed an increased number of lymphocytes, the white blood cells responsible for fighting infection, which indicated that her body was struggling with something.
Six days after arriving at the hospital, Martina learned that she had overcome a vascular event in the spinal cord. This serious condition occurs when a blood clot cuts off blood flow to the spinal cord, causing sudden and intense back pain, tingling or numbness, and then paralysis. Experts emphasize that the incident can significantly affect a person’s life, leading to permanent paralysis, chronic pain, breathing problems or permanent incontinence. In some cases, it can be fatal.
Today, Martina is confined to a wheelchair and has to rely on the help of those around her for many daily activities. In March, she began physical therapy in an effort to regain some of her mobility and strength. Thanks to the treatment, she managed to recover at least partially and was able to stand on her feet for the first time a few weeks ago.
After this terrifying experience, Martina and her loved ones started documenting her story on social media in order to share her recovery process with people.. Many netizens praised Martina’s resilience and regularly send her encouraging comments. “Never stop believing. We can only influence death, everything else is a mystery,” concluded a determined Martina.
