According to her parents, when Victoria was just 11 years old, she contracted two rare illnesses that changed her life forever. The child reportedly experienced worrying flu-like symptoms.
She fainted several times and contracted pneumonia. Just two weeks later, the doctors told the parents that their daughter was paralysed from the waist down. Her body shut off, bit by bit.
A severe inflammation of the brain and spinal cord destroyed her whole life. Her family could only stand and watch as Victoria completely lost the ability to talk, eat or move freely. What no one realized was that Victoria was far from brain dead. In fact, she could hear everything that was going on in her hospital room around her, she simply could not make her body respond. Luckily, her family refused to give up on her.
The brave young girl reportedly spent almost four years locked inside her own body. The doctors explained to her family that she was in a vegetative state. She was fed through a tube to keep her alive. Her parents were told early on that it was highly unlikely she would recover. “We lost her,” her mother, Jacqueline said. What nobody knew was that Victoria could hear her loved ones beside her hospital bed.
Two years after slipping into the coma, she woke up again mentally, but could not move her body. She could hear conversations around her and wanted to react, but her body would not obey her commands. Victoria had no way of telling people what was happening to her.
She heard doctors tell her family that she was effectively brain-dead. She would remain in a vegetative state for the rest of her life. But, just 2 years later, Victoria was able to make eye contact with her mother. She was able to do something she hadn’t been able to do thus far. She made eye contact with her mom. Her mom asked her to blink twice if she was really there. Thankfully, Victoria was able to do so. Her mom calls this their miracle. It was the sign they needed to prove to the doctors that their daughter was not lost forever.
From there she gradually began to come back to life. She was able to move a finger, then over time progressed to waving her hand. Eventually, she was able to form words, and the words then became sentences. She started eating pudding by herself, then migrated onto her first steak in four years.
Victoria became able to hold her first mobile phone, and learned to use her legs again. Victoria is often seen as a walking, talking miracle, and an inspiration for all. She, however, is careful to point out one thing: “I didn’t do this on my own, and I am grateful for everyone who has helped me to this point. Each day, I become more comfortable with my new reality. I thought taking those steps on March 3 would be my finish line. But really, they were only the beginning.”
