Current:Home > Contact-usOlympian Aly Raisman Was Hospitalized Twice After "Complete Body Paralysis"-InfoLens
Olympian Aly Raisman Was Hospitalized Twice After "Complete Body Paralysis"
View Date:2024-12-23 11:00:56
Aly Raisman has been fighting a private health battle.
The retired gymnast, who has competed in two Olympic Games, revealed that she’s been hospitalized twice in the last few years with "stroke-like symptoms."
"I can't remember my name," the 30-year-old said on the July 17 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. "I'm slurring my words. I can barely speak. Both times I was tested for a stroke because I literally couldn't move my body. It was so scary."
Being treated by doctors was in itself triggering for Raisman. She is one of scores of gymnasts who were sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar, who in 2018 was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for the acts, which he carried out under the guise of medical treatment.
Raisman said her first medical emergency with stroke-like symptoms happened during the COVID pandemic, which meant her mother was not allowed to ride with her in the ambulance that took her to the hospital.
"They're asking me what my name is, but I can't remember my name or say what my name is," she said. "And I was aware enough to know like, 'Oh my God, I have two men that 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?'"
The athlete continued, "I was like really still struggling a lot with PTSD. People don't realize how much it still lives with you when you've been through something traumatic."
The second time Raisman was hospitalized with similar symptoms was in 2023.
"They wouldn't release me because I couldn't sit up on my own," she recalled. "I needed help walking, going to the bathroom. It was just the most 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, move my legs. I had complete body paralysis."
She said stress worsens her physical symptoms, so she is being proactive about her mental health. "I have to be very on top of my therapy," Raisman said, "but then also my therapist has to work with me if I'm starting to feel off."
While Raisman has long retired from competing in gymnastics, she will play a special part in the 2024 Olympics in Paris this month—she will be an official hospitality ambassadors for the event. She said she feels anxiety about her return to the Olympics.
"There's going to be a lot of triggers," the athlete said. "I might see someone that maybe didn't protect me in the past."
Raisman said she is excited to watch the Olympics, especially the gymnastics competitions. "It's so emotional watching everyone," she said, "and I know everyone works so hard."
However, she is also relieved that this time, she will be a spectator. "I am having dreams that I'm competing," she said, "I wake up, I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I'm done.'"
Read on to see the glam outfits the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team will wear at the 2024 Olympics in Paris...
Team USA is depicted wearing the outfits reserved for the Team Final. They pay homage to the iconic leotard the "Magnificent Seven" wore at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where they became the first U.S. women's gymnastics team to win Olympic gold.
A close-up of the outfit shows its red, white and blue Spanglez design and standard brilliance and ruby crystals cut into diamond shapes—9,929 in total.
Weight: 0.80 lbs
Simone Biles is depicted wearing the outfit.
The outfit includes red and silver hologram Spanglez and more than 10,000 Swarovski crystals.
Weight: 0.60 lbs
The navy and white ombre outfit includes Silver Hologram Spanglez and 5,297 crystals, with 300 making up an American flag on the right hip area.
Weight: 0.65 lbs
The red and navy ombre outfit is adorned with over 5,000 crystals.
Weight: 0.55 lbs
The outfit is adorned with 3,423 standard brilliance and turquoise shimmer Crystals to create an imagining of Paris at twilight, with patterns that pay homage to the Eiffel Tower.
A close-up of the outfit.
The white leotard includes a red, white, and blue criss-cross corseting pattern on the back and 3,494 garnet, midnight, and brilliance crystals, as well as 970 white pearls.
Weight: 0.50 lbs
A close-up of the outfit.
The outfit includes 6,359 standard billiance, garnet, periwinkle, turquoise shimmer and metallic gold crystals.
Weight: 0.70 lbs
A close-up of the outfit.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (1)
Related
- Forget the bathroom. When renovating a home, a good roof is a no-brainer, experts say.
- The Best Early Black Friday Toy Deals of 2023 at Amazon, Target, Walmart & More
- Texas murderer David Renteria executed, 22 years after abduction, killing of 5-year-old
- Spain’s Pedro Sánchez beat the odds to stay prime minister. Now he must keep his government in power
- Oklahoma school district adding anti-harassment policies after nonbinary teen’s death
- You can watch 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' for free this weekend. Here's how.
- Explosion rocks university in Armenia’s capital, killing 1 person and injuring 3 others
- TikTok cracks down on posts about Osama bin Laden's Letter to America amid apparent viral trend
- How Saturday Night Live Reacted to Donald Trump’s Win Over Kamala Harris
- Russian authorities ask the Supreme Court to declare the LGBTQ ‘movement’ extremist
Ranking
- South Carolina to take a break from executions for the holidays
- Lobsterman jumps from boat to help rescue driver from stolen car sinking in bay
- Ohio Catholic priest gets life sentence for sex-trafficking convictions
- Man convicted in death of woman whose body was found in duffel bag along rural road
- Patricia Heaton criticizes media, 'extremists' she says 'fear-mongered' in 2024 election
- Acapulco races to restart its tourism engine after Hurricane Otis devastates its hotels, restaurants
- America's Most Wanted fugitive who eluded authorities for decades sentenced for killing Florida woman
- Judge finds Voting Rights Act violation in North Dakota redistricting for two tribes
Recommendation
-
It's Red Cup Day at Starbucks: Here's how to get your holiday cup and cash in on deals
-
Open AI founder Sam Altman is suddenly out as CEO of the ChatGPT maker
-
Ohio man facing eviction fatally shoots property manager, 2 others before killing himself
-
FedEx mistakenly delivers $20,000 worth of lottery tickets to Massachusetts woman's home
-
Jason Kelce Jokes He Got “Mixed Reviews” From Kylie Kelce Over NSFW Commentary
-
Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. win MLB MVP awards for historic 2023 campaigns
-
Judge declares mistrial in case of Brett Hankison, ex-officer involved in fatal Breonna Taylor raid
-
'Golden Bachelor' Fantasy Suites recap: Who ended up on top after Gerry's overnight dates?