A Florida mom who thought she would never walk again after getting paralyzed due to COVID-19 recently reunited with her rehabilitation team. The reunion was a sight to behold as Geneva Brier-Daniels was able to walk in on her own and unassisted.
The 37-year-old U.S. Navy veteran woke up paralyzed back in September 2021. Brier-Daniels was ultimately diagnosed with transverse myelitis after initially experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms. According to a news release, transverse myelitis is a rare medical condition that causes spinal cord inflammation.
Per Mayo Clinic, this neurological disorder often damages the insulating material covering the nerve cell fibers in the body (myelin).
Brier-Daniels said transverse myelitis diagnosis dramatically halted her life
Brier-Daniels went immediately to the hospital to get treatment. The mom of three was admitted to Orlando Health's Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC).
Brier-Daniels said in a statement that she is a go, go, go type of person. She is up before the kids. She goes to sleep way after and is always juggling a couple of side jobs. Brier-Daniels said the diagnosis halted her life dramatically.
The Florida mom has worked with rehabilitation teams for the last two years at Orlando Health's ORMC Institute for Advanced Rehabilitation with just one goal: to try and walk again.
Orlando Health physical therapy clinical specialist Crissy Voigtmann said in a statement that Brier-Daniels would ask her every day if she was going to walk again. Voigtmann was optimistic, saying she always pushed Brier-Daniels and hoped for the best in her rehab. Voigtmann said Brier-Daniels had all the indications that she would start walking again, but they did not know what that would look like.
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Brier-Daniels thankful to rehab team as she hopes to return to her old self soon
How the deadly coronavirus caused such a serious condition is not known at this stage. Dr. Barinder Mahal, a physician with the Orlando Health Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Institute, told Fox 35 Orlando in an interview that the reasons they developed it are unknown.
Mahal explained that the suspected cause in her case was COVID, so they did not have a lot of data to see how patients would do over time. With the slight assist of a cane, Brier-Daniels recently walked back into ORMC to reunite with her rehabilitation team and join other patients who have also been treated for spinal cord injuries.
Brier-Daniels said it was hard, but thankfully they know what they are doing. She added that there is something new for her every week, and she is progressing in some way. Brier-Daniels made it clear that this is not the end for her by any means, saying that she has the cane, which she is grateful for, but she is hoping to return to her old self soon.
