Full name Victoria Arlen Name Victoria Arlen Club North Shore Sharks | Nationality American | |
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Born September 26, 1994 (age 30) ( 1994-09-26 ) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Nominations Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award Similar People Ellie Simmonds, Mallory Weggemann, Jessica Long, Jason Benetti, David Weir Profiles | ||
Face it embrace it defy it conquer it victoria arlen at tedxamoskeagmillyard
Victoria Arlen (born September 26, 1994) is a current television personality for ESPN, as well as an actress, speaker, model, and former American paralympian swimmer.
Contents
- Face it embrace it defy it conquer it victoria arlen at tedxamoskeagmillyard
- She Went From Paralyzed To Dancing With The Stars This Video Shares Her Incredible Story
- References
Arlen, at the age of eleven, developed two rare conditions known as transverse myelitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. This was an extremely rare scenario, and Victoria quickly lost the ability to speak, eat, walk, and move. She slipped into a vegetative state in which recovery was unlikely. Arlen spent nearly four years "locked" inside her own body, completely aware of what was going on, just unable to move or communicate. Doctors believed there was little hope of survival, and recovery was unlikely.
In 2010, after almost four years, Arlen began re-learning how to speak, eat, and move.
In June 2012, after a world record breaking performance at the 2012 Summer Paralympics US swimming trials, Arlen qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics held in London, as a member of Team USA. In London, she won four medals: one gold and three silver.
In April 2015, Arlen made the transition from professional athlete to sportscaster and joined ESPN as one of the youngest on air talents hired by the company.
By April 2016 had learned to walk after spending nearly a decade paralyzed from the waist down.
On September 6, 2017, Arlen was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars. She is partnered with professional dancer, Valentin Chmerkovskiy.