Elle’s Story

In June 2024, Elle suffered a catastrophic spinal cord stroke that left her paralyzed below the neck at 16 years old. Elle was at a trampoline park doing flips in the foam section but suffered no severe fall or obvious injury. Within 15 minutes, she experienced sudden, severe back pain followed by loss of feeling in her arms. She was taken to the ER where she was still able to walk, but sadly, she never walked out. She soon lost the ability to move her legs too. After more than 2 weeks in the ICU, she was diagnosed with a catastrophic spinal cord stroke. Spinal cord strokes are incredibly rare, accounting for only about 0.3% to 1% of all strokes. Elle’s life changed in minutes. She went from learning how to drive a car to learning how to drive a wheelchair using only her chin. Her dance team performances at the Miami Heat Arena were supplanted with endless physical therapy, and high school classrooms replaced with sterile examination rooms. Since Elle’s initial injury, Elle has regained function in her right arm and is now able to move her right arm (no hand-movement yet.) Additionally, she has recently started to gain very subtle movement in her left arm and some knee movement. We are hopeful that with continued intensive therapy, these abilities will grow stronger and lead to further recovery. Elle spreads awareness for spinal cord injuries on TikTok (@elle.yona) and has gained 50k followers. She also runs a monthly support group for youth living with paralysis. She attends school 3x per week where she joined student government to advocate for better accessibility measures at school events.

Elle’s condition requires extensive physical, occupational, and psychological therapy to help her manage her paralysis and recover as much function as possible. Medicaid does not cover all expenses. For instance, Medicaid only covers 2 outpatient physical therapy & occupational therapy sessions per week at Lynn Rehabilitation Center, which is not enough to give my sister a chance at recovering movement (as confirmed by her doctors.) Her physical therapy treatments at Lynn have recently been maxed out, so she only now gets occupational therapy there. Thus, we must supplement Elle’s care with private physical therapy and purchase expensive at-home equipment. Elle attends IAmAble for physical therapy sessions 3x per week. This therapy is life-changing for Elle. At 16 years old, she suffered a spinal cord stroke that left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. Since then, she has worked incredibly hard to regain movement in her right arm and is now beginning to show signs of activity in her left arm and legs. Continued access to physical therapy is critical to helping her reclaim as much function and independence as possible. The program at IAmAble has already made a significant impact on her progress—and more than that, it has become her emotional lifeline. After her injury, Elle has struggled with friendships, has been excluded from school activities, etc. At IAMABLE, she found not just expert care, but a true community. The coaches have become her closest friends, helping her feel seen, supported, and hopeful again. Receiving the We Win Grant would mean so much to Elle and her family. She is so grateful to be able to continue her training at IAmAble with the support of the We Win Grant.