Olympian Aly Raisman opens up about her paralysis and 'stroke-like symptoms' after abuse by team doc
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Celebrated Gymnast Aly Raismah shared about her health struggles, where she had to be hospitalized multiple times.
The two-time Olympian and captain of her team experienced ‘stroke-like symptoms’ due to stress and trauma.
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Aly Raismah opens up about 'so scary' mental trauma amid abuse
It was the first time she ever talked about her issues publicly on the ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast on Wednesday, July 17.
Raismah remembered a post on Instagram that read, “If you don't pick a day to rest, your body will pick it for you,” and felt it summed up her health trouble.
“It’s happened twice where it’s been this intense — I feel like I have different minor issues as well, depending on what I’m going through at the time — where I have literally stroke-like symptoms,” Raisman shared.
“I can’t remember my name. 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,” the gymnast shared.
Raisman revealed that the situation got ‘so scary’ after she had to get help after the abuse suffered by Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, per US Weekly.
Many other athletes came forward alleging sexual abuse they suffered, eventually, he pleaded guilty on several counts and was sentenced to 175 years in prison.
“The first time it happened was during Covid. And so, they wouldn’t let my mom in the ambulance with me,” she recalled. “I was aware enough to know, ‘Oh my God, I have two men [with me], I can’t move my arms and my legs, I can’t move my body, I can’t speak. What if they take advantage of me?’”
“I was really still struggling a lot with PTSD,” she continued. “People don’t realize how much it still lives with you when you’ve been through something traumatic. So, that was really hard for me,” she added.
Aly Raismah is officially part of the 2024 Paris Olympics
The former gymnast collaborated with ESPN as a gymnastics analyst in January and will be part of the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics in France.
She will be serving as an official hospitality ambassador, joining legendary swimmer Michael Phelps, per NBC.
“I’m gonna be so busy. There’s gonna be a lot of triggers. I might see someone that maybe didn’t protect me in the past. So, it’s working on that. It’s very complicated,” she expressed during the podcast.
