CHIPPEWA LAKE, Ohio — For Isabel Kirby, Christmas in 2019 began with presents at her home in Chippewa Lake.
It ended at Akron Children’s Hospital, with pain in her legs.
"They went numb," Isabel said. "Then, like, I couldn’t walk."
In January, she explained how a rare condition called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) left her paralyzed below the waist. It appeared to come out of nowhere, and went straight for the nerves in her spine.
There were months in the hospital, but now, the eighth grader and her mom are home again, and they are hopeful.
"It’s got to be a better Christmas," mother Noel Kirby told 3News. "It’s been a rough year, but we have pushed through."
"It’s got to be a way better Christmas," Isabel added with a chuckle.
Their break came in May, when Isabel took her first steps with the help of braces and a walker. There has since been intense physical therapy involving everything from horses to swimming pools.
It appears to be paying off, too, because doctors are also hopeful.
"Given what she’s been able to do so far…she’s going to continue to make progress," Dr. Christopher Najarian, a Pediatric Rehabilitation Specialist at Akron Children's, said. "It’s just really hard to know what her end point is going to be."
But to get there, the family says Isabel will need a special bike that can help stimulate her muscles.
"Basically, it’s sending like an electric spark to her muscles to start working," Noel explained, saying they have turned to crowdsourcing to try and get it by setting up a GoFundMe.
AFM is so rare that doctors say fewer than 100 people contract it each year in the United States. Isabel hopes to be walking with as little help as possible one day (perhaps by the end of next year), but knows there is still a long road ahead.
