She Went From Despair and Near-Death to 'Dancing With The Stars'

As a kid, Victoria Arlen was always what she calls, "super active."

Growing up, she says dancing was always her passion and she loved performing.  

She had hoped to one day compete on the stage of  ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."

Today, the 23-year old ESPN reporter is living her dream as a contestant on this season's show, but looking back, it seemed Victoria's dream would never come true after tragedy struck her life at age 11.

"One day without any notice, my body started suddenly shutting down," she shares in a video on her Facebook page.

Arlen was diagnosed with two rare autoimmune conditions: Transverse Myelitis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis, disorders that caused swelling in her brain and spinal cord. She was bedridden for four years and there was little to no hope for recovery.
 
She shared on Instagram, "I never knew how precious life was until I was perfectly fine one day and in a blink of an eye I was laying in a hospital bed unable to walk, talk, eat, move and fighting for my life.  For four years, unbeknownst to my loved ones I was trapped in a vegetative state literally "locked in" my own body."

 

On this day April 29, 2006 my life was forever changed. I never knew how precious life was until I was perfectly fine one day and in a blink of an eye I was laying in a hospital bed unable to walk, talk, eat, move and fighting for my life. For four years unbeknownst to my loved ones I was trapped in a vegetative state literally "locked in" my own body. Constantly hearing doctors tell my family that it was highly unlikely that I would survive and if I did survive I'd be a vegetable the rest of my life. • But, guess what.....I had other plans, I wanted to LIVE. It wasn't easy but through a lot of hard work, hope, faith and incredible support from my family and friends. Little by little I came back to life and not only survived but thrived. To this day doctors are baffled and tell me "It doesn't make sense you shouldn't be here, people don't come back from where you were". I know I'm one of the lucky ones and I know I've been given back my life for a reason. Not many people get a second chance to live so I'm definitely making it count. • Looking back it's hard to believe that it's been 11 years and even harder to believe that I only "woke up" 7 years ago. And I learned to walk a year ago. Sometimes it feels like yesterday and other times it feels like a lifetime ago. • I would not choose this journey but I would not change this journey. I never imagined my life would be where it is today and I'd become the person that I have become. • All those years laying in the hospital uncertain if I'd make it another day I never In a million years imagined any of this. Blessed Beyond words truly is an understatement. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and loved me throughout all of this. I couldn't do it without you. • So, today on my 11 Year Life Day I choose to celebrate all that has happened and rejoice in the beauty of each trial and tribulation. And if you're going through something keep going, keep fighting....the pain is worth it. Trust me. 11 years later I truly know there is a reason...... I LIVED.

A post shared by Victoria Arlen (@arlenv1) on Apr 29, 2017 at 8:58am PDT

She remembers, "Constantly hearing doctors tell my family that it was highly unlikely that I would survive and if I did survive I'd be a vegetable the rest of my life."

"But, guess what...I had other plans, I wanted to LIVE," she said.

Growing up in a Christian home, faith had always played a big part of Victoria's life.  And it's that faith that catapulted her from despair and near-death to dancing on national television.

In an interview with LifeSiteNews, Victoria's mother Jacqueline explained, "When she was 'locked-in,' she had nobody else other than God who could hear her. So that's Who she convened with on a daily basis."

"There were days I would lose a lot of hope. I couldn't do it anymore and I had to prepare for the possibility of dying," Victoria explains in her Facebook video.

"And then I had this moment, and this epiphany if you will, where I realized wait a second, this is not how my story is supposed to end. And so I made a promise with God, 'If you give me this second chance at life, I promise you I will not waste a single moment," she said.

In 2010, after almost four years in a vegetative state, Victoria began to regain control of her body and she began experiencing what could only be described as a miracle.

She slowly began to come out of her vegetative state, but, still suffering from paralysis in her legs, she worked tirelessly in hopes of using them again one day.

The hard work paid off in 2012 as she won several medals in swimming during the Paralympic games in London.

"Winning gold and three silver medals at the Paralympic games is something I'll never forget, but I knew deep down there was still more work to do," she said.

"I had to continue to redefine what was possible and get back everything that was taken away from me. And the one thing I had yet to conquer was walking and dancing. After spending ten years in a wheelchair, there were days I would go to Project Walk. I would go to my training sessions and I didn't know if I was possible," she says.

"I'm possible," she happily shares.

She explains, "Today my life has limitless possibilities. And I even realized one of my sports dreams, becoming one of the youngest on-air talents hired by ESPN. And today I can say I've realized another dream, being a contestant on Dancing with the Stars."

Victoria, alongside her partner Val Chmerkovskiy, recently gave one of the most emotional and inspirational performances on the show, incorporating the wheelchair she was once bound to.  The dance brought back memories of the years when she couldn't use her legs and all that she has overcome.

"I would never choose what happened to me but I would never change it. I will use my voice to change the world, spreading hope, spreading love, and spreading life, 'cause the world needs that. That's enough for me. That is what makes all of this worthwhile," says Victoria.

Her mother says of Victoria's miraculously healing, "It's all God."

Meanwhile, Victoria has written a book about her journey called, "Locked In." It is scheduled to be released in May 2018.