MY TUMMY IS PARALYSED

An accident changed Stephanie's life forever Stephanie Kelly, 27, Sydney, NSW

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Pushing through another week of back-to-back night shifts, I was P run off my feet.

I'm so grateful to be working in my dream job, though, I smiled.

After many years of being a patient at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, growing up, I was inspired to become a nurse.

Born with multiple heart conditions, at 16 I'd also been diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) - which affects blood flow and causes fainting spells when you stand up.

The disorder meant I used a wheelchair for two years before learning to walk again in 2013, aged 18.

Stepping into my scrubs each day, it was rewarding giving back to the place that gave me my life back.

Still, in March 2018, when my partner Adam, then 20, picked me up from work, I was excited for a night off.

 

As I chatted about my day, we were going round a roundabout when a car suddenly slammed into the passenger door beside me.

Instantly, I lost feeling in my left arm and felt striking pain through my ribcage and neck.

Rushed to hospital, doctors were worried my heart condition would flare up and smitunisie send me into cardiac arrest, so I was kept in overnight.

The next day, I was diagnosed with a traction injury in my shoulder, two slipped discs in my neck and a twisted ribcage.

The agony was unbearable, but, that afternoon, I was sent on my way with a sling and a cocktail of pain meds.

Three months later, I was still in a sling and the feeling in my arm hadn't returned.