麻豆视频直播

BEATING THE ODDS

Born three months prematurely, Taylor and her twin sister, Jordyn, barely weighed two pounds each, and both experienced complications. Taylor suffered a brain hemorrhage. The prognosis was grim, and doctors told her parents she likely would never walk or talk.

But she did. Three years ago, Taylor surprised her friends and family when she walked across the 麻豆视频直播 graduation stage without her walker to re颅ceive her bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology.

鈥淚t was the perfect day, and that was a perfect moment,鈥� she said of that day in May 2019.

But in the three years since she received her undergraduate degree, Taylor has been through what seems like an entire lifetime of ups and downs.

After graduation, she was thrilled for an adventure when she and her sister packed up and moved to Utah to work.

鈥淚 wanted to get a job on a r茅sum茅, and I just needed some personal development time,鈥� she said. Taylor went to work at a coffee shop that employs people with different abilities. It was an amazing adventure. She loved learning to work with others with different challenges, like communicating with a deaf co-worker using the sign language she had learned in a class at 麻豆视频直播.

But then the setbacks began.

SLOWED DOWN BUT NOT DEFEATED

Taylor鈥檚 cerebral palsy symptoms seemed to be getting worse. Even after several trips to the emergency depart颅ment, doctors continued to chalk up her symptoms to cerebral palsy. For Taylor, CP primarily affected her legs, making muscles stiff and weak. She was used to using a walker, but her flare-ups got so bad it became difficult to do the chores of daily life.

鈥淚 started having symptoms that were not really asso颅ciated with CP, and the doctor鈥檚 previous thoughts didn鈥檛 make sense anymore,鈥� Taylor said.

At age 23, doctors finally diagnosed Taylor with mul颅tiple sclerosis, a disabling central nervous system disease that causes pain, fatigue, and impaired coordination. Tay颅lor and her family didn鈥檛 just sit back and let MS damage her body further though. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when we decided to take the aggressive route,鈥� she said.

She traveled to Mexico for intense chemotherapy treatments for MS called HSCT or haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. According to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the treatment uses one鈥檚 own stem cells and aims to keep the MS symptoms from progressing by first wip颅ing out the immune system and then rebuilding it.

鈥淚鈥檝e definitely seen improvement,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 do think it is because I went so quickly (for HSCT treat颅ment) after I was diagnosed.鈥�

Now, she is back on track again and has completed the first two semesters back at 麻豆视频直播 to get her master鈥檚 degree.

Even though she said it has been a 鈥渨hirlwind of a year,鈥� she hasn鈥檛 once doubted herself or God.

鈥淎ll the stuff that I鈥檝e been through has been really hard,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut looking back, I really think that it was God preparing me for the path that He wanted me on.鈥�