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24th August 2024
12:31pm BST
A woman in San Diego has been left paralysed from the neck down after she fell attempting an ambitious new yoga move.
Speech therapist, Abby Weiss told her family she feels like she’s ‘stuck in a straight jacket’ following a devastating injury to her spinal cord after the fitness fanatic’s accident in June.
Weiss, 32, had been taking part in acroyoga which is a combination of yoga and acrobatics when she attempted to perform a challenging move and fell.
The severe injury has now left her paralysed from the neck down and unable to take part in the unusual activity that her family said she ‘loved’.
Weiss will now require round-the-clock care for the rest of her life and her family have set up a GoFundMe page for the business owner amid the mounting medical bills.
The page has already raised $158,700 (£120,000) so far.
In an interview with WISTV, her father told of how difficult it had been for her daughter to adjust as she loved being active and enjoyed travelling.
She was a sporty individual who loved Zouk dancing and hiking.
He said: “She said the other day it feels like she’s in a straight jacket. She can’t move. Everything’s got to be done for her.”
Weiss had been practicing acroyoga for four years but her father said she was unaware of the risks involved.
He said: “Had I known the type of manoeuvres she was doing, I would have told her not to do it. But I don’t think she would have listened.”
Weiss has now moved back to Chicago to live with her parents while she undergoes rehab at a nearby medical facility.
The 32-year-old had moved into her apartment in San Diego eight years ago to be closer to the ocean.
Her aunt, Judy Washer, helped pack up her belongings she said: “It’s just awful to have to pack her stuff up. It’s just awful and it didn’t have to be like this.
“The San Diego community: thank you for giving her the wonderful years that she had here.”
The latest update on the GoFundMe Page marking two months from Weiss’ accident delivered positive news on her progress.
Weiss is doing daily therapy and is trying to ‘move her head a little more each day’. It also said that she felt new sensation in her Achilles.
You can read more on the GoFundMe page here.
