Harvard University

An exceptional pain struck my right shoulder just hours after a routine track practice. I reported the symptoms to my father who promptly administered Tylenol. While adjusting myself restlessly on our living room sofa, the sharp sensation rapidly spread across my body. For a fleeting moment, all my muscles tightened and trapped me in utter agony. Then, ninety seconds passed and a release overwhelmed me. I was completely paralyzed. At twelve, I suffered a rare spinal cord stroke which left me entirely immobile and unfeeling yet still cognitively intact. While lying in the coffin-like chamber…