ESPN host has on-air health scare

Over the course of her career, Victoria Arlen has been open about her health issues after previously having been paralyzed for the better part of a decade.

Such was the case earlier this week, when the ESPN host revealed that she had been hospitalized and narrowly avoided paralysis after suffering a health scare while on-air.

In a video posted to Instagram, Arlen shared that she had suffered a Transverse Myelitis relapse while hosting a recent episode of College Football Live . After consulting with her neurologist, she was advised to go to the emergency room immediately in what proved to be a potentially life-altering measure.

“A relapse was confirmed but due to quick acting doctors and [immediate] treatment catastrophic paralysis (or worse) was avoided,” Arlen wrote in the video, which showed various shots of her in the hospital, including one in which nurses aid her as she slowly takes steps with a walker. “But once again I rise and plan to be back better than ever. I was knocked down but refused to stay down.”

In a subsequent post featuring footage of her returning to ESPN’s airwaves, Arlen thanked those who supported her throughout her recent health scare.

“Thank you everyone for all the love – prayers and support. It means more than you’ll ever know,” she wrote. “I’ve got a ways to go to get back to where I was but I’m on my way – slowly but surely.”

Arlen’s recent relapse comes seven months after she revealed that she had battled back from a week-long hospital stay to fill-in for Molly Qerim as the host of First Take during the holiday season.

First hired by ESPN at the age of 20 in 2015, Arlen’s health history has been well documented. At the age of 11, she was diagnosed with two rare conditions (Transverse Myelitis and Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis), which resulted in her losing the ability to speak, eat, walk and move.

The Boston native was given little hope of survival or recovery, but fought back to re-learn those skills and eventually became a Paralympian swimmer. After nearly a decade in a wheelchair, she re-learned to walk again in 2016, one year after she was first hired by ESPN to serve as a reporter at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.

Arlen has since been a contestant on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars and has seen a growing role as a host at ESPN in recent years. While her recent relapse was obviously scary, she appears to have already bounced back with her trademark optimism and enthusiasm.

[ Victoria Arlen on Instagram ]

The post ESPN’s Victoria Arlen reveals she barely avoided paralysis after recent health scare appeared first on Awful Announcing .