Two Girls, One True Story

Most young girls spend their time riding their bikes, playing soccer, doing cartwheels, and other fun activities. Sarah Todd Hammer from Georgia and Jennifer Starzec from Illinois were no different. That is, until they both became paralyzed from the neck-down from an autoimmune condition called Transverse Myelitis (TM).

On April 19th, 2010 when Sarah Todd was 8-years old, and on August 16th, 2011 when Jennifer was 13-years old – their lives changed. Sarah Todd was diagnosed with TM with a lesion from C2-T1 on her spinal cord, and Jennifer’s diagnosis showed she had a lesion from C1-T1. Becoming ordinary young girls that weren’t stuck in a wheelchair and totally dependent on others- seemed nearly impossible.

However, after a lot of hard work they made amazing recoveries – both were able to walk again and went back to doing what they loved. For Sarah Todd, it was dancing, and for Jennifer, it was running.

These two girls are us.

In the beginning, we lived far away from each other and had no knowledge of one another. However, a common friend connected us on Facebook, and our friendship began. We talked about transverse myelitis and were able to relate to each other, as well as our love for our hobbies.

Over time, we became more like sisters than friends. We still lived on opposite sides of the U.S., but we kept in touch all the time through text message and FaceTime. We told each other almost everything, and enjoyed very special moments together.  It was like we clicked; we knew that we were supposed to meet each other. Transverse myelitis wasn’t something we were glad to have, but we were glad that it brought us together.

It was only a matter of time before we realized that very few people know about transverse myelitis. We knew that awareness for this disease was crucial. So, we decided to write a book about our journeys and experiences with the disorder and combined our stories into a book, entitled “5K, Ballet, and a Spinal Cord Injury”

Transverse myelitis might not be the highlight of our lives, but we know it was meant to be. Raising awareness using our book may help other TM patients get diagnosed and treated quicker, aiding in a faster, better recovery. Plus, we got to know each other, and we know that life is rich; full of little secrets that only certain people are able to see.”

We have also created this video to share our story and help spread awareness about Transverse Myelitis. You can watch it below