{"id":705,"date":"2015-09-14T16:06:15","date_gmt":"2015-09-14T21:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/currents.winonastateu.com\/?p=570"},"modified":"2017-06-14T17:56:29","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T17:56:29","slug":"miracles-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/2015\/09\/14\/miracles-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Miracles Happen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"WSU<\/a>

Jean Abbott ’98<\/p><\/div>\n

Just ask Jean Abbott.<\/h2>\n

Jean (Sharon) Abbot graduated from Winona State University in 1998, but only recently took her first walk across campus.<\/p>\n

During her years as an undergraduate, Jean believed going to classes and attending college on her own was a dream come true. But little did she know…<\/p>\n

Jean was diagnosed at a very young age with Spastic Diplegia, a form of Cerebral Palsy (CP) that disrupts the brains ability
\nto control balance and body movement. She doctored with the leading CP neurologists in the country and was treated at the very best CP hospitals, with complete consensus on the diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a positive, optimistic, happy-go-lucky girl who just happened to be trapped in her own body,\u201d said Jean. \u201cI wasn\u2019t able to dribble a ball down the basketball court, run around the school playground, hold a pencil with ease to complete daily homework, or even use the restroom without a challenge.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Today, Jean is a mother of three and able to walk, hike, drive a car, and do so many of the ordinary things in life that weren\u2019t even remotely possible in the past; activities that most take for granted on a daily basis. How is this possible for a person with Spastic Diplegia? Jean swallows a little pill \u2013 one might argue, a magical pill.<\/p>\n

But there were 33 years of \u201cnot able to\u201d before the miracle came to light.<\/p>\n

As Jean grew into adulthood, the idea of going to college, marrying and having a family of her own seemed a bit of a pipe dream, knowing the challenges she faced on a daily basis. But Jean was determined to live life to the fullest, and in the fall of 1994, she found herself enrolled at WSU, pursuing a four-year paralegal degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother and his girlfriend had attended WSU, so I felt comfortable on campus. And two childhood friends also were attending WSU, so I had a built-in support system.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jean was well aware of the challenges she faced getting to class and keeping up with a college lifestyle. She knew her limitations: she had more energy and was always stronger in the early part of the day, and deteriorated as the day went on. And Jean was aware of the campus\u2019 limitations when it came to students with mobility concerns. Her answer was to use a mobility scooter to get to classes and club activities.<\/p>\n

But even with a scooter, maneuvering campus for the physically challenged wasn\u2019t easy. Jean helped to change that, working with university employees to identify necessary modifications that would make life on campus a little more \u201cuser friendly\u201d for students with disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cNancy Dumke, now Assistant Director Access Services for Students with Disabilities, was so very, very helpful,\u201d said Jean. \u201cWSU wasn\u2019t a very handicapped friendly campus back then and Nancy would work with me and various department to get what I needed so I could get where I needed to be. I couldn\u2019t have done it without her, and she is still at WSU!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite her mobility challenges, Jean integrated well into college life. She attended classes, made new friends and even met the man of her dreams.
\nSteve Abbott had come to WSU, an associate\u2019s degree already in hand, to study Production and Operations Management. But what he found himself studying was Jean! The two fell head over heels in love, and Steve proposed to Jean on Garvin Heights. Jean\u2019s earlier concerns about marriage and family being a \u201cpipe dream\u201d went flying out the window, and she responded to Steve\u2019s proposal with a resounding \u201cYES!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jean graduated in the spring of 1998 with a degree in Organizational Communication, finished an internship and went to work for the Social Security Administration as a service representative. Steve graduated the following year and the two were married July 29, 2000.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so incredibly thankful for Steve,\u201d Jean began. \u201cHe has been so supportive and encouraging. He\u2019s been my biggest cheerleader. He\u2019s an incredible blessing.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Winona remained a very important place in the Abbott\u2019s hearts and minds. Relocating to Macon, Georgia, they thought it fitting when they purchased a house on Sugar Loaf Drive. And when their first born arrived 13 years ago, they named her Winona, which means \u201cfirst born daughter.\u201d Today, Jean and Steve reside in Plymouth. Minn., and have two more children, Sharon, now age 11, and three-year-old, John.<\/p>\n

A World Turned Right-Side-Up<\/h2>\n

Jean hit her lowest point in 2010, suffering from three decades of progressive and debilitating symptoms. \u201cI could barely move my arms or legs due to countless hours of spasms, stiffness and cramping throughout my body,\u201d she said of those dark days. Countless doctor visits, medical procedures and unnecessary medications and surgeries brought little relief. Until one day in 2010, when Steve brought her to see a new doctor.<\/p>\n

Jean and Steve retold their same scenario yet one more time to this new physician, telling of symptoms that worsened as the day progressed, of needing solid sleep patterns… The doctor listened carefully, and what she revealed next would be a life- changer for the Abbotts. It was Good Friday, 2010.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor\u2019s eyes lit up and she said, \u2018I think you have Dopa Responsive Dystonia (DRD), and what if I told you that there is a pill you can take to be able to walk from this chair to that one and you won\u2019t even have to think about it?\u201d Jean recalled that amazing moment. \u201cI told her she was crazy! A pill wasn\u2019t going to help. So I wasn\u2019t even going to fill the prescription! It just didn\u2019t seem like something that was possible. But Steve said we should at least try it; what\u2019s the harm.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first day after taking the new medication, Jean felt a little better, but she attributed it to a glass of wine she had the night before and a good night\u2019s sleep. By day two \u2014 Easter Sunday \u2014 she was standing unaided for the first time in over a decade. It was at that very moment that she knew the little pill was working!<\/p>\n

Misdiagnosis of Cerebral Palsy and Dopa Responsive Dystonia is not entirely unheard of, as DRD symptoms often mimic more common movement disorders such as CP, but can be reversed or controlled with L-Dopa, which is not the case with CP. (L-Dopa is used to treat Parkinson\u2019s disease, also a neuro motor disorder.)<\/p>\n

Jean had to work hard to retrain her brain, and it continues to be a process. She suffers from occasional flare-ups, particularly when she is under
\na lot of stress or depleted by a cold or flu, so she must stay as healthy and active as possible, always being mindful of her symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis just doesn\u2019t happen to people,\u201d Jean began. \u201cYou hear of healthy people losing mobility in an accident, but not people regaining their mobility. It\u2019s just so amazing! It doesn\u2019t get old! Being able to do things for myself is wonderful. And I\u2019m so grateful that my parents are around to see it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With a friend\u2019s encouragement, Jean began blogging her journey and her amazing recovery, in the hopes of informing others of the potential for misdiagnosis of CP. \u201cI wanted to share my story, but I couldn\u2019t even get the local TV stations to call me back!\u201d she recalled. So she took to the Internet. The Mighty, a popular online feature story service, picked up Jean\u2019s blog and told her incredible story. And from there it went viral. That\u2019s when NBC\u2019s Today show came calling to invite Jean and her family to appear on the program. Today traveled to the Abbott\u2019s home to tape the interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it was very stressful, but the Today crew was so incredibly nice and put the whole family at ease,\u201d said Jean. \u201cI had to be careful because the stress did make my symptoms worse, but then I would think how very fortunate I am to be able to share my message on such a high profile platform. I am just so grateful for the experience.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Recently, the Abbotts returned to Winona to roam the campus and show their children where Mom and Dad went to college. For the first time ever, Jean was able to walk from one end of campus to the other. \u201cThe campus was just so beautiful, and to be walking it with Steve and our kids… It was just amazing,\u201d Jean recalled. \u201cIt is even more beautiful than when we were students.\u201d<\/p>\n

But perhaps even more beautiful than the WSU campus is the fact that Jean harbors no bitterness regarding her misdiagnosis nearly four decades ago.
\nJean concluded, \u201cWhen I go to bed at night and think about who I was in my past life, I smile because I\u2019m proud of who she was and pleased that she is making the most out of her current life, never taking anything for granted. My journey was my journey, and I\u2019m grateful for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow Jean Abbott\u2019s journey: Jeanabbott.com<\/a>; facebook.com\/ InspirationalRainyDayFriend<\/a>; twitter.com\/JeanSAbbott<\/a>.
\n\ufffc<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just ask Jean Abbott. Jean (Sharon) Abbot graduated from Winona State University in 1998, but only recently took her first walk across campus. During her years as an undergraduate, Jean believed going to classes and attending college on her own was a dream come true. But little did she know… Jean was diagnosed at a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[56,2],"tags":[130,213,214,7],"class_list":["post-705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-wsu-magazine","tag-alumni","tag-cerebral-palsy","tag-jean-abbott","tag-winona-state-university"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/09\/abbott.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PQMT-bn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1398,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705\/revisions\/1398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}