WAYLAND, MASS. (WHDH) - A star lacrosse player from Wayland is hoping to overcome the odds and get back on the field after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
“It all happened so fast,” said Abby Stoller, who spent a month in the hospital following her diagnosis. “One day I was out playing completely normal and the next I was in a hospital bed and I could barely walk.”
Stoller plays lacrosse for Simmons University in Boston. She got the gut-wrenching news late last year when she learned of her chronic illness, which attacks nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord.
“My whole left side of my body was starting to feel numb and I just didn’t feel like myself. That’s when I went to the hospital,” Stoller explained.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Stoller says doctors found a large lesion in her brain stem. She ended up being hospitalized for four grueling weeks, undergoing countless tests and a plasma exchange.
Doctors put Stoller on the latest effective infusion drug for MS — a treatment she’ll be on the rest of her life.
Stoller is now slowly regaining her strength and after a lot of hard work, she’ll soon be rejoining her teammates.
“It felt like I had to start from scratch. I had to regain my balance, my coordination,” Stoller said. “I actually will be playing this summer with my team Israel in the World Championships, which I’m really excited about.”
Stoller’s mother, Kate, says she is beyond proud of her daughter’s recovery.
“As a parent, you hope and pray it doesn’t come to this, but knowing what she’s been through, how far she’s come, and watching her along this journey with such determination,” Kate said. “She’s fierce and not one to be messed with.”
Stoller and her family will be taking part in a walk for MS at Boston University this weekend.
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