The family of a young yoga enthusiast say they are devastated after she was left paralysed in a horrific accident.
Abby Weiss, 32, can no longer live independently after she fell and injured her spinal cord during an ambitious acroyoga routine in San Diego.
According to her loved ones, Weiss was an avid athlete who enjoyed acroyoga, a combination of yoga and acrobatics. Footage shows her performing handstands above the heads of others with ease.
But the 32-year-old’s accident means she will need 24-hour care for the rest of her life, which her father says is devastating, as she loves being outdoors.
“She said the other day that it feels like she’s in a straitjacket. She can’t move. Everything has to be done for her,” he said WISTTV News.
Weiss’s loved ones said her injury was devastating because she is an exercise enthusiast and has a passion for acroyoga, a combination of yoga and acrobatics.
Abby Weiss, 32, was left paralyzed from the neck down after injuring her spine while performing an acroyoga maneuver
Weiss’ life-changing injury occurred two months ago, leaving her almost unable to move and paralyzed from the neck down.
Before her accident, Weiss was a speech therapist for children and a business owner, according to a GoFundMe to help her family with rising health care costs.
The fundraiser adds that besides her love of acroyoga, Weiss is also passionate about Zouk dancing, hiking, yoga, learning Spanish and world travel.
According to her family, she moved from Chicago to San Diego eight years ago to live by the ocean and “never looked back.” Her aunt tearfully said she had “wonderful years” on the West Coast.
“The community of San Diego: Thank you for giving her the wonderful years she had here,” said her aunt Judy Washer.
Weiss’ family said that in addition to her love of acroyoga, she was also passionate about Zouk dancing, hiking, yoga, learning Spanish and traveling the world before her injury
Weiss’ father said that if he knew the dangerous moves she was making, he “would have told her not to do it… But I don’t think she would have listened”
Washer spoke as she and Weiss’ loved ones packed up her San Diego apartment, which she can no longer live there as Weiss has begun her recovery at home in Chicago.
“It’s just horrible having to pack her things up. It’s just horrible and it didn’t have to be this way,” Washer added.
Weiss’ father said that before his daughter’s accident, he didn’t know what acroyoga was. If he had known what kind of movements she was doing, I would have told her not to do it.
“But I don’t think she would have listened,” he added.
Weiss is currently undergoing treatment at a medical facility in Chicago, where her parents live.
Weiss’ family said she is showing small signs of improvement, such as being able to breathe on her own again, but doctors are offering no guarantees of recovery
According to her family, there is a small hope that she will be able to move again once the inflammation subsides, but doctors cannot guarantee that she will ever recover.
In the most recent update to her GoFundMe on July 27, Renee Smith, a friend of Weiss, said she had shown positive signs after a “therapist closed her tracheostomy tube, allowing her to breathe through her own upper airway and inhale and exhale through her nose.”
“Abby was able to breathe on her own for an hour!!,” the fundraiser added. “While this may seem small, this is a step forward and we should celebrate it.”