Locked In: The Will to Survive and the Resolve to Live

"When Victoria Arlen was eleven-years-old, she contracted two rare diseases simultaneously and fell into a mysterious vegetative state. For two years her mind was dark, but in the third year, her mind broke free, and she was able to think clearly and to hear and feel everything - but no one knew. When she was fifteen-years-old, against all odds and medical predictions, she was finally able to communicate through eye blinks, and she gradually regained her ability to speak and eat and move her upper body, but she faced the devastating reality of paralysis from the waist down because of damage to her spine. However, Victoria didn't lose her strength or steadfast determination, and two years later, she won a gold medal for swimming at the London 2012 Paralympics. In Locked In, Victoria shares her never-before-published story--the pain, the struggle, the fight to live and thrive, and most importantly, the faith that carried her through. Her journey was not easy, but by believing in God's healing power and forgiveness, she is living proof that, despite seemingly insurmountable odds and challenges, the will to survive and resolve to live can be a force stronger than our worst deterrents"--