The family of a young yoga enthusiast say they are heartbroken after she was paralyzed following a horrifying accident.
Abby Weiss, 32, has been left unable to live on her own after she fell and injured her spinal cord while attempting an ambitious acroyoga move in San Diego.
Her loved ones said Weiss was an exercise fanatic who loved acroyoga, a combination of yoga and acrobatics, as footage shows her often performing handstands over people's heads with ease.
But her accident means the 32-year-old will require round-the-clock care for the rest of her life, which her father said is devastating given her love of being active outdoors.
'She said the other day it feels like she’s in a straight jacket. She can’t move. Everything’s got to be done for her,' he told WISTV.
Weiss' life-altering injury came two months ago, leaving her almost entirely unable to move as she was paralyzed from the neck down.
Before her accident, Weiss was a pediatric speech therapist and business owner, according to a GoFundMe set up to help her family deal with mounting healthcare costs.
The fundraiser adds that alongside her love of acroyoga, Weiss is also passionate about Zouk dancing, hiking, yoga, learning Spanish, and world travel.
Her family said she moved from Chicago to San Diego eight years ago to live by the ocean and 'never looked back', as her aunt tearfully said she enjoyed 'wonderful years' on the West Coast.
'The San Diego community: thank you for giving her the wonderful years that she had here,' her aunt Judy Washer said.
Washer spoke as she and Weiss' loved ones packed up her San Diego apartment, which she will no longer be able to live out of as Weiss has now started her recovery back home in Chicago.
'It's just awful to have to pack her stuff up. It’s just awful and it didn’t have to be like this,' Washer added.
Weiss' father said he was not aware of what acroyoga was before his daughter's accident, and said that if he 'had known the type of maneuvers she was doing I would have told her not to do it.'
'But I don’t think she would’ve listened,' he added.
Weiss is now undergoing treatment at a medical facility in Chicago where her parents live.
Her family said there is a small amount of hope that once her inflammation reduces, she may regain some movement - but doctors are not offering any guarantees that she will ever recover.
In the most recent update to her GoFundMe on July 27, Weiss' friend Renee Smith said she showed positive signs after a 'therapist capped her trach tube, allowing her to breathe using her own upper airway, inhaling and exhaling through her nose.'
'Abby went on to breathe on her own for an entire hour!!' the fundraiser added. 'While this may seem small, this is a step forward and we need to celebrate.'
