What started as one mom\u2019s worst nightmare evolved into a story of desperation, hope and a miraculous recovery.<\/p>\n
When Alex Dixon was 10, the gifted student who loved music and art came down with pneumonia. The pneumonia caused a malfunction in her central nervous system that resulted in a pain disorder and spasms that caused numerous dislocations and left her a student with special needs using a wheelchair by age 12.<\/p>\n
Alex, along with dad, Marc, and mom, Juli, a professor in the University of Central Florida\u2019s College of Education and Human Performance, took off for hospitals up and down the east coast of the United States seeking a cure for Alex\u2019s pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sought out the best experts we could find and their message was the same. It seemed that all we ever heard was, \u2018I\u2019ve never seen anything like this,\u2019\u201d said Juli, a mathematics education professor.<\/p>\n
Alex\u2019s situation became desperate, and the family was forced to induce her into a coma to buy time to save her life. When Alex\u2019s condition worsened, the family\u2019s only option seemed to be emergency brain surgery, but during the procedure to implant a deep brain simulator, 12-year-old Alex suffered a massive stroke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can vividly remember that day,\u201d said Marc. \u201cIt was, by far, the worst day of my life.\u00a0 I thought Alex would die.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stroke left Alex severely physically and mentally disabled, however, her spasms stopped and her body released its painful twisting. Physical therapy helped Alex walk again and rebuild her strength, and hours upon hours of tutoring and practice helped her regain her communication skills and academics.<\/p>\n
\u201cHelping Alex to recover took everything I knew as an educator and more,\u201d said Juli. \u201cInterestingly, it has also transformed my practice as a teacher educator. I am a better professor because of my effort in reteaching Alex.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Alex isn\u2019t 100 percent recovered\u2014she suffers from aphasia, has a limited visual field and struggles with the use of her right hand.<\/p>\n
At high school, where she\u2019s now in 10th grade, Alex works with a one-on-one aide, but she\u2019s back in regular classes and once again earning high marks and passing state exams. It takes her three hours to do the same amount of homework it might take an average student one hour to complete, but she\u2019s thankful to be where she is today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work almost nonstop, but I am happy,\u201d said Alex. \u201cI feel good inside because I keep getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the start of Alex\u2019s illness, Juli began capturing photos and videos and writing a journal to keep relatives and physicians up-to-date and to document Alex\u2019s recovery. As Alex\u2019s outcome became more hopeful, Juli started to write more formally about the experience, and her other daughter, Jessica, joined her. As Alex\u2019s little sister, Jessica also was on board the emotional roller coaster of Alex\u2019s illness and recovery.<\/p>\n
The result is \u201cA Stroke of Luck: A Girl\u2019s Second Chance at Life,\u201d co-authored by Juli and Jessica. The book was released on Amazon.com last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am accustomed to writing as part of my work as a professor, but writing this book was quite different because it is very personal,\u201d said Juli. \u201cI share my greatest hopes and fears, and every time I question my choice to move forward with publishing something so private, I am reminded of how this book might give others who struggle hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Jessica, her five chapters of the book deal with being the sibling of an ill child. She wrote the book as her own form of release, but also so that Alex and others could learn from her experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cWriting the book was difficult because it brought back memories that were hard to deal with, but I felt that it helped to heal some of the wounds I didn\u2019t even know I had,\u201d said Jessica.<\/p>\n
As for Alex, she\u2019s working with physicians, teachers, guidance counselors and school districts in Central Florida and beyond to help them improve their outreach to students with special needs.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s in a unique position in that she can articulate the different needs of students with and without disabilities, and she\u2019s working with educators to ensure a positive, rigorous learning environment for students with special needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to change the perspectives of teachers, doctors and others about supporting students with special needs,\u201d Alex said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What started as one mom\u2019s worst nightmare evolved into a story of desperation, hope and a miraculous recovery. When Alex Dixon was 10, the gifted student who loved music and art came down with pneumonia. The pneumonia caused a malfunction in her central nervous system that resulted in a pain disorder and spasms that caused numerous dislocations and left her…","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":59128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,6,12,27],"tags":[8,7813],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-59127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-community","category-health","category-student-life","tag-education","tag-juli-dixon"],"yoast_head":"\n