AURORA, Colo. — Eliza Gilbert has made incredible strides in just a matter of weeks considering just three weeks, a stride wasn't possible.
"She couldn’t walk at all," said Eliza's physical therapist, Vicki Council.
Along with Council and two pieces of brand new technology at Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital, Eliza can now move to the beat of her own drum.
"There’s so much to think about when you walk that I never really realized until I couldn’t anymore," Eliza said.
In February, while in New York caring for her grandfather with ALS, Eliza noticed something wasn't right.
"I had extreme left side weakness," Eliza describes of her symptoms.
At 26 years old, Eliza's doctors found a tumor in her brain. Her surgeon removed the tumor, but it came at a cost.
"Because he got such good margins, I lost a lot of function because he took away out some of the healthy tissue. Which is a small price to pay in the face of getting rid of cancer," Eliza said.
Eliza lost the ability to walk. She also lost the use of her left hand.
"That’s been really tough to lose function your left hand because one of the things I did before was I made bracelets and I gave them to people fighting rare illnesses or cancer and things like that. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that again. But I sure hope so," Eliza told Denver7.
The treadmill Eliza used during rehab gives her constant feedback with each step.
"It is really helpful because I noticed that the first time when I stepped with my left leg, it was not meeting up, even though they felt like they were," Eliza said.
Plus, a mobile harness gives her the freedom and confidence to attain her goal sooner than she thought possible.
"I'm sure I’ll be walking in no time," Eliza said.
