Dahlia Blake fights back after paralysis

At 22 years old, Dahlia Blake was finally stepping into the life she had worked for. The May Pen, Clarendon native had excelled at school, graduated from the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), and earned multiple academic awards. 

 

Then, after months of struggling to find work, she finally landed a job as a logistics officer at the wharf. But the trajectory of her life changed in August 2023 after she woke up and within hours became paralysed.

 

“Little did I know that it would be the final day of going to work for a very long time,” the now 27-year-old told THE STAR.

 

Blake said she had always been driven to excel. At Edwin Allen High School, she excelled at academics and participated in leadership and extracurricular activities.

 

“I wasn't a track and field student. I was more into reading, public speaking, debating and 4-H [Club]. I was a prefect, and I always was in the top 10 throughout my time there.”

 

By the time she left school, Blake had earned nine Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and six Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination passes. At CMU, where she pursued a degree in international shipping and a diploma in logistics, she doubled down on achievement.

 

“Academics has always been very important to me,” Blake said. “I’m from humble beginnings, so I always felt like I had to ensure my mom wasn’t wasting her money.”

 

At CMU, her consistent hard work was rewarded.

 

“I got scholarships for my third and fourth years, and by graduation I had received the Dean’s Honour Roll Award and Most Outstanding Academic Achievement for 2022,” she said. 

 

But despite her academic achievements, Blake said finding work proved difficult.

 

“With all the accolades that I had, it still was tough finding a job. I started asking, what’s the purpose of this degree if I can’t get a job in the field?”

 

Then, in 2023, a placement officer from CMU helped her secure a logistics job in Kingston.

 

“My boss loved me.  I was always at work early, always asking for more tasks.”

 

But nothing could prepare her for the drastic turn her life would take after just four months on the job.

 

“One day I woke up getting ready for work and I was experiencing a sharp pain in my right arm,” she recalled. “I still pushed through because I thought maybe I slept badly on it.”

 

Despite the discomfort she headed to work.

 

“I started having this terrible, terrible headache. The back of my eyes felt different, my vision blurred, and I kept passing out in the bus.”

 

The familiar faces on her daily commute immediately noticed something was wrong.

“One lady gave me a mint and asked if I was pregnant. When I passed out, I woke up in her lap and she was trying to comfort me.”

 

By the time the bus reached Three Miles, St Andrew, Blake knew something was seriously wrong. 

 

“I tried to reach for my phone and couldn’t hold it in my right hand. I called my partner, and his relative, who is a nurse, told me to smile and try [to] lift my legs. My right leg wasn’t moving.”

 

Initially, a stroke was suspected by the nurse. “At the time I was thinking, ‘At my very young age, here I am having a stroke?’” she said.

 

The journey to work detoured into a trip to the hospital. Doctors pricked her with needles and she felt nothing.

 

“It took less than three hours for my entire nervous system to basically crumble. It started out with just pain in my arm, and by the end of the day I lost all sensitivity over my entire body.”

Blake said she was unable to feel the needles used during medical procedures, including a lumbar puncture in which doctors inserted a long needle into her back to collect spinal fluid for testing. Despite the invasive nature of the procedure, she felt no sensation.

She also explained that she had lost the ability to distinguish between hot and cold temperatures and could not tell whether surfaces were rough or smooth to the touch.

“I became completely paralysed from the neck down,” Blake said.

 

After several medical investigations, doctors finally diagnosed her with transverse myelitis, a rare neurological condition that inflamed her spinal cord. While many patients experience at least partial recovery, some are left with permanent disabilities that affect daily activities.

 

“I was actually relieved when they finally told me what was wrong. I wanted something tangible to work with. I wanted answers.”

 

Although she begged to go home, leaving hospital was emotionally crushing.

 

“I was discharged as a quadriplegic I couldn’t move anything. If I wanted water, somebody had to feed me through a straw. If I wanted to brush my teeth, somebody had to help me. I couldn’t turn in my bed.”

 

She admitted that there were moments she questioned why this had happened after working so hard.

 

“Why allow me to taste what greatness feels like, only to take it away. I feel like I’m an overachiever. Anything I do, I want to be exceptional in it. I love my independence, and now I had to depend on everybody. I was at the mercy of everyone around me.” 

 

Yet, through heartbreak came perspective.

 

“I feel like it showed me that I was a valued person. My inner circle stuck with me through the entire thing. My friends from high school, who now live in different countries, are still helping me with physiotherapy equipment and anything I need.”

 

Her partner, she said, never backed out.

 

“This person has seen me at my sickest. Even with catheter in. He fed me, cared for me and never looked at me with disgust. If anything, he became even more protective.”

 

Blake attacked recovery with the same determination she once gave to academics.

 

“I don’t miss a day of physio, recovery starts with your mental capacity to believe in yourself.”

 

Three months after becoming paralysed, movement slowly returned to her left side. Today, she can style her locks, do her makeup, complete some household chores and care for herself more independently, though weakness remains on her right side.

 

“The greatest accomplishment for me was being able to use the bathroom on my own again,” she said.

 

Now seeking employment, Blake believes she still has much to offer.

“I know I can do office administration, customer service, research, data entry. As long as it doesn’t require heavy lifting or too much walking, I know I can do the job.”

 

Watching others who have the diagnosis overcome it in Jamaica and different parts of the world has given her hope and motivated her. Her advice to others who may be in a similar situation is to be resilient.

 

“You have to be strong for yourself. God has you, but you also need to have yourself. You have to put in the work and show up for yourself.”

 

Persons interested in offering Dahlia Blake employment opportunities may contact her via email. Antonetteblake23@gmail.com.