The flag hangs out at many secondary school students, including Kess van Hoogstraten (16) from Herpen. Although she sustained a spinal cord injury in second grade, she and her friends passed her VMBO-T, the former MAVO, at the same time. “I didn’t just want to sit at home, but I wanted to persevere and be with my friends.”
In the second year of her secondary school Hooghuis Stadium in Oss, Kess suffered from back problems. After a visit to the doctor, she was sent home. “The complaints were not bad enough and we had to continue with paracetamol.”
“They didn’t know what it was.”
Suzanne is Kess’ mother and tells what happened. “When Kess collapsed at one point, all sails were added. We were rushed from the hospital in Uden to the Radboud Hospital in Nijmegen. They didn’t know what it was.”
Several doctors investigated Kess, but what exactly was going on proved difficult to determine. “It turned out to be a spinal dural arteriovenous fistula. This causes problems with the spinal cord and veins, which can lead to symptoms of failure.”
“I had to learn to live with a high spinal cord injury.
Due to a large hemorrhage in the spinal cord, she was paralyzed from the chest down. Kess: “Because of the hemorrhage, the nerves turned out to be so badly damaged that it was irreparable. I had to learn to live with a high spinal cord injury. All the things that seem very normal, I suddenly couldn’t anymore.”
A long and intensive rehabilitation in Utrecht followed. “In the beginning you mainly learn how to do everything in a wheelchair. I was also very dizzy at first and had to take things easy. Still, I wanted to go back to school, to my girlfriends and to get back to normal life.”
The rehabilitation center also looked at how Kess could return to her old school. “I did a specialization in sports. All my gym teachers were allowed to come and see how I could still exercise with my disability during my rehabilitation.”
“I then tried to catch up on lessons when it was less busy.”
“They saw me there swimming and playing tennis in a wheelchair. Back at school I was taken into account and helped when needed. When we went skiing with the class, a sit-ski was provided. It was very special that they did all that for me.”
Yet it is not always easy for Kess to pick up her old life again. “I was often in the hospital for operations and examinations, so I missed a lot. I found that difficult, because I didn’t want to miss anything at school. I then tried to catch up on lessons when it was less busy.”
“Kess is a real go-getter.”
“Our Kess always smiles and never complains,” says mother Suzanne proudly. handcycle to school and if the weather was bad I brought her.”
After the summer, Kess will be training to become a teaching assistant. “I actually wanted something with sports, but that is too far and too difficult. When I joined a daycare center for an internship at a school, I was hooked. I really enjoyed helping and keeping children busy.”
