After a Long Day of Travel, She Woke Up Unable to Walk. Then Crawled to Her Car and Drove to the ER (Exclusive)

You need to know

• Ella Katenkamp was the days that couldn’t finish reading when he woke up.

• At first, he assumed that the pain in his calves was from exercising after a long journey.

• A week later, he left the hospital with a diagnosis that changed his way to see his health.

When Ella Katenkamp woke up with a sharp, sharp pain in her calves, she was days away from finishing school as frozen muscles, whose feet were curled to a locked position. Staying in the hospital for a week following this, a terrible diagnosis and viral Tiktok It led to a conversation between the millions.

“A week ago, I made a journey to Georgia and this was a lot of walking, Kat says Katenkamp to people looking like a fun getaway before things were shaken. “The last day we had a walk with thousands of stairs and then I returned to Florida for 13 hours.”

The old college athlete did not waste time to jump back to his routine. “As soon as I returned, I did a leg training in the gym,” he says, the cramps did not look like a big thing at first.

“From now on, there is really bad calf pain, or he explains. “My feet were locked on a pointed toe finger and I couldn’t walk straight foot. My calves were stuck like this.”

Assuming that it was a standard athletic cramp, Katenkamp drank water, stretched and went to bed. But until 5 am, he was painful and refused to move his legs. “Then I lived with a roommate, but it was five in the morning and I didn’t want to wake him up, or he says. “That’s why I crawled into my car and took myself to the hospital.”

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He worsened his condition in ER. “As soon as they entered there, they ran and put me in a wheelchair and that’s for about a week,” he remembers me. The walk was almost impossible during his stay in the hospital. “If I ever walked, someone had to hold me because I couldn’t move my calves, or he says. “They stopped working.”

Doctors struggled to determine the cause of their symptoms. “It took about three or four days to understand, Kat says Katenkamp. “The nurses would go in and just investigate my symptoms – nobody knew what this was.”

Finally, he received a diagnosis: Rhabdomyolysis is a rare condition that causes muscle fibers to break down and release toxins into blood. “This is like that your muscle is broken to the point where your blood is poisoned, or he explains.

Katenkamp was shocked to find out the level of creatine kinase (CK), a marker of muscle destruction. “Your CK level had to be over 200, and when I came to the hospital, it was thousands of thousands, or he says.

Treatment involved in washing the system with fluids and monitoring the blood several times a day. “They had to take my blood three times a day, or he says. “Two days later, my CK level actually rose, it was really annoying.”

When it was discharged, the CK level was still around 600-700. Im I wasn’t where I should be, but I was starting to walk again, or he says. “It was just my legs.”

The doctors connected the onset of a combination of a factor. “They told me that he had gone from the red bulls I probably drank in Georgia, enough water, birth control and sitting for 13 hours of intense leg training, Kat he says.

Experience has changed its fitness and health approach permanently. “I took a big step from energy drinks, or he shares. “I didn’t touch them for a long time, and now I’m just drinking very medium.”

Early in the morning, with a hyperactive with classes, classes and games, Katenkamp is now much more careful. “Now I’m drinking more water, or he says. “And I definitely think of which days will be forced in the gym – as if I was sitting a lot the day before?”

The situation was new for him and for many. Im I had no idea what happened, Kat says Katenkamp. “Even the doctors didn’t know.”

“He doesn’t know yet … But the next morning he will crawl out of bed the next morning and take it to the hospital next week because his legs were paralyzed with rabdomyolysis.”

Some followers offer support, while others jumped to the results. But for Katenkamp, it was a moment that turned criticism into a community. “I really didn’t have to defend myself, or he says. “Other people did this for me.”

Many shared their own experiences or loved ones. “Many people said they had something similar and they know how painful it was, or he says. “There were tons of comments that wished me a good recovery.”

When we look back, he says the situation is only more than muscle cramps. “When I left the hospital, my legs weren’t even in the same size, or he says. “This is definitely a process, but fortunately, I’m passing it now.”

Nevertheless, the risk of permanent damage was real. “They say you can ruin your kidneys, Kat says Katenkamp. “Fortunately, I didn’t come to that point, but if I hadn’t went to the hospital, it would have destroyed my organs.”

So the message is solid. “This is just more than cramps, or he says. “People continued to say ‘pushing it’, but I couldn’t do it – I had to go to the hospital.”

Two years later, Katenkamp’s advice to others in healing is simple and compassionate. “Make sure you look at yourself and read your body, or he says. “Make up with the water, do not overdo it and excess.”

To investigate all possibilities, similar symptoms encourage everyone living. “Follow the steps that your doctors have given you, Kat Katenkamp adds. “It can definitely come back.”

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If he could say something to social media users, this is: don’t behave like an expert. “You never know what’s going on,” he says. “There were more than 20 different comments that predicted the reason. Different for each person.”

Katenkamp said he understood the charm of fast decisions, especially online. But he hopes that his story will show why empathy is important. “Talk about the health of others, or he says. “If there is one thing I have learned, you don’t really know what someone is going through.”

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