Cooper was only 5 years old she contracted Epstein Barre, better known as Mono. Her family was shocked to hear their little girl caught the kissing disease. They assumed there would be a few weeks of rest and she would be back to school, but only a day after her diagnosis, Cooper couldn’t sit up on her own or walk. She was paralyzed from the chest down.
Cooper was diagnosed with ADEM, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, an auto-immune disease and was immediately transferred to PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick. She was there for two months of rehabilitation.
“Children’s Specialized Hospital saved my daughter. The amount of love and support my family received during our stay was truly immeasurable,” said Jennifer Weil, Cooper’s mother.
Cooper left Children’s Specialized Hospital on March 10, 2010; she walked out the front doors with a pink walker and a brace on her right leg. She returned to school at the end of March and continued to improve.