Abbotsford, B.C., curler left paralyzed by rare condition

A prominent local curler is facing the battle of her life after being diagnosed with a rare neurological condition.

Brooklyn Aleksic is taking on the fight of her life with a smile, raising her hands along with the beat of a hit pop song in a video shared by her family.

The 20-year-old University of Victoria student has been diagnosed with transverse myelitis, which developed in early June, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down.

The disorder occurs when a section of the spinal cord is inflamed.

Last month, while in Saskatchewan ahead of starting a summer job – Aleksic woke up and realized she couldn’t move.

“Basically, within two hours of waking up that morning, she was completely paralyzed from her neck down,” explained her mother, Shannon Joanisse, speaking with CTV News from Regina General Hospital.

Joanisse, a well-known curler who has competed in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts five times, raised her daughter in Abbotsford, B.C.

“She has a huge circle of friends, she’s a ray of light in everybody’s life,” Joanisse said of her daughter. “She’s positive. She’s a fighter, and Brooklyn thrives academically. She’s going to UVic to become an elementary school teacher.”

Aleksic has had her own fame as well, appearing in the 2024 documentary Curl Power, which followed her Maple Ridge-based curling team.

The film was screened in theatres across Canada, tracking the ups and downs of the team as the girls pushed to compete in the Canadian Junior Curling Championships.

Aleksic’s former curling coach Diane Dezura has started a GoFundMe – which has raised tens of thousands of dollars in support – and hopes to raise more.

The money will be used for a variety of things, from helping with Aleksic’s transportation back to B.C. to – in the medium and longer term – things related to her rehabilitation and treatment.

“I just want to thank everybody that’s reached out to our family,” Joanisse said. “Complete strangers have reached out supporting us, and we can’t thank them enough for that. Thank you to everyone.”

Transverse myelitis is incredibly rare, only affecting about one in a million people per year, and the family says the contributions could make all the difference.

But beyond money, what Aleksic and others with her condition really need is for people to donate plasma.

“At the end of this week, she will have had 14 plasma exchanges and each plasma exchange takes approximately almost 13 donors to provide enough plasma for one exchange,” explained Dezura. “Brook will have had 14, and that totals 175 donors. So Brook, it’s really important to her (to get the message out about plasma donation).”

The family is hopeful Aleksic will travel back to the Lower Mainland by next week, with the goal of one day being able to walk – and curl – again.