Full Speed Ahead

 

A paralyzing disease doesn't keep this Indy 500 winner's daughter from reaching for the stars.

 

She had it all: Great friends, athletic achievements, exemplary grades, a bright future. Then one morning she awoke paralyzed. Today, Cody Unser figures she still has it all—and then some.

 

On February 5, 1999, the daughter of two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Al Unser Jr. was practicing sixth-grade basketball at her Albuquerque, N.M., school when she began feeling excessively tired, developed a severe headache, and noticed tingling in her legs. Rushed to the emergency room, she was evaluated and released.

 

The next morning Cody couldn’t move from her chest down. Tests revealed a rare and mysterious disease called transverse myelitis (TM), an inflammation of the spinal cord caused by an attack of the body’s immune system.

 

In the July 2003 issue, read about the winning attitude that helped Cody regain her strength and independence—and also led to the establishment of the Cody Unser First Step Foundation, which raises awareness of and funds for transverse myelitis.