CINCINNATI, Ohio (WDTN) — It has been a little over seven weeks since a Stebbins High School student suffered a heart attack.
Ebonie Sherwood is continuing to recover at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Her mom, Beverly, said she is walking again and working to relearn basic tasks.
“The last two weeks have been leaps and bounds. Just being able to feed herself, and eating regular food again, using her voice and being able to speak up for herself. That’s been amazing to see,” Beverly said.
Ebonie suffered a heart attack during track practice on March 7, 2023. She was flown to UC Medical Center and received a heart transplant nearly two weeks later. She has been in the hospital ever since, and her mom has not left her side.
“It’s been hard. We’re a little over an hour from home, so trying to make sure, we have a dog at home, that somebody is taking care of the dog and getting our house ready and accessible for her when she does come home. Trying to work from here, that’s been a little difficult,” Beverly explained.
The road to recovery has not been easy. Beverly said there have been setbacks and hard days, but Ebonie is finally starting to act like herself again.
“It’s been such a relief. You never know what kind of brain damage or personality changes and things like that. And I would say, especially this last week, she’s just really been herself. So she cracks jokes and she talks about things at school, and her track team came down and visited, and she got to talk to some of the new throwers and was giving them advice on what to do,” Beverly said.
While Ebonie’s recovery is far from over, Beverly said they are looking forward to getting back to their lives at home. Ebonie will still go to college in the fall, but she will be staying closer to home while she gains back more of her strength. They hope to be out of the hospital soon and moved to a rehab facility.
Beverly said she could not have gotten through this difficult process without the kindness of the UC Medical staff, and the support from the community.
“One of the people from the school is mowing our grass for the summer to take care of that. We have friends taking care of our dog. We have businesses in the area that are doing fundraising to support us, and it’s all just been like a weight off our shoulders to know that everybody is there,” Beverly said.
If you would like to support Ebonie during her recovery, click here.
