It was supposed to be a last-minute trip to south Florida with friends after her first semester at Florida State University. Then, Eden Marie Schroeder planned to head home to Gwinnett County to spend the holidays with her family and work.
The 18-year-old had been a competitive swimmer and diver while growing up in Florida. But after diving from a boat into shallow water near Naples on Friday, Eden couldn’t feel her legs. Her 14-year-old sister, Peyton, got a phone call after the accident.
“I started crying,” Peyton told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Her older sister and best friend was critically injured, but Peyton said Eden was the reassuring one.
“I’m going to be OK,” Eden told her. “I’m going to get through this. Please don’t cry.”
At Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, Eden underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure on her spinal cord. Wednesday afternoon, she remained in the intensive care unit, her sister said.
Eden has some movement of her arms and hands but is unable to feel anything from her chest down, her sister said.
Diving is the fourth-leading cause of spinal cord injuries for men and fifth for women, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. Emma Harrington, director of injury prevention education for Atlanta’s Shepherd Center, discussed the dangers of diving in a podcast on the center’s website.
“Any time you go head-first into any body of water, the risks are far more than what they seem,” Harrington said. “And that’s what we see here at the Shepherd Center, one single dive can alter your life forever.”
Eden remembers diving in and was terrified immediately afterward, her sister said.
“She definitely was very scared in the beginning,” Peyton said. “She kept saying, ‘I can’t feel my legs, I can’t feel my legs.’”
Due to the coronavirus, Eden is allowed to have only one relative with her, her mother. Peyton is staying with family in Atlanta but has been able to talk to her sister and FaceTime with her. Being apart is difficult, and there is no timeline for how long Eden will need to remain in the Florida hospital. The girls’ older brother, who lives in Montana, is planning to return to Georgia when Eden is home.
Still, Eden continues to show surprising strength and determination, her sister said. The 2020 graduate of North Gwinnett High School plans to major in business and finance and recently pledged a sorority.
“She has a really positive attitude. She’s been reassuring and saying she can get through this,” Peyton said.
Two friends set up a GoFundMe page to help with medical costs for Eden. By Monday, the fundraiser had topped $100,000. In addition to donations, many posted words of encouragement.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
“I went to middle school with Eden, and even though I was a grade below her, she always treated me with kindness at a time where I was bullied and didn’t have a lot of friends,” one person posted. “She was one of a handful of people that was always nice to me and helped me through a tough time in my life. ... Eden is a strong and confident girl and I know she will get through this tough time in her life as well.”
Peyton said her mother reads the comments to Eden, who has been moved to tears over the support.
“Wow, I didn’t know so many people like me,” Eden told her sister.
It’s the support from friends and even strangers, along with Eden’s positive outlook, that is helping the family get through, Peyton said.
“You really see the good in people when something like this happens,” she said. “Eden has been telling me that she wants people to know all of the positivity has been incredible and it gives her motivation to want to walk again.”
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