Plant City Paralympian defying odds once again as she prepares to welcome baby girl with fiancé
PLANT CITY, Fla. - Five years ago, Tracy Otto and Ricky Riessle almost lost their lives after being attacked by Otto's ex-boyfriend. It left her paralyzed from the chest down, but since then she’s become a paralympic archer, and now a first-time mom.
Being back at Tampa General Hospital and USF Health as they prepare to welcome their baby girl, is a full-circle moment for the Plant City couple.
"I think we’re in great hands," Riessle said. "I mean they saved our lives five years ago, and now we're bringing life into the world."
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Riessle was by Otto's side at TGH in October 2019, just hours after the two were nearly killed at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. After the attack, Otto decided her life would go on, and it has.
She’s conquered amazing feats, including pushing herself to qualify and compete in the Paralympics in Paris this past summer for archery. There, she and Riessle got engaged at the Eiffel Tower.
Ultrasound of Tracy Otto and Ricky Riessle's baby girl.
Now, the couple is expecting their first child – a baby girl – in January. Looking at the ultrasound of her baby girl, Otto couldn't help but smile.
"Look at her nose, oh my gosh she's perfect! I love you so much already," Otto said while seeing the ultrasound. "It's nothing less than magical. I'm so excited."
As a quadriplegic, Otto's pregnancy is high risk and rare. That’s why she has a team of doctors at TGH and USF Health monitoring her and the baby, including Dr. Sarah Oblican.
"I think she's kind of a miracle. She’s just a lovely person and did so well so far in her pregnancy," Obican said. "We saw her at the very beginning and had a kind of long discussion of what this is going to look like for her during the pregnancy and delivery."
Obican has helped deliver babies to two other quadriplegic moms and said spinal cord injuries do not prevent women from being able to get pregnant.
"She's paralyzed in terms of her muscles, so her nervous system doesn't work well for her skeletal musculature," Obican explained. "All the organs inside work exceptionally well, and she can, in fact, get pregnant, and she can carry a pregnancy."
She and her baby girl are doing great, bringing so much joy to Otto and Riessle at their 33-week checkup.
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From now until their baby is born, it's a lot of monitoring. It will include weekly check-ups and feeling for tightening on her belly, because Otto can't feel anything from the chest down.
That means she won't know if she's having contractions.
"It feels like up in the air and unpredictable, because we really don't know what my body's going to do," Otto said. "At the same time, I feel very comforted and safe and very well taken care of. So, I'm not too worried. My body seems to be doing what it's supposed to be doing. So that's a plus that things are working so well."
The team is honoring Otto's wishes to deliver the baby naturally, because a c-section would make for an even tougher recovery for her body.
"We understand that it's going to be difficult for positioning wise, and so we're coming up with some innovative ways to position her body in order to allow for a vaginal delivery," Obican said.
They've thought about and practiced every possible scenario ahead of delivery.
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"We're training her and coaching a little bit about how we're going to try and push the baby," Obican said. "She has some strength that she's going to be able to use, and then we're going to help this baby come out by doing what we call a delivery where we assist the baby to come out."
It won’t be the first time this couple has defied the odds and one thing is for sure – this baby girl is going to be a fighter.
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