Van Zuidam back in her element
By Jodi Heckel
Sunday September 3, 2006
John Dixon
Erica Van Zuidam, who had amputations of her hands and feet after a case of bacterial meningitis as a freshman in May 2005, is back on the University of Illinois campus, attending classes.
It's just a short walk from Illini Tower to Lincoln Hall, maybe 10 minutes straight down Chalmers Street. But it was the end of a long journey for Erica Van Zuidam – from lying in a hospital bed near death from bacterial meningitis, through amputations of her hands and feet and rehabilitation, to now returning to the University of Illinois as a sophomore.
As she walked to her Spanish class on the first day the UI was back in session, Erica was a little nervous, wondering if everything would go OK. But mostly she was excited.
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