I am so glad I found this place. A little about myself I'm 54 years old and got married June 29th 2013, after becoming a widow at 50. I was a nurse for 13 yrs at our small hospital here.
All my troubles started in November 27 2013. My right side wasn't working right. I noticed I was stumbling when I walked because my toe would catch. I noticed that I was losing strength in my right hand and had trouble holding a pen. This is been going on for about a week. I went to the hospital because my right leg was sore swollen and very cold to the touch. They did an ultrasound and no blood clot.
I live in a small town and we have a great hospital. My family doctor was on call when I got back from the ultrasound I was so worried about my leg that I didn't even think to say anything about my arm and hand. Anyways they sent me to Hospital in the city where they did a CT and I was told I had a stroke which I had no symptoms of and they didn't know how old it was they just knew it wasn't new.
Had an MRI and was told I have transverse myelitis but it was only on the right side of my spinal cord and the inflammation was from C2 to C6. Steroids took it back to c4. With lots of PT and OT I was getting back the use of my arm and leg. By July 2014 I was back to driving my car. In September I was involved in a really bad car accident. My right ankle and foot had many fractures in it requiring surgery. I have never recovered from that.
My next MRI show that I have a lesion on my brain and the new lesions at c7. My neurologist diagnose me with MS in July this year. So I'm one of the ones that went from TM to MS. I wasn't really surprised because he had been hinting at it a little before that.
I have three cats and two dogs. If it wasn't for them I would have gone crazy. The big dog whose name is Ritz helps me actually when I have to go up and down stairs. He stands beside me and I can put my other hand on his back. My cats, lucky and Pasha, both will sit with me and demand to be pet when I'm having a bad day. The other dog patch, is a border collie and a bundle of energy. He always wants to play so you're constantly throwing toys.
I have gotten worse ever since June. I was looking after my flower beds by sitting on my Walker and having a special hoe and I could still get into the middle and get the weeds my tools wouldn't reach. By August I couldn't even walk to the flower beds without tripping and falling. You want to do what you did before but you just can't right now. I would love to not have this disease at all but even if I could have half of what I had before I'd be happy. That's what I'm trying to work for with physio.
My family are angry with this disease I don't blame them it's been a huge adjustment for everybody. My husband only lately is starting to get over his anger. He bought a race car and he's racing it for MS. This is his way of dealing with his anger. He wants to raise money for MS and I'm happy for him. It hasn't been an easy road and I've been through a lot in the last 4 years but my pets get me out of my head. It's only been in the last 6 months that I started accepting what's going on and I don't cry near as much.
The hardest thing for me to do was to give up my job. I love nursing and wish I could still do it but with my mobility issues and my brain fogs it's just not doable anymore. That was the hardest thing for me to get over. But now I'm on this side of the grass plus learning a new hobby, QUILTING (I never thought I'd sit at a sewing machine, not exactly Susie homemaker) and helping my husband with his MS Project gives me hope and that's all a person can ask for.
Getting out of your head is the one thing you can do. Talk to another person share whats going on, you just never know.
Thank you for letting me tell you my life story well a part of it anyways. I just want to say don't lose hope when you least expect something it happens. I can't drive anymore but sites like these make it possible to keep your spirits up and get information and that's what this is about information is power. God bless everybody
** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **
All my troubles started in November 27 2013. My right side wasn't working right. I noticed I was stumbling when I walked because my toe would catch. I noticed that I was losing strength in my right hand and had trouble holding a pen. This is been going on for about a week. I went to the hospital because my right leg was sore swollen and very cold to the touch. They did an ultrasound and no blood clot.
I live in a small town and we have a great hospital. My family doctor was on call when I got back from the ultrasound I was so worried about my leg that I didn't even think to say anything about my arm and hand. Anyways they sent me to Hospital in the city where they did a CT and I was told I had a stroke which I had no symptoms of and they didn't know how old it was they just knew it wasn't new.
Had an MRI and was told I have transverse myelitis but it was only on the right side of my spinal cord and the inflammation was from C2 to C6. Steroids took it back to c4. With lots of PT and OT I was getting back the use of my arm and leg. By July 2014 I was back to driving my car. In September I was involved in a really bad car accident. My right ankle and foot had many fractures in it requiring surgery. I have never recovered from that.
My next MRI show that I have a lesion on my brain and the new lesions at c7. My neurologist diagnose me with MS in July this year. So I'm one of the ones that went from TM to MS. I wasn't really surprised because he had been hinting at it a little before that.
I have three cats and two dogs. If it wasn't for them I would have gone crazy. The big dog whose name is Ritz helps me actually when I have to go up and down stairs. He stands beside me and I can put my other hand on his back. My cats, lucky and Pasha, both will sit with me and demand to be pet when I'm having a bad day. The other dog patch, is a border collie and a bundle of energy. He always wants to play so you're constantly throwing toys.
I have gotten worse ever since June. I was looking after my flower beds by sitting on my Walker and having a special hoe and I could still get into the middle and get the weeds my tools wouldn't reach. By August I couldn't even walk to the flower beds without tripping and falling. You want to do what you did before but you just can't right now. I would love to not have this disease at all but even if I could have half of what I had before I'd be happy. That's what I'm trying to work for with physio.
My family are angry with this disease I don't blame them it's been a huge adjustment for everybody. My husband only lately is starting to get over his anger. He bought a race car and he's racing it for MS. This is his way of dealing with his anger. He wants to raise money for MS and I'm happy for him. It hasn't been an easy road and I've been through a lot in the last 4 years but my pets get me out of my head. It's only been in the last 6 months that I started accepting what's going on and I don't cry near as much.
The hardest thing for me to do was to give up my job. I love nursing and wish I could still do it but with my mobility issues and my brain fogs it's just not doable anymore. That was the hardest thing for me to get over. But now I'm on this side of the grass plus learning a new hobby, QUILTING (I never thought I'd sit at a sewing machine, not exactly Susie homemaker) and helping my husband with his MS Project gives me hope and that's all a person can ask for.
Getting out of your head is the one thing you can do. Talk to another person share whats going on, you just never know.
Thank you for letting me tell you my life story well a part of it anyways. I just want to say don't lose hope when you least expect something it happens. I can't drive anymore but sites like these make it possible to keep your spirits up and get information and that's what this is about information is power. God bless everybody** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **
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