I was 45 when I got TM. I was on a business trip to Dallas, TX when I was
stricken with this disease. I went out Sept 4th, 2004 and was to only be there
a week. I used to live 5 miles from the facility I was helping at so every week I
volunteered to stay another week to help out. I was scheduled to come home to
GA on Oct 8th, almost made it home.
I got up that morning October 6th and my right foot was asleep, I keep taping
my foot on the floor to wake it up. I figured I slept wrong and pinched a nerve by
9:00am I could not walk at all the tingling had move up past my knee cap and
when I tried to walk I kept walking into walls and falling down. The crew there
keep telling me to go to ER, and I just laughed at them, for my foot being asleep,
please!, well my 10:00 I can’t walk at all and was carried to a car and off to the
ready care. Doctor there did a few quick tests and sent me straight to the ER.
(He thought I was having a stroke). When we got to the ER 5 miles away they
were waiting outside for me. I kept laughing that they offered curb side service.
They rushed me to a room and there started the “Barrage of Test” by 3:00pm
and 2 MRI’s, 3 CAT scans ER Doctors are totally baffled can quote from the ER
Doctor was “We can not figure out what is wrong with you and have never seen
anyone present in the ER with such rapid case of paralysis. Now the “tingling”
and paralysis has moved up past my thigh, and I can no longer move my right leg
at all, not even wiggle my toe!
I was admitted to the hospital, by now my husband back in Atlanta is totally
freaking out and I am still making light of the whole situation. Lucky for me I had
family close by and some one was with me until my company few my husband
Brian out. When I woke up the next day my left foot started to tingle and I knew
at that point something was really wrong. It took the neurologist until Monday 5
days latter to finally tell me I have Transverse Myelits. After all the test it was the
doctors labeled my onset of TM as Idiopathic, to this day they can not tell me
how I got this.
I was in the hospital a little over a week and then moved to a rehab faculty next
to the hosp (more like old folks home) I was the young kid there at 45 years old, I
was in patient rehab for a week and finally sent back home to GA. I went back to
work a month after getting out of the hospital. My boss was been very supportive
and made my return back to work much easier than I ever thought it would be.
I use my walker around the house and wheel chair in public. My right leg still
drags like I’ve had a stroke; the “banding” pain around my waist and the burning
in my feet would be my two primary issues with this. I can not wear pants unless
they have elastic so I can pull them up over my belly button due to the banding
pain, I also can no longer wear shoes, socks even hurt my feet due to the
burning and stinging in my feet. This makes it hard to use my AFO’s because I
can’t take shoes on my feet.
It is so hard to explain to people that I in no way saw this coming. That I got up
one morning and with in 8 hours I was paralyzed. But life does go on and it’s just
the adjustment we all have to learn to deal with daily regardless if you have TM
or any other medical condition. You work and live life with has been dealt to you
in the most positive way you can.
Kim Harrison
Atlanta, GA
You can read more about Kim here:
http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.mtKZKgMWKwG/b.6357597/k.3480/Living_Life_to_the_Fullest_with_TM.htm