Sri Lanka

I am announcing the initiation of a TM Support Group in Sri Lanka.  My name is Ivan S. Fernando.  I got TM on 29th April 1993.  I had just turned fourteen years old and was in the tenth grade at school.  My health was fine.

It was a Sunday morning.  I had the strongest headache that I had ever experienced.  I could barely open my eyes.  So I slept on the floor and I felt that my left leg was becoming paralyzed.  I stopped urinating and couldn’t walk at all.  That Sunday totally changed the meaning of my life.  I had the worst pain ever in my back.  From that morning onwards, I couldn’t get up on my own for nearly one and a half years.

I was rushed to the hospital emergency room.  The doctors performed a number of tests and finally diagnosed me with TM.  They then transferred me to a rehabilitation hospital where I received physical therapy for about seven months.  I was doing pretty well with my leg then.  I returned home from the rehabilitation hospital in 1995.
 
I returned to my studies.  I am currently working as a Customer Service Assistant in a world-recognized INGO.  I am married, I am happy and I have a good life.  My family members who were so worried about me in those early days of getting TM are now very proud of the way that I am living my life.
   
Today, I have a full and normal life.  I work, travel and do things I once thought I would never do again.  While I was searching for information on my symptoms, I came across the TMA.  I was thrilled to read about it and to discover that there were others like me.

Today, I am very happy to announce that Sri Lanka will have a TM support group.  

I really hope that we can make a difference in the lives of those patients affected with TM, ADEM, NMO and ON.  I encourage all those SRI LANKENS to reach out and contact me.  We can all learn from each other.  Please feel free to contact me anytime.  I would love to see SRI LANKA have a very active support group.

G-d bless you all.
Ivan S. Fernando
ivan_s_ fernando@wvi.org
+94773451279