new
CerebrAL17(AT)aol.com
Thu, 11 Jun 1998 17:19:20 EDT
Hello everyone... I'm a newbie to this list but not to TM.. I was really
surpised that this list existed.. when I was diagnosed with TM about 15 years
ago I didn't have alot of people with whom I could talk about my symptoms and
who would understand.. I came down with TM when I was 13 overseas. My family
was stationed on a naval base called Subic Bay in the Philippines. I remember
having a really sharp pain in my lower back and a tingling sensation in my
left arm.. After a couple of hours, I started to lose feeling in my legs and
finally by the next morning, I was paralyzed with numbness rising toward my
nipple line. I had spinal taps..the dye in the
spine..catheters..ouch...etc..Well to make a long story short.. I finally
regained my ability to walk but was left with varying degrees of numbness (90%
back, 75% right leg, 40% left leg, 50% forearms, parts of my chest.. and
umm..half of "Mr. Happy"..hehe).. and some problems with urination and bowel
control...(under control now..), also my left hand and my left leg today have
a little atrophy (mostly due to my stubborness not to take my physical therapy
seriously when I was a kid)..and my right leg has a little hypertrophy because
of the compensation.. ..To tell you guys the truth, I never really looked at
my illness as life altering when I was that young..maybe I was just too naive
to take it seriously...don't know. I still participated in as many sports as
possible.. although I did have a disadvantage because I got tired easier than
the rest of the guys.. Ironically, I found that wrestling was my sport and
even won 1st place in my weight division in the Philippines and represented
the philippines in the far east wrestling championship in Japan.... .in
college ..I joined an olympic lifting team on a whim and won best overall
junior lifter....(So you see you can still acomplish things if you
try!)..Today, I'm not in as good as shape as I used to be..no time..but I just
wanted to say that I really wish I had the kind of support you guys now being
diagnosed with TM have ..especially with this list..... ..if anyone has any
questions feel free to write me.. Right now..I'm 27 years old..,finishing my
masters degree in computer science (I also have a bachelors in biology and
also went to medical school..3 years though..:) )... still young...but old in
terms of TM... hope everyone is doing ok...and cheer up... AL's here now..