Joe & Marion De Sisto wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone!
>
> My name is Marion, but I'm most often known as Maz. I intend writing
> my experience of how I developed TM in the appropriate 'history' area,
> so I'll just be brief about it here. It began on May 13th 1998 and
> took exactly three months (August 13th) to reach its peak.
> Coincidently, this was also the date I was admitted to Guy's Hospital
> here in London, UK. The neurology team told me they had not seen such
> a slow development of TM before, they said it usually struck in a
> matter of hours or days. I have my own theory as to why it took so
> long and I'll explain this in my 'history.' I was in the hospital for
> eleven days, spending my time in bed or a wheelchair because I had
> lost all mobility and sensory input from the waist down. The TM was
> located at T11 and T12. Apart from puzzling the docs about the slow
> onset, they were also surprised that my bladder and bowels were still
> functioning, and that within two days of being there (before receiving
> massive doses of their 'cure-all' Cortisone) they began to see
> improvements. I left the hospital, having been fitted for a
> wheelchair and issued a walking frame with which I had managed a
> couple of staggering steps in Physio on my last day. Ten days later,
> when I returned to Physio, my therapist was astonished to see that I
> didn't need the walker and was ready for a cane. Very soon after that
> I no longer needed the cane, but I do still have it with me when I'm
> out. This is on the advice of my therapist, she said it alerts people
> to the fact that I do have a problem and am not as steady on my feet
> as they may think.
>
> How am I now? As yet I haven't been able to return to my job and may
> never as it requires me to be on my feet a great deal. I have the
> usual numbness (but nothing like it was), discomfort and weird
> sensations in my butt, legs and feet and these intensify once I'm on
> my feet. I have pain in my lower back when I bend and if I stay on my
> feet for too long, but the length of time without it keeps
> increasing. I can't sit down on the floor or in a bathtub, but I'm
> still persevering with this. (Bless the soul who invented
> showers!!!) I have to lie on my right side to sleep, that's the least
> uncomfortable, and I'm up several times in the night because of
> stiffness and some pain after lying still for two or three hours.
> Perhaps to other people this would sound rather bleak, but I'm sure
> you all can realize how grateful I am, knowing it could be much
> worse. As a therapist and healer I've had access to several
> complementary therapies and distance healing which I know have helped
> me, and I'm happy to write more information on these if you guys would
> like me to. In addition, I'm taking vitamins and herbs which again (I
> believe) are making a positive difference. I'm also a great believer
> in the healing power of laughter and so from time to time (but, again,
> only if you want me to) I'll share a few 'funnies' with you.
>
> Check out my website http://www.soul.cc/facetsoul to see the kind of
> stuff I'm into, and also my older son's URL http://www.soul.cc which
> has proved helpful to a number of people (go to the "Healing Page").
>
> I wish you all a year of Peace, Love, Hope and Self-Healing.
> Light-filled Blessings, Maz.