ATM and me.

robert e parker (bob(AT)dragon7.demon.co.uk)
Wed, 5 Mar 1997 00:34:40 +0000

HI ALL, i am so glad to find this group. my tm attacked in 1994 i was
driving a 38ton truck on the motorway when my back and arms began to
hurt. i drove for as long as i could , but the pain just got worse so
stopped at a service park and got in to my bunk and tried to sleep it
off. i slept for about four hours but the pain and numbness was still
there,when i tried to get out of bed i found i could not move my
legs,igot my cellphone and called 999. i was taken to hospital but they
could find nothing wrong, i had a mri lumber puncture ekg but all were
clear. by this time i was numb and could not move from the chest
down,and had lost both bladder and bowel function. i was put on a large
dose of steroids and spent the next six months in hospital then in rehab
to learn self care and wheelchair skills, i was sent home early in 1995
and had no change for six months. then i managed to fall out of my chair
and break my right leg, ( so much for my wheelchair skills):-) so back
to hospital, i could not feel any pain from the leg until they tried to
reset it. spent next six months in hospital in plaster with the pain
getting worse every day, but with some movement and feeling returning in
my right toes and left leg and also at my hips. my neuro thinks that the
shock of breaking my leg triggered off some return.in the last twelve
months my bladder and bowel fuction has returned and with intense
physiotherapy i can stand in a frame and walk in the parallel bars.i
have stopped taking most of my drugs except for one pain killer. which
helps with the strange numbness and hot and cold feelings, it has no
codeine in it so does not affect the bowels, any way it works for me.i
hope and pray for some more improvement, and hope all other people with
ATM have some luck. best wishes bob :-) my e-mail is
bob(AT)dragon7.demon.co.uk 
-- 
robert e parker