I have just recently signed up for the list but from the couple of mails I
have sent out you may have seen that I am one of the lucky ones who made a
complete recovery from what was a quite serious ATM attack. From reading
through the archives my initial reaction was that most people seemed to
have faired a lot worse. However, after giving this more though I wondered
if this was a statistical quirk in that the people who contribute to this
type support group may in general be people with residual effects of TM? I
would like to know if anyone has any actual stats for the recovery rate for
TM. The figures I heard when I was in hospital was 1/3 no recovery, 1/3
partial, and 1/3 full, but I never had access to any supporting literature.
Another topic which I am interested in from a personal point of view is
reoccurrence of TM. Obviously having escaped the effects of TM I do not
want to be hit again. I have had great difficulty in finding any consistent
information on this subject. Again, I have observed a statistical slant
towards people who have had reoccurences communicating on the support
group. I have also seen statements from MD's who believe that a person who
has had TM as a primary symptom (i.e. Not secondary to MS etc) is not any
more likely to have another TM attack than someone who has never had TM.
These are obviously extremes and I would love to hear from anyone who has
some actual factual studies.
Some for some time now I thought about writing a book on my TM episode.
Although this may give TM some exposure, I also wanted to let people know
about life in a wheel chair. It was a very profound experience for me and
it was almost erie how you seemed to exist in the same space as other
people but in another dimension ... I'm sure you folks know what I'm
talking about. Having been there and come back then I would hope that it
would not sound like sour grapes. I would like to include other peoples
experiences as well and would welcome any contributions. Anyhow I would
love to get some feedback on whether anyone thinks this is a worthwhile
endeavor.
Regards
Jerry