I will be continuing my story. Since the day I came home from the hospital, there was no possible way for me to go outside. The only way I could get there was to open the doors and sit by the door frame and smell the fresh air. I long to go outside. So my wife came up with an idea and was willing to try. She got me as close to the stairs as she could and had a chair at the bottom of the stairs. She got me to stand and I held on to here and she walk me down the stairs. Now keep in mind I have no ablitity to walk so she had to move my legs and hold on to me. I had upper strength. So approx. 1.2 hour later I was sitting down in the yard and very very tired. This was not done on a regular bases. We were able to get a temporarily ramp but that last a total of 5 minutes. Due to the fact that it was so flimsy that with the weight of the chair with me in it and my wife pushing me up the ramp it started to buckle. So we called the company back and said this will not work.
My wife was doing all my care. We got some home care come in but had to wait for 2 weeks before we saw anyone. We were given a nurse, support worker for the time being.
The nurse was coming in 2 times a week, and the support worker the same. But they we little help, since my wife still had to do all the work, to get me where i needed to go.
Now with me being paralzed and the doctors not knowing why they were very nervous in even trying to transfer me in any manner.
I had sponge baths for over a year. and so desperately want to go and have a bath. But since it was not set up for me, and worried about falling it just was not possible.
I did many trips to the hospital by ambulance I was spiking fevers. Doctors not knowing what is going on or what was causing them.
My family doctor made me some appointments with some specialist. We did the appointments they we just a confused. They did many many test MRI, Cat Scans, Blood Work, and everything came back negative. I was getting very frustrated and depressed.
In all the frustrations I asked to see other specialist in bigger cities, in hopes of coming up with answers to this. They agreed but it was going to take some time to figure what kind of doctor to send me too.
There was few things we need to get done for me. We desperately need a ramp built but did not have the funds to do so. We look for different organizations or people to help but we fell short in finding any one to help. Now in fact there were people coming and saying what can we do do to help, but when we said what was needed they either didn't return or said sorry we just can't do it.
After about one year we finally got a deck and ramp built. You can not know how much this meant to me. That i could come out of the house on to the deck and be able to sit and listen to the birds and trees russle. But i still needed my wife assistance to get me there. If I wanted to go down to the grass my wife needed to take me down the ramp. It was steep to go down and going up felt like i was going up hill. But it was done and I was happy more than words could explain.
That night I went back in to the house and was sitting on the couch and my wife and were talking. She said you have a birthday coming up. I said I have a deck and able to get outside, I am home and happy. Still not understanding why I can't walk. But I was at home.
That night I spiked another fever. So back to the hospital I went. They said I got an infection. Gave me some medications and call my wife to come and get me.
The next day I asked if I could go back out and my wife was getting me ready to go back and sit on the deck. But my wife asked me what was wrong. I told her that I was not feeling well all of a sudden.
Now at all times before I go to the hospital my wife asked me do you want me to call the ambulance. This time she didn't do that.
I remember sitting on the couch and I just fell over. The ambulance was here pretty quick. but they also knew me quite well. Back to the hospital i go again. And this time they kept me for 8 days.
This time I became very depressed. I did n't know what was going on and they kept doing test but not shedding any light to me what was going on.
So I was imagine the worse. But I was wrong. It was not a Stroke or Heart Attack. The test came back negative .I was so relieved. But still didn't know what was going on.
So as of this time I was now and still paralzed from the waist down and had new problems that I had lost my whole right side.
You can never imagine how i was feeling and how scared I was. My wife stayed by my side night and day. The only time was for a few hours when she had to go home and get me a change of clothes. She got permission from the doctor so she could stay.
They gave me some high doses of Predisone.
The doctor that was taking my case said that she was going to a larger city to see if she could get some answers to what was going on. She had an idea but wanted to make sure before saying anything.So before she left my wife said I want to take him home. And she said OK. Home was the best medicine for him. So my wife made arrangements to get me to go home and got the medications and supplies for me to come home. She came back after my nap but I woke before she got back and I was very emotional , that she was not there. After she arrive she was packing up my last minute things and said she needed to go find a chair to go outside. I loved that idea.
So my wife wheeled me outside and to the car I looked at her and said where are we going she said home. That is where you belong. I was crying in happiness. But just to make sure I asked her many time. I was so glad to see our home and deck.
I got a call from my family doctor that they were sending me to see another specialist. We had a long drive to get there and this was going to be my first long trip in 2 years. I was so excited, maybe finally we were going to get some answers.
Once we got to our destination we went and meet this new doctor. He told us that I had something called Transverse Myelitis. I was glad to finally get a name. So the first attack was TM the second attack they were not sure , since the doctor explained it does not usually attack twice. But sometime in very rare occasion but when a second attack happens it is within days or weeks not months. So off we go again to get more testing. I was starting to feel like a human pin cushion.
I have seen many new specialist and have them scratching there head. To this day I have been told that my first attack was for sure Transverse Myelitis,.. The second attack they are not sure and are still investigation's and doing test. I will be so happy on that day they they can tell me why this happen and will I be able to walk again.
The first day when this all happen to me was July 2008 and it is now July 2011 and I am still in a chair and still fighting everyday for strength to walk again and get some answers.
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