Woke up normally 8/10/15 & sat up in bed stretching a little when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck.
My hands started tingling and going numb, and it quickly moved up my arms & down my entire body, and was completely paralyzed within 15 minutes. Was married at the time & he took me to the ER where I continued to worsen over the next few days.
Lost my diaphragm and was put on the ventilator by day 3 and was in n out of a medically induced coma for about 8 days as they tried to get my body to stop attacking my spinal cord. I swelled bilaterally from C2-T2, was put on heavy steroids & had plasmapheresis. I had to get a tracheotomy in ICU, PICC line, and feeding tube.
After 2 weeks in ICU, I spent 6 weeks in an acute care facility, then 4 weeks of inpatient rehab. Misdiagnosed with Guillan Barre & NeuroMyelitis Optica, and ultimately diagnosed with acute Transverse Myelitis with lesions at C5-6.
I came home 11/3/15 in a wheelchair completely dependent on others. It took a solid 6 months before I was able to use a walker confidently. My husband quickly realized he didn’t want me like this and left me a few months after I returned home, with our 2 yr old son and my 9 year old daughter.
My daughter became my helper & critch and helped me to relearn how to do things with my still partially paralyzed body. I live 95% independently with my 2 kids & 2 dogs, 7 years later. I’m still partially paralyzed from the chest down– I can’t feel temperature or external pain for the most part, I’d say I can feel maybe 60%. My left leg doesn’t work all the way & I wear an AFO.
My hands hardly function, I can wiggle my fingers and lift them up with tenodesis but can’t close them/curl them to make a fist at all, they’re stuck mostly straight. I have bladder and bowel incontinence but not fully, I do have a little control, but I wear incontinence protective products.
I’m really trying to find assistance with purchasing a newer minivan for myself & my kids. I’m driving a 2004 Chevrolet Venture that’s reached 170k miles on it that isn’t going to safely last me much longer. I’m overwhelmed by the inflation of used vehicle prices suddenly and am worried that I’ll be stuck without transportation soon.
