Pamela Squires
March 10th, 2008
When my now-age 25 daughter Keren was four years old, she lined up her many stuffed animals on the sofa and proceeded to lecture to them. “Ah,” I thought. “A natural teacher!” I did not know the heartache that was coming. In junior high school, she started to struggle to keep up with her friends in her ability to learn. Her self-esteem plunged. Many kids with LD/ADHD begin to think that they are just plain stupid and, since learning disabilities are a hidden handicap, they often are misunderstood, even though these are neurobiological disorders that affect the brain. You cannot imagine a mother’s distress when you know that your child has above-average intelligence, but see her struggling and sad. (more…)
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Ben Stanton
March 10th, 2008
In the movies, Tourette Syndrome (TS) is often portrayed for an easy punch line – showing an uncommon form of the disorder through characters yelling inappropriate words at inappropriate times. But in reality, TS is no laughing matter for those impacted by this neurological disorder.
I was entering the second grade when my parents began to grow concerned about my multiple motor and vocal tics – chewing on my shirt collars and sleeves, clearing my throat, twitching my neck and exaggerated blinking. As a seven year old, I wanted nothing more than to fit in with my peers. But the near-constant tics were drawing attention to myself, making it difficult to fit in and concentrate in the classroom. (more…)
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Colleen “Candy” Phillips
March 7th, 2008
My story doesn’t involve devastating illnesses or deadly diseases, but it does involve how I cope on a daily basis and take control of my life filled with a chronic illness and pain.
In 1990, I was sitting at my desk and could not put together a coherent statement. I went home that night and was so dizzy I couldn’t stand or sit. I began to have a loud ringing in my ears and could not hear very well. I also starting seeing a gray band across my line of sight and I experienced shooting pains down my arms and legs. Because of the dizziness and the impaired vision, I was at the point where I paid someone to drive me to work and from work everyday. One day it was so bad I just laid my head on my desk and started to cry. At that point, my supervisor called my parents to pick me up and I found myself off of work for six months. (more…)
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Katherine Thomas
March 7th, 2008
As I was growing up, I was always very active and extremely passionate about sports. At the beginning of high school, however, I developed increasingly severe spasticity and completely lost the ability walk by my senior year. After several surgeries, Botox injections, and countless foggy days due to muscle-relaxing and pain-relieving drugs, I had my first intrathecal Baclofen pump implanted in 2000. The pump is really a unique medication delivery device, because it enables my body to receive the necessary medication without interrupting my daily activities due to debilitating side effects. (more…)
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Montel Williams
February 21st, 2008
When the neurologist said the words - “You have MS,” it hit me like a brick. I thought the diagnosis was a death sentence. I’d heard of multiple sclerosis, but I didn’t really know what it was. I knew it meant excruciating pain and that eventually I could lose control of my body. I also knew there was no cure. That was enough to plunge me into the depths of despair. During the next two months, I experienced the lowest moments of my life. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I became so despondent that I considered ending it all. (more…)
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Jean Yates
January 18th, 2008
My love for my family is matched only by my love for the outdoors. I try to lead an active life by being outside in the sunshine and working in my garden. I suffer from a variety of ailments that, if untreated, threaten to keep me inside and on my couch for the rest of my life!I take five different medications for my conditions, which affects every aspect of my life. I have high blood pressure, which requires me to take medication to avoid having a stroke. My restless leg syndrome keeps my legs kicking all night and I wake up exhausted. Acid reflux prevents me from enjoying virtually every yummy food….even tomatoes!. (more…)
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Cheryl Shiveley
December 14th, 2007
All in all, I’ve had a very fulfilling life. I grew up in Middle America (Michigan and Ohio) with a good family and then grew to create a beautiful family of my own. I have been blessed with two daughters, and they have given me seven amazing grandchildren.I must admit, they keep me busy. I watch two of my grandchildren almost every other weekend and love being around all of them as much as possible.
My health unfortunately has never been perfect, and I’ve always struggled with one issue or another. A few years ago I was diagnosed with one of the more difficult challenges I’ve ever faced. I learned I had Meniere’s disease, a disorder stemming from the inner ear. Meniere’s caused me to have spinning sensations, known as vertigo, and I felt like my life was literally spinning out of control. I had to quit work and experiment with different types of treatment. (more…)
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Teresa “T.C.” Raines
December 7th, 2007
In December 2005, I lost my job. Then, just a few months later in February 2006, I was seriously injured in a bicycle accident. While riding my bike, I lost my balance and the bike fell and landed on top of my left leg. The accident left me severely injured, and forced me to be in a wheel chair for four months. The accident also left me with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), an uncommon, chronic condition that usually affects a person’s arm or leg. I had to go through eight different procedures and two surgeries because of the condition. Now, I also have to take four different prescription medicines to manage my condition and without them I cannot function. (more…)
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Patricia Campbell
November 16th, 2007
Unfortunately getting older is a fact of life, but being a victim of your health doesn’t have to be. A number of years ago, I was working in Montana when I fell and broke my hip. While I was working hard to complete my therapy and regain my strength, I went outside one day to find my cat and fell down again and broke my other hip. I spent three years recuperating. This was an incredibly difficult time, as I had to leave a job that I really loved. I had started out as a detox technician and then later worked directly with dual-diagnosis substance abuse patients. It was a fulfilling experience working with people and helping them to improve their lives. (more…)
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Richard Leslie
November 8th, 2007
I started suffering from epilepsy in 1991. A seizure is a sudden, excessive discharge of nervous system electrical activity that usually causes a change in behavior.At the time I starting having seizures, I was a union electrician. I had a good life, a good job and was not prepared for the life change that would occur with having epilepsy. I learned that a person with three or more recurring seizures is said to have epilepsy.When I first started having seizures, I found a great neurologist who began studying my seizures and worked to determine why I was having them. Unfortunately, the reasons I started having seizures is still unknown. However, what my doctors did know is that there were medicines available to help regain the quality of life I had known before the onset of my epilepsy. (more…)
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Heidi Benz
September 28th, 2007
My name is Heidi, and I live in northwest Mississippi. I have been disabled for 10 years now. My disability started with a car crash back in 1997. My car was hit head on by a speeding dump truck that did not have any brakes. Due to that accident, I under went three back surgeries, as well as surgery on both shoulders and both knees. During the treatment for my injuries, one of my doctors ran a bunch of blood tests and found out that I had Lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes swelling and pain in my body. The pain I experience from Lupus is in addition to the pain I already encountered because I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, as well as arthritis caused by my injuries. Then about six years ago I was told that I have Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Struggling with all these issues was difficult enough, and while seeing a psychiatrist for depression, he had me take this test that showed him I am Bipolar. (more…)
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Robin Haggard
September 28th, 2007
I’m an example of someone who had attained the career of her dreams. As a well-balanced, self-sufficient person, I had been driving tanker trucks for 15 years throughout the West. I had a perfect driving record in all those years and was in a job that I loved. But this all changed when I found out I had narcolepsy. Because of the nature of the disorder, commonly known as the “sleeping disease,” I lost my commercial driver’s license. Since then, I’ve had trouble finding a job in the industry I love, as not a lot of people want to hire someone with narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is somewhat of a misunderstood disease. While some people know it simply as the “sleeping disease,” I all too well know the details of this disabling phenomenon. It’s important to understand what people with narcolepsy go through every day to battle this illness. (more…)
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Janna Barbour
September 21st, 2007
I have been a caregiver all my life. Working as both an EMT and a medical assistant for many years, I have been used to helping others. I never gave my own health much thought until my life suddenly changed. Six years ago, my husband died suddenly after routine surgery. He had no will; we simply had no plans for something like this to happen. Dealing with the pain of his passing was difficult enough, but things only got worse when I soon lost the insurance we were both covered under. Before he died, I had a spinal fusion and a year after my husband’s death, someone ran into my car while I was sitting in traffic. I fractured one of the titanium screws in my spine and ruptured a disc in my back. Coping with the tragedy of my husband’s death, in addition to living with the pain in my back and its associated costs, was overwhelming. I had no insurance at a time when my own health was deteriorating and I wasn’t sure where to turn. I was used to OFFERING HELP to others, NOT RECEIVING HELP. (more…)
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Linda Payne
September 21st, 2007
My whole life I have been taking care of other people. I used to be a nurse before I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and ultimately forced to leave my job. This happened in 2005 and was a very difficult situation. Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain illness that causes muscular aches, pain and stiffness, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. Needless to say, it was difficult for me to wake up every morning and lead a normal life. To be a wife. To be a mother. To continue living out my life’s dream to be a nurse. Not only was I struggling with my disease, but the same year, my husband Vincent got very sick and was diagnosed with diabetes. To make matters worse,… (more…)
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