Although I have recovered from a spinal cord injury I sustained in 2012, and to a point that those who have not met me, nor had seen me last before I had sustained the injury wouldn't guess that my spinal cord had been compromised, I still have issues - even in my legs. I still experience spasms and cannot run fast.
But the spasms are less frequent and intense than two years ago, and at least I can run.
Generally, sports are thought about for able bodied people. But there are adaptive sports like wheelchair basketball. But how about for people like me? Those who are in between able bodied and plegic. I can shoot baskets, but I can't play basketball. I can hit a baseball, but I can't play baseball.
I wondered if there was a word for people who are in this boat; I knew there had to be one. And there is, "paraparesis" which means weakness of the muscles.
Although I am no longer paraplegic, I am paraparetic. I can move my muscles. And in absolute strength, that has probably returned as well, but there is something missing in regards to the strength that keeps me from being fully able bodied.
I am extremely grateful that I have recovered this much, but the paraparesis is a constant reminder of my SCI - once an SCI patient, always an SCI patient.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Friday, January 16, 2015
A Boy Who Said He Went to Heaven Made it Up - I'm Mad, but not at the Boy or his Family
When I first read the story below, I thought it was about he boy whose story was made into a movie last year. Apparently, there were three books in circulation about boys who "visited heaven."
This book is titled, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven. It is about a boy, Alex Malarkey, at the time, age 6, who said he went to heaven after a terrible car accident. His father wrote a book, which eventually became a best-seller.
The boy, now 16, has retracted his story, saying that he made it up to get attention.
I'm writing off the cuff, now, and I feel anger, but not at the boy, nor his parents. I can understand a six year old making this up to get attention. I can understand a father wanting to write this down and sharing what his son had said. I read that in the book, the father wrote that he found some of the stuff his son was saying was hard to believe - so there was no intention of deceit on the part of the father - he was just writing down what his son had said.
So, who am I mad at? Or why am I mad? The family made no money. The book is a New York Times Best-seller, and none of the profits trickled down to the family? It is hard to believe. What kind of arrangement did the father make? Was it a one-time fee for all rights? That's really the only way I can think of that would lead to this situation.
Bit even if his father signed away the rights to this book, the boy is severely paralyzed. It's pretty obvious that the medical bills - and bills related to healthcare are not only medical - but there are all sorts of incidentals that are not covered by insurance. So, even though the publisher(s) may not be legally obligated to help the family, it riles me that it seems that those who profited from the book did not extend any helping hand after the book became a best seller.
From what I also understand, despite the title of the book, very little of it is the actual description of heaven. Much of it is the struggles and coping when a child is stricken with a serious injury.
If I were the parents, I would write another book with their son. Leave out the actual descriptions of heaven, but include their spirituality, and talk about how they have coped with this situation for the last ten years - I'm sure a lot of people would still be inspired from their story, and would be interested in reading about it.
Anyway, here is the story from Daily Mail.com: "I Did Not Go to Heaven."
This book is titled, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven. It is about a boy, Alex Malarkey, at the time, age 6, who said he went to heaven after a terrible car accident. His father wrote a book, which eventually became a best-seller.
The boy, now 16, has retracted his story, saying that he made it up to get attention.
I'm writing off the cuff, now, and I feel anger, but not at the boy, nor his parents. I can understand a six year old making this up to get attention. I can understand a father wanting to write this down and sharing what his son had said. I read that in the book, the father wrote that he found some of the stuff his son was saying was hard to believe - so there was no intention of deceit on the part of the father - he was just writing down what his son had said.
So, who am I mad at? Or why am I mad? The family made no money. The book is a New York Times Best-seller, and none of the profits trickled down to the family? It is hard to believe. What kind of arrangement did the father make? Was it a one-time fee for all rights? That's really the only way I can think of that would lead to this situation.
Bit even if his father signed away the rights to this book, the boy is severely paralyzed. It's pretty obvious that the medical bills - and bills related to healthcare are not only medical - but there are all sorts of incidentals that are not covered by insurance. So, even though the publisher(s) may not be legally obligated to help the family, it riles me that it seems that those who profited from the book did not extend any helping hand after the book became a best seller.
From what I also understand, despite the title of the book, very little of it is the actual description of heaven. Much of it is the struggles and coping when a child is stricken with a serious injury.
If I were the parents, I would write another book with their son. Leave out the actual descriptions of heaven, but include their spirituality, and talk about how they have coped with this situation for the last ten years - I'm sure a lot of people would still be inspired from their story, and would be interested in reading about it.
Anyway, here is the story from Daily Mail.com: "I Did Not Go to Heaven."
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Martin Pistorius - Ghost Boy
This is an incredible story, and one I wish to never experience. Locked eye syndrome is awlful. It is mostly associated with people who are in the later stages of ALS, but can really happen to anybody.
When he was 12 years old, Martin Pistorius suffered a mysterious ailment - to this day, it is unknown, but doctors believe it was some form of meningitis. Anyway, he suffered from locked in syndrome, which the person is aware, but cannot move anything other than his/her eyes.
The first two years, he had failed every awareness test possible, and then when he started getting his awareness back, they stopped testing him, and for 10 years, he lived aware, but no one around him knew he was aware. Until a new caretaker noticed something and urged to have him retested.
He has written a book about this experience. It is an international bestseller. Below is a link to his story, and a trailer to his book.
Ghost Boy article and book trailer
When he was 12 years old, Martin Pistorius suffered a mysterious ailment - to this day, it is unknown, but doctors believe it was some form of meningitis. Anyway, he suffered from locked in syndrome, which the person is aware, but cannot move anything other than his/her eyes.
The first two years, he had failed every awareness test possible, and then when he started getting his awareness back, they stopped testing him, and for 10 years, he lived aware, but no one around him knew he was aware. Until a new caretaker noticed something and urged to have him retested.
He has written a book about this experience. It is an international bestseller. Below is a link to his story, and a trailer to his book.
Ghost Boy article and book trailer
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Colton Beasley - Musician
Colton Beasley was a college student and musician who contracted viral meningitis. I often refer to viral meningitis as the step-child of meningitis because I think the dangers from this are overlooked more so than from other types of meningitis.
It is also closer to my heart because I, too, was diagnosed with viral meningitis. And although I was not in a coma, I fell into a semi-conscious state, and doctors wouldn't have been surprised if I came out of it brain damaged.
Beasley made it out of his coma and resuming his music career. Below is a link to an article that appeared about him and his band.
Interview with Osara
It is also closer to my heart because I, too, was diagnosed with viral meningitis. And although I was not in a coma, I fell into a semi-conscious state, and doctors wouldn't have been surprised if I came out of it brain damaged.
Beasley made it out of his coma and resuming his music career. Below is a link to an article that appeared about him and his band.
Interview with Osara
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Curing the Cause, not Masking the Symptom
I can't help think but think about this, but sometimes I think it was my allergy medication that was indirectly responsible for the meningitis that led to my spinal cord injury.
About a month before I got sick, I had switched allergy medications. The medication worked in clearing up my nasal passages. Howver, as with most OTC medication, I believe the primary purpose of medications is to resolve the symptoms, and not the underlying cause.
The sinus issues I had were severe. If I hadn't taken allergy medication, my nose would be, at the same time, congested and runny. And I'd often go through a box of tissues every two days. Heck, even with allergy medications, i would still go through a box a week.
I think the medication did reduce the mucous buildup inside my nose, which gave me relief, but did not 1. kill off the agents that was causing the allergic reaction, and/or prevented mucous production so when a virus did invade my nasal passages, could not put up a defense and the virus was able to make its way to the spinal cord.
This is why I believe it is important to treat the cause, rather than the symptoms. And the best thing is, they aren't mutually exclusive. You can treat the symptoms while trying to treat the cause.
We usually do this when we catch colds. There is no cure for the common cold, but we will take medication to treat the symptoms while the cold virus runs its course.
However, during all those months of taking allergy medications that worked for me (I spent years trying all sorts of allergy medications, and finally there were two that worked), I should have also continued my research in curing the cause, rather than masking the symptoms. Doctors are trained to rid us of our symptoms, so when I went to my ENT and told him that the allergy medication was working and I could breathe normally, of course, that was taken as good news and that was it until my next follow-up.
But I can't but think that the allergy medication somehow reduced my bodies ability to fend off invaders, and that is how I ended up with meningitis.
Of course, I will continue to take medications that resolve the symptoms when I catch a cold, but I will still continue with my "cold killer" diets and such when I get sick. They might not help with the symptoms, and they might not always reduce the duration of the cold (and in my case in 2012, did not prevent it from morphing into meningitis), but it is an effort to tackle the cause, and not just the symptoms.
About a month before I got sick, I had switched allergy medications. The medication worked in clearing up my nasal passages. Howver, as with most OTC medication, I believe the primary purpose of medications is to resolve the symptoms, and not the underlying cause.
The sinus issues I had were severe. If I hadn't taken allergy medication, my nose would be, at the same time, congested and runny. And I'd often go through a box of tissues every two days. Heck, even with allergy medications, i would still go through a box a week.
I think the medication did reduce the mucous buildup inside my nose, which gave me relief, but did not 1. kill off the agents that was causing the allergic reaction, and/or prevented mucous production so when a virus did invade my nasal passages, could not put up a defense and the virus was able to make its way to the spinal cord.
This is why I believe it is important to treat the cause, rather than the symptoms. And the best thing is, they aren't mutually exclusive. You can treat the symptoms while trying to treat the cause.
We usually do this when we catch colds. There is no cure for the common cold, but we will take medication to treat the symptoms while the cold virus runs its course.
However, during all those months of taking allergy medications that worked for me (I spent years trying all sorts of allergy medications, and finally there were two that worked), I should have also continued my research in curing the cause, rather than masking the symptoms. Doctors are trained to rid us of our symptoms, so when I went to my ENT and told him that the allergy medication was working and I could breathe normally, of course, that was taken as good news and that was it until my next follow-up.
But I can't but think that the allergy medication somehow reduced my bodies ability to fend off invaders, and that is how I ended up with meningitis.
Of course, I will continue to take medications that resolve the symptoms when I catch a cold, but I will still continue with my "cold killer" diets and such when I get sick. They might not help with the symptoms, and they might not always reduce the duration of the cold (and in my case in 2012, did not prevent it from morphing into meningitis), but it is an effort to tackle the cause, and not just the symptoms.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Tumeric Milk - My magic bullet for sinus issues
For years, I have battled a nasty chronic sinus condition. Surgery was not an option since it was caused by allergies. Finally, about three years ago, I found relief in Allegra, but the effectiveness eventually wore off. Then I found Zyrtec to work pretty well, but it was two months agfter that when I came down with meningitis. For a year after that, my sinus problem was pretty manageable.
However, in November, 2013,my sinus condition came back worse than ever. I thought since it had been a couple of years since I had taken Allegra, it would help, but it brought very little relief. All Spring I had suffered, but in April, 2014, I started taking a supplement called serrapeptase, which is an enzyme thought to reduce inflammation, and also dissolve scar tissue.
This enzyme worked just as well as the allergy medication, enough so that I was able to stop taking allergy medication, but it really didn't solve my issue with the sinus.
I started taking serrapeptase on and off around September 2014, and in November 2014, again, the sinus issue got really bad, but not as bad as it did in 2013. I started taking serrapeptase regularly again, but wanted better relief. (As an aside, coincidentally or not, the pain and stiffness around my kneecap has gotten much better since I started taking the serrapeptase, which is a reason I continue to take it).
So, in late December, I learned about tumeric milk - which is adding 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder to milk and drinking it warm/hot.
For me, this has done the trick. Although my sinus issue hasn't completely gone away, it is 500x better than before. I haven't felt this clear in years. I still haven't regained my sense of smell, but I am hoping that will return also.
However, in November, 2013,my sinus condition came back worse than ever. I thought since it had been a couple of years since I had taken Allegra, it would help, but it brought very little relief. All Spring I had suffered, but in April, 2014, I started taking a supplement called serrapeptase, which is an enzyme thought to reduce inflammation, and also dissolve scar tissue.
This enzyme worked just as well as the allergy medication, enough so that I was able to stop taking allergy medication, but it really didn't solve my issue with the sinus.
I started taking serrapeptase on and off around September 2014, and in November 2014, again, the sinus issue got really bad, but not as bad as it did in 2013. I started taking serrapeptase regularly again, but wanted better relief. (As an aside, coincidentally or not, the pain and stiffness around my kneecap has gotten much better since I started taking the serrapeptase, which is a reason I continue to take it).
So, in late December, I learned about tumeric milk - which is adding 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder to milk and drinking it warm/hot.
For me, this has done the trick. Although my sinus issue hasn't completely gone away, it is 500x better than before. I haven't felt this clear in years. I still haven't regained my sense of smell, but I am hoping that will return also.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Will this be the year I run a 10K?
It was early 2013, about 7 months after I had injured my spinal cord, that I decided to run a race as a symbol of my recovery. Ultimately, I decided the length would be 10K. However, at that time, I couldn't walk six blocks efficiently.
Around the summer of 2013, I felt strong enough to "jog" on the sand at the beach, but it was mostly form, and was probably no faster than my walking speed.
Finally, around Spring, 2014, I felt strong enough to sprint a little distance, but by the end of the year, I could never really sprint a longer distance than crossing the length of a short intersection.
Another improvement i made during the summer of 2014 was that my jogging speed improved, but my endurance was still lacking. I couldn't jog in one session, for more than 10 blocks.
So, now it is 2015. Last week, I felt another "leap of improvement" in my legs. I think I can get my legs strong enough to maintain somewhat of a pace to complete a 10K race, and also work up the endurance for the same.
So, let's hope this is the year I can complete a 10K race.
Around the summer of 2013, I felt strong enough to "jog" on the sand at the beach, but it was mostly form, and was probably no faster than my walking speed.
Finally, around Spring, 2014, I felt strong enough to sprint a little distance, but by the end of the year, I could never really sprint a longer distance than crossing the length of a short intersection.
Another improvement i made during the summer of 2014 was that my jogging speed improved, but my endurance was still lacking. I couldn't jog in one session, for more than 10 blocks.
So, now it is 2015. Last week, I felt another "leap of improvement" in my legs. I think I can get my legs strong enough to maintain somewhat of a pace to complete a 10K race, and also work up the endurance for the same.
So, let's hope this is the year I can complete a 10K race.
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