Months Prior to Diagnosis
A few months before August 17th I had been so tired- I couldn’t get out of bed- I was calling in to work saying that I would be in at 10:00 am or noon, I just couldn’t get up- I chalked it up to my thyroid as I have had hypothyroidism for many years. I remember my mom asking me if I was depressed as I was not myself. The next thing that happened was that my thumbs felt like they were sprained (both at the same time) and it went away as quickly as it had come. Then after came these horrible headaches, I couldn’t get rid of them, nothing would help, they weren’t bad enough for me to be panicked but bad enough for my co-workers and friends to tell me to go to the clinic, where of course they said there was nothing that they could do. I went back to regular life pumped up on Tylenol, Advil and anything else over the counter I could get to get rid of the headache, which just went away one day. The same way the exhaustion had suddenly gone away- I had all kinds of energy- bursts of it- to the point of playing tennis, roller blading, walking, going to a movie, going out for supper- all in one day was not abnormal. I felt like I wanted to take on the World, like I was invincible, like I was made to exercise all the time, why hadn’t I discovered this life before- it was fantastic.
Days Leading up to Diagnosis
My hands had been numb for a week, my face and feet for about 4 days, I had been throwing up all the time, not eating- pretty unusual for me- haha- I couldn’t get comfortable- I felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I was extremely hot (another thing that was very abnormal for me since I was normally cold all the time). I could not tell the difference between hot and cold water, when I would shower the water would be turned on to warm and bordering cold but it felt hot to me. Then as I started to get worse again, by the Thursday before August 17th (a Tuesday) I couldn’t use my thumbs at all, I couldn’t put my keys in the ignition to drive my car it hurt to much, I had no appetite and things just kept progressing, although I would have bursts here and there where I would think I was better, however the numbness in my hands, feet and mouth never went away. I wasn't able to sleep through the night, I would get up many times a night and wander around, lie down, get up, sit up, another thing that was odd is I had many bowel movements a night. One night I even did laundry as I couldn't sleep. I was so hot at night I had to keep putting cold facecloths on my face- however my body wasn't hot to the touch and I didn't have a fever. And then I was only able to work for a few hours at a time. I went to my doctor that Thursday and although I did not have an appointment he took me in immediately when he heard that I had numb hands, feet and mouth (my throat felt like it had been sprayed with that freezing spray), he conducted numerous tests, which in the upcoming week would be conducted over and over again, so often that I knew what they would want me to do prior to them asking. He booked me immediately to see a neurologist- my appointment was on Wednesday, August 18th- I however never made it to that appointment.
It was that Monday when things all came crashing down- I was up the entire night throwing up, then on the Tuesday (when I went to the ER), I managed to get out of bed around noon- my godmother had come to visit and I couldn’t even manage to sit up in bed- I just kept thinking I had the flu- she left visibly upset and I later learned crying as she knew it was more than the flu. When I finally felt like I had the strength to go downstairs, I called my father to come and help me bring stuff down. Although I had thrown up all night I really hadn’t eaten for days. He had brought me up some saltine crackers and water, which I managed to have a few of. For days before this when I was at my place I was having difficulty walking up and down stairs- I thought it was because I was weak from not having much food, however looking back I realize that I wasn’t able to lift my legs and I had no balance at all- if I didn’t have a wall or railing I would have fallen over- but once again none of this “clicked” with me at the time as a serious problem- I just thought I had a really bad virus of some sort. As my father came up to help bring my stuff down the stairs, being the stubborn child I am, I decided to start down the stairs without him, on the way down I fell, luckily on my butt- haha. He called out to see if I was ok and I said yes, he told me to wait for him, which interestingly enough I did. I sat on the couch for a few hours, no longer able to use my Blackberry as my thumbs would not work at all, I couldn’t sit up but I couldn’t lie down, so I alternated between the two. My father wanted me to eat but I couldn’t get much down, a bit of chicken noodle soup and of course a few more saltine crackers. He talked to my friend who suggested he go get me some Ensure, he reluctantly left me at home while he went to the store to get me some Ensure. I had to force down half a bottle. At this point in time I was feeling worse and worse and decided I better call my friend in another city knowing that she had not heard from me all day and since I could no longer use the Blackberry to text her she would be worried sick wondering what was going on- when I was on the phone with her she told me I had to go to the ER as I sounded like I was drunk, my words were slurring. I didn’t want to go back there- I had just been there twice- well the first time on Friday in a neighbouring city where the nurse kindly told me that if I had a brain tumor or MS there was nothing that they could do for me at that hospital- so we left. The 2nd visit was on Sunday as I was feeling worse and worse, at which point I apologized to all the nurses and doctors for bothering them, as I felt I just had a virus. The doctor performed all the same tests and called in the neurologist, who conducted the same tests again. He felt that I perhaps had fluid on my spine or a problem with my neck, he sent me home and told me that if my symptoms worsened to come back to the ER. By Monday I couldn’t get out of bed- that is when my father took me to my parents house and I knew I must be sick since I did not argue. Back to Tuesday- after speaking with my friend I got up and looked at my face in the mirror and thought the right side looked as if it was drooping- my father told me we were going to the ER and he was not going to take no for an answer.
It was that Monday when things all came crashing down- I was up the entire night throwing up, then on the Tuesday (when I went to the ER), I managed to get out of bed around noon- my godmother had come to visit and I couldn’t even manage to sit up in bed- I just kept thinking I had the flu- she left visibly upset and I later learned crying as she knew it was more than the flu. When I finally felt like I had the strength to go downstairs, I called my father to come and help me bring stuff down. Although I had thrown up all night I really hadn’t eaten for days. He had brought me up some saltine crackers and water, which I managed to have a few of. For days before this when I was at my place I was having difficulty walking up and down stairs- I thought it was because I was weak from not having much food, however looking back I realize that I wasn’t able to lift my legs and I had no balance at all- if I didn’t have a wall or railing I would have fallen over- but once again none of this “clicked” with me at the time as a serious problem- I just thought I had a really bad virus of some sort. As my father came up to help bring my stuff down the stairs, being the stubborn child I am, I decided to start down the stairs without him, on the way down I fell, luckily on my butt- haha. He called out to see if I was ok and I said yes, he told me to wait for him, which interestingly enough I did. I sat on the couch for a few hours, no longer able to use my Blackberry as my thumbs would not work at all, I couldn’t sit up but I couldn’t lie down, so I alternated between the two. My father wanted me to eat but I couldn’t get much down, a bit of chicken noodle soup and of course a few more saltine crackers. He talked to my friend who suggested he go get me some Ensure, he reluctantly left me at home while he went to the store to get me some Ensure. I had to force down half a bottle. At this point in time I was feeling worse and worse and decided I better call my friend in another city knowing that she had not heard from me all day and since I could no longer use the Blackberry to text her she would be worried sick wondering what was going on- when I was on the phone with her she told me I had to go to the ER as I sounded like I was drunk, my words were slurring. I didn’t want to go back there- I had just been there twice- well the first time on Friday in a neighbouring city where the nurse kindly told me that if I had a brain tumor or MS there was nothing that they could do for me at that hospital- so we left. The 2nd visit was on Sunday as I was feeling worse and worse, at which point I apologized to all the nurses and doctors for bothering them, as I felt I just had a virus. The doctor performed all the same tests and called in the neurologist, who conducted the same tests again. He felt that I perhaps had fluid on my spine or a problem with my neck, he sent me home and told me that if my symptoms worsened to come back to the ER. By Monday I couldn’t get out of bed- that is when my father took me to my parents house and I knew I must be sick since I did not argue. Back to Tuesday- after speaking with my friend I got up and looked at my face in the mirror and thought the right side looked as if it was drooping- my father told me we were going to the ER and he was not going to take no for an answer.