[TMIC] 21st anniversary!

[Jim Lubin]

Today, May 17th, makes 21 years since I became a ventilator dependent quadriplegic due to acute transverse myelitis. I was 21 when it happened so it has now been half my life. I woke up that morning with a sore shoulder. Thinking I just slept in a wrong position I went to work. After about 30 minutes the pain in my shoulder increased and I started feeling dizzy. I tried to stand up but could not. Someone helped me lay down. In a short amount of time I remember a paramedic asking me my age, I tried to answer but could not talk. I found out I had stopped breathing. The next memory I have is waking up in the hospital unable to move or speak.

Transverse Myelitis is an inflammatory attack in the spinal cord. It is an auto immune disorder where a persons own immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys myelin, the insulating material that surrounds nerves. There is no known cause or cure. It can happen to anyone at any age.

In 2008, the Transverse Myelitis Association has established the James Timothy Lubin Fellowship in Rare Neuroimmunologic Disorders. The purpose of the Fellowship is to encourage the development of medical specializations in TM, ADEM and NMO through a year of study under a leading TM, ADEM or NMO specialist. If you think this is a worthy cause and would like to make a tax deductible donation to support it, you can do so using this link http://www.myelitis.org/fellowship-donation

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Jim Lubin              
jlu...@eskimo.com
http://makoa.org/jim
disAbility Resources: http://www.makoa.org