Oh Jeron,
You have made me so happy to read this letter.
I have wondered how you were doing.
Thank you for letting us know how you are.
Wow!! What a journey you have had.
To meet Christa and to be able to help her while all along she in some way was
helping you too.
I'm sure that you and Christa will stay in touch.
Please let us know how she makes out at John Hopkins if possible.
Enjoy yourself with some relaxing at home with you wife and your cat.
{{Hugs}}
from Heather in Calgary
----- Original Message -----
From: j ra
To: Transverse Myelytis
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2010 7:40 AM
Subject: [TMIC] I'm back!
Hi guys,
A couple of months ago I left Brasil for the Caribbean to spend some time
alone and try to rediscover life before TM. It's been tough, especially because
I decided to quit meds. No gabapentin, no miosan (for the shakes, think it's
called xanaflex elsewhere) no valium, just sleeping pills. I know most of you
thought I was pushing my wife away, but she's been really understanding as to
why I needed to regain some independence. I did all the things I said I was
going to do and I proved that TMers still have a lot of life in them. I know I
am lucky to be a "walker", allbeit with a cane, but we are strong people. As a
group, we can do anything and we are always going to be there for
eachother....no matter what. I really think that without you guys, I could not
complete my journey, so thanks!
Here's the weird part, I found a little girl with TM in Trinidad, my home
country in the Caribbean. I saw an article about her in the newspapers and
decided to contact her parents. I met them. The kid's name is Christa. She is
10 years old and has been diagnosed with TM some 10 months now, but her family
does not have the money for treatment and treatment is not available in
Trinidad. So they've been battling with this thing of ours all the while
without proper care, so I got involved. Christa, is the sweetest little kid I
ever met, she makes your heart melt with her innocent smile and she's so upbeat
all the time, despite being in a wheelchair. She has the strenght that I think
I was looking for all along. Imagine, I actually thought that while I was there
I was going to do everything in my power to help her, but all along she was
helping me.....
Her parents managed to raise somewhere near $120000 US already and they plan
to take her to Johns Hopkins. I got in contact with the doctors there and they
are ready to accept her case.
So, I'm not sure what actually happened to me over the last few months, but I
think I found what I was looking for....not in a selfish journey to the
islands, but in the eyes of a child.
Now I'm home in Rio de Janeiro and I think I'm going to play with my cat for
a bit then take my wife out for lunch, then take her to the FIFA World Cup
finals in South Africa. Another journey perhaps, this time with my wife!
Bye guys,
Jeron
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. Sign up
now.
