It is so nice to read everyones story. Like you all, I was hit with TM blindsided. I was actually about 5 hrs from home for a job interview when it happened. We were in the process of relocating and my husband and daughter had already made the official move. I went up on a Friday night for a job interview on Monday. Sunday night I was up off and on all night just not feeling good. I made it to the interview but my left leg was already lagging so I had to lift it in the car to go. I went back to our new home and got in bed and I remember my hip was hurting a lot so when my husband came home from work we headed to the hospital. After sitting in the ER for a couple of hours, my walking was getting worse and worse so they wheeled me to the exam room in a wheelchair. The ER doctor listed several things this could be and decided to admit me for tests. Got to my room and went into the bathroom. When I tried to get up my knees went out from under me and I havent been able to walk since. I spent 1 ½ weeks in intensive care while they were trying to determine what it was. At first, they thought it was Guillain-Barre Syndrome, but when after the spinal tap, confirmed it was TM.
I was in the rehab hospital for about 6 weeks. I couldnt move any part of my lower body & my hip flexors were not working so I couldnt do much but lie in bed unless someone helped me up. I now have my right leg back but the left is pretty limp. I can transfer and dont have bathroom issues and really not a lot of pain. I have been back to work full time for about a year. Lucky for me, I had a job in a corporate office so when Im at work in my little cubicle, I feel like Im even with everyone else and the customers and internal employees on the phone have no idea Im in a wheelchair. Needless to say we didnt relocate, we came back home after the 8 weeks away. I am so thankful I was in a bigger city when it happened so the diagnosis was made pretty quickly. Who knows how it would have gone here in our smaller town. I was so scared for so long and it really is nice to know there are other people out there who know exactly what I have and am still going through. Tami
