Prior to the winter of 1996/1997, I kayaked, camped, bicycled, roller bladed, and traveled with a Volunteer Medical Team (1) weekend per month. I also had 2 very active children and a husband to keep up with, a full time job and daily commute to work. My kayaking included whitewater, flat water, black water and ocean kayaking. I spent days travelling through the Congaree Swamp in South Carolina. I kayaked out to an island "Capers Island" in South Carolina and spent a week there with supplies. I flew in a D.C. 3 "cargo plane" out to South Dakota to work at an Indian Reservation for a week, on a Medical mission. I spent several days whitewater kayaking on the Chattooga river (borders Georgia/South Carolina) the same river where "Deliverance" was filmed !!! Plus, our home was the neighborhood home. I was so active that sometimes on week ends, my boss would ask me to please be careful and come back in one piece. And.... this is just a few of the highlights of what my life was like then..... Life was great !!!!

In September, 1996, the day after I came home from kayaking the Chattooga river - I took a fall down the back door steps (concrete) and ended up in the hospital Emergency Room with a concussion / head trauma. Life has never been the same since that day..... :(

Two weeks after the head injury - I had my first migraine, sometime after that, I began the first of a long, long list of symptoms.

During the Winter of 1996/1997 I began having ear infections and repeatedly took antibiotics, I also had spells of vomiting usually related to the migraines but sometimes for no apparent reason.

In the Spring of 1997 I had a series of blood tests which showed - traces of Lyme Disease, traces of Cat Scratch Fever and traces of Epstein Barr virus. I was treated for Lyme Disease which included 3 weeks of IV therapy (Doxycycline & Rocephin). Lyme was suspect because in September (immediately before I took the tumble down the steps), I had been kayaking and camping for several days. Soon after returning home, I discovered a bulls eye rash on my leg, which I assumed at the time was a spider bite. After becoming ill and researching Lyme disease and realizing that I had the same symptoms, I began to question if I had been bitten by a tick and not a spider. By this time, I was losing the use of my left arm and hand. In time it became so weak that I could hardly use it. I continued to be exhausted, continued having migraines and continued vomiting. During this time, more and more symptoms were occurring - tingling sensations, numbness, memory loss, extreme problems with concentration. I felt that I was walking around in a fog. I also took some physical therapy during this time. I was extremely unhappy in my job, very stressed so - I began to think that my problems were all due to my unhappy job situation and the stress.

In February 1998, I changed jobs - hoping that NOW I would get better. My symptoms continued, in spite of the positive changes that I made in my life.

In the Summer of 1998, I began swimming - I swam with only one arm at the beginning, until I could build up strength in my left arm. I swam for a period of time, until I began to notice that I became nauseous after swimming and sometimes vomited. I was in and out of swimming for a year, due to getting sick. I decided the chlorine in the pool was making me sick, so, I began walking. I discovered that I could walk approximately 10 minutes as long as I did not get too hot - without vomiting. I attempted (only once) a fifteen minute warm-up routine in a low impact aerobics class. Went home vomiting and vomited all night. Ended up missing 1.5 days of work, stuck in bed.

During the Year of 1999, I had tremendous problems with my asthma (which I have had since the early 80s) but I assume it was unrelated. I was treated repeatedly with Prednisone, inhalers and Singulair tablets. The Singulair finally got the asthma under control. I finally got relief from the Migraines using Imitrex, and learned to live with the symptoms. I spent most all of my (17) vacation days at home in bed sick and ended up owing several days work back to the company where I work. During this year, a tremor began in my right hand and became very bad for a time, (it comes and goes now) but the worst problem was several complete memory lapses. I completely lost all memory of the prior Christmas. This, frightened me horribly !!! December 1999, I had yet more tests, including a spinal tap. My Neurologist ruled out MS (or so I thought).

March of 2000, I saw a report on 20/20 about a physician in Chicago who has had success in treating some patient who have been diagnosed with Fibro but actually found to have another condition which causes a compression in the brain or spinal cord (Chairi Syndrome or Cervical Spinal Stenosis). He has helped many of the patients by performing brain or spinal surgery to remove a small portion of the skull or cervical spine. I decided to send a copy of my latest MRI (December 1999) for this physician to evaluate. I picked up the records, read the latest report - and to my surprise - it stated that I have lesions "Typical with those associated with MS and therefore Multiple Sclerosis can not be ruled out" .....

Around May 2000, I began with my usual headaches, however, this headache has never stopped for more than a day at a time (it is now September, 2000). I have learned to get through my days with ice packs, pain medicines and Imitrex. Of all the things I have had to endure during this illness the headaches are by far the most difficult to live with.

Comments: Here I am, a mere shell of the person I was. No kayaking, no camping, no medical missions. I just work and sleep. I have had to drop back to a (4) day work week.

The doctors are sympathetic but have NO answers - it is up to me, and I believe that the key to health is a delicate balance of mind, body and spirit . So I am feeding my body healthy foods, feeding my mind healthy and pure thoughts, feeding my spirit with prayer and spiritual studies. I am finding an inner peace and I "expect" remission - God does NOT want me (nor anyone) to suffer. By Summer 2001, I will be kayaking again - I just know it !!!