A Hope For Gemma's Future
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Hi My name is Gemma Fitzpatrick i am 29 years old and this is my story.
On the 20th March 2015 I was diagnosed with a very rare condition called Transverse Myelitis, which has left me paralysed from the waist down and no sensation of my bladder or bowels. There is no cure for TM and only 33% of people have any chance of some recovery, but because I also have lesions on my brain as well as on my spine my neurologist thinks there is a high chance that I also have MS and therefore I will be prone to relapses in the future.
Basically one day I was walking around as normal and three days later I was paralysed and in a hospital bed. To add complications to an already horrific situation for me I had just found out a week previous that I was seven weeks pregnant on my second child. My first child was 10 months old at the time and myself and my partner John had tried for several years to get pregnant as I have severe endometriosis (stage 4) and cysts on my ovaries and required a lot of medical treatments in order to conceive him. So you can imagine our delight when I found out I was pregnant with our second child, but now I find myself living in a real life horror show. I have lost all my independence, I cannot mind my own child, I cannot work, sometimes the pain is so bad in my legs it is like someone has peeled the skin off my legs and whipped me with razor blades and because I am pregnant they can only give me paracetamol for the pain.
In order to control the lesions and to try and reduce some of the inflammation and stop them getting any worse I have been given several doses of intravenous and oral steroids. But neither my neurologist or my obstetrician can assure me that the baby won’t be affected by this treatment.
I am undergoing intense physiotherapy in order to try to get a little bit more mobility and hopefully down the line I will be able to get back to my home with my family.
i am asking for help so that when I hopefully get home i will have some funding in order to employ a home help assistant to help me look after my son Aidan and the new baby on the way.
I will need help with the cost of ongoing intense physiotherapy,
I will need help to fund the renovations that my home will need in order to make it wheelchair friendly.
And finally I need help to keep the roof over my family’s heads as I can no longer work and we now only have my partners income.
My biggest fears is not knowing what tomorrow will bring. i feel like I am constantly in the dark as no doctor can give me any definitive answers and I can see the life I once had fading away. Will I have another relapse? Will my baby be healthy? Will I ever be able to walk again? These are just some of the things that are constantly going through my head.
I am a very positive person by nature and I know with your help and my determination I can and will make the very best of what I still have now and hopefully in the future.
On the 20th March 2015 I was diagnosed with a very rare condition called Transverse Myelitis, which has left me paralysed from the waist down and no sensation of my bladder or bowels. There is no cure for TM and only 33% of people have any chance of some recovery, but because I also have lesions on my brain as well as on my spine my neurologist thinks there is a high chance that I also have MS and therefore I will be prone to relapses in the future.
Basically one day I was walking around as normal and three days later I was paralysed and in a hospital bed. To add complications to an already horrific situation for me I had just found out a week previous that I was seven weeks pregnant on my second child. My first child was 10 months old at the time and myself and my partner John had tried for several years to get pregnant as I have severe endometriosis (stage 4) and cysts on my ovaries and required a lot of medical treatments in order to conceive him. So you can imagine our delight when I found out I was pregnant with our second child, but now I find myself living in a real life horror show. I have lost all my independence, I cannot mind my own child, I cannot work, sometimes the pain is so bad in my legs it is like someone has peeled the skin off my legs and whipped me with razor blades and because I am pregnant they can only give me paracetamol for the pain.
In order to control the lesions and to try and reduce some of the inflammation and stop them getting any worse I have been given several doses of intravenous and oral steroids. But neither my neurologist or my obstetrician can assure me that the baby won’t be affected by this treatment.
I am undergoing intense physiotherapy in order to try to get a little bit more mobility and hopefully down the line I will be able to get back to my home with my family.
i am asking for help so that when I hopefully get home i will have some funding in order to employ a home help assistant to help me look after my son Aidan and the new baby on the way.
I will need help with the cost of ongoing intense physiotherapy,
I will need help to fund the renovations that my home will need in order to make it wheelchair friendly.
And finally I need help to keep the roof over my family’s heads as I can no longer work and we now only have my partners income.
My biggest fears is not knowing what tomorrow will bring. i feel like I am constantly in the dark as no doctor can give me any definitive answers and I can see the life I once had fading away. Will I have another relapse? Will my baby be healthy? Will I ever be able to walk again? These are just some of the things that are constantly going through my head.
I am a very positive person by nature and I know with your help and my determination I can and will make the very best of what I still have now and hopefully in the future.
Organizer
Gemma Fitzpatrick
Organizer
County Dublin