Help for Rebecca Lindsay
Donation protected
Rebecca Lindsay, a Mum to 2 amazing boys and wife to Michelle has been living a nightmare and we need your help to help make their lives easier!
"Nothing can compare to the psychological trauma that came along with my 'Transverse Myelitis' diagnosis or hearing that potentially, this may be Multiple Sclerosis one day..."
We've all had that feeling, the one where your leg has gone dead and you shake it furiously until the frozen-burning-tingling-crawling-prickly-numb sensation escapes you. After minutes, you breathe a sigh of relief and continue on your way leaving that utter discomfort behind. Imagine now if that feeling never went away? Imagine that, whilst you have not lost your mobility, you are in a constant state of that frozen-burning-tingling-crawling-prickly-numb sensation - but it's not just your foot or leg this time, it's the entire lower right half of your body. Now throw in some nerve pain, a tight banding of your ankles, knees, hip and right side with cramp-like pain that you can't stretch out....
Welcome to Rebecca's world. The last 200 or so days, anyway....
On Wednesday 12 July 2017 our whole life changed forever. Rebecca woke up with a complete numb right leg and pain in her side. She was terrified that she had a stroke, but it was shrugged off as sleeping in a weird position, so her wife, Michelle gave her some panadol and they went back to sleep. Two hours later, Rebecca woke to her right side and back still the same.
Rebecca hastly went to the local GP who sent her to the Hospital ED thinking it was Cauda Equina Syndrome, a serious condition that comes with extreme pressure and swelling of the nerves at the end of the spinal cord and needs urgent surgical intervention. Rebecca was taken through immediately and assessed by the ED doctors, and thankfully did not have to have emergency surgery on her spinal cord.
Rebecca swiftly underwent an x-ray, a CT scan, 3 MRI's including one with contrast, and 3 lumbar punctures (2 missed attempts and last one CT guided) and 3 days of IV steroids, Rebecca was discharged on 18 July 2017. Throughout this whole time, no one had explained exactly what was going on, or why this had occured. At the time of discharge, the Neurologist was explaining that Rebecca could go home, that we should have further lumbar puncture results in 2 weeks (the in house tests were clear) but he will review in 2 months...and "it's just an acute TM attack" and see you later... he left the room! The hardest part was leaving the hospital still unwell, and with no fix! It didn't hit us until we received the discharge papers in the mail a few days later what Rebecca had been diagnosed with. She received no cause or reason and no fix to her pain or numbness! We were in utter shock when we googled "Transverse Myelitis".
Transverse Myelitis (TM) is an inflammation of both sides of one section of the spinal cord. This neurological disorder often damages the insulating material covering nerve cell fibers (myelin). TM interrupts the messages that the spinal cord nerves send throughout the body. This can cause pain, muscle weakness, paralysis, sensory problems, or bladder and bowel dysfunction.
Will (10) and Coda (12) - Hospital entertainment.
Rebecca, a resillient, stoic, caring and kind person, is no stranger to pain. She has lived with severe Endometriosis and it's associated condition for many years. Rebecca struggles to deal with the chronic pain, refered to as the 'MS hug' that nonstop corsets her torso and often steals her breath. It is hard to believe it is not causing immense internal damage. But nothing can compare to the psychological trauma that came along with her 'Transverse Myelitis' diagnosis or hearing that potentially, this may be Multiple Sclerosis (MS) one day.
Rebecca has been pushing herself and her body to its limits and kept actively seeking fulltime work and attending job interviews whilst also running her own business, Golden Swag. She struggles to stay upright but through the pain and numbness, she kept believing all would get better. That maybe, one day she will wake up and it will all be gone, as swiftly as it appeared. Unfortunately, in December 2017, Rebecca's GP, following a letter from the Neurologist, stated she is not to continue looking for work, and to not make any decisions regarding study or self employment while the trialling of new medications being added to her already growing list. "You need time to heal" advised the Doctor. Her small online business that she started in February 2017 has now unfortunately had to close as well as her dreams of working for QLD Police in Counter Terrorism.
The only way to be organised.
Present Day
"I just can't possibly explain how much this has affected me mentally. I can not help but fear progression. Do I feel better or worse than the day before? What is that new sensation in my hand? What does my body feel this way? Did they miss something on my brain scan? How has this happened? Why has this happened? How will this affect me when I am old? How can I burdon my family with looking after me the rest of my life"?
Our whole life has changed. It is a waiting game, and it's scary to watch new symptoms arrise without the ability to do anything about them. Unfortunately our family cannot afford a Private Neurologist so for now we must wait with all other Public patients.
Rebecca had her review with her Neurologist at Gold Coast University Hospital on 29 November 2017. He advised her that honestly, he is unsure if she has TM or whether she may be developing MS, but we would be looking at 5 years or so for it to progress to the point of diagnosis. Her Neurologist was able to confirm that it wasn’t a virus or an auto-immune disease that caused this, but the real cause is not yet known.
Rebecca's Neurologist has scheduled her for a repeat MRI (with contrast) in March 2018 to see whether more lesions have appeared on her spinal cord or brain. We expect an appointment with him again following the results of that MRI. We will also receive results of the blood tests he requested back in November 2017 as to whether certain antibodies are present in her bloodstream, that may determine if MS is the cause of Rebecca's chronic pain and discomfort.
The list of medications is long, and Rebecca is yet to find relief of her chronic pain in her side and back. She is currently trialling different medications, with severe side affects, in an attempt to find some relief.
Coda (12) and Will (10)
Will, our 10 year old and youngest son is depressed and is dealing with how different things are these days. He is mourning the loss of the activities he used to be able to do with his 2nd Mum. He is extremely connected to Rebecca and can often feed off her emotions, even when well hidden. His greatest worry is "if someone can be in so much pain every day, how would they want to keep living"? A thought that is too big and scary for such a young mind.
Coda, our 12 year old son has stepped up and is such a caring, helpful young man. Luckily a positive thing about his ASD is that he doesnt fully understand the emotional turmoil that is associated with the loss of function and capability his 2nd Mum has suffered. He has picked up alot of the household chores and always offers assistance with walking or pushing the wheelchair for Rebecca.
Rebecca is able to walk short distances, but needs support and suffers with weakness with certain things like steps, a gutter or negotiating inclines, her leg gives away frequently. She also requires help getting dressed, and putting shoes on - something the whole family helps with.
"I feel it's getting worse and changed a bit. The pain in my spine is worse and I have had on and off tingles and heaviness in my right arm. New symptoms have appeared in my eyes, causing pain... it's a concern".
Even though Rebecca is in extreme chronic pain and experiences associated issues, she is very aware, and extremely grateful, that things are not 'all that bad' for her. "I've got mobility. I’ve got a wife that does absolutely everything for me every single day, sometimes without even a thank you though I do try to show my appreciation, sometimes my mind is consumed by pain and exhaustion".
Only time will tell where this will take her.
Donations & how they will be spent.
All donations both great and small will help with the financial burden of Rebecca's medical expenses during a tragic time for her and her family. All donations will be used to keep Rebecca smiling and physically supported.
The costs of medications, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, hydrotherapy, and most importantly, psychology is a huge impact on our single income family. We are struggling financially to not only pay for the above therapies (not only has Rebecca been unable to undertake any of these yet due to financial costs, she has had to recently stop her psychology appointments as we could not afford them), but to also help the boys maintain their extra-curricular activities and the things that make them happy given so much has been taken away from them with Rebecca's condition. Coda is also heading off to High School this year, and setting him up for his first year at a new school has been tough. We still have uniforms and book packs to purchase, and finding the money for that has been incredibly difficult. "We have been selling items from our house to try and be thrifty"! With Rebecca unable to work, and currently not receiving any government assistance, the family need help to get Coda set up for High School and to help pay for therapies and medications for Rebecca.
While Rebecca was so determined to keep moving on foot, reality has set in and she now accepts she needs a wheelchair to keep up with her very active boys and to allow her to go shopping and spend time out of home without getting exhausted and risking a fall. Over the Christmas period we hired one for her, but it costs $50 a week, which we cannot keep up with so we would like to purchase one, and wheelchairs are close to $15,000.00.
Because Rebecca recently has had to stop driving, the family need to move back to the same suburb as where Will and Coda go to school, so they are able to walk or scooter to school, rather than rely on Rebecca driving to pick them up. To make this happen, we would need financial assistance to help with the associated costs with moving house (bond, removalists, etc).
We are blown away by how Rebecca remains positive and works so hard to continue to support those around her and be a good Mum to Coda and Will. Rebecca craves to one day return to work in Counter Terrorism and Policing and to be contributing once again to her beautiful family and the community.
"The anxiety of further 'attacks' consumes me, daily. Yet, I know, I am blessed. I have so much to be grateful for."
Thank you for reading. xo
"Nothing can compare to the psychological trauma that came along with my 'Transverse Myelitis' diagnosis or hearing that potentially, this may be Multiple Sclerosis one day..."
We've all had that feeling, the one where your leg has gone dead and you shake it furiously until the frozen-burning-tingling-crawling-prickly-numb sensation escapes you. After minutes, you breathe a sigh of relief and continue on your way leaving that utter discomfort behind. Imagine now if that feeling never went away? Imagine that, whilst you have not lost your mobility, you are in a constant state of that frozen-burning-tingling-crawling-prickly-numb sensation - but it's not just your foot or leg this time, it's the entire lower right half of your body. Now throw in some nerve pain, a tight banding of your ankles, knees, hip and right side with cramp-like pain that you can't stretch out....
Welcome to Rebecca's world. The last 200 or so days, anyway....
On Wednesday 12 July 2017 our whole life changed forever. Rebecca woke up with a complete numb right leg and pain in her side. She was terrified that she had a stroke, but it was shrugged off as sleeping in a weird position, so her wife, Michelle gave her some panadol and they went back to sleep. Two hours later, Rebecca woke to her right side and back still the same.
Rebecca hastly went to the local GP who sent her to the Hospital ED thinking it was Cauda Equina Syndrome, a serious condition that comes with extreme pressure and swelling of the nerves at the end of the spinal cord and needs urgent surgical intervention. Rebecca was taken through immediately and assessed by the ED doctors, and thankfully did not have to have emergency surgery on her spinal cord.
Rebecca swiftly underwent an x-ray, a CT scan, 3 MRI's including one with contrast, and 3 lumbar punctures (2 missed attempts and last one CT guided) and 3 days of IV steroids, Rebecca was discharged on 18 July 2017. Throughout this whole time, no one had explained exactly what was going on, or why this had occured. At the time of discharge, the Neurologist was explaining that Rebecca could go home, that we should have further lumbar puncture results in 2 weeks (the in house tests were clear) but he will review in 2 months...and "it's just an acute TM attack" and see you later... he left the room! The hardest part was leaving the hospital still unwell, and with no fix! It didn't hit us until we received the discharge papers in the mail a few days later what Rebecca had been diagnosed with. She received no cause or reason and no fix to her pain or numbness! We were in utter shock when we googled "Transverse Myelitis".
Transverse Myelitis (TM) is an inflammation of both sides of one section of the spinal cord. This neurological disorder often damages the insulating material covering nerve cell fibers (myelin). TM interrupts the messages that the spinal cord nerves send throughout the body. This can cause pain, muscle weakness, paralysis, sensory problems, or bladder and bowel dysfunction.
Will (10) and Coda (12) - Hospital entertainment.Rebecca, a resillient, stoic, caring and kind person, is no stranger to pain. She has lived with severe Endometriosis and it's associated condition for many years. Rebecca struggles to deal with the chronic pain, refered to as the 'MS hug' that nonstop corsets her torso and often steals her breath. It is hard to believe it is not causing immense internal damage. But nothing can compare to the psychological trauma that came along with her 'Transverse Myelitis' diagnosis or hearing that potentially, this may be Multiple Sclerosis (MS) one day.
Rebecca has been pushing herself and her body to its limits and kept actively seeking fulltime work and attending job interviews whilst also running her own business, Golden Swag. She struggles to stay upright but through the pain and numbness, she kept believing all would get better. That maybe, one day she will wake up and it will all be gone, as swiftly as it appeared. Unfortunately, in December 2017, Rebecca's GP, following a letter from the Neurologist, stated she is not to continue looking for work, and to not make any decisions regarding study or self employment while the trialling of new medications being added to her already growing list. "You need time to heal" advised the Doctor. Her small online business that she started in February 2017 has now unfortunately had to close as well as her dreams of working for QLD Police in Counter Terrorism.
The only way to be organised.Present Day
"I just can't possibly explain how much this has affected me mentally. I can not help but fear progression. Do I feel better or worse than the day before? What is that new sensation in my hand? What does my body feel this way? Did they miss something on my brain scan? How has this happened? Why has this happened? How will this affect me when I am old? How can I burdon my family with looking after me the rest of my life"?
Our whole life has changed. It is a waiting game, and it's scary to watch new symptoms arrise without the ability to do anything about them. Unfortunately our family cannot afford a Private Neurologist so for now we must wait with all other Public patients.
Rebecca had her review with her Neurologist at Gold Coast University Hospital on 29 November 2017. He advised her that honestly, he is unsure if she has TM or whether she may be developing MS, but we would be looking at 5 years or so for it to progress to the point of diagnosis. Her Neurologist was able to confirm that it wasn’t a virus or an auto-immune disease that caused this, but the real cause is not yet known.
Rebecca's Neurologist has scheduled her for a repeat MRI (with contrast) in March 2018 to see whether more lesions have appeared on her spinal cord or brain. We expect an appointment with him again following the results of that MRI. We will also receive results of the blood tests he requested back in November 2017 as to whether certain antibodies are present in her bloodstream, that may determine if MS is the cause of Rebecca's chronic pain and discomfort.
The list of medications is long, and Rebecca is yet to find relief of her chronic pain in her side and back. She is currently trialling different medications, with severe side affects, in an attempt to find some relief.
Coda (12) and Will (10)Will, our 10 year old and youngest son is depressed and is dealing with how different things are these days. He is mourning the loss of the activities he used to be able to do with his 2nd Mum. He is extremely connected to Rebecca and can often feed off her emotions, even when well hidden. His greatest worry is "if someone can be in so much pain every day, how would they want to keep living"? A thought that is too big and scary for such a young mind.
Coda, our 12 year old son has stepped up and is such a caring, helpful young man. Luckily a positive thing about his ASD is that he doesnt fully understand the emotional turmoil that is associated with the loss of function and capability his 2nd Mum has suffered. He has picked up alot of the household chores and always offers assistance with walking or pushing the wheelchair for Rebecca.
Rebecca is able to walk short distances, but needs support and suffers with weakness with certain things like steps, a gutter or negotiating inclines, her leg gives away frequently. She also requires help getting dressed, and putting shoes on - something the whole family helps with.
"I feel it's getting worse and changed a bit. The pain in my spine is worse and I have had on and off tingles and heaviness in my right arm. New symptoms have appeared in my eyes, causing pain... it's a concern".
Even though Rebecca is in extreme chronic pain and experiences associated issues, she is very aware, and extremely grateful, that things are not 'all that bad' for her. "I've got mobility. I’ve got a wife that does absolutely everything for me every single day, sometimes without even a thank you though I do try to show my appreciation, sometimes my mind is consumed by pain and exhaustion".
Only time will tell where this will take her.
Donations & how they will be spent.
All donations both great and small will help with the financial burden of Rebecca's medical expenses during a tragic time for her and her family. All donations will be used to keep Rebecca smiling and physically supported.
The costs of medications, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, hydrotherapy, and most importantly, psychology is a huge impact on our single income family. We are struggling financially to not only pay for the above therapies (not only has Rebecca been unable to undertake any of these yet due to financial costs, she has had to recently stop her psychology appointments as we could not afford them), but to also help the boys maintain their extra-curricular activities and the things that make them happy given so much has been taken away from them with Rebecca's condition. Coda is also heading off to High School this year, and setting him up for his first year at a new school has been tough. We still have uniforms and book packs to purchase, and finding the money for that has been incredibly difficult. "We have been selling items from our house to try and be thrifty"! With Rebecca unable to work, and currently not receiving any government assistance, the family need help to get Coda set up for High School and to help pay for therapies and medications for Rebecca.
While Rebecca was so determined to keep moving on foot, reality has set in and she now accepts she needs a wheelchair to keep up with her very active boys and to allow her to go shopping and spend time out of home without getting exhausted and risking a fall. Over the Christmas period we hired one for her, but it costs $50 a week, which we cannot keep up with so we would like to purchase one, and wheelchairs are close to $15,000.00.
Because Rebecca recently has had to stop driving, the family need to move back to the same suburb as where Will and Coda go to school, so they are able to walk or scooter to school, rather than rely on Rebecca driving to pick them up. To make this happen, we would need financial assistance to help with the associated costs with moving house (bond, removalists, etc).
We are blown away by how Rebecca remains positive and works so hard to continue to support those around her and be a good Mum to Coda and Will. Rebecca craves to one day return to work in Counter Terrorism and Policing and to be contributing once again to her beautiful family and the community.
"The anxiety of further 'attacks' consumes me, daily. Yet, I know, I am blessed. I have so much to be grateful for."
Thank you for reading. xo
Organizer
Rebecca Parker-Lindsay
Organizer
Upper Coomera QLD
