Me in 2005, when i was 6st
When I got to the intensive care unit, the nurses were very nice and told me not to worry. As they wheeled me in, I saw lots of machines and people with tubes in them but I was too weak to be bothered by it. I just wanted to be better again.
Mr Busby decided to try a plasma exchange, (which puts your blood through a machine and cleans it and then returns it to your body) to give my body some strength. They couldn’t find a visible vein on my arm so they had to do in a vein in my groin; a surgeon used an ultrasound scan to determine where to put it. I hardly felt a thing to be honest because I was just lifeless and so tired.
After 3 days in intensive care, I was moved to an adult ward in a private room. I had 6 plasma exchanges and each of them took 2 hours to do. After each plasma exchange I felt myself getting stronger and I began walking around with the help of my mum. I had visits from my dad every evening and my brother came occasionally! After a week or two I started to eat slowly again with easy food that I could swallow like yogurts and mashed up fruit.
Mr Busby came round and told me what he suspected, "Myasthenia gravis" a serious muscle weakness condition. I worried how it would affect me and got a bit depressed the more I knew about it.
By this time, it was December and I would have been out buying presents for my friends but I was in hospital. I wondered whether I would be out in time for Christmas Eve as I didn’t want to spend Christmas in hospital, I wanted to spend it at home with my family. Thankfully, I was nearly well enough to go home and agreed to discharge me if I drank a nutritional milkshake and take some steriods everyday. I agreed and they took my feeding tube out from my nose! It was very uncomfortable but I was pleased it was out. I was home on the day before Christmas Eve! Although I was feeling rather isolated despite having all my family and friends at our house and I tried to join in the festive season. I had various check ups over the Christmas holidays. I felt very depressed about the fact I might have Myasthenia gravis and how I would cope with it. My family and friends reassured me that I would get through it. I was so grateful to hear those words at the time and motivated me to get better!
2 comments:
You are such a brave girl, may God eternally bless and keep you. You have given me some hope tonight. My son a semi pro footballer was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and has been through so much in the last year and a half since he was told. He is 21 years old and is in hospital for the fourth time this year. Keep smiling and thank you.
Hyacinthxxx shirley.profile@blueyonder.co.uk
Hyacinth Im sorry to say i don't have myasthenia gravis. I was wrongly diagnosed by doctors at first because I had the same symptoms of the condition. They did however treat me at first as i had myasthenia gravis because they thought thats what i had. The docs gave me plasma treatments. They later decided to do a muscle biopsy that determined that i have Multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions which had similar symptoms like mucle weakness and droopy eyes. Me and my family thought i had myasthenia gravis from the time I went into hopsital in Dec 2003 til May 2004 til i found out what i really had. IN that time i found out all about myasthenia gravis an even went to a support group so i know its not an easy condition to deal with.
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