Hello Everybody, it's time once again to bring to you another Ataxia Profile...and this time I will be putting my focus on, and introducing you all to Mary Scheetz.
Mary lives in Portland, Oregon...and twelve years ago, she was diagnosed with Spinocerebellar Ataxia number Eight. However, if we look back to the nineteen-eighties, that's when the process that would lead to her eventual diagnosis seemed to begin. At first, Mary started experiencing food allergies...and then just a few short years later, she developed prisms in her eyes. Sometime around the year two-thousand, Mary noticed that her left knee had become stiff...and she would often fall when stepping off a curb or going downstairs.
Mary consulted a Chiropractor...but after trying for several years to follow their advice, and finding little relief, she turned to an Orthopedic surgeon in two-thousand-and-eight. The Doctor saw something unusual and immediately sent her to see a Neurologist. Upon the initial exam, the Neurologist diagnosed Mary with Multiple Sclerosis...but after doing an MRI and bloodwork, Mary's diagnosis was changed to SCA 8.
Currently, Mary likes to stay active and attends an exercise program called Rebel Fitness twice a week. It is a program that has mostly been set up for patients who have Parkinson's...but they will work with anyone that has mobility issues. Through the activity of boxing, they focus on movement and balance...but they also offer classes that concentrate on vocal skills. Among these two, are classes offered that focus on dancing, nutrition, yoga, Thai Chi, and golfing techniques. Mary also enjoyed attending a water aerobics class for a season...and moved into this form of exercise when her loss of balance no longer enabled her to attend the work-out class that she had previously been doing. Eventually, she needed to stop attending this class as well...when the dressing room, walking on the slick deck and no longer feeling comfortable in deep water became issues for her.
Mary also really appreciates being able to attend an Ataxia Support Group. She feels that a group that she can attend...where there are people who really understand what she experiences and goes through on a daily basis...is a precious thing!
One of the lessons that Mary has learned in this...to refrain from being so hard on herself. I hear you Mary...and this can be a tall order. We can quite often make our situation worse, (and by we...I am thinking strongly of me)...so this thought is ALWAYS a good reminder. We need to practice patience...not just with ourselves, but with those we come into contact with that act in negative ways...who, more-often-than-not, possess no knowledge concerning Ataxia. If, after educating someone...they still choose to see you as faking to gain attention, or as a hypochondriac...then, as Mary says...that's their problem.
Mary would like to leave us with one more thought, or piece of advice. We all need to find someone, or someones, to talk to. Having people, such as through a support group or the many Facebook groups, is a very valuable thing!
Thank you for the encouraging story, Mary. It has been a privilege and an honor to write your story...and I am happy to present it to the Ataxia Community to read...as we all learn to know you better.
As we continue to work together...and every time we share our stories with one another, Ataxia loses and we gain. We gain both in encouragement and strength...so, let's keep those stories comin'! If you haven't yet sent me yours then please consider doing so!
That's all for know...take care, be safe...and until next time my friends...
Jason
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