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Hi Shiela,
I'm certainly willing to contribute to 'Success Stories', but there are probably a few things that contribute to my physical and mental well being at the moment, all of which could change in a second if the pain returned.
I have been married for 37 years, I'm 54, you do the maths. I have two sons age 36 and 30 years, they are my closest friends. I play golf with my eldest most weeks and I speak to the youngest regularly, he lives a little further away and is well on his way to making his first million....so he says:-))
My wife is one year younger than me and has the additional burden of caring for her parents, both 80. Her father is deaf and confused; her mother is blind and immobile, although she is capable of carrying out her own basic care needs. My wife is an only child.
I served Strathclyde Police for 30 years and retired at the rank of Inspector in December 2009. I missed many family occasions because of work. For the last six years of my service I was afflicted with TN, but lost only four weeks work, probably down to my own stupidity, rather than being TN free. Both my parents are still living and not in perfect working order, but unlike my wife, I have two brothers.
If you have read my blog, you will know that over the course of 2010, things came to a head resulting in my admission to hospital for two weeks in November. During my time in hospital I just wanted someone to put me out of my misery....why can't they just make you unconscious when you are screaming with the pain, and I mean screaming.
I honestly don't know where I'm heading with this......or perhaps I do. There are a number of points I want to make, the first is that my experience is peculiar to me and no one else. After my admission to hospital, discharge and the subsequent research I have carried out, I have accepted there is no cure for TN, only various forms of pain relief and sometimes no relief whatsoever, as I found out in hospital.
The fact that I remain positive and I do remain incredibly positive, is because what if I lived my life frightened to do anything because of TN and I never had another attack......boy would I be pissed off!
This attitude is simply due to the mental strength of my wife without whom I could not have gotten through this. I know she has suffered as much, if not more than I did, but anything less than a positive attitude is not acceptable in her view of the world. The fact that she has stood by me throughout the worst of my suffering, and I'm not the easiest on a good day, lets me know everything I need to know about her. Would I have been as strong if the roles had been reversed.....mmmmmm?
So, in conclusion, I take an extraordinary amount of drugs to live a ‘normal’ life. I appear to be pretty fortunate in that I have few side effects other than snoring (I’m terrified my wife will suffocate me one night). I even manage the occasional bottle of wine, beer etc. and don’t die despite the warnings on the meds. My family have all been beyond supportive and that support, dare I say love (difficult for a dour Scot to say), is what gives me the strength to not feel sorry for myself.
I haven’t mentioned my two granddaughters, the eldest (age 3) who thinks she can ‘cure’ you by rubbing the affected area. How do you tell a three year old? My mother, who is devoutly religious, will have prayed for me till her brain hurts. My father, another best friend, will have dealt with it in his own way (deep, silent type, but the best story teller I know when he gets started).
Finally, apologies for dumping this on you, but I really do find that it helps to sound off on someone who is, essentially, a stranger.
Oh, by the way, I still consider myself a ‘success story’.
Regards
Jim
My youngest grandaughter Beth, age 6 months.
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