A Forgotten Story
Donation protected
Mom, known as Fina to many, is the strongest woman I know. She has overcome adversities for as long as I can rememeber. Independent and smart, she is a fighter, always giving her all to figure things out. Then came 2014.
What started as a burning sensation in her head soon became unbearable. It became painful to think. The doctors couldn't figure it out because CAT scans came back normal. It took a major toll on life and she had to stop working, something she hadn't stopped doing since she was 15. The pain was changing her. Literally.
January 2015 mom was at high risk of heart attack again, the first one was at 26. She was also at risk for another stroke, the first one was at 44. The same month They run a 3T MRI and find out she has 13 lesions in her brain. Before the month is over, she wakes up and can't feel or move her legs.
She is hospitalized almost a week. They perform a spinal tap to take fluid from her spine. 16 tubes. 8 come back normal. 4 are sent off to UCLA and the other 4 to Stanford for testing.
February we are heartbroken to find out she has Multiple Sclerosis. To top it off, there is a leak where they drew out fluid from her spine, so it's taking longer to recover then normal. MS brings on the symptoms.
March she has neck surgery to remedy prior disc damage. They are hoping it will address the pain/burning in the head. For two weeks, she experienced terrible hallucinations and dangerously low blood pressure until we realized it was the prescribed morphine from surgery.
April she dealt with locked joints, tremors, vision loss, balance problems, extreme fatigue and her worst nightmare- cognitive problems. She couldn't start treatment for MS though because her immune system was low from the recent surgery. So while recovering she also had the reoccurring symptoms daily.
In May she got a formal letter from the neurologist for disability. Same month she came to terms with MS and accepted she was no longer in control of her own body. She called it a monster... Not knowing when, where, or how it would strike was a horror. She cried everyday.
By June mom started taking Tecfidera to treat MS and was diagnosed with severe depression.
July she was hospitalized again for the seventh time this year. End of the month mom was irresponsibly put on 20mg (max dose) of Lexapro by her neurologist. Her body had a bad reaction to that amount as a starting dose. Things went south fairly quick.
By August, she'd attempted injuring herself four times within one weekend. Mom had suicidal thoughts daily. The voices in her head were louder as the days passed. Same month another physician luckily dropped her dose to half. It took over a week to see some improvement.
When she got a little better my brother flew her to Chicago from Las Vegas so we could care for her. She was put on Seroquel by a psychiatrist to block the voices. We prayed it would work.
September the voices were back. They bumped up her dose but even so, mid-month she fought the voices telling her to take her life. Luckily, I was there to take the knife away that day.
The fatigue from MS started up and she started having some balance problems right after. She looked exhausted and overwhelmed. To find relief she took a two hour nap. When she awoke she had forgotten her life, her story, along with who she was. She didn't recognize us, her kids, or grandchildren nor anyone she had ever met.
She didn't know where she was and it took us a long while to calm her and take away the fear she felt. We had hoped it would soon pass but still, mom's memory has not returned. We don't have answers yet as to what is happening. We keep her optimistic because when she tries to recall her past, the burning in her head returns.
Meanwhile, with her memory loss it is complicated to address her unresolved matters in Las Vegas. I have taken the lead of her medical needs involving her doctor, counselor, psychiatrist, neurologist, occupational therapist, and neuropsychologist. My next step is helping her get disability.
Mom also wants a place to call her own because she is currently staying with me. She is happy but worries about me feeling overwhelmed with responsibility. She has mentioned not wanting to be a burden but I tell her not to worry "when u love someone it isn't a burden." She just smiles. We know she has always been very independent but we are on the fence about her being alone. We just want her safety.
Regardless of where she will live, we need to move her belongings to IL. Thinking about going somewhere unfamiliar gives her anxiety and the psychiatrist needs her to remain stable.
It is difficult to travel currently because our weeks are filled with doctor appointments and therapies. She has already been through so much just this year alone, even though she doesn't remember. I don't want her suffering more than she already has.
We are reaching out to the community in hopes of raising enough money to hire a moving company to bring moms things to her. Family means everything and she has decided she wants to stay near us, where she feels safe. Your contribution will make it possible to give mom and our family much needed stability. We deeply appreciate your help. Thank you for taking the time to read Mom's story. God bless and thank you.
What started as a burning sensation in her head soon became unbearable. It became painful to think. The doctors couldn't figure it out because CAT scans came back normal. It took a major toll on life and she had to stop working, something she hadn't stopped doing since she was 15. The pain was changing her. Literally.
January 2015 mom was at high risk of heart attack again, the first one was at 26. She was also at risk for another stroke, the first one was at 44. The same month They run a 3T MRI and find out she has 13 lesions in her brain. Before the month is over, she wakes up and can't feel or move her legs.
She is hospitalized almost a week. They perform a spinal tap to take fluid from her spine. 16 tubes. 8 come back normal. 4 are sent off to UCLA and the other 4 to Stanford for testing.
February we are heartbroken to find out she has Multiple Sclerosis. To top it off, there is a leak where they drew out fluid from her spine, so it's taking longer to recover then normal. MS brings on the symptoms.
March she has neck surgery to remedy prior disc damage. They are hoping it will address the pain/burning in the head. For two weeks, she experienced terrible hallucinations and dangerously low blood pressure until we realized it was the prescribed morphine from surgery.
April she dealt with locked joints, tremors, vision loss, balance problems, extreme fatigue and her worst nightmare- cognitive problems. She couldn't start treatment for MS though because her immune system was low from the recent surgery. So while recovering she also had the reoccurring symptoms daily.
In May she got a formal letter from the neurologist for disability. Same month she came to terms with MS and accepted she was no longer in control of her own body. She called it a monster... Not knowing when, where, or how it would strike was a horror. She cried everyday.
By June mom started taking Tecfidera to treat MS and was diagnosed with severe depression.
July she was hospitalized again for the seventh time this year. End of the month mom was irresponsibly put on 20mg (max dose) of Lexapro by her neurologist. Her body had a bad reaction to that amount as a starting dose. Things went south fairly quick.
By August, she'd attempted injuring herself four times within one weekend. Mom had suicidal thoughts daily. The voices in her head were louder as the days passed. Same month another physician luckily dropped her dose to half. It took over a week to see some improvement.
When she got a little better my brother flew her to Chicago from Las Vegas so we could care for her. She was put on Seroquel by a psychiatrist to block the voices. We prayed it would work.
September the voices were back. They bumped up her dose but even so, mid-month she fought the voices telling her to take her life. Luckily, I was there to take the knife away that day.
The fatigue from MS started up and she started having some balance problems right after. She looked exhausted and overwhelmed. To find relief she took a two hour nap. When she awoke she had forgotten her life, her story, along with who she was. She didn't recognize us, her kids, or grandchildren nor anyone she had ever met.
She didn't know where she was and it took us a long while to calm her and take away the fear she felt. We had hoped it would soon pass but still, mom's memory has not returned. We don't have answers yet as to what is happening. We keep her optimistic because when she tries to recall her past, the burning in her head returns.
Meanwhile, with her memory loss it is complicated to address her unresolved matters in Las Vegas. I have taken the lead of her medical needs involving her doctor, counselor, psychiatrist, neurologist, occupational therapist, and neuropsychologist. My next step is helping her get disability.
Mom also wants a place to call her own because she is currently staying with me. She is happy but worries about me feeling overwhelmed with responsibility. She has mentioned not wanting to be a burden but I tell her not to worry "when u love someone it isn't a burden." She just smiles. We know she has always been very independent but we are on the fence about her being alone. We just want her safety.
Regardless of where she will live, we need to move her belongings to IL. Thinking about going somewhere unfamiliar gives her anxiety and the psychiatrist needs her to remain stable.
It is difficult to travel currently because our weeks are filled with doctor appointments and therapies. She has already been through so much just this year alone, even though she doesn't remember. I don't want her suffering more than she already has.
We are reaching out to the community in hopes of raising enough money to hire a moving company to bring moms things to her. Family means everything and she has decided she wants to stay near us, where she feels safe. Your contribution will make it possible to give mom and our family much needed stability. We deeply appreciate your help. Thank you for taking the time to read Mom's story. God bless and thank you.
Organizer
Adriana Reyes
Organizer
Des Plaines, IL