Laurie Zissimos

Northern High School

Class of 1975

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Laurie Zissimos - Class of 1975 - Northern High School

First Name	Laurie
Last Name	Zissimos
Graduation Year	Class of 1975
Gender	Female
Hometown	Baltimore, Maryland
Relationship Status	Married
About Me	Introduction Transverse myelitis (TM) is a neurological disorder caused by inflammation across the width of the spinal cord. Inflammation can damage or destroy the substance that covers nerve cell fibers. This, in turn, causes scars that affects communications between the nerves in the spinal cord and the rest of the body. Symptoms of transverse myelitis include a loss of spinal cord function over several hours to several weeks. It usually begins as a sudden onset of lower back pain, muscle weakness, or abnormal sensations in the toes and feet and rapidly progresses to more severe symptoms, which can include paralysis. Although some patients recover from transverse myelitis with minor or no residual problems, others suffer permanent impairments that affect their ability to perform ordinary tasks. • Transverse myelitis occurs in adults and children, in both genders, and in all races. • Researchers are uncertain of the exact causes of transverse myelitis. • As with many disorders of the spinal cord, no effective cure currently exists for people with transverse myelitis. Treatments are designed to reduce spinal cord inflammation and manage symptoms. Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke My Story On December 14, 2005, while preparing for a new day, I noticed that something was strangely wrong. My feet were tingling in a weird way. I was standing in the kitchen stirring my coffee, but my feet felt like they were going to sleep. I tried walking around the house and stomping my feet but nothing was working. Within a matter of only fifteen minutes, I had collapsed to the floor with a cell phone in my hand. Scared out of my wits, I dialed 911 and was rushed to a local hospital. A lot of what happened next is a blur to me. The pain was so unbearable and my body was like a foreign object I could not see or feel. Three days later, when we got the diagnosis of TM, the doctors were ready to write me off. With the help of my family and some very special friends, I was able to be transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital where we met the head of the Transverse Myelitis Center. More tests followed including; MRI’s, cat scans, daily blood tests, lumbar punctures, plasma pharesis, neurological tests, and; of course, mega doses of steroids to squelch the inflammation in my spinal cord and several infusions of immunoglobulin. I was given hope that I would walk again, all be it with assistance, and that in a few years there would be a cure for TM developed from embryonic stem cells. Even with the hope that this nightmare would have a good ending, I entered the Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Center at Kennedy Krieger Institute with trepidation. Turns out, I was assigned two of the best therapists and I began to work out two to three times a week. One year later, I was standing with braces and leaning on a walker. After several more months, the heavy metal braces were replaced with smaller and lighter ones until one day I asked the therapists to take them off. The smaller muscles in my back and legs had started to compensate for muscles that were inactive or simply dead. Today, I am able to get around the house with the use of a walker and a stair lift without any assistance. For trips outside of the home, I usually need a wheel chair. Showering and dressing are also a little challenging as I have to take the walker with me into the shower and often need help getting out clothes. A lot of people with TM end up with minimally functioning bladders and bowels. Dealing with those issues is a daily chore for me. Losing my career of thirty years turned out to be yet another dark day. My job had become my life and we were enjoying the perks that went along with it. Without the ability to travel to clients or attend industry conferences, there was nothing. Now my job is maintaining muscle tone through daily exercise, surfing the net and remodeling my dollhouse. Most days I just try to focus on the things I can do rather than what I cannot do. Without the loving support of my family, especially my Mom and Dad, none of this would even be possible. The best gift I could give them would be to walk again on my own and regain my life. Until then, awareness of this disease needs to be spread by folks like you and me. At least I had a full life before TM. Many of the babies and young children that get TM, will not have that opportunity. Please feel free to share my story ...(read more)