07/05/2026
How I became disabled 🖤
In September of 2021, I became disabled. Here's a little of what happened....
While on our way to Dallas, I noticed the left side of my face starting to droop. By the next morning it was clear that something was wrong. I had little to no control over the left side of my face. As soon as we got back in town I went to HCA Conroe just to make sure I didn't have a mini stroke. They didn't really run any tests, diagnosed it as Bell's Palsy, and sent me on my way.
The next day I woke up and my eyes hurt so bad that I could barely open them. It was a pain that radiated through my skull and the only thing that helped was keeping them closed in a dark room. I decided to go to Methodist in the Woodlands and I'm so grateful I did.
I ended up being admitted and stayed for a week. They ran every single test they could. Ct scans with and without contrast, MRI's, xrays, an angiogram, and so many blood tests. I think I gave 4-8 vials of blood a day.
In that time they found that I had a Schwanoma tumor at the base of my ear canal very close to my brain. That was what caused the hearing loss that I chaulked up to a wax blockage. They also found narrowing of the blood vessels in my brain which meant they had to place a stent. I was finally feeling better.
Then roughly two weeks later I woke up with the same eye pain. On the recommendation of the doctors at Methodist Woodlands, I went to Methodist Medical Center as they are a larger hospital with many more specialists. I was admitted again for about a week.
While at the Medical Center they ran every test again but this time I was also being seen by eye doctors as well. The main specialists that was treating me had never really seen what I was dealing with before and even said he would be writing it up to submit to Medical journals. I can't quite remember the diagnosis but that is when I lost 95% of the vision in my right eye as well as all of my peripheral vision.
On top of all that, they found that I have Lupus. They wanted to do a kidney biopsy but vouldnt because of the blood thinners I was one due to the stent. I still need to have that done.
In the last 5 years my life has completely changed. I can no longer drive or be on my feet for long periods of time. I get tired much easier than I used to. All of my joints hurt almost all of the time. I lose feeling in my hands and feet and sometimes my hands just stop working all together. I had to stop sewing which meant I lost any income I had. (I wrote this in 2024 before reopening my shop)
Anyways, my goal in posting this is to help others understand that a disabling event can happen to anyone at any time. If you're a healthy able bodied person, please do not take that for granted.
And to all my disabled friends, I love you! Please remember that you are still so important ❤️
