Hello, Deidre...
It is pretty frightening at first when a lot of stuff starts happening to you...for me it was a slurred word here and there...then my swallowing became a little compromised...my voice "dried" out easier...I began tripping and falling a LOT...more than I ever did as a child(I'm sure)...my legs went into their own stretching "mode" when I woke up each morning...they would lock up(while the rest of me kept going)...they began to feel heavy, and I lost my shock absorbers-my legs felt like wood...I went from shuffleing, to a cane, to a rolling walker, though I can still shuffle, still use a cane and I can move over bigger distances with my rolling walker. All this has happened over a period of ,say, 7 years...My actual walking went drastically downhill in just a year! That had me sobbing to God and begging Him to help me keep my walking ability...
But, now that everything IS happening I have this inner driving force telling me to TRY to do as much as I can as LONG as I can...I am taking this on as a CHALLENGE! O.K...I have to do things in a different way...sure it takes longer but, I take comfort in being able to do as much as I can for myself...I do realize everyone's situation is different...I fear, if I stop trying then this will "consume" me in some way...
Medicine and doctors can only diagnose and use what is available in this world, but they do not know everything and are not our Lord God. I am determined to set my mind on acheivements brought around by prayer and faith. I have learned that you must keep using and doing what you can so your brain can "remember' how. I recently saw a medical program on a YOUNG woman who had a stroke, had several operations to remove parts of her brain after infection and who still learned to walk and go to college. A doctor said certain parts of your brain will adapt to help you do things that these sections weren't orginally meant for!
Challenge yourself..ask God for strength...don't give up!
I don't know what the SS benefits are in your state...your Neuro can help you get it faster than other maladys. Check with your SS office. By the way,...what is Neurontin?