It all came tumbling down… during lunch a co-worker made a comment about what could be causing me to be stumbling like I was. I went to the Dr. thinking it was Lyme Disease. Not so! Rare disorder, part of my brain degenerating, ataxia. Life I thought, at least as I knew it, was over.
All I ever heard from my neurologist was his speech about not having a magic pill. We both knew there was no cure, all I wanted at this point was a way to improve the quality of life that I had left. That didn’t seem to matter to him…he got his diagnosis.
Then a friend of mine whose husband has ataxia told me of this Dr. who has ataxia himself and traveling around the country teaching people the skills they need to cope with this.
Finally I met Dr Tom. He watched me walk, looked at my gait, he asked me what I wanted to do that I had already determined I couldn’t. I told him running and playing golf were just two of the things I figured I’d never do again. He told me no problem. I was skeptical.
After the first two hours with him I was running. By the end of the week I took my first golf swing in over 2 yrs. Unbelievable! I was doing things that I thought I’d never do again! He never promised a cure… but what he did was give me the confidence and skills to do things long ago given up.
Magic pill… right! I came to know that my life wasn’t over. My wife and I can never thank Dr. Clouse enough for improving the quality of my life.
Chuck Sterner
Atalissa, Iowa
chassterner@gmail.com