My name is Tamara and I live in Caracas (Venezuela). I am 69 years old and have been suffering with an unknown neurological condition for about a year and a half. Because of this condition I have developed a severe gait ataxia which had a devastating effect on my life which was extremely depressing. During this time I have been through a lot of rehab but there was very little and very slow improvement. This has caused me a great deal of sadness because nothing was helping me and often I wanted to give up.
My husband Jaime has been my best support and would not let me give up. He continued to search for doctors or therapy that might help but we seemed to always end up disappointed. Then one day he found Dr. Clouse’s website on the internet and that was “my lucky day”. Tom offered to help me so we went to see him while he was in Tampa during April-May 2010 at the University of South Florida.
We traveled there and started rehab sessions with him. After only a few sessions the improvement was “dramatic”. I got rid of the wheel chair which I had been using for a very long time. In less than a week I started using a walker. Now although I am able to walk, I sometimes still use the walker when I am feeling very clumsy. On those days it makes me feel safer, but I know I will continue to improve and not need the walker any more. I can see it and I can feel it. As Dr. Clouse always says, “YES I CAN.”
When I see myself in some videos he took, walking, hitting tennis balls, throwing and bouncing basket balls, and going up and down the stairs with such good balance, it’s hard to believe that it’s me in the video. And all this happened within one month (about 12 sessions). What Dr. Clouse has done for me, and is doing for so many people, cannot be truly expressed in words. God bless him!
Tamara
jaimebenatarf@taurel.com
Caracas, Venezuela