January 11, 2008 continued. At the first ER the CAT scan came out clean and I received two bags of IV fluid. The doctor suggested a neurologist consult, but we decided to leave and thought I would get better after getting the fluids. We went home after a few hours, and my parents arrived that evening. My father (a chiropractor) adjusted my atlas that evening and it seemed to open up the floodgates to whatever was happening in my brain. I was almost unable to sit up without assistance at that time. My whole body would shake uncontrollably. Still unable to hold onto any food or liquid. Couldn't walk down the hall to the restroom.

January 12. I thought that was my last day alive. I had no strength left in me. I think my mom was trying to get some fluids in me. I remember just laying there having some crazy visions. My husband called a friend who is a doctor that morning. He said that we needed to go to a good ER or I would die. I thought I was already dead with the visions that were behind my eyelids, and my mom giving me a vinegar sponge bath. I asked to say good bye to my boys and then Mike and dad carried me to the car.

We went to OHSU ER this time. I think I got an IV much faster. Neurologist ordered MRI. It came out clean. At this time my eyes were shifting rapidly and my body was shaking non-stop. I am very sensitive to any light and cannot make it to the bathroom from the hospital bed without assistance. My dad, Mike, Irene, Biniam are there. Mom and Quincy are on the way. That afternoon the doctor does some tests on me, and eventually comes in with the diagnosis of Opsoclonus Myoclonus Syndrome. He says that it is self limiting and should clear up in 3 weeks to 3 months without doing anything. It was a relief to hear and I figured I'd be done with this in a maximum of 3 weeks. (I'm pretty healthy and just did a triathlon and a half-marathon.) The first video is from the doctor in the OHSU ER.

From what I can recall, the doctor said that my immunity was down from the stomach virus and my own antibodies that were fighting it attacked my brain stem, where they detected activity.

The first suggested treatment was an anti-anxiety drug (clonazepam) to stop the shaking and eye movement. I think I thought that taking this would make me walk again as soon as I took it. I took one that evening and felt worse. Took a second one, just hoping that the first was a fluke and felt worse again. I fell out of bed trying to make it to the bathroom. I still can't believe that I can't walk.

The doctor also highly recommended a spinal tap to do further tests to see if I had any other problems. This I declined after discussing the pros and cons with the doctor. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) was also suggested. I also declined this after learning about the side effects and reading about another person around my age who had gone through OMS and taken that route. It seems that the recovery time was increased to over 2 years.

That night I stayed at OHSU. My brother (also a chiropractor) held a pressure point near my atlas and all of the symptoms STOPPED. Chiropractic adjustments were how I was going to treat my OMS.

January 13-14. I stayed at OHSU, but everything was a little blurry. I remember friends and family visiting, but I was only able to see the outline of people at that time. Several doctors came to do the same or similar tests that you saw in the first video, since OMS is pretty rare. More than one suggested a spinal tap, and one actually tried to schedule one even after I declined. I wanted to leave. Although the doctor suggested that we stay longer, my husband got a wheelchair took me out of there. (Thank God!) I had never stayed in a hospital before that. Although that one was nice, I wanted to go home and see my babies and heal.

When I was at home my dad adjusted me and I felt much better. He also did a light massage on my head. He said that my brain was swelling, and the massage felt really good. Later that evening I had visions of thousands of mutilated, dead bodies all around me. These visions were vivid, and there every time I closed my eyes for a few hours. I told my dad and we wondered if it had to do with my brain massage.