Courage To Believe

Sept 11 My CMT Journey continues......

At first Patty wanted to go into nursing. I give my mother a lot of credit as she knew with our hands that nursing wouldn't be a good fit for Patty, but she allowed her to find out on her own. While still in high school Patty took a class at Vo-Tech for nursing. Later she switched to data processing. I followed in her foot steps and it was at Vo-Tech that I met my friend Nancy. My sister, Patty, and I blossomed after high school. The next ten years were a good season filled with lots of laughter and fun. Our CMT seemed to settle down. Our legs and hands weren't atrophying as much and we were learning to adapt to our disability. Patty and I found friends who accepted us for who we were. Nancy was the friend who helped me out of my shell. She and I had many adventures and fun times. Both Patty and I would get together with our friends during the weekend. Patty took a job at the IRS. I worked with my mother at a luncheonette she owned. I gained 20 lbs in one year. I ate more than I worked. But, I also gained self confidence and had a few boy friends. Mom sold the business and I went to work at a fence company where I was the only girl other than the owner. I had boyfriends lined up. So I say to anyone going through tough times in school with rejection and bullying, “It does get better”. A few years later, I got a job at the Singer Company. I worked customer service and worked my way up to accounting while I did college courses at night. Eventually, I met my son's father, George, and we got married. A year later my son, Joel, was born and it was the happiest day of my life. “CMT in pregnancy increases the risk for complications during delivery.” (Charcot Marie Tooth Syndrome Patient.co.uk) In spite of the concern of having CMT and giving birth, my labor was only two hours long and went without any problems. One of God's favor in a healthy baby born. I prayed from the time I knew I was pregnant for God to spare my son from having this disease of CMT. To be continued....If you feel led to give any donations for researching a cure, you can give online at http://www.cmtausa.org or MDA http://www2.mda.org/goto/CMTChallenge