True Stories about Living with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) And Other Relevant, but Unrelated Tales
We’re back! Yohan yelled, sliding the door to the garage open. I noticed he was walking funny, not CMT funny, but like he had a stiff leg, a heavy foot, an injured limb? My perplexed look begged the question… What now? He brushed off my concern, acting if I were being overly paranoid and concerned […]
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My son Yohan was diagnosed with CMT at 7 years old. We have no prior history of CMT in our families. Yohan has CMT due to a new spontaneous genetic mutation. He’s the first in our family to have CMT. Though Yohan’s CMT has thrown roadblocks and presented challenges in his life, it’s also made […]
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Tremors are fairly common in people with CMT, and can intensify when the person is nervous, cold or tired. CMT expert neurologist, Dr Richard Lewis writes, “Clinically, when someone has CMT and a tremor, they sometimes call this Roussy-Levy Syndrome. Tremors are thought to occur because of decreased sensory input to the brain about where […]
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I have an ulcer on my foot that will not heal. Is this typical of CMT? Dr. Joseph Gregory Stilwell, DPM writes: Yes,ulcers can be quite common with CMT. Oftentimes because a bone is prominent, and taking excess pressure- irritation occurs. Then, with decreased sensation and other changes in the skin along with possible diminished […]
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1) Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT) is also known as: a. Inflammatory Nerve and Muscle Syndrome b. Hereditary Motor and Sensory Neuropathy c. Funky Foot Disorder d. Chronic Tendinopathy with fatigue 2) How many different inheritance patterns does CMT have? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. Too many to count. 3) Can CMT skip generations? a.Yes […]
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OUR STORY – Yohan and I had so much fun trail riding when we were younger. Oh, the stories we could tell!! I’ll never forget the time I stepped in a bee’s nest and ran for my life with Yohan on my back! He held on to my mane and stayed on. Phew! Close call! […]
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“What’s up with the knee brace?” I asked 12-year-old Rylee, who was visiting from Pennsylvania for a couple of days. Head down, in a whisper, she told me, “My knee keeps popping out of joint. It hurts really bad when that happens. ” Just the thought of having my patella on the side of my […]
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“My high school years?” she shuddered. “After the doctors diagnosed me with polio at 13-years-old, they wanted to straighten my misshapen feet. So, for the next 5 summers in a row, my school vacations were spent either in the hospital or at home, immobilized, with heavy plaster casts weighing me down.”  With raspy, uneven breath, […]
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Last week, I purchased a top-of-the-line 4K LED Smart TV with enough options to bedazzle even the most technologically gifted. Some of the features were intuitive enough that I proudly disregarded the instruction manual altogether.  To my dismay, I soon discovered that a good number of even the simplest functions were complicated, puzzling and downright […]
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We are in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. As the laws on prescribing narcotics become stricter, the millions of people who suffer from chronic and debilitating pain are left to fend for themselves. Denied access to pain-relieving medication, those with excruciating conditions are suffering, searching for alternative forms of relief. It is in this […]
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“His test came back positive for what? Sure, that explains a lot, but what’s it called again?” I asked stunned and a lot bewildered. “CHär/- Kät/ -MerÄ“d -TOOTH, which sounded just wrong when he said it. I guess it sounds strange ANY way you say it, but he was completely butchering the French pronunciation of my […]
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One day about 7-8  years ago, I get this random call from a young woman from Michigan. She wanted to volunteer with the CMTA. “Sure!”, I said enthusiastically. “We are always looking for volunteers-ALWAYS!”  Now, compared to my loud, overly animated voice and my quick speaking conversational style, my new friend, Bethany, spoke slowly, methodically and […]
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