2019-11-01 People South Africa

theneckdown.Gracehasalwaysbeen

passionateaboutcomposingandplaying

musicalinstrumentsincludingpianoand

guitar, aswell aspainti ng, althoughit

seemednowthatshecouldnolongerenjoy

herhobbies.

Butwhileshewasinrehabshehada dream

that shecould sti llplay thepianoandpaint

usingamouthsti ck.Thiswas enoughfor her

totryit outwitha musictherapistatthe

hospital.

Gracesaysthatherpassioninmusicand

arthashelpedhercometotermswith

herconditi onandparalysis.Whileshehas

acceptedthatshemayneverwalkagain,

sheisgrateful for beingableto conti nue

pursuing herdream ofbeing amusician and

artist.

“The toughest partwas losingmy abilityto

play music;Ididn’t care ifIcould never walk

again butitwas really hard excepti ngthat I

probablywouldneverbeabletostrummy

guitarorplaythepianoagain,”shesays.

“Myfamily andfriends were very supportive

throughoutthewholeprocessandI don’t

thinkIwould have thispositive outlookifit

weren’t for them.

Musicandarthavehelpedmestayinthe

moment andnotfocus onallofmy losses.

Iamsti llableto dothethingsthat Ilove

andcreate anenjoyablelife for myself.

I amina goodplacenow;I’mnolonger

feeling remorsefulinwhat Ihave lost,

andI’ve acceptedthefact that Iwill

most likely live the rest of my life in a

Grace (right) with her sibling

Gracecanexpertlyp paintwith

her mouth stick

Graceat 17 at the time of her

paralysis

wheelchair.However,I willnevergiveuphope

thatI maywalkagain.”

Sincethenshehasbeenacceptedintothe

UniversityofCaliforniaSanta Barbara where

sheisstudying musical compositionandhas

alsoset upafoundati onthat provides music

andarttherapytootherkidswithphysical

andcogniti ve disabilitiescalled theGrace

FisherFoundati on.“Ienjoy sharingmy story

onsocial media. I’ve met people from all

around theworld withsimilarconditi onsand

Ienjoy connecti ngwithpeople.Ithascreated

anatmosphereofinspirati on.

TheMake AWishFoundati onmadeitpossible

for meto create afoundati onofmy own; the

Grace FisherFoundati onprovides musicand

arttherapy for other kidswithphysical and

cogniti ve disabilitieswithinmy community.

They have connectedmewiththeSanta

Barbara foundati on,whichtakes care ofallof

thefinancialaspectsofrunningafoundati on.

Iwillatt endUCSBinautumnandstudy music

composition;Ihopeto conti nueto dowork

withmy foundati onandexpose asmany

peopletomusicandartasI can.

Grace now wants to raise awarenessofher

story andbeaninspirati onto people with

disabilities to show that itispossibleto live

outtheirdreams.

“It might look like the end of world right now,

but I promise it gets bett er,” she says. “Each

day will expose new light; you’ll fi nd your

hope, your passion, and your place in this

new life. Have kindness in your heart and the

strength to carry on.”

Acute Flaccid

Myelitis:

What Is It?

BYGABRIELLEOZYNSKI

THISneurologicaldiseaseaff ectsthespinal

cord,causinga polio-likeillnesswhere

thereis a suddenweaknessinthelimbs,

lossofmuscletone andeitheradecrease

inaperson’s refl exes oranabsence of

them;it hassimilarsymptomstoother

neurologicdiseases,suchastransverse

myeliti sandGuillain-Barrésyndrome.

It’srarediseaseanditscausehasn’tbeen

firmlyestablished.Researchersthinkthat

virusesmightberesponsible,asinsome

casespeoplehavehada mildrespiratory

illnessorfever before developingAFM.

Inseriouscases AFMcan aff ectthe

breathingleadingto respiratoryfailure and

requiring apati ent to go on a venti lator.

SYMPTOMS

Armorlegweakness

Alossofmuscletone andrefl exes

Facialdrooping/weakness

Trouble moving the eyes

Droopingeyelids

Trouble swallowing

Slurredspeech

HOWISITDIAGNOSED?

Adoctor would doaneurologicexam.

AnMRIwould needto bedone.

Tests would bedoneoncerebrospinalfluid

(thefluidaround thebrain andspinalcord)

Anerve speedtest oftheresponse of

muscles would be done.

TREATMENT

THEREisnospecifictreatmentfor AFM.A

neurologistmayrecommendtreatments

for specificsymptoms such as occupati onal

therapy.

PREVENTION

SINCEvirusesmay play arole inAFMyou

should:

Wash handsoftenwithsoapandwater.

Avoid touching your face withunwashed

hands.

Avoid closecontact withpeoplewhoare

sick.

Cleananddisinfect surfaces that you

frequentlytouch, includingtoys.

Cover coughs andsneezes witha ti ssue or

uppershirtsleeve–notthands.

Stay home when sick.