I love to exercise and it gives me something to do during the day. So much so that last Wednesday I did 4000 leg lifts throughout the day. By Thursday my legs were hurting very badly and my mom said it was probably from doing too much exercise. She told me no exercise for the next several days because I probably strained my muscles. I rested all day Thursday but on Friday morning they felt a little worse. My mom rubbed some Ben-Gay on my legs, gave me some Ibuprofen and again said to rest. I had plans on Saturday morning to go out to breakfast with a friend and do some shopping. I made it through breakfast but by the time she got to the store my legs were really hurting. I just sat in the car while she picked up a few things she needed. By the time I got home I could hardly walk. My mom had an appointment and told me to go soak in the tub. She was gone two hours and during that time I felt very paranoid and called her four times. I asked her if it could be low sodium. I had very low sodium two years ago. For those that know sodium levels, mine was 109. She said no but after she hung up the phone she called my aunt who is a nurse. My aunt said I would be confused not paranoid. She said it wouldn’t hurt to have me eat some salty foods like ham and see if I felt better. So my mom stopped and bought meat lovers pizza that had bacon, pepperoni, ham and sausage on it. She brought it home and I ate it and said my legs were feeling better. My mom waited for my dad to come home and then she called the emergency room to talk to the doctor. She asked if we could come up and get my sodium checked. She described how my legs hurt, my exercises and being paranoid. He also said I would be confused and it sounded like muscle strain. She told him that last time I was very paranoid also. He said to wait till Monday and see my regular doctor. My mom had to do some work at the store so she told my dad to watch me carefully and call her if anything happened. About 45 minutes later I had my dad call her. I was feeling very weak and felt like passing out. My jaw was hurting badly and my mouth was quivering. My mom said she would be right home. She got home and took me immediately to the emergency room.

By that time I was feeling very bad and was very quiet. For those that know me, you know that would be a huge sign that something was wrong. LOL. The hospital just installed a new computer system and so we had to input all my information into the system. It took forever. My mom told them to test my sodium while we were waiting. It was an hour later before we had the results. The doctor came in and told us that I had a sodium level of 121 and would have to be admitted. Lord only knows how low I would have been if my mom hadn’t had me eat that pizza. They immediately began an IV sodium drip. All this time my mom was answering their questions. First she had to tell them all my medications, which are 11 different ones and the dosage. She always carries a list so she can just hand it to them. They didn’t know what most of these drugs were, and of course had no idea what Wolfram Syndrome was. As my mother was explaining everything a nurse asked my mom if she was a nurse or doctor. She laughed and said, no, she was just an informed mom of a child with a rare disease that no one knows anything about. She said she had a team of people that have taught each other so very much about Wolfram Syndrome. That team was all the mothers and dads. She was very impressed with my mom’s knowledge. About this time I started talking again. Yep, ….I was feeling much better and my jaw didn’t hurt anymore so I was able to start talking nonstop again. I was on my way to recovery.

My mom is going to write the next few lines.

For those reading this, I know you understand what I was going through. Bottom line is trust your gut. If it feels wrong than it probably is. Her symptoms were not the usual ones, but what with Wolfram Syndrome are. Don’t be afraid to respectfully disagree with your doctor and insist that they run tests. There is no one who knows their child better than the parents. Doctors are not always right. This statement does not include Dr. Fumi, Dr. Marshall. Dr. Hershey, Dr. White, Dr. Hoekel etc….. We could be wrong sometimes but very often we are right. Trust yourself and advocate for your child.

As you know, living with Wolfram syndrome poses many challenges for me, including doing my chores.  With my vision impaired, I’ve had to come up with different ways of doing things and I thought I’d share them with you.

I start with making my bed.  My bedspread has two raised rope designs going vertical.  This lets me know how far to pull it on each side so it is even.

Almost every day I empty the dishwasher.  I know how the dishes feel so I know where to put them.  How large the bowl is lets me also know where it belongs.  Every dish has a certain spot in our cabinets so I know exactly where they go.  I run my hands over the spokes in the dishwasher to make sure I have gotten everything out.  Since I know where the dishes are I know how to set the table.  The only thing I have trouble with is the salt and pepper shakers but we put a braille strip on each item so I know what it is.

They do not let me clear the table.  I have broken too many dishes slamming them on top of each other.  Or I run into them when they are coming through.   I am also able to get things out of the refrigerator because again everything has a certain place to go.  Although sometimes my dad doesn’t put it back where it should go. One day when we were having hotdogs for lunch my dad said “why is there chocolate syrup on the table?”  I thought it was mustard.  Good thing he saw it before I put it on my hotdog.  That would not have been good.  My mom doesn’t like me cooking on the stove while she isn’t there.  She said she doesn’t want to come home from a long day at work and find the fire dept there.

I also dust and vacuum both the upstairs and the downstairs.  I’m not sure I get everthing wiped off or picked up but I just try to keep going in a straight line hoping I am going in the right direction.  I also sweep the kitchen and bathroom floors.  I sweep hopefully into a pile and bend down and pick it up with the dustpan. I listen to see how much is coming out of the dustpan so I know how much is still being picked up.  I can’t see what I am doing so I just do it several times until I think everything is gone.  I also use my bare feet to walk around and feel if I missed anything.

I am in charge of doing the family wash.  I know what my dad’s shirts feel like with all the buttons.  I also know the weight and feel of his white tee-shirts so I am able to separate the whites from the darks.  Of course I am able to tell the difference between a top and pants so I know which to hang and which to fold.  My mom also buys the pod detergents so I don’t have to worry about measuring everything or knowing where to pour.  I am also able to put the washer and dryer on the right settings because we use stick on raised dots.  These go on the start buttons and the temperature settings so I know how to adjust for the different types of clothes.

The buttons are also used on the stove and microwave.  It is digital so I have the dots put on the one, the three and the five buttons so I know the correct temperatures or time settings.  Now getting food out of the oven is a little bit harder.  You don’t want to go feeling around too much in a hot oven looking for the pan.  My mom bought the silicon gloves that go up to my elbows.  You cannot get burned with these on.  So I feel confident reaching in the oven.  They also wipe off cleanly or can be put in the dishwasher if anything spills on them.

I spend a lot of time at home alone.  My parents also work very hard and long hours.  Doing all these chores makes me feel good that I am able to contribute to my family.  It also gives me something to do every day instead of just watching tv or listening to the radio.

So there you have it!  That’s how I do my chores while living with Wolfram syndrome.  Now I have to get back to work!

Lauren