Copied and pasted from my Facebook just for you. :P I am a more mild case so while I'll anwser your questions to the best of my ability I don't know everything.
Hello guys!
I just joined and thought it was about time that I introduced myself and kinda told my story. My name is Zane and a little more than 17 years ago I was born 1 month early. I'm sure that some of you know that kids born early have more jaundice than usual. My doctor (whom was an alcoholic) failed to recognize my condition and I suffered from hyperbilirubinemia. I was transferred to another hospital to receive treatment but the damage was already done. I had hypotonia amongst other things. It impacted my motor skills, sight, and my hearing. For my Pre- preschool years, I attended a place called The Special Learning Center. Here I was taught sign language because I had a speech impairment at the time. Over time I learned to speak so I no longer remember a lot of it. I also learned to walk and develop my motor skills while a part of this program. I then attended regular school at a normal pace and I took speech, occupational and physical therapy during school hours. At third grade I oped out of all three of my therapies because I felt I was as good as I could get and I wanted to go to my recess and PE class with the rest of my friends. (my handwriting still looks like a preschooler's) Around 1st grade I stopped wearing my glasses and hearing aids. If they didn't need them then why did I? Through my grade school years I was very shy. But high school was a really good thing for me. In freshman year I went to get my drivers permit but I failed the vision test. I went to get my eyes looked at and I had 70/100 vision. I figured that driving was more important than not wearing glasses so I got some and they were amazing. (I wear contacts now) This junior year has been a real ride though. I really got into breaking habits and decided to join football. It was hard but very worth it. Around the end of the season I went to get my hearing tested again and found out I still had moderate to severe hearing loss. (I was a good lip reader) After considering for awhile I decided to try them. Boy was I missing out! I don't go a day without them now. My football turned into wrestling and my wrestling is turning into track this spring. I broke my shyness and am now a VERY social person. I am also the school mascot. (Our little secret) These past few months I found out that my conditions collectively had a name: Kernicterus. I hit the internet and researched. It was incredibly hard to find anything until I found this. I now realize that I am incredibly lucky.
I am here to talk to people with Kernicterus and help you guys in any way I can. Feel free to ask me anything. I will literally tell you almost anything about myself.