So my bout with this condition started pretty simply and abruptly. I was supposed to make fruit baskets this day for someone for his company. It was going to be an easy day, no lifting or serious work, unlike a normal day in produce. There I was with my tables of stuff ready to make baskets, when I felt like I was being crushed in a vise. It was as if I had layed down and asked someone to crank on the vise and see how far we could go. I stepped away and called my wife and cried; I asked what I should do as the pain was unbearable now becoming a burning sensation as well. While I was in the phone with her my left leg suddenly became numb as if it wasn't there. I began to walk and drag it behind me. I decided then I was going to the emergency room. The problem was there was no one there to take me, so I decided quickly to drive myself there....not the smartest thing to do, but I got there safely. Hours later I was diagnosed with Accute Transverse Myelitis. It paralyzed my left side first, from the bottom of the ribs down. By the time I got to the hospital bed it had gone to the right side and I needed help onto the bed. After I was settled, the doctors did steroid treatments to stop the inflamation. It worked to stop any extra damage, but there had already been enough done. I was not going to stop tho, I wanted to keep moving so I didn't loose the nerve functionality. After 12 years of living with it, it's been lots of physical therapy and pain management.