Thanks for sharing your story Sally. I hope I can keep mine fairly short and sweet.

I certainly knew something was wrong when I was just a child, it made me quite the dare-devil, and gave me a thirst to experience everything. As a kid I certainly didn't "know" exactly what was wrong but knew there was something. I met my husband when I was 14, entered a relationship after my 17th birthday. And then he spent the next 5 years convincing me to marry him.

23 I think was the first that my old PCP starting thinking something was unusual, I had walked the three or so miles to the store my mom worked at, spent the evening helping her out and visiting (insomniac hyperactive night owl) left around 4 in the morning and had a glorious 'superman' fall out of no where. Tore up my knees and hands pretty bad, though I still finished the walk home.

But it really baffled the doctors 2 years later when my back simply broke. 25 years of age, no major accidents or falls, no history of back pain. Was in a seated position at the time of the 'snap' but my job wasn't strickly sitting all night. At the time I didn't have insurance and ga doesn't have temporary disability. So I was left saving up what I could to get tests and such done.

ACLs tore, then the tendonsis, then the MCLs... My body was ripping itself apart as I lived on ramen noodles trying to scrounge up enough money to pay for the next test, the next doctor appt, the next pt visit. And odd as it is to say I was suicidal but never really depressed.

I had my whole life to prepare for the worse, felt I had spent my time well, I trained horses, worked as a riding instructor, wrote short stories, did bare-face rock climbing, ran track and field, played pretty much every sport known to (American) man and then some, could play half a dozen musical instruments, slept through college course and got A's. It was a good life, just a bad body and many a time I was ready to pull the trigger and enjoy the next life.

But I'm probably the tiny minority of people whom Obama care helped. As soon as enrollment for it opened, I signed up. With health insurance I was able to see the doctors, get all my tests done without pinching every remaining penny. And August 11,2014, after ten years of doctors finally noticing something was seriously wrong, I got my diagnosis.

My meds no longer have to stay in front of the knife block. I used to keep them there because when the pain was bad enough I was sorely tempted to grab one or two and slice open my femeral arteries, but if the pills were there I could take one of those first. I started on copaxone soon after my diagnosis, changed out all of my pain medications. And unfortunately have gotten worse lately. But things were much better for a time so I still intend to get back on track.

My husband and I don't have any children together, he had a vasectomy that we tried unsuccessfully to reverse (even more devastating to me than the !S diagnosis) but I do have two step-children, and now 2 beautiful and precious grandbabies.

I have a strong desire to travel, and can't wait until everything calms down a bit more financially for us so I can begin globetrotting . I'll get to be the spoiled American playing on a scooter around the Eiffel Tower.