Monday, April 30, 2018
I was born with two extra cervical ribs at my neck and when I was 14 I started loosing strength in my right arm. I was on the Senior Volleyball and Basketball teams because they needed a spare and I was tall and really skinny and fast ;) I also took violin lessons, piano lessons and went bowling so I could get a glimpse of the cute boys in the Air Cadet Squadron at the Acadian Center. By the time I was about to turn 16, I could barely pinch a clothespin to hang the sheets our Motel and cabins, Oceanview didn't use a dryer in those days and if it rained it would accumulate until the weather was suitable. When my oldest sister Gisèle and her then boyfriend came home from college and she saw me struggle, she checked my hands and saw that my right hand had no muscle mass left, it actually looked like the hand of a very old lady. Being the oldest in the family she took charge as the doctor Claudie Aucoin had told maman that it was my nerves and maman thought he meant that I was nervous which I wasn't at all at that age. Gisèle and D.J. took me to see a specialist in Halifax and after Christmas my parents got the call that they should bring me to the VG. I remember vividly that it was after I had turned 16 in November and by then the damage to my muscles was getting worse. I had a car accident in June at the dead man's turn and the following winter was spent going for physio in Sydney which my parents had to pay someone to drive me. The doctors in Halifax could not for the love of them figure out what was causing all this muscle loss, after over 4 weeks of testing, a little Chinese intern came in the room and said to maman, there is one test that we haven't done yet. My eyes opened wide and I remember looking at maman and saying..Well what are you waiting for. A myelogram is a diagnostic imaging test generally done by a radiologist. It uses a contrast dye and X-rays or computed tomography (CT) to look for problems in the spinal canal. Problems can develop in the spinal cord, nerve roots, and other tissues. This test is also called myelography. We didn't even consider any danger whatsoever cause we were so exhausted. Lo and behold when the dye colored the muscles they could easily see that they were being pinched by the extra ribs. They scheduled the surgery immediately. I was told at that time to start using my left hand because I may never be able to use my right hand again. I was on a mission to prove them wrong. Thanks to Charlie Dan Roach and Mme Domithilde I stayed after school to get caught up in my schoolwork. I actually won a trip along with Martin Aucoin in grade 11 to go to Ottawa with EduCanada for 2 weeks. I started a students choir with guitars and drums, I became a leader in the Young Christian Students and I was determined I would become a Registered Nurse. I soon realized that I could not continue studying Chemistry with the teacher we had at that time, so I left in my grade 12 year to go to CRVS as my dad was working there at the time and several of my classmates were already there. Paulette Burns now Boudreau had switched from Architectural Drafting to Secretarial so there was my opening to study Architecure. Several years later while working with Public Works Canada, using the drafting machine on my table I noticed that my left arm started going numb; off I go to see my surgeon at the time who had done the surgery on my right shoulder. His name was Paul Nonamaker and his face beamed when he saw that it was me. He said that I had been the very first case at the VG with that syndrome but that there had been many since. He asked me what I was doing for work, I told him and his reply was: I should have known that this little stubborn lady would never consider not using her right arm. He had studied with Dr Claudie so they knew each other very well. There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank the GREAT LORD for the blessings I survived because of my sister and everyone else that helped me get through LIFE. My dad would tease me sometimes and say that I was made in a hurry; little did he know that after he passed on I would spend another 5 weeks at St. Martha's in Antigonish to get diagnosed with BiPolar Disorder. In our lives, everything happens for a reason. I strongly believe that because of these handicaps I am a much better person and that God has me exactly where I need to be at this point in my journey on Earth. Here is Dr. Paul's obituary. He was a genius!! http://sweenysfuneralhome.com/.../Paul.../obituary.html
