HealthLinks Charleston Sept/Oct 2022

www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com | 89 2021, where she learned things about her condition. “The first morning at Mayo, they took my blood, then called me and said, ‘we need to give you a shot of [vitamin] B12 — you have none. You must have stopped processing it in the coma, and that is what feeds your nerves,’” she said. She was told she would need to have B12 shots the rest of her life – and there was a chance she would never walk again since the nerves were “dead in her body,” according to one neurologist. Fortunately, Donna would prove the dismal diagnosis incorrect. In January 2022, she began working with Beth Andrews at Momentum Physical Therapy. It was Beth’s cheerleading that literally moved Donna forward. While she still doesn't have full use of her left hand, she’s able to get around using a walker or, occasionally, a wheelchair for longer distances. “When I started working with Beth, I still wasn’t walking,” Donna said. “But Beth was so different from everyone else — she kept saying, if you can do this, then you can do this. She was so positive, and I did all my exercises.” Donna maintains that she could never have succeeded without the help of a few instrumental people — Dr. Watson, who advocated for her and saved her life, her physical therapist and her loyal husband. Marshall retired in January 2021, according to Donna, in order to take care of his wife, and he slept in the living room right next to Donna’s hospital bed for all the months she was unable to climb the stairs to their bedroom. “You can't even explain the love you feel when someone does that for you,” Donna mused. Her colleagues, too, have ensured Donna is able to continue working as branch manager at The Mortgage Firm. In fact, Donna revealed that 2021 was “one of the best years she’d ever had, business-wise,” thanks to her team’s unwavering support. “My team has been amazing,” she beamed. “The third month, I called Margaret Bunch — who has been with me for seven-anda-half years — and I asked if anything was going on. She said no. And I knew there were issues three months in. But they handled everything. Even now, if I’m having a bad day, they step in.” “When the doctors first told me I would not walk again, I went into a deep depression,” she added. “Luckily, I got back on the horse. I still get tired, but I have to say I was determined I was going to walk again. And now I am.”

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