The Early Years:
Born in the early 1970's, I have always known I was a little different from other people, I never did quite 'fit in'. When the show Mork & Mindy came on the TV, it was really interesting to me because Mork didn't fit in either. It would be many many years later that I was finally diagnosed with Aspergers. (more on that later)
I have always been interested in electronics, and I don't really know where that interest came from. My Dad certainly couldn't have been considered a 'technical' person, and would often times rather use a pen & paper than a calculator to work things out.
I remember breaking my first portable radio at a young age, I remember that when you took the back off to put a new battery in, you could see all of the electronics. Of course I turned all the 'twisty things' (coils and pots) and suddenly the radio didn't work anymore!
Health Issues:
All My life, I have suffered from a type of nervous anxiety. Looking back, it was probably part of the Aspergers, but back then I didn't know about that.
Through my teens and into my twenties I would get severe and I mean SEVERE toothaches. People laugh when they hear someone had called 999 because of toothache, but if any of those people had actually felt the severe pain, they wouldn't laugh. I never phoned 999 personally, but got close to it several times. There was no cure for the pain, the only thing that helped a tiny bit, was swilling red hot (almost boiling) coffee around my mouth.
The pain was so bad I couldn't concentrate on anything, so I would go to the kitchen and make myself a coffee. Other family members were often offended that I didn't offer to make them drinks too, but they couldn't understand what I was going through at the time. I guess it seemed to them that I was being selfish.
Around 22 years old, I had enough and was referred to a specialist who advised removal of most of my teeth, then at around 25 years, the remaining teeth were removed and thankfully the severe pain was gone for good. I occasionally get 'phantom' toothaches, but nothing as compared to before, so all good.
At around 28 years old, I was having problems with my bowels, and this was eventually diagnosed as I.B.S. And of course, the nervous anxiety also made the I.B.S. worse.
In my early 30's I started getting severe pain in various joints. I saw several different doctors with various different pained joints, and none of them could really work out what the problem was. One doctor suggested tennis elbow, then another diagnosed a frozen shoulder. It was not a good time, the pains were becoming unbearable, with the only salvation being the knowledge that these severe pains only usually lasted a few days, then they would ease.
One day, I had to get a emergency appointment to see a doctor when the pain became too much to bear. The only doctor that could see me was one I never really liked, but I had no choice, the pain was in control. To this day I am ever thankful to that doctor, because it was he who found the problem. He had me wave my arms all around, then he felt my knees and wriggled my ankles. I didn't have a clue why he was doing all this weird stuff to me, I just wanted him to give me some strong pain killers. When he finished his 'examination', he asked me several weird questions then he called for another doctor to come in. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they seemed to be agreeing with each other. Then he came to speak to me, he told me he wanted me to go to Treliske Hospital for a specific type of blood test. He thought I might have Rhumatoid Arthritis, and he was correct.
I was started on Methotrexate. Over the years, I have struggled with many different medications for the RA. One type of medication made me violently sick, and another type of 'biological' medication nearly killed me. I'm currently back on the Methotrexate, but the injectable type.
I can cope with the pain and stiffness from the RA, but the worst thing is the Chronic Fatigue. Many people think: you have fatigue, well just go take a nap and you'll be ok. I can tell you that Chronic Fatigue is way more than just feeling a little tired. It's not an easy thing to explain and unless you have suffered it, you simply cannot understand just how debilitating it is.
One way to think of it, is to imagine you have done a really hard days work, you get home and feel so exhausted you say "thank god for a sit down". Well, imagine feeling like that when you first get out of bed in the morning. That example doesn't really explain Chronic Fatigue properly, but it does at least give people a hint of an idea of what it feels like.
I can't remember the exact date, but sometime between the I.B.S. diagnosis and in the early stages of RA, I woke up one morning and was 100% deaf in my right ear. It was completely weird, and to this day, despite having scans and stuff, I still don't know why or how it happened. Age also took some of the hearing ability from my good left ear too, so I have to wear a hearing aid, to help me hear properly.
In either my late 30's or early 40's (I can't remember exactly without looking it up), I watched a TV program about Autism. While watching the program, as they were describing some Autistic traits, I was thinking 'that sounds like me'. Several parts of the program seemed to be describing exactly how I had been feeling all my life.
I made an appointment to see a doctor as soon as I could. I told the doctor about watching the program and how I felt it described me. I was told "don't be stupid, you aren't Autistic". It wasn't the first time a doctor had told me to stop being stupid, but this time I stood up for myself. I told the doctor I wanted to be tested anyway. I was reluctantly given a little form to fill in.
To cut a long story short, I was refered to a Psycologist who diagnosed me with Aspergers. It was then that Mum told me she had thought something wasn't quite right when I was a child, she had gone to her doctor and told them that she didn't think I was quite right as compared to my older brother. She was told, 'oh thats normal for 2 boys to grow up differently'. Not happy with that 'advice', she saw another doctor, who told her there was nothing wrong with me and she didn't know anything because she was just a young mum. (in her 20's). It just goes to show that 'mother's instinct' is a real thing... Who knows how my life may have turned out if one of those doctors would have actually listened to my Mum, and I would have been diagnosed early in life. There are also other issues related to the Aspergers, but this is not supposed to be a novel, so I'll skip those.
These Days:
The RA & Chronic Fatigue are knocking hell out of me, and it's hard to do stuff, but I just have to keep going and take life one day at a time.
Despite all my health issues, I'm thankful that I have a roof over my head, a comfortable bed and food in the cupboards.
I try to upload a video to youtube each week and keep on top of website fixes and stuff, but this is not always possible. Chronic Fatigue is a very cruel mistress and she will destroy any plans you make. All good intentions fly away and there is nothing you can do about it, you are forced to stop.
The Future:
The future is totally unknown! Of course I have plans and ideas of things I would like to do, but currently my life is ruled by my health issues, so I have to do what I can and live from day to day.