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Lisa Watson: Transverse Myelitis and Sensory Paradox

Day 4 · 6:50:39 · Lisa Watson · Myriam Bohémier

  • 🩺 Neurologist diagnosed transverse myelitis—rarely seen and with no clear treatment plan.
  • 🦵 She lost all leg mobility within hours and spent 10 weeks in hospital relearning to walk.
  • ↔️ Paradox: full sensation on paralyzed left side, zero hot/cold/pain sensation on movable right side.

Rare spinal diagnosis left her with permanent crossed motor-sensory deficits.

← Lisa Watson: Pfizer Shot Then Stroke-Like Collapse | Lisa Watson: Walker for Life, Exemption Refused →

Transcript

Lisa Watson · 6:50:39

He said, well, he said, you know, it's not a stroke. And we were quite— I was relieved. And he's, well, You know, too relieved. He said it's transverse myelitis, and we really don't know what we're dealing with because we don't see it a whole lot. So they put me on a couple different— I have—.

Myriam Bohémier · 6:51:10

Talking about brain fog. Oh, you don't have words of him.

Lisa Watson · 6:51:14

Love, love, I know my medications. Um, but they did put me on, uh, basically muscle relaxers to help with that, um, for the spasms, which—.

Myriam Bohémier · 6:51:26

But you still have the spasms to this day?

Lisa Watson · 6:51:28

Absolutely.

Myriam Bohémier · 6:51:30

And you also still have that tightening around your midsection? Yes, I do.

Lisa Watson · 6:51:34

I have, um, well, I was just on the one medication in the hospital, the, um, Whatever it is, one little pill, and it wasn't enough. So after I came home and then I went to see the neurologist, he— and told him that it wasn't enough. He gave me another gabapentin.

Myriam Bohémier · 6:51:58

So, and then basically you became a bit of a paradox, didn't you? Because you had your left side you lost movement?

Lisa Watson · 6:52:08

Well, I, I, from the time I remember, the one thing I do remember, when I got back, when I got to the hospital, before I left Summerside, I needed to use the washroom, and I was able to get up and use the washroom. When I got to Charlottetown, which is an hour and a half roughly, like, you know, and I had to use the washroom again, I couldn't walk. I lost all mobility in my legs. I, I couldn't walk at all, um, and I had to learn that all again. And then we realized when I was there in physio— I was in the hospital for 10 weeks in Charlottetown— and, uh, that I have all feeling on the left side of my body, and on the right side of my body I have no sensations, hot or cold, pain.

Lisa Watson · 6:53:12

I can feel if somebody pushes on it.

Myriam Bohémier · 6:53:15

But, and that, that was the paradox. So you were paralyzed on the left side, but you could feel everything? Oh yeah, I could feel everything. You could move the right side, but you couldn't feel anything?

Lisa Watson · 6:53:24

Which was really unnerving because that was part of the problem with me learning to walk because I couldn't feel. Yeah. Well, let's show up.

Myriam Bohémier · 6:53:33

David, do you want to pull up? We have a video and this is, this is you learning to walk.

Lisa Watson · 6:53:38

I don't think anybody's even my family has seen this. I've never shared it, but you go right ahead.

Myriam Bohémier · 6:53:44

I gave it to you. So there we go. It'll be a learning journey for your husband here. So David, yeah, pull up that video for us. It's 49. Uh, she's witness 49. Oh, I'm sorry, we're— it's 50. We're at Lisa Watson, so So while, while David's doing that, let's talk about kind of where you are today.