Life After Coming Face to Face With Death by Pallavi Jagessur

After being hit by a first attack of Transverse Myelitis in 2018, I recovered by 80 percent by 2019. In June of 2022, I shared my story and experiences with Transverse Myelitis with the objective of educating people about this rare condition and raising awareness so that others don’t feel alone. Once recovered, I was told that the risk of a relapse was very low.

After sharing my story with SRNA, I did not know that a few days later, on July 6th, 2022, I would have another episode of Transverse Myelitis.

At the time, I was at my sister’s place celebrating the arrival of my newborn nephew. I was holding the baby when in the blink of an eye, my whole body started being cruelly and brutally attacked by what felt like an electrical shock. At that time, my inner self was scared. I didn’t know what was happening. I was trembling a lot due to the feeling of multiple electrical shocks to my whole body. Tears started coming. It was happening in front of everyone: my relatives and parents. I could not talk. And then I collapsed. My body just quit on me. 

Fire rescue and an ambulance were called. I was rushed to the ICU of the hospital. I was being treated for COVID, though I was not COVID-positive. The medical team gaslighted my family about my condition. Weeks later, my family found out really that I was never COVID-positive. But by then, my condition was deteriorating and I had to be transferred to the ICU of another hospital. There, I experienced medical abuse trauma at the hands of a neurologist-specialist who humiliated me, and refused to give me the right treatment (including painkillers). My health continued to deteriorate with seizures and all kinds of pains. I was accused of faking it.

My family then had me treated by a neurosurgeon, who I’d been treated by since 2018. It was discovered that I had indeed experienced a severe attack of Transverse Myelitis with several lesion damages to my nerves and spinal cord. Worst of all two spinal Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) were detected.

I am still on the path of healing. I support myself mentally, emotionally, and physically. I’m grateful to the few people in my life for their genuine support and for those I’ve never met but are helping me through spiritual counseling.

It’s not an easy journey, despite being a life coach and therapist who has helped other women. You will never understand this pain or journey till you go through it. The pain, anger, sadness, bitterness, grief, being isolated from everyone, staying at home, not seeing the outside. I am living this hell for a second time. But my faith in God is unbreakable. 

Thank you to the few people who support me.