WE MOVE
204 West 84th Street
New York, NY 10024
E-mail: wemove@wemove.org
wemove.org • mdvu.org
A minor's Chorea
To others who have and are living with this problem, I suggest if not already prescribed on orap, to ask your doctor about the drug. Also, not to stop taking your medication or worry that it may never end because it will.
– steph robertson
In may of 2007 I had gotten sick with Strep throat for the first time in my life. I had not been aware what it would lead to. Months later in October of 2007 I began having problems waking up. I also had a bad attitude and cried more than I should have. I began attending counseling, but it didn't seem helpful at all. My attitude began to get worse as time passed, and I first noticed my jerky movements a month later in November, when I was unable to tie my shoes. I tried to explain to my mother what was wrong. She thought I was being immature and making up stories. As December approached I had been late for school 22 times in one semester due to sleeping late, and wasting the morning in tears. In December I noticed I was having trouble talking too. My Vice principal suggested it may be lazy tongue that was effecting my speech. I then explained my inability to walk or play my flute for band. During my Christmas break I was taken to my doctor for my movement issues. He suggested we see a neurologist whose office is in Canton, Ohio. We drove up a few days later. He looked at my tongue and my arms and legs. He had to compare my left one to my right. He had me walk down a hall. Then run down a hall. He went to discuss what could be wrong with other doctors, without even asking about my past illnesses he knew right away that it was Syndenham's Chorea. The next thing I had to do was get my blood taken. I didn't like the idea, but I did great. I continued with more a CAT scan and an MRI. I had testing for my heart and breathing that same month. As I returned to school, my movements had gotten worse. I had awful hand writing, and the chorea was spreading to the right side of my body. When I returned to see the neurologist a month later in February, I explained that i was having problems with the right side of my body too. I was prescribed with orap. I had to take one in the morning and one at night. My chorea began to get better once I began the orap. As a year passed I have been to the neurologist several times to discover I still have the Chorea. I would say that first few months with the chorea were the worst I have ever had. I am also glad they are over, and my life is much better now.
