(Melissa Rollock, 20.04.08)
Gladwyn Rock’s condition makes it impossible for
her to write with her hands so she taught herself to
write with her feet. Most of us take the simple things in
life for granted. Take combing our hair, for example. We
do it every day without much thought. Or even getting
dressed, picking up a fork or pen – acts that
require little effort.
For Gladwyn Rock, these are impossible tasks. She
can't do any of them without the help of someone.
Her hands hang limply at her side, wasted to almost
skin and bones because of a condition called motor
neurone disease (MND).
It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that
attacks the upper and lower motor neurones – the
cells that control voluntary muscle activity such as
speaking, walking, breathing and swallowing.
Degeneration of the motor neurones leads to weakness
and wasting of muscles, causing increasing loss of
mobility in the limbs.
Gladwyn developed it in the prime of her life at the
age of 24, back in September, 1982. At an age when most
people are looking to assert their independence, she
became more and more dependent on others.
It was especially hard for her to deal with at the
time because she loved using her hands to make various
crafts – one of her hobbies.
"I was home doing smocking at the time and I realised
I couldn't go as fast as before. My hands would perspire
a lot and if I had to comb my hair or anything like that,
I would have to stop, rest and go again.
"It started with my hands feeling weak. The muscles
would twitch; if you looked at my hands, you would see
the muscles jumping. Then the muscles started to waste
away.
"Gradually, the left [hand] went first and
then the right one. The doctors said the messages from my
brain were not passing through to the nerves and muscles
in my hands and that's why I couldn't move them,"
explained Gladwyn, who lives with relatives in Glendairy
Road, Bridge Road, St Michael.
There is no cure; so it is a condition she has to live
with her entire life.
But don't think for a moment that Gladwyn's story is
one of defeat.
Whereas she lost all function in her hands, rendering
her incapable of using them to write, she made up for it
by learning to write with her feet.
"I wouldn't write because I couldn't hold a pen or
pencil in my hands. A few years after my diagnosis, I
practised writing with my toes. I realised I had to live
with [the MND]; so I said I am an adult and I
don't want to depend on people too much. If there was
something to sign, I wanted to do it myself; I wanted
that independence.
"People were encouraging me to try writing with my
mouth but I said I would try writing with my toes
instead. I kept trying and trying until, eventually, I
could form the letters. I am not too quick but I can sign
a cheque, I can write my own signature," she proudly told
the SUNDAY SUN, as she demonstrated by placing a piece of
paper on the floor, placing a pen between her toes and
slowly scribbling the line "My name is Gladywn Rock" with
an impressive penmanship.
She writes with her right foot, which isn't surprising
since she was right-handed before the onset of the
disease. At one point Gladwyn even continued making
crafts by doing her version of finger-painting –
toe-painting. It was a means of regaining her
independence, at least financially, since she sold the
T-shirts.
However, it soon became physically taxing sitting and
holding over for hours while designing the shirts with
her toes. Fearing that she might cause further damage to
her body, she gave it up.
She still manages to do some things on her own like
feeding herself. However, she needs to wear a splint on
her left hand, the stronger of the two, to do so. And,
she does hand exercises every day to keep what little
muscle mass she has left. If there is no movement, the
muscles will atrophy even further.
While Gladwyn isn't afraid to go out in public today,
it wasn't always that way. Shortly after her diagnosis,
she became a recluse. For about a year, she didn't
venture outside the four walls of her house except to
visit the hospital for treatment.
Then all of that changed when some members from the
Barbados National Organisation of the Disabled (BARNOD)
paid her a visit.
"They invited me to their organisation. I wasn't
really ready for it. I said okay to them, but when they
left, I told my mother I wasn't going anywhere; but she
insisted and I went to the organisation.
"I still wasn't comfortable at first. I told myself I
was only sick, and that eventually, I would be good and
nothing was wrong with me. I didn't go back for a couple
of weeks. Then I told myself I couldn't live like this
any more – shut up in the house – so I went
back to BARNOD.
"Going there and seeing the others with other types of
disabilities, seeing them running the organisation on
their own, that encouraged me; so I kept going. More
importantly, they were acting and behaving normal; they
were married, professionals and very happy."
"That was really encouraging for me. I told myself if
they could do it, I could do it too. I started going out
and getting involved in the organisation. I can say they
have been a great help to me because I was kind of shy
but I've gained a lot of strength, courage and
determination from being with them," she said.
Venturing out in public is now something she looks
forward.
"I find people on a whole stare because they're
curious as to what happened to me. The brave ones might
ask, 'What's wrong with your hands?' I would explain to
them that it is a nerve problem.
"I find the Barbadian public is very helpful because I
get out on my own and I catch the bus and if there is
anything I need them to do they will do it, young or old.
I don't bother about the stares any more," said Gladwyn.
Her faith has helped a lot in her coping with the
disease. She's a member of the Carrington Wesleyan
Holiness Church and sings in the choir there.
Not once in almost 26 years has she questioned God
about why she was stricken with the condition. Not even
when it took away her dream of working with children,
getting married and even having kids of her own.
Along with her faith, her family has given her the
strength to live life to the fullest in spite of her
disability.
Source: www.nationnews.com
