“One day I will walk again” – Meningitis patient Ashnie Abrams

By Alva Solomon

On a quiet night in October 2016, Ashnie Abrams of Moruca, North West District (Region One: Barima-Waini) woke up to use the washroom. As she stepped off her bed, she fell to the ground; her feet felt numb, and within minutes she was slumped on the floor, barely able to move her hands.

Then full of life, and upgrading her academic qualifications at the time, Abrams was taken to the hospital in her community, and was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where this young, spritely woman and her parents received the dreadful news that her body, from the chest down, was paralysed. An MRI scan later revealed that she was suffering from meningitis.

What is meningitis?
According to the National Health Services of the UK, meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, and in some cases, tumours would develop near to the spine.
It is a condition which can affect anyone, although it is most common in babies, young children, teenagers, and young adults.
It is caused by bacterial or viral infections, and to treat persons with the ailment, the medical personnel would first determine what type of infection the patient has contracted. The most common symptoms of meningitis are fever, headache, stiffness of the neck, irritability, and drowsiness.
Patients recover from this ailment over a period of time, depending on the type of infection. According to the NHS, some patients would experience problems with coordination of their movements, or imbalance. Such is the case with Abrams.
She said the MRI scan revealed that a tumour is growing close to her spine, and it has already infected the spinal cord. “My entire life changed within hours,” the young woman told Guyana Times last week.
She said the doctors informed her that the tumour was pressing against the spine, and according to her, she could not believe what was happening. “I did surgery to clean the infected area, and they also removed the tumour,” she said as she praised the staff of the GPHC.
The surgery was done on November 15, 2016, and thereafter she spent a month in the hospital. In December that year, she returned to Moruca in a wheelchair to face a new reality and make adjustments to a lifestyle that would become challenging. “So, 2017 started with me being unable to walk, and I had become a wheelchair-user,” she said.
Prior to her diagnosis, Abrams worked at the village of Waramuri, the place of her birth and upbringing, and was attached to the primary school as a CSO. She subsequently moved to Georgetown to make preparations to rewrite several CSEC subjects in order to enhance her qualifications, then her life changed.
She recalled that at the beginning of 2016, “I was a normal person, doing normal things. I used to play cricket and football, I would swim, and I had dreams of becoming a nurse.”
Weeks prior to her hospitalisation, Abrams said, she had experienced a few bouts of back pain, and recalled having an abscess on the neck. She said that was the only sign she had that something was amiss. She said soon after the abscess was removed, she felt a pain in her neck and her lower back.

Support from parents
She said that as the situation evolved during the latter part of 2016, her parents became worried, and while in a state of shock, experienced many sleepless nights wondering what really had happened to her.
Abrams recalled that her father took up the mantle of playing an integral role in taking her to and from the hospital. She said that during the initial days of treatment, she did physiotherapy sessions at the Kumaka District Hospital in Moruca, and it proved expensive because she travelled to and from the medical institution by car.
On some occasions, she would go by boat. “My father would be the one to lift me out of the car or boat and to the hospital, and he would do the same when we (were returning) home,” she said.
The determined Abrams said she returned to the Coastland in 2019 and registered for physiotherapy sessions at the West Demerara Regional Hospital. She travelled to that hospital from Tushen, East Bank Essequibo by taxi once a week for treatment, and on some occasions she would practise the movements at home. “They showed me what to do, and so I would do it at home,” she said, noting that it is basically exercising her lower body.
Abrams researched her condition in detail, and noted that the sessions were done in order to strengthen her muscles once more, so that she could eventually walk again. With a smile, she recalled that, one day late in 2019, three years after her diagnosis, she climbed out of her wheelchair and made a step. She said she was advised by the doctor to avoid lifting any weight, or even undertaking any minute movement which would place strain on her damaged spine.
Her spine is still damaged, and it’s a nerve issue which has to be corrected, the doctor has advised her.

Getting back to normal
In terms of getting back to normal, she said, she isn’t the first person to be diagnosed with meningitis in Guyana, and there are persons who recovered from the ailment. She also said that she has heard positive stories about persons who had suffered from the ailment.
“The doctors told me I will walk back, but it will take time. I just have to keep exercising to keep my body active (and) to get my muscles strengthened back,” she explained.
She said her siblings, numbering 7, would assist her around the home, and she noted that she relies on her family members for everything that involves physically moving around. “I am just like a baby again. Everything I use to do, now I have to depend on them to do every single thing,” she noted.

The wheelchair and
mental adjustment
“The movement in the wheelchair can be tough,” Abrams has said. She noted that, at the moment, she can make baby steps whenever she is travelling. Those steps are mainly from her wheelchair into the taxi.

“They usually lift me into the boat or car, but I try to make small steps when I have to board a car. They have to be very careful when they lift me,” she said, as she pointed out that her spine has to be treated very delicately.
As regards the wheelchair, Abrams said she spent many nights thinking about her future, and adjusting her mind to the fact that she would be moving around assisted. “It really bothered me a lot, because I am a young person, and I used to be maintaining myself, and I used to do everything,” she explained.
In addition to the mental pressure, Abrams has said, she has studied her parents a lot, and noted that while they are not well-off, they used whatever money they made to assist her. “My father spent a lot to get me back to where I am currently,” she added.
She still has hopes of becoming a nurse, and according to this determined young woman, she has the energy and mental strength to study in the medical field. To pass the time, Abrams has learnt how to sew and to knit items such as handbags and other accessories. During this interview she displayed a number of the hand-crafted items she has made.
Abrams has said that, at the moment, she is in need of a wheelchair as well as sanitary supplies; and according to her, she would express gratitude to anyone who is willing to aid her financially, as her condition has made her immovable. She has said that while her story is sad, she is upbeat and remains optimistic that she would walk again.
“It’s a sad story, but I am hoping for the best,” she declared.
Anyone who is willing to reach out to Ashnie Abrams can contact her on her mobile phone at 661-7786.