I first started to complain of a back ache way back in February of 1988. At first I just put it down to over work. But after a couple of weeks I decided to go and see a doctor, who said I just had sore muscle and prescribed muscle relaxents. These did nothing to relieve the pain in my back.

I also went and saw a Chiropractor who took a couple of x-rays of my back. When he looked at them they had turned out to light and hadn't taken a good shot, so he decided to take another set of x-rays. These also didn't turn out so he thought his machine was playing up and we both thought nothing more of it.

I kept going to the Doctors and they kept saying it was just a muscular problem. At the time I had a feeling that it was more than just my muscles playing up. After a few months of this I started to feel as if I was just making it all up, and that there was nothing at all wrong with me.

Around August of that year a Doctor who I had seen a few times decided that this was getting beyond a joke and he became determined to find the problem. He started running some test. At first everything showed up within normal limits. He knew about the x-rays taken by the Chiropractor and decided to get some more taken. That is when things started to fall into place. After seeing the x-rays he sent me to a specialist in Brisbane who had some Bone Density x-rays taken. These told him that at the age of 32 I had the bone structure of a person around 85-90 years old.

By October of 1988 I was put on the invalid pension and had already lost 1" in height.

For the next 12 months or so I tried to get medication to help slow down the collapse of my spine, but the government in it's wisdom said I could not have this disease as:-

1/ I AM NOT FEMALE
2/ I WAS TO YOUNG TO HAVE IT ANYWAY.

It was also around this time that my wife had left me taking my 3 kids as well. After a few months my son decided he was going to stay with me. In a way this helped me, but due my deteriorating condition, it became harder and harder for him and I feel he grew up to fast, and missed out on a lot of things kids his age should have been doing.

I eventually did manage to get help for around the house. But that was only for 1 1/2 hours every 2 weeks. This did help to make life a bit easier for my son who had to do most of the house work as well as cook meals while still going to school.

I have had 2 accidents since 1988. The first was about 1990 when I feel over working at a place for disabled people. I had broken my right arm just below the shoulder and bruised my hip rather badly and was in hospital for 2 weeks. The second one was in 1997 when I knocked my hip against the dash of a boat. This one put me in hospital for a month (they wanted to keep me longer).

The worse thing to happen to me is to get a bad cold or even worse to get the flu. Because of the condition and shape of my spine when ever I cough, or sneeze, I run the real risk of either breaking/fracturing my spine, or breaking a rib. Once when lying on the lounge one night I coughed and fractured a vertebra it took me 5 minutes before I could start breathing again so I could ring for an Ambulance. When I got to the hospital they got my file out and said that as there is so much damage we won't bother taking x-rays and just gave me some pain killers and sent me home.

As you can see, due to the height I have lost (about 8") my chest area has deformed.This has also made nearly all physical activities, either, very difficult or impossible for me to do. Because of this I have tended to become a loner and stay at home a lot. This is because when I go out, particularly shopping, I get sick and tired of people's reaction to me. They look at me and see the physical deformation and think that there is something wrong with me mentally as well.

Also I tend not to go out with friends a lot as I get upset at not being able to join in on the fun they have, I usually sit somewhere and watch them. Also I feel uncomfortable as I know they are concerned about me which stops them from enjoying themselves fully.

I could write a lot more but I think this gives a good picture of what my life has been like. And this is the reason I've started this site, to help other people who might be going through the same sort of thing as me.

So please E-MAIL me with any comments or suggestions.

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