Charcle Patrice Fordham

Growing Up with a Disability but I'm Not Disabled Charcle Patrice Fordham

Publisher Marketing: My name is Charcle Fordham and I am currently living in New Jersey. At the age of 14 years old, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy of Janz. That diagnosis changed my life. However, back then, I did not know how much it would change my life. At the tender age of 12 years old, I started experiencing some strange symptoms. While sitting in the cafeteria with friends, my face would start twitching. It was really strange and I didn't know what was going on with me. I can remember thinking to myself, boy I hope none of my friends seen my face. I was happy that they didn't because they kept talking as if everything was normal. So since they were acting as if everything was normal, so was I. So we just kept talking and laughing enjoying our free time before going back to class. Then a few days later, it happened again. This time, the twitch happened while I was talking. Luckily, I was making a joke, so everyone thought that my twitch was just part of me being a clown. After getting an EEG and an MRI, my doctor was able to make a final diagnosis of Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy of Janz. I was relieved to know that finally, I can put a name to what's wrong with me. The dr. told my parents that the stress of everyday life would be too much for me. Having a family, having a career and having a family all together would cause me to constantly have seizures. She went on to say that my twitches and jerks are going to lead to grand mal seizure also known as tonic clonic seizures. Well, needless to say the path my doctor set out for me, was not the path that God set out for me. I am very proud to say as of right now, I am married with three children With everything great about my life and the barriers I broken down to achieve success, I am extremely excited to say that the best part of my life is, I have been seizure free for four years