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Young mother fights paralysis to recover a life

Despite what the doctors say, Shana Lowther, 26, plans to overcome her illness to walk again.

By CAMILLE C. SPENCER
Published December 11, 2006

PORT RICHEY - The pain was excruciating.

It started in her back, then moved up her chest. Shana Lowther said it felt like someone was trying to snap her back in two. Her mother called 911.

Later that August day, in the waiting room at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, she lost feeling in her left leg. Slowly, the loss of movement crept toward Lowther's abdomen. Within an hour, Lowther, 26, was paralyzed from her chest down.

Things quickly unraveled for Lowther, her fiance, Jason Camp, and their 11-month-old daughter Makayla and 6-year-old son Denny. Their lawn care business suffered; they fell behind on bills, lost their truck and got evicted.

"It's a really crappy Christmas," Lowther said.

* * *

Three times a week, as part of her physical therapy, Lowther uses large elastic bands to exercise her arms. A physical therapist stretches her legs.

Doctors call her affliction transverse myelitis, a neurological condition that kills spinal cells, which the body is unable to regenerate. No one can say why it struck her. Her condition is simply described as "idiopathic," doctor-speak for unexplainable.

About 50 percent of patients with transverse myelitis can regain the ability to walk. But Lowther's doctors doubt she will be one of them.

"She hasn't made any recovery," said Dr. Jennifer Steel.

The staff at Mitchell Rehabilitation Center, affiliated with Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, see hard luck cases every day. But they were particularly touched by Lowther's case.

They adopted Lowther like family.

"When she came in, she was extremely debilitated," said staff nurse Arlene Rudolph. "She has improved slightly, but she won't regain use of her legs.

"You go through depression trying to accept the fact that this happened. This is not something that usually happens at her age."

* * *

The family moved in with Lowther's mother. They will continue the Christmas tradition of going to relatives' homes and opening gifts with their children. Relatives, Lowther says, will buy gifts she and her fiance can't.

"I wouldn't say it's frustrating, but it's a little scary," she said. "I tell my friends that they need to take a look at me and assess their lives. You never know what could happen. "

Lowther still enjoys life's little pleasures. She reads Harry Potter books. Denny likes to push her in her wheelchair. And she writes poetry, some of which has been published on www.poetry.com.

Jesus Cries is about tears shed over the world's troubles.

Any time in life you lose your way,

All you have to do is pray.

And every time you cry because you don't know what to do,

Remember Jesus is crying too.

Despite what doctors say, Lowther dreams of walking. She hopes the tingling in her legs is a sign they're not lost, saying: "They can't tell me if I can walk again."

Her hope is wrapped in soft white chenille, in the Renaissance-era wedding dress her father bought for $1,500 before Lowther's injury. Her goal is to wear that dress down the aisle.

Not rolling. Walking.

"I love that dress," she said. "I told him Jason I am not marrying him if I'm in a wheelchair, because nobody will see my dress. I want to walk down the aisle."

Camille C. Spencer can be reached at (727) 869-6229 or cspencer@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 10, 2006, 23:54:14]