Kaylyn, TX

allergic fungal sinusitis, then stroke

Kaylyn was twenty years old when she lost her sense of smell randomly for a few months. She went to multiple doctors, and nobody could explain what was going on. Finally, a nurse mentioned she should see a brain surgeon which is when she was diagnosed with Allergic Fungal Sinusitis. The doctors watched to see how it would spread and then declared she needed surgery. A couple of weeks after the surgery she had a few minor strokes and then she had a major stroke that left her paralyzed on her right side. “When I woke up, I had no use of my whole right side… it was all numb.”

After about six months she gained some feeling back in her leg and partially in her arm. Kaylyn uses both a wheelchair and a walker depending on what she is doing, “my walking is a bit slow, so I use the walker for short distances.” Even though Kaylyn can walk some, she always prefers to use a ramp over stairs because stairs can be a hassle for her. A few of the biggest issues she runs into regarding the built environment would be heavy doors and placement of grab bars in restrooms. Since she is ambulatory and not fully reliable on a wheelchair or another person, she relies on grab bars in the restrooms to help with stability and transfers. However, if the grab bars are only on the right side of the toilet it can be extremely difficult to safely maneuver to the toilet because her right side is mostly paralyzed and unable to bare weight and be of support.

I really enjoyed Kaylyn’s answer to the following question: “If money and time were not an issue, what would you create or change in order to help you navigate the built environment?” She explained that it would be neat to have a button you could push to have the obstacle that is in your way disappear. For example: you come up to a couple of steps and you push a button and then all the sudden the steps flatten out into a ramp.

Kaylyn was in school when all of this happened, so it did force her to adjust the way she did things in and out of the classroom. She had to learn a different way of taking notes and completing assignments. Now she records every lecture she is in so she can re-listen to it later. She also has learned to type her notes and assignments since she can no longer write with her right hand.

It has been about four years since the major stroke that left Kaylyn paralyzed on her right side and she has learned a lot and is continuing to adjust what she does on a dayto-day basis, due to her limitations.

If only our built environment was more friendly to those who have more unique stories it could be more enjoyable for people like Kaylyn to go out and about like they used to.