On November 18, 2005, 9 year old Ben Nadolsky collapsed at his grandparents’ home and within 30 minutes was paralyzed from the waist down. Ben was stricken with a rare neurological disorder, Transverse Myelitis (“TM”). TM causes extreme swelling of the spinal cord. He was taken by ambulance to Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee and spent 3 weeks there. Then on December 6, 2005, he was airlifted to Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland for inpatient rehabilitation. Ben spent 4 ½ months at Kennedy Krieger Institute working with Dr. John McDonald and his team, before returning to Knoxville, Tennessee. Ben and his mother, Pam, traveled to Kennedy Krieger Institute every 3 months for 2 weeks for the next 2 years.

Currently, Ben is, once again, an inpatient. This time, he is at Children’s Institute in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Ben’s physiatrist, Dr. Ewa Brandys, transferred to Children’s Institute to further the dream for more pediatric spinal cord patients. Ben is hoping for more recovery and the strength and endurance to recover. It will take several years for Ben’s nerves to heal. The myelin was stripped from the nerves by TM, but as the myelin regenerates, and Ben gets stronger, he will recover more and more.

TM is not a progressive disease. It basically leaves the victim with a spinal cord injury with varying degrees of damage. For Ben, TM has left him as a T-10 complete paraplegic with significant nerve damage, but that doesn’t deter him. Ben is a wonderful young man. He is now 11 years old and in Sixth Grade. He loves playing with his friends. He enjoys many sports and playing video games. He is working very hard to make himself stronger, so he can walk again.

Ben has been very brave. He has encountered many hardships, since November 18, 2005, but that hasn’t stopped his optimistic attitude. He is certain with time, patience and God’s help, he will walk again. But, he wants everyone to know that he is no different now, than before the TM. As Ben says, “I am the same boy I always was, just sitting down.”