Timothy Moseley's story

Hi my name is Timothy Moseley, I was diagnosed with spinal meningitis when I was eight months old, and from what I was told it's only by the grace of God that I survived getting meningitis in Barbados in the 60s.

I have struggled all my life most times not telling my loved ones what I was going through because I was trying to be strong and trying to figure out how to work around these after affects. Besides, no-one really knew what to tell me about it and my parents having five other siblings to deal with was not easy for them.

I found myself living a ‘double’ life, trying to cope with my personal issues and still maintain a so-called normal life. Having complete deafness in my left ear is hard but most people still don't know I'm deaf in that ear. Only a handful of times I can remember not having a headache (in fact I have one right now).

I have struggled all through school to learn, and with jobs I've worked – including my current job as a manager for a major auto parts store – my memory, short and long term, is shot and like so many others I have trouble having conversations because I can't remember anything.

And now that I'm older the after effects are getting worse; now I have joint pain, stomach issues, poor vision, migraines, harder to hear and more memory lost.

It's been very hard and I struggle my whole life to learn and to understand where I belong in this world. But thanks to my strong will to live and survive I made it through 20 years of marriage and have five wonderful kids.

Our survival is in our strengths, no medication ever worked for me as my system seems to be set in stone. I try to eat as natural as possible and people say I look good for my age, but they don't what I'm going through on the inside.

Many nights I went to sleep thinking I would not wake up the next day and I'm still here. So to all of you dealing with this crazy unfairness I say stay strong, focus on real life, meditate, be true to your inner self, listen to your body.... Peace and Love.

Timothy Moseley
May 2012