My name is Mary Boland. I was born in Moree NSW and brought up on a wheat, sheep and cattle property about 12Kms from Terry Hie Hie.
I began my education by attending a small bush school at Yatta on the back road to Bellata. We had 10 children in the school and one teacher and we enjoyed ourselves enormously. However, reality struck when at the age of 7, I was transported by my parents to Moree to begin a 5 year stint as a boarder at St Philomena’s Convent. This was not the easiest beginnings to an education, but as luck would have it, I survived and went on to complete my education at another boarding school in Sydney. We managed to get home again on school holidays and I worked hard at my education, eventually graduating with my Higher School Certificate.
I went on to attain a Karitane Nursing certificate which I put to good use for quite a few years, travelling to Europe, working in hospitals in Sydney and at the Franconia Child Care Centre in Moree. However, I was looking for a change from the long hours and stressful work and finally began a new career in the Corporate world. I added to my qualifications by studying part time for several years to gain a diploma in Data Processing and Computer Programming. And so began a new phase of my life.
But so began also some of the most difficult years of my life. My health began to deteriorate as I struggled to get the medical attention I needed. Because I had such a myriad of symptoms the medical profession seemed confused. I managed to hold down a job – but just barely as my physical well-being continued to decline. Eventually I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosis (SLE – or just Lupus). But the Rheumatologist I saw at that time was convinced that this was not the only problem. He thought I had some unrelated additional Neurological problems and referred me back to a Neurologist. I was reluctant to undergo any more tests as there had been so many to date, but I wanted some answers and so tried again. All the new tests showed no additional problems. So with the Lupus now under control, I tried to carry on and even though the Lupus had subsided, I still retained Parkinsonism symptoms. I was tested for Parkinson’s disease but the results were negative. At this time I had great difficulty walking, talking and had developed a marked resting tremor in my left hand. I began to think about giving up work and what it would mean to move to a Nursing Home.
A friend I was at school with in Sydney, suggested that I attend the Movement Clinic at Westmead hospital. When it was my turn to be examined, I was called to sit in front of a room of approximately 20 physicians. One young doctor seemed to take a special interest and asked more questions than the others. At long last, I was asked to leave the room while they had a discussion. Some time passed before my Neurologist approached me in the waiting room and took a seat beside me. The young doctor had convinced the team that I may have a very rare inherited condition called Dopa Responsive Dystonia. More tests strongly indicated this possibility, but the real test was in taking a drug called Levodopa.
I began the treatment in March of 2000. I took the first tablet and sat quietly with a friend and waited.
And then a miracle happened...within an hour, all the symptoms started to subside. And now today, as long as I continue to take the medication, I am as normal as the next person.
Able to use my hands without the trembling and stiffness, I set out to find something creative to do. I began to take a jewellery making course one night a week and loved it so much I started a small jewellery company. I still work full time in the Corporate world and manage my jewellery company as a hobby.
My illness provided me with an opportunity to see life in new ways. I developed an interest in meditation, affirmations and the Law of Attraction and Karma. And I believe it was this practise that led me to the right people to find the right answers. While my jewellery does not always have a message, the double-headed arrow representing Karma is a strong theme – “what you give out in life comes back to you”.
Posse is a nickname from my childhood, and my sister Gail has been called Rake since her university days. Hence the company name Posse & Rake.
And there you have it!
Information on DRD:
Dopa Responsive Dystonia (DRD) is a rare inherited neurological disorder affecting the fine movement of muscles. In many patients, onset is characterized by an abnormal, "stiff-legged" manner of walking, with upward bending of the sole of the foot (plantar flexion) or turning of the foot outward at the ankle (eversion) and a tendency to walk on the toes. Dystonia may also extend to involve muscles of the arms, trunk, and less frequently, the neck. In addition, DRD can resemble Parkinson’s Disease and is typically characterised by signs of parkinsonism. Such signs may include slowness of movement (bradykinesia), stiffness and resistance to movement (rigidity), balance difficulties, and postural instability.
Many patients experience improvement with sleep, are better in the morning, and develop increasingly severe symptoms as the day progresses (i.e., diurnal fluctuation). Accordingly, this disorder has sometimes been referred to as "progressive hereditary dystonia with diurnal fluctuations."
Symptoms typically dramatically improve with low-dose administration of levodopa (L-dopa), an amino acid that is a biologic "forerunner" or precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine. (Neurotransmitters are naturally produced chemicals that may transfer nerve impulses across the spaces between neurons, enabling nerve cells to communicate.) Low-dose L-dopa usually results in near-complete or total reversal of all associated symptoms for these patients. In addition, the effectiveness of such therapy is typically long term, without the complications that often occur for those with Parkinson's disease who undergo L-dopa treatment. Thus, most experts indicate that this disorder is most appropriately known as dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD).