Hi Linc,
My ribs, sternum and spine are are fused into one big constricting band around my body. I am unable to take and hold a big breath, I can't blow out a candle a foot away and there's no way I can blow up a balloon without passing out. However, since I can't run more than several inches at a time and I have given up Birthday cakes and balloons, I can honestly say it has not bothered me much at all. Except sneezing. I used to hold a sneeze in so it wouldn't bother people but now, that's not an option and people down the block can hear me let loose with one. If I tried to hold it in, I think I would shatter like fine china. Weird how AS works, eh? I offered my spine when I broke L-5 but it didn't seem to want it. It drifted all over, making life miserable but never settling in on one spot long enough the interrupt normal movement. Then, after 20 years it decides to screw up my Birthday.
