Walking tall
<p>Cody Tottenham spends time with his 18-month-old son Aiden at the park Friday across the street from their Hayden home. The 19-year-old father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis nearly two years ago and will be taking part in the MS Walk today in Coeur d'Alene with his friends and family under the "Team Cody" banner.</p>
<p>"When I was first diagnosed, I didn't know how serious it was," Cody Tottenham explains about the first time he was told he had multiple sclerosis. "I thought it was something that could be fixed." Tottenham, who is unable to work due to his medical condition, spends time at home with his son Aiden with frequent outings to the park or fishing trips.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - The first time Cody Tottenham thought something was wrong was when his leg "kept going out."
Then, there were the fly balls in the outfield that he could no longer get to, that made him wonder what was up.
"I decided to go into the doctors when I fell off a 30-foot ladder because my knee buckled out from under me," the teenager said.
Doctors ordered an MRI. The results were bad news: 12 lesions were discovered on his brain. He had multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system.
That was about a year and a half ago.
Since, there have been days he couldn't walk. His vision faltered to the point he was legally blind. More lesions developed on his brain, and his spine. His dream of being an underwater welder in the military, shattered.
"My doctor told me to prepare for the future of the worse, to do something in a wheelchair," Cody said.
Enough, he decided, is enough.
Today, the 19-year-old is doing better. His vision has returned a bit, to 20/200, but glasses help. He uses a cane for some walks, and a wheelchair for longer treks. His legs have gained back some strength. He must rest often, but loves spending time with his 1-year-old son, Aiden.
"He's beautiful," Cody said.
And he'll graduate from the Bridge Academy at the end of May.
Still, the daily struggles continue. MS strikes hard one day, backs off the next.
"It just depends on my attacks. You don't know when it's going to happen or how severe it's going to be," he said. "It could change day by day, minute by minute."
Cody, who lives at his parents' Hayden home and receives Social Security, admits that some days, he's just flat scared of what could happen.
"Mostly scared," he said of his thoughts on the future. "I don't want to wake up one day and not be able to move."
But he plans to rise and walk this morning in the Walk MS 2012 in Coeur d'Alene. The fundraiser will take members of around 40 teams from North Idaho College through town and City Park with a choice of 2 or 5 mile routes, rest stops and a finish line celebration.
Now in its 13th year here, the walk has raised $40,000 to fund MS research.
Team Cody, comprised of family and friends, will be there, too.
"We hope as the years pass to gain momentum as a team and help to raise awareness and donate funds to find a cure," according to the team's Walk MS website. "Movement is so much of who we are. It's easy to take for granted. Multiple sclerosis stops people from moving. We participate in Walk MS to make sure it doesn't."
Cody is glad for the company and support, including a team from the Bridge Academy.
"It makes me feel better knowing people actually care," he said.
Ed Tottenham, Cody's father, was devastated when he learned his son had MS.
"I couldn't believe it," he said, his voice cracking with emotion. "I just couldn't believe it because he was so athletic."
"I never thought it would hit my family, but it did."
His son still has bad episodes, he said, and falls down. He suffers severe, sudden back pain. He faces an aggressive form of MS.
Cody's first medications, Betaseron and Copaxone, were not effective and 13 new lesions developed. Doctors considered stem cell surgery before his third medication, monthly infusions of Tysabri, stopped new lesions from developing.
If it hadn't, doctors told Cody he would be in a wheelchair within five years, perhaps blind, too.
"The lesions show up in the MRI as these white blotches on his brain and he had them all over his brain," his father said.
Cody, who likes to fish, still wants to be a welder. He has hopes and dreams like everyone, but admitted his future is uncertain.
"I don't know what to do," he said.
Ed and Terri Tottenham adopted Cody when he was 3 years old. He has always been strong and fearless, Ed said. As he grew, that didn't change until MS sneaked in.
He is proud of his son for persevering, finishing school, staying positive and watching after his own son.
"Some people just are fighters," Ed Tottenham said. "I hope he keeps slugging away."