Personal Accounts

The personal stories included here follow the example of Lynn Brown who led the way in raising the awareness of the dangers of Gentamicin.

In an active campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of Gentamicin Lynn appeared on Dateline and the Oprah Wynfrey Show.

Click on a name to read their story.

Our Stories

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LYNN: Just a little background to start with. I am a woman who always dreamed of being a flight attendant and my dreams came true when I was hired by USAIR in 1988. I had flown 5 years with Mackey Airlines but I always longed to work on jets, with good air conditioning, pressurization, and relative few maintenance problems.

The joy I found in the daily passenger contact was energizing. However my career was cut short as a result of having an ingrown toenail removed. The toe became infected and the antibiotics used to treat it (gentamicin & vancomycin) destroyed my vestibular functions. Deafness and kidney damage are also possibilities when these drugs are used.

After one year of crying and feeling like my life was over, I started communicating with others damaged like me. In a short time I soon had close to 1,100 people (friends) in a little support group and together we began to face the future. Each of us has had to start over, learning to walk and stand, adjusting to the dancing images we see when we are in motion.

I live in the country but maintain contact with this diverse group of people by telephone and email. My husband and I have several dogs, cats, many humming birds, bluebirds, finches, swallows, and wild turkeys that we also claim. I have had the pleasure of meeting several other Wobblers face-to-face, and hope to meet many more.