Writings about Ataxia, being DeafBlind, family life. The best life can offer!


CAPOS episode

Hi there and welcome to Five Star Disability!

I have a unique condition, a disorder, syndrome that is abbreviated as CAPOS, to learn more about the specific nuances, please check out

And I am still learning about this fascinating complexion! Oh my!

While I do know about CAPOS Episodes, I experience them almost daily, I didn’t have a name associated with them before.

If I overexert myself, or more commonly, if I fall down too often, or bang my head, or give myself some sort of shock or whatnot; I usually end up having a CAPOS episode.

In short, as it is too long to spell out, I become lethargic, and my ataxia issues raise their collective heads: I experience a variety of outcomes, but usually they tend to focus on:

  • Poor coordination
  • Unsteady walk and a tendency to stumble
  • Difficulty with fine motor tasks, such as eating, writing
  • Change in speech
  • Involuntary back-and-forth eye movements (nystagmus)
  • Difficulty swallowing, coughing
  • Perchance to have mumbled thoughts

These might pop up, as mentioned, after a fall, and I need to either sit or stand for a while.

Watching TV overlong, or this iPad, can also cause my eyes to jump around and not seeing things. When I start blogging, I can see my fingers as they type, yet after a while, the fingers vanish, replaced by a black cloud. Weird eh?

If I’ve been sitting, in CJ-3 perhaps, for a long period of time, I tend to want to stand up for a while. To get circulation flowing again!

And, yes, I should get physiotherapy, but I get enough exercise going up and down stairs in my house! And I can’t afford the fees anyways!

Thank you for reading, liking, sharing, et al…

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About the author

Craig MacLean is DeafBlind with ataxia, a rare condition called CAPOS. He & his wife of 22 years have two sons, the oldest of which has CAPOS as well.

Craig uses American Sign Language to communicate. He is an avid writer, friend, Hot Wheel collector and intervenor advocate.

Craig sits on many committees, boards and associations as a DeafBlind rep. He graduated university with a BA in psychology in 2000.