.c The Associated Press
By JOE KAY
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Stan Belinda has spent hundreds of dollars on medical
books, hoping to calm the fears that sometimes keep him awake at night.
The Cincinnati Reds reliever has been reading up on nerves, what irritates
them and how they heal. He knows the terminology, he knows the pathology.
In another week, he hopes to know exactly what's wrong with him.
Belinda had another battery of tests Monday to find out why he's feeling
tingling in his legs again. Preliminary results have confirmed that it's
probably not multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease for which there is no
cure.
It's possible that it's just a flare-up of the problem that landed him on the
disabled list in June -- slight swelling in the spine that has affected the
nerves leading to his legs. That problem can be treated and would go away in
time.
The rest of the test results will be back next week. In the meantime, he's
trying to find out as much as he can about the possibilities.
``I've spent close to $400 or $500 on books just to look stuff up,'' Belinda
said Thursday. ``I've been educating myself on what's going on. I'm basically
looking for answers. There's basically no set answers on nerves.''
Belinda, 32, was on the disabled list from June 3 to July 8 because of the odd
sensations in his leg. Tests then found swelling in one spot along the spinal
cord, probably caused by his body fighting off an infection.
He took steroids, rested and got better. But shortly after he started pitching
again, the sensations returned.
``I'd go home at night and worry about it all the time and be miserable,'' he
said. ``It played too much on my head.''
He went for more tests Monday, when doctors took nine vials of blood,
performed a two-hour magnetic resonance imaging test and did a spinal tap. The
MRI exam results were encouraging -- the inflammation on his spinal cord has
lessened and there's nothing that indicated multiple sclerosis.
``I don't think I have MS,'' he said. ``There are other things that could be
going on.''
Belinda is supposed to meet with doctors again on Aug. 21, when all of the
results will be back.
When he had the first round of tests two months ago, Belinda broke down over
the slight possibility that he could have multiple sclerosis. With another
round of tests confirming that's unlikely, he's encouraged about his chances
of a full recovery.
``Mentally I'm handling it a lot better than before,'' he said. ``It's all
pretty much positive.''
AP-NY-08-13-98 1900EDT