New Member - Relapsing TM

Claire Ross (Claire.Ross(AT)state.mn.us)
Wed, 21 Oct 98 14:37:00 CST

Hi. My name is Claire and my mother, Doris, was dx with transverse myelitis
in early 1996 at the age of 68. She described the banding and tingling
feeling that I have been reading about, as well as having lost use of her
legs and bladder/bowel control. She describes her leg muscles as feeling
like jello. After a very rough beginning, over a month in the hospital, two
months in rehab, and finally being able to get her back from Florida to
Minnesota, she learned to walk again. It was slow at first, but she really
wanted to show her kids that she could get up and out of that wheelchair
before she returned to Minnesota. Since that time she has been doing great.
She only used a single-tip cane when she was on unfamiliar territory
(uneaven ground, etc), and even found herself running after my
three-year-old son this last summer.

Now for the bad news. My parents headed back to Florida, being the snow
birds that they are, and the day after they arrived she began to lose
control of her right leg. The day after that she was back in the hospital.
She has drop foot in her right leg (which was previously her good leg) and
thinks her left leg is a little worse, and has quite a bit of pain in her
right hip. She feels like the paralysis has moved up a little from the bra
line to mid-sternum (this is approximate, because I only have telephone
conversations to go on). They have brought in a whole team of new doctors,
ran a myelogram, a CAT scan, will be doing a spinal tap tomorrow, blood
tests, etc. Everyone is stumped again and she is very depressed.

Does anyone have any information about relapsing TM? Is this common? Will
she continue to have episodes like this? Will she be able to progress to
where she did before? Are there things she should be asking the doctor to
check on? Any and all information is welcomed.

Claire in MN