>From tmic-list-request(AT)eskimo.com Thu Jan 21 05:59:36 1999
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>Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 08:56:52 -0500
>From: ALICE ROGERS <tarprent(AT)gte.net>
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>Organization: TARPON RENTALL & SALES
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>Subject: HERIDITY OR NOT ??
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>Good Morning,
>The message asking if anyone considered TM to be heriditary (sp?) or
>not peaked my interest.
>In 1989 one of my brothers was involved in a serious auto accident
>which injured his back. We were told he had four 'cracked' vertebra
>which did not require surgical repair. During the course of his
>hospital stay he had a mylegram. Two months later, when the pain in
>his back was nearly unbearable he went back to the hospital. The
>diagnosis was a cyst on his spine at the site of the mylegram. It
>was determined to be 'inoperable' and was drained. He has continued to
>have severe back pain and periodic draining of the cyst since that
time.
>In the last few years intermittent muscle spasms have occurred and he
>is medicated for them. This has also affected his ability to walk or
>stand for extended periods of time. Upon tiring his right leg will
>start to drag.
>In 1991 my oldest son, who was a Deputy Sheriff at the time, was
injured
>on the job during a foot pursuit. He was struck in the left knee and
>across the back with an iron pipe which destroyed his knee requiring
>replacement of the knee joint. The injury to his back involved damage
>to three thoracic vertebra which did not require surgery. He also had
>a mylegram and subsequently developed a cyst on his spine at the site
>of the puncture. He was paralyzed from the waist down while in the
>hospital and the doctors were of the opinion that it was caused by the
>stress and inflammation to the spinal cord due to the injury. Upon
>release from the hospital he was able to walk with the aid of crutches.
>He had constant pain in his back and legs and several hospitalizations
>over the next year. Muscle spasms were severe and continuous. Oral
>medications gave minimal relief. He was treated with oral medication
>and physical therapy until the fall of 1993. The spinal cyst was
deter-
>mined to be inoperable and a shunt was installed to drain it into his
>abdomen. In the fall of 1993 a Baclofen pump was installed and he
>got the first relief of pain. We were told that the 'life expectancy'
>of the pump was about 5 years, which proved to be true. In September
>1998 he again had surgery to remove the original pump and install a
>new one. The pump has proven very successful in his case. He also
>looses some sensation and control of his right leg upon tiring and it
>will drag.
>In September 1993 my oldest daughter had spent the day cleaning house
>and moving furniture. The next morning her back was hurting so I took
>her to our chiropractor. He exrayed her and told us that there was
>something going on that he didn't understand and sent her to the
>hospital. We were met at the hospital by a neurologist called in by
the
>chiropractor. This was about 10 AM, by 6 PM my daughter was paralyzed
>from the waist down and by 6 AM the next morning the paralysis had
>progressed to her arm pits. She was diagnosed with Acute Transverse
>Myelitis and was not expected to ever leave the hospital. During the
>course of testing and examination she was found to have a spinal cyst
>also. The neurologist said the cyst was located at the site of spinal
>punctures made during the delivery of her son in June 1992. Against
>all the odds we were given she did survive and came home paralyzed.
>Over the next year and a half she recovered remarkably. She is now
>remarried and living very happily with her family in NY. She has en-
>dured the severe spasms, depression, bowel and bladder incontinence,
>occassional loss of control of her legs and various other symptoms I've
>seen mentioned by list members. Her doctor is very reluctant to use
>the Baclofen pump. He feels that ANY intrusive treatment in the spinal
>area could cause more problems than it fixes. At present she is still
>incontinent and has very little feeling in her legs from about mid
>thigh down yet walks without aid. She refuses to take any medication,
>says they all make her feel like her brain is scrambled!
>Now we come to the problems my grand daughter Sabryna has had over the
>past two weeks. She has suffered un-diagnosed pain and swelling in her
>lower back. After hospitalization for three days and IV drug treat-
>ment she is at home and symptoms seem to be going away. My daughter
>was told the medication she received was Decadron (sp?) Are any of
>you familiar with that? What is it?
>With the history of three family members developing spinal cysts at
>puncture sites Sabryna's parents were adamant about no invasive pro-
>cedures unless absolutely necessary!
>Well, there you have it-----heridity ?? I just don't know, but all
>this sure seems like more than coincidence to me. Over the past 10
>years four family members with spinal problems of varying degrees of
>severity and only one of them has a definite diagnosis!
>Alice
>
>
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