Hi everyone,

Sorry for my delayed response. My son was hospitalized on May 25th because he was getting to the point where his legs were so weak, he couldn't walk at all. So I brought him to the ER and they admitted him.

He had so many different tests while there, I can't remember them all, most of them came back normal but there were a few abnormal results. His first Lyme test came back positive, the second (western blot) was indeterminate so they sent it to an infectious disease specialist who determined that the test was negative.

He also had an abnormal VEP (visual evoked potential test) for the second time in three months, his left eye had a delayed response. While looking at the checkboard screen through one eye he said that the screen appeared brighter through the right eye than it did through the left. His eyes are still extremely sensitive to bright light and when he goes outside, he is blinded for awhile until his eyes adjust. I have to arrange to get him a pair of prescription sunglasses asap, he wears glasses all the time, in fact his prescription has changed three times over the past 18 months. He wears bifocals now.

They also did a spinal tap, which revealed a single oligoclonal band. The doctors explained that two or more of these bands can be a sign of MS and some other neurological disorders, but because he only had one they want the test repeated in a few months. His MRIs were clean, no lesions, nothing abnormal with the exception of a small cyst on one of his kidneys which they assured me was nothing to worry about. The MRIs will also be repeated in a few months.

He was released this past tuesday, with a walker and a wheelchair, so I can get him to his doctor appointments. He is mobile with the walker, but his legs are still like rubber, so I have to hold him under the arms while he uses the walker. His arms are still very strong, he can push himself off of the floor with his hands on the bars of the walker, although I noticed that his abdominal muscles seem weaker, when he tries to sit up in bed he struggles a bit while pushing with his arms, his abdominal muscles don't seem to be nearly as strong as they used to be. A few months ago this kid used to be able to do 15-20 situps with his arms folded across his chest, now his abs are weak along with his legs.

They're not ready to declare that this is multiple sclerosis, despite some tell-tale signs, but they did have a neurologist who specializes in MS come into the hospital room to check him out and talk with me the day before he was released and she would like to see him at her practice, where they offer comprehensive care, pain management, pediatric neurologists, psychologists, etc. She explained that MS can sometimes be tricky to diagnose and that perhaps a firm diagnosis will reveal itself over the next few months or maybe this was just an isolated incident and once he bounces back from it, that will be the end of it and he will be just fine.

They considered steroid treatment and debated about it for a couple of days while he was hospitalized, but they decided not to go through with it, since he seemed to be getting well on his own.

He will be seeing his regular neurologist tomorrow morning at 9am if I can get him out of bed early enough and down the two flights of stairs in my house and out to the car. I still can't believe this is happening and this feeling of being in limbo as far as a diagnosis is concerned is really disturbing, but it seems to be a wait-and-see situation and there's not much more I can do other than getting him to all of his doctors appointments and tests.

Just wanted to give all of you an update and touch base, thanks for all of the suggestions/support, it means a great deal to me during this difficult time.

Sally