Last night, I was surfing the web for information and stumbled across this site. I was so engrossed with the stories and experiences, I hadn't realized four hours had flitted by.

I'm not much of a "support group" type person, but I thought this may be a good one to participate. So I bookmarked the page before going to bed and registered this afternoon.

I suppose I should tell the story on how I came to be here. Well, about three years ago I was starting to get neck pains. Then the sensations of my vertebrae "cracking" began to occur. Followed by a gradually increasing pain in my right elbow and cramping toes.

I made an appointment with my family doctor and he ordered an Xray of my neck. When he told me the results were disk degeneration, I freaked out until I got home and did an internet search only to realize disk degeneration was a scary term for arthritis. Pffft. No biggy, I thought.

As time progressed, the symptoms I had became more pronounced and new symptoms began popping up. Little by little, I was losing strength in my arms, my feet were freezing cold constantly. Weight loss, etc.

But what really got me worried was in November of 2011, a goofy broad (God bless her now) rear ending me in my car while she was texting and driving. The accident really made my neck hurt. So I made another appointment with my doctor, whom then referred me to a physical doctor. He ran some EMG tests that showed I in fact had some nerve damage somewhere. He wanted to schedule an MRI, but my insurance company wouldn't approve one until I did 30 days of physical therapy first (thinking all this time it was arthritis).

So I did the pt, which actually felt pretty good. They strapped my head in this machine which stretched my neck.

On December 27th, after the 30 days of pt were done, I went for the MRI. The next day, the 28th, I went back to the doc's to get the results. As soon as I walked in and signed the sign-in sheet, I was rushed back to the office. Dr. F came in and immediately started hammering me with questions such as bowel and bladder functions, balance, walking, etc. I said I was fine with everything until he asked about headaches. I was getting some ***-kicking whoppers about this time.

He then showed me the MRI. It turned out I had an intramedullary spinal cord tumor going from C5 to C7. The spinal fluid was backed up on both ends which were causing the headaches and lower back pain. All I could say was "Oh, ****." Well from that day on, it became a flurry of activity with visits to the neurosurgeons, tests, making preparations for the "what ifs", etc.

I'm just now realizing I'm writing a book. My apologies to the members here. I'll stop here and if anyone has a question, I'll be happy to answer them as briefly as possible

Welcome

No apology necessary. We don't do word count here. If someone don't have time to read long posts, we understand that, too. This is your place to share in a manner that is comfortable to you.

Don't worry about typos. We can get it or ask you to clarify.

You are also giving others information they may need. This can be a win-win place.

So sorry you have a tumor in this area. It's not a good thing. I know you are realizing this. I hope they can shrink it or stop the growth somehow. I'm sure you're in good hands with your doctors on board.

Do your own research on doctors, though. Some are a tad bit more knowledgable about a tumor on the spinal cord. This could require a special specialist.

This may be pretty rare, which means you're very special.

There's probably names of specialists on here. Maybe someone will come along with a recommendation in your area.

Hubby has a great neurosurgeon in Louisville, Ky, Dr. Altstadt. He's young and very good. Full of confidence, seemingly. I'm sure he could handle it. They are out there. You have to find the right one for you.

It would be a good idea to make notes about concerns or questions you have, so you can ask doctors on upcoming visits. It can be overwhelming if you don't get a handle on things.

Ask a doctor or good nurse to write down important terms that you're not familiar with. Maybe get a copy of reports so you will have that to refer to.

It helps to understand things.

I hope things go well for you. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Keep us posted.

Rabid Weasel,

It is great to have you come and be with us. You will fine a great number of dear friends to listen when you are in need of ears. You will find out we are supportive and relaxing place.

Sad to hear what you are going through, and believe we love to read in here when our dear friends are in need. I have listed a forum here just click on it and it will take you to a forum where there are some other great members to assist you.

Spinal Disorders & Back Pain:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum22.html

Please keep us up to date on your situation. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I actually had the surgery done Jan 24, 2012. It was performed by Dr. Okwonko, a professor of neurosurgery at UPMC. I couldn't ask for anyone better.

And yes, from what I gather this was a pretty rare incident. I was asked if it was ok if an audience could be present during the surgery and how I felt about being in a medical journal (not me per se, but the tumor). I was very cool with both.

Welcome to NeuroTalk. We're so glad you found us!

I'm sorry for what you are going through. I'm sure you will find lots of help on these boards.

There are a lot of friendly, caring, and helpful people here.

I wish you the best.

Welcome to NT!

Thank you for that introduction!

This is such a wonderful place for support and understanding!
People here really care and the atmosphere is very down-to-earth, kicked back and people are easy to talk to!

Make yourself right at home! Just holler if you have any questions or need help in finding your way around!

It's great to have you!

Rae

just want to say Welcome! We may be a like family - sometimes cranky, often goofy but always able to say "we get it"

Glad you have surgery behind you. . Some things are only corrected with surgery. I knew you needed that. So glad you had a good outcome, from a surgical standpoint.

You can help others who come along with a tumor on the spinal cord.

Very interesting to learn about rare occurrences.

Please do share your story for us, if you are comfortable with doing that.

Take care...

I almost didn't get the surgery. When the surgeon explained to me it would be a 50/50 chance I either wouldn't make it, or that if I did, I would be paralyzed from the neck down. My reasoning at the time was I would have about 2-3 years left to walk compared to not being able to walk the day after the surgery. It's funny the thoughts that flash through your mind when something like this happens.

The tumor was actually inside the cord. Think of it like a pea shoved into a straw. It took up virtually every available space causing my spinal fluid to back up into my brain and putting pressure on my lower back. They had to remove my vertebrae from the back of my neck, make an incision along the length of the cord, remove the mass, stitch the cord back together, then finally use screws and rods to put my spine back together.

One moment I will never forget is when they woke me up in post-op to ask if I can move my right leg. For a second I didn't want to try in fear of the worst. But when I lifted my leg a bit, I shed a tear or two and promptly fell asleep again.

ICU was... interesting. I had slipped down in my bed so the nurse called an aid in to help her move me back up. They grasped the edges of that pad thingy and the aid told me to lift my head and put my chin on my chest. Before I could say I couldn't, they yanked me up causing my head to drag along the bed. I'm usually pretty mellow and have an extremely high tolerance to pain, but holy cow did that hurt. I let loose a stream of obscenities that would have made a drunken sailor blush. Today, I feel bad about what I said. I honestly do not know if the aid's mother and a goat really did have sexual relations or not. It's not my place to judge.

Hahahahahaaaaa.... ROTFLMAO,!!!

Too funny, you rabid weasel you.

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