Done with Doctors. :-)

Well, I think I'm finally finished with doctors. We've been seeing a very good Neurologist. Over the past month, I've been going to get even more tests done. I've had 2 MRIs, an EMG test, blood tests, reflex tests, and we've transferred our doctor all the records from other doctors I have seen, including the Endocrinologist I saw last year. Unfortunately, after all of the testing, the Neurologist gave us the same answer that the Endocrinologist did last year... that there's something wrong with me, but they're not exactly sure what.

When I last wrote on this topic, I had old information, and now I have new. At the time, I told you that I had cerebral palsy. I, indeed, had been told that I did, but that was a long time ago. However, doctors I've been seeing these past few months have now ruled out cerebral palsy. I guess it was easier to see what I have/don't have now that the symptoms are worse. My current neurologist says that it is some sort of neuromuscular disease, though he doesn't know exactly which one. My muscles are fine, but they have found atrophy in my spinal cord, which explains the loss of movement. I still have almost complete sensation in my legs and torso, so that is great. This is because my spinal cord damage is on the inside of the tract, where the nerves go down to the legs, whereas the outside of the tract, where the nerves send sensation up to the brain, is mostly unaffected.

It could be Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, which fits my symptoms perfectly, or if not, it's something similar to it. Our doctor has told us that there are cases like mine in which you can find what's going wrong, you just can't find what caused it in the first place. He says that happens a lot in neurology. I guess it's a complicated field of study, with nerves being so small and all. :-)

As for a prognosis, I'm expected to stay the same. It's possible that it could get worse in a decade or two; we just don't know until it happens. At least I won't get any worse for a while. That's fine with me. Staying the same is better than the quick changes I went through at the beginning of the year. I'm so happy to just stay where I am, so I'm glad that's what we were told to expect. So, that's it.

I'm glad that Brian and I have adapted to our life. It looks like there isn't any sort of treatment or medicine available for me, even if I was completely diagnosed. Nothing that could help me walk better. The doctor did offer botox shots to help with the muscle spasms in my legs, if I am interested. But I'm really keeping that controlled with lots of yoga, but there's nothing that can be done about the too-weak muscles.

That's the story. I wanted to let you all know what we had learned. Oh, and by the way, I finally got around to getting a disabled parking permit. Yay! That's been really nice! It's nice not living in fear that someone will park too close to the driver's side of my car and I won't have room to roll up to the door and disassemble my wheelchair. Now I feel much more taken care of.

Last Sunday, at church, all of the disabled spots were taken, so I parked far away in the back, and I parked in the middle of two parking spots, so that I would have the extra room I need on the driver's side of the car. I hoped no one would mind, but I also hoped that my disabled plates and the full disabled parking section gave me the permission to take up two spots. No one complained, so I guess it was okay. :-)


We got handicapped plates put on my car, and there's a rear-view-mirror placard we can use when I'm in someone else's car. About two months ago we had hand controls installed in my van, which are wonderful. Let's see, what else... all of the plates and cups have been moved lower in the kitchen, the boys are getting good at doing all of their new chores, we have a stair lift chair and a second wheelchair for upstairs, and a ramp to get down to the garage which is one step down.

I've learned how to open any door and get through it by myself. And I got some wide and cushiony tires on the front of my wheelchair, so now I can go over dirt, grass, and occasional rocks just fine. So, life is all settled once again. I'm so glad that this crazy summer is over.

Great Cafe Press Pick

I can't seem to get the image to show up here, but this link takes you to my new favorite slogan:

"I'm voting for Sarah ... and that guy she's running with!

McCain - Palin '08"

http://buttons.cafepress.com/item/225quot-button/300241759

Sun Makes History: First Spotless Month in a Century

The following article is copied from dailytech.com from this link:

http://www.dailytech.com/Sun+Makes+History+First+Spotless+Month+in+a+Century/article12823.htm

Drop in solar activity has potential effect for climate on earth.

The sun has reached a milestone not seen for nearly 100 years: an entire month has passed without a single visible sunspot being noted.

The event is significant as many climatologists now believe solar magnetic activity – which determines the number of sunspots -- is an influencing factor for climate on earth.
According to data from Mount Wilson Observatory, UCLA, more than an entire month has passed without a spot. The last time such an event occurred was June of 1913. Sunspot data has been collected since 1749.

When the sun is active, it's not uncommon to see sunspot numbers of 100 or more in a single month. Every 11 years, activity slows, and numbers briefly drop to near-zero. Normally sunspots return very quickly, as a new cycle begins.

But this year -- which corresponds to the start of Solar Cycle 24 -- has been extraordinarily long and quiet, with the first seven months averaging a sunspot number of only 3. August followed with none at all. The astonishing rapid drop of the past year has defied predictions, and caught nearly all astronomers by surprise.

In 2005, a pair of astronomers from the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson attempted to publish a paper in the journal Science. The pair looked at minute spectroscopic and magnetic changes in the sun. By extrapolating forward, they reached the startling result that, within 10 years, sunspots would vanish entirely. At the time, the sun was very active. Most of their peers laughed at what they considered an unsubstantiated conclusion. The journal ultimately rejected the paper as being too controversial.

The paper's lead author, William Livingston, tells DailyTech that, while the refusal may have been justified at the time, recent data fits his theory well. He says he will be "secretly pleased" if his predictions come to pass.

But will the rest of us? In the past 1000 years, three previous such events -- the Dalton, Maunder, and Spörer Minimums, have all led to rapid cooling. One was large enough to be called a "mini ice age". For a society dependent on agriculture, cold is more damaging than heat. The growing season shortens, yields drop, and the occurrence of crop-destroying frosts increases.
Meteorologist Anthony Watts, who runs a climate data auditing site, tells DailyTech the sunspot numbers are another indication the "sun's dynamo" is idling. According to Watts, the effect of sunspots on TSI (total solar irradiance) is negligible, but the reduction in the solar magnetosphere affects cloud formation here on Earth, which in turn modulates climate.
This theory was originally proposed by physicist Henrik Svensmark, who has published a number of scientific papers on the subject. Last year Svensmark's "SKY" experiment claimed to have proven that galactic cosmic rays -- which the sun's magnetic field partially shields the Earth from -- increase the formation of molecular clusters that promote cloud growth. Svensmark, who recently published a book on the theory, says the relationship is a larger factor in climate change than greenhouse gases.
Solar physicist Ilya Usoskin of the University of Oulu, Finland, tells DailyTech the correlation between cosmic rays and terrestrial cloud cover is more complex than "more rays equals more clouds". Usoskin, who notes the sun has been more active since 1940 than at any point in the past 11 centuries, says the effects are most important at certain latitudes and altitudes which control climate. He says the relationship needs more study before we can understand it fully.
Other researchers have proposed solar effects on other terrestrial processes besides cloud formation. The sunspot cycle has strong effects on irradiance in certain wavelengths such as the far ultraviolet, which affects ozone production. Natural production of isotopes such as C-14 is also tied to solar activity. The overall effects on climate are still poorly understood.
What is incontrovertible, though, is that ice ages have occurred before. And no scientist, even the most skeptical, is prepared to say it won't happen again. Article Update, Sep 1 2008. After this story was published, the NOAA reversed their previous decision on a tiny speck seen Aug 21, which gives their version of the August data a half-point. Other observation centers such as Mount Wilson Observatory are still reporting a spotless month. So depending on which center you believe, August was a record for either a full century, or only 50 years.