Upper motor neuron lesions as evidenced by bilateral Babinski, Rhomberg, hyperreflexi

[Zaphoon]

The church I attend has a special time on Tuesday nights to minister to people with addictions and other issues. My wife and I take care of the kids during this time.

For the past several weeks, I've watched one of the adults on the ministry team hobble in on a pair of crutches. Tonight, he came in and read a report from a chiropractor he had just seen. The report stated that Mr. Jones (not his real name) was showing signs of upper motor neuron lesions as evidenced by bilateral Babinski, Rhomberg, hyperreflexia and progressive weakness. He urged Mr. Jones to seek out a neurologist immediately.

The man was obviously shaken by this report but what got my friends attention was the manner in which the chiropractor delivered his report. The guy had a smirk on his face as if to say, "Good luck with this one, Mr. Jones!"

I went up to him a bit later and told him I understood what the chiropractor was saying and explained to him what Babinksi and Hoffman meant in relation to upper motor neuron problems. I also told him I thought it would be most helpful if he were to seek the assistance of a neurologist to get answers regarding the cause of his progressive problems. He has a small army of people proficient in the art of prayer helping him through this time.

I'm going to keep in touch with Mr. Jones as he goes through the diagnostic process. His legs have been getting weaker as the weeks have gone by but his spirits remain high.

 

[joelc]

Re: What A Chiropractor Said

Bless you for helping him and being there for him.

 

[laurel]

Re: What A Chiropractor Said

Kim the smirk might have been the chiropractor's extreme discomfort with imparting some seriously bad news, and it came out as a smirk when he was trying to smile sympathetically? I think my husband tends to get a smirky look when uncomfortable and he doesn't know what to say or do in emotionally charged situations. I believe I have asked him to wipe the smirk off his face off his face a few times in the last 40 years <g>, and he has been flabbergasted that I think he is smirking. Good for you for being a support to Mr. Jones.
Laurel

 

[olly]

Re: What A Chiropractor Said

wow pz,what are the odds in having a pls'er in your emediate community!.
what great comfort you were in being able to explain about umn's............and i am sure will continue to help and comfort this gentlemen.

its amazing what other proffesional/alternative medicine practioners can tell about our bodies.
just before and during the onset of my symptoms i was doing a weekly course at college in reflexology.
we had to practice on each other and one day i was not well so the teacher did my feet.
she could tell straight away something was wrong and i had spacticity.
also while she was doing my right foot my left leg kept moving in sharp jerks(myoclonus)which she recognised.
she also did crystal therapy and used a purple crystal on my feet..............it turns out it was a healing colour for neurological problems.
i had for a while become obsessed with the colour purple and lilac(still am)and told her,she said i was attracted to the colour because i had a neurological illness.

your a good kind man pz,i'm proud to call you a friend.

 

[Zaphoon]

Re: What A Chiropractor Said

Joel,

Thank you for the kind comment.

Laurel,

You make a good point, one well taken. I will suggest this to be the case to Mr. Jones.

Caroline,

I didn't know that about the color purple. Mr. Jones has insisted in the past that whatever this is is transient in nature and he believed there to be a simpler explanation (i.e. pinched nerve). His legs are either very spastic or awfully weak. I am very interested to see what an EMG report would look like for him. Thank you for your encouraging words.

 

[TedH5]

Re: What A Chiropractor Said

Mr Jones is lucky to have a friend like you there for him. It certainly can be a scary and intimidating process and having someone there with your expertise and compassion will be extremely helpful for him.

 

[Zaphoon]

Re: What A Chiropractor Said

I appreciate that, Ted. It seems I've had my troubles a lot longer than Mr. Jones but he sure seems to be in worse shape, by far. There is a lot of hope that he could have something treatable or perhaps curable. The good thing is, to the best of my knowledge, no one has offered any guesses as to what he may have.

I hope to see him tonight.

 

[Zaphoon]

I saw "Mr. Jones" this evening and he told me he has an appointment with a neurologist tomorrow.

 

[Zaphoon]

Good news regarding Mr. Jones! It has been determined that his problems are the cause of something viral and curable.

 

[joelc]

Excellent!

 

[abbas child]

Yeah! Good for Mr. Jones. It's really nice to read good news, Kim....bearer of good tidings!

 

[Zaphoon]

I have another update on Mr. Jones. The latest is that the neurologist believes Mr. Jones has Guillain-Barre' Syndrome. He will have full testing done just as soon as the doc can fit him back in.

 

[abbas child]

Oh, Kim, I hope they can treat it successfully. I had to look it up, as I wasn't familiar with that at all, but saw that it is treatable if addressed early enough. I'll pray for him...

 

[laurel]

Kim that is very good news. Many with GBS develop CIDP (which my hubby has) and often times even they decide that the GBS isn't GBS but is CIDP. If your friend has questions about GBS or CIDP, there is a very good forum available.
Laurel

 

[Alyoop]

Poor Chap GB can be devastating. Hopefully he will be OK. They usually end up in hospital, and sometimes vented for ages. I have nursed quite a few people with GB and my daughters best friend had it last year. She was vented in ICU for a couple of weeks but pulled through. It often leads to permanent disability if it gets really bad. It is fantastic that you no doubt encouraged him to see aneurologist pronto. Clever you and (Hate to say it) Clever Chiropractor.