As some of you already know my stepbrother's son, Matt has fallen ill quite unexpectedly. This past Friday, Matt was taken to the ER. He had told his parents that he had some back pain so they set an appointment with an orthopedic doctor for that week, however Matt never made it. He awoke early Friday morning and was unable to move his legs.
At the ER, he was x-rayed and they did a spinal puncture. He was seen by a number of doctors and an MRI was done, and he was admitted to the hospital. The MRI revealed that a mass was growing in his back near the T4/T5 area (mid back). The neurosurgeon did not believe it was cancerous, but indicated that it needed to come out. Matt had surgery early Saturday morning.
The surgery went well and fast and the mass that was removed literally popped out when they went to remove it. It was 1-1/4 inch by 1 inch. They are testing it to determine what it is, however the neurosurgeon believes that is a parasite called Taenia Solium (AKA Pork Tapeworm). The disease this parasite caused is cysticercosis. The neurosurgeon described his case as bizarre.
Regardless the mass applied pressure for a small time t his spinal cord. That pressure has left him unable to move from the waist down. The neurosurgeon indicated that he had blood flow on both sides of his spinal cord and there was no damage or cuts to the spinal cord which is good. Matt now has some feeling in his upper legs when deep pressure is applied. He is set to begin physical therapy to help determine his prognosis and to get things working again. The doctors are not giving any guarantees at this time. He is only 10 years old. When he is released from the hospital he will have to go to a rehab center for over a month (he will live there while he is recouping).
This was very fast acting. Again he only described some back pain, and then all of a sudden he could not feel his legs. Please keep Matt in your thoughts and prayers. This next week will be crucial for him. We are hoping in time he will recover and be running around again.
Also, please take this as a reminder to ensure that you nor your children do not consume undercooked food.
2 comments:
Oh my god! This is scary and bizarre. Wow! It sounds good that he has blood flow, nothing was cut and he has some feeling. I hope he makes a full recovery. Keep us posted.
How aweful. Poor thing! Please let us know how he's doing when you hear more.
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