MAKING STRIDES AGAINST TM

RT 119
PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA US 15767

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Spring 2010, I took my mother, Cathy Mauk, to the hospital as she was suffering from a band of acute pain and pressure that was spreading from her back to her chest. With an EKG ruling out her heart, the hospital kept her for further tests. It was a blessing that they did so as within twenty-four hours of being admitted, she was paralyzed from the mid-chest down. The diagnosis was one that we had never heard of before – Transverse Myelitis, or TM. We quickly learned that TM is a neurological condition that is caused by an inflammation of the spinal cord. Individuals who are affected suffer from weakness and numbness of the limbs as well as motor and sensory deficits, similar to Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

If a patient is treated quickly enough with steroids to reduce the inflammation, the damage is less severe and they can make a near complete recovery. But because this disease is so rare, often times, treatment is delayed causing everlasting damage. Most sufferers continue to experience side-effects such as numbness in their limbs and nerve pain. And unfortunately, there is a large portion of sufferers who completely lose the ability to ever walk again. The cause of the disease is unknown, though there is much speculation that an onset is caused by a malfunctioning immune system. Treatment is often limited to medication as pain management and physical therapy, if possible.

Project RESTORE at The John Hopkins University is one of a handful of research programs nationwide who is determined to restore mobility to the approximately 33,000 Americans who currently suffer from this disease. Project RESTORE strives to restore hope, restore function and restore the lives of patients and families suffering with transverse myelitis (or multiple sclerosis).

You could say that my mom is one of the lucky ones. She can drive. She is able to live independently without nursing care. She can walk. But TM has left her unable to work and in constant pain. It is our hope that the work that the doctors of John Hopkins are doing will one day develop techniques that will heal those who suffer from this debilitating disease. To raise money to assist them with their research, we are holding a fundraising 5k Run/Walk on Sunday, May 25th at the Mahoning Shadow Trail, Punxsutawney Rails to Trails.