Diagnosis

Lack of balance...baby steps were impossible. My primary care physician suggested that since I had ulnar neuropathy in both arms and had complained of my feet falling asleep my problem might be neurological and sent me to a neurologist. I thought the problem might be in my feet or maybe my lower back. After a few tests, including hopping on one foot across his office (couldn't do it!) and various reflex tests, he told me he thought the problem might be in my neck. I later learned that reflexes could be accentuated if the spinal cord were compromised.

He suggested that we begin with an MRI of the lower brain, to rule out anything there. That MRI came up thankfully negative. Next he scheduled an MRI of the cervical spine. At my appointment to review the results, on my birthday, the diagnosis was very evident. The disks between my cervical vertebrae C5 and C6, and C6 and C7 protruded into the spinal cord, cutting off the spinal fluid and contorting the spinal cord. The discs would have to be removed and the bony structure impacting the spinal cord, cervicat stenosis, would need trimming. A neurosurgeon was recommended. If I did not have surgery to relieve the compression on the spinal cord, I could eventually lose the ability to walk.

First Inkling

Running, skipping, taking the stairs two at a time enlivened the daily experience. First I noticed that the stairs were no longer easy two at a time, going down, though going up they posed no problem. The skipping seemed to take too much coordination. Finally running...the feet just didn't go when commanded. As time went on, they seemed heavier, hard to lift the double height. On a sailboat on the Sassafras River about two years ago, I noticed my sea legs weren't with me any longer--I'd never had trouble hopping around on a heaving deck any longer. The hike that summer past up to Lake Agnes near Banff, or into the Tetons hadn't seemed difficult. It became pretty clear something had happened but it was difficult to know just what.