May 24, 2010 9:18 pm US/Central
Medical Diagnosis/Drug Gives Woman Back Her Life
Condition Not Easy to Diagnose; Family is Grateful
QUINCY, Ill. (CBS) ―
-
-
Shelley Tuter was paralyzed by a disease called Dystonia. Now she's recovered thanks to a drug called L-Dopa.
CBS
Some are calling it a medical mystery that became a miracle. A 31-year-old Illinois woman had a mysterious illness that had left her paralyzed, unable to care for her family. Her body was painfully twisted.
Then one Chicago-area doctor had an idea and in just days, she was cured.
CBS2's Mike Parker reports.
Imagine that you're a young mother with four active kids and a hard working husband. Then in what seems like an instant, you're a helpless invalid and doctors say they have no idea what is wrong with you--much less how to cure you.
Just a few months ago, the idea of playing in the park with her husband and children was unthinkable for Shelley Tuter of downstate Quincy. But that's what they were doing Monday evening.
She remembers that her medical crisis began in 2006 with vertigo and migraine headaches, then developed into something much worse.
"My muscles were curled up," she said. "I was twisted up like a pretzel. My ankles were inverted in and my neck was pinned over to one side."
Her husband Jason said, "it breaks your heart, seeing before all this, a fully functioning happy woman, your wife, and there's not anything anybody can do about it."
The Tuters saw a half dozen doctors. Nobody could diagnose her condition.
Shelley says one of them told her she was crazy.
"He said, there's nothing wrong," she recalled. "He said 'it is all in your head. You can leave.'"
It turns out, it was in her head, but she wasn't crazy. The family finally consulted neurologist, Dr. Demetrius Maraganore of the NorthShore University Health System. His diagnosis: Shelley's brain was not producing enough of the crucial chemical dopamine. It was a rare disease known as Dystonia. He prescribed the drug Levodopa, also known as L-Dopa. Three days later, Shelley's symptoms began to disappear. A few weeks later, they were all gone.
Maraganore says it is a cure that will restore her dignity and transform her life and the life of her family.
Shelley Tuter agrees. "You can't ask for anything more than that," she said. "We have a happy, healthy family life again."
The woman is one of an estimated 300,000 Americans with Dystonia. Her doctor said she is one of the lucky ones who have been cured.
Not every patient responds to Levodopa. Only about 1 in 20 children can be helped by the drug, even fewer adults.
As Shelley discovered, the disease is not easy to diagnose.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
10 Of The Best Free Places In Chicago
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments