New to this site

[swanson]

My wife and I have a 7mth old baby boy with SB. We have been through 5 surgeries with him and Im sure there are more to come. We have a 5 yr old named Matthew and the baby is Blake. Matthew is very healthy. We live in Wheeling West Viriginia. There are no support groups or even other people who have or have a child with spina bifida around this area. My wife found this site and we hope it will be our saviour. We have a couple books on Spina Bifida that have really helped us. Blake had a t-12 lesion and is paralyzed from the waist down. We just need some guidance on what to look forward too and what shortcomings we may expereince.

Thank You,
Scott and Susan Swanson;)

[mommy2cnj]

Hi there, Scott, Susan and family!

Welcome to the site! My name is Pam and I have 2 bio children, both having spina bifida/hydrocephalus. They are 12 & 9. Even with the combined years of "experience", for lack of better words, I seem to always find something new with this site. I hope you do the same.

Welcome!!

[angel]

Hi,

I have SB myleo level L4/L5. I am 31 years old, married, with a son who is 11 years old and has sb occulta. I will be happy to help you out in any way i can feel free to ask anything. This is a great group of people i think you will enjoy it here.

Angel

[Barb]

Hi and welcome. Just jump into the conversations anywhere. :)

[lolathechecker]

hello and welcome! everyone here is very nice and good to help!

[Spokie]

Hi Scott & Susan,

My son has a T10 lesion, so symptom-wise he's very close to yours. He is now 8 and doing fine. We had the same prob - no support groups or SB children in my area either! This site helps a lot - it's like having a support group on call 24/7. If you have any questions, please don'y hesitate to ask.

Regards,

Spokie.

[poeksie101]

Hi, my name is Sam and I'm 28 years old and living in Cambridgeshire in the UK. I have lumbarisation (my first sacral vertebra is detatched and so is structurally an additional lumbar vertebra) with SB occulta in L5 and L6.
I have found that most sites I've entered have had little to say about SB occulta and focus more on the SB's that are potentially more disabling. My SB has symptoms around bladder and bowel sensation (is this an over-share?). I'd like to find out how other people deal with this.
Also, I'm at the point in my life where I'm starting to think about kids, and I'm really concerned that there is a risk of SB being present in children I might have... Does anyone know about the heredity of SB?
Sorry, I know this is a long-ish message, but it's the first time I've been able to ask these questions.

[Dodger67]

Welcome Sam

As far as the hereditary factors in SB - it would be best for you to consult a professional genetic counsellor who would examine both your and your partner's genetic history and give you good advice.

Re bladder and bowel problems, you'll have to give us a lot morer detail but first take a good look around the forum - many of the issues are covered in existing threads. Please add your comments and/or questions in the appropriate sections.

If you think your post is "longish", you ain't seen nothing yet! LOL!