Spinal AVM

[Steve]

I am a 41 year old male and until now have enjoyed good health. I was at work on Dec.5, 2005 when I slipped on some ice. My left calf started hurting shortly after the slip. I thought I had just pulled a muscle. I rested for 3 days and the pain got better but I was still limping. On Dec. 16, 2005 my lower back started hurting real bad. I went to an urgent care and they thought I might have pulled a muscle from limping. After another week I went to another my doctor, mostly because I still had no strenght in my left calf. I also could not stand on my lt. toe. He sent me to an Orthopedic who thought I might have a bad disk in my lower back. A lumbar MRI was done that did show a L-4 and L-5 disk problem but not affecting the nerve so not causing any leg problems. He then reffered me to a neurology doctor.
On Jan 14, 2006 I noticed my right thigh was weak. I could not climb stairs leading with my rt. leg and my rt. foot was slapping to the ground when I walked. So now I was BI-Lat and walking very slow. An MRI of the thurasic spine was ordered and there it was. I have about 10 black dots on my spine between the T-5 and T-11 area. These AVMs do have nerve involment and are the cause of all my leg problems. I was told that nobody in Milwaukee can treat this so I was sent to the UW Hospital in Madison WI.
I have had my first visit with a neurosurgen on Jan. 30, 2006. His concern is that I have so many of this darn things. Some are in the spinal cord and some are next to it. His hope is that I have 1-2 that are the main problem causing the others to act up from a disrupted blood flow. I go in for an MRA on Fed. 6 and an angiogram on Feb. 14. The best case is that they can treat it during the angiogram with glue. If not I will need surgery. As far as a full recovery goes nobody knows since these are so rare. He is optimistic that he can stop it from progressing which is good. But it is possible I may never regain the strength in my legs.
I should say the my back pain is gone and I am only having the leg problems now. I do get numbness from time to time in my left leg.
UPDATE:

I had my surgery on Feb. 15, 2006 where they removed 1 AVM from my T-7 area. This was the only AVM I had. The surgery was a complete success. Since then I have been rehabing to try to regain my strength. So far everything is going really well. I still have problems with both legs being weak but am showing improvement. I walk slow and still have a right foot drop but I do not have a much of a gait anymore. The Doctor feels I should make a full recovery in time and I will be going back to work next month.