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Clinics in Canada
Although there are many hospitals and universities in Canada that have Neurology Clinics, there is none devoted exclusively to ATAXIA, and, to my knowledge, certainly none devoted to SPORADIC ATAXIA. There may well be such clinics. I am not aware of them. I wrote to four doctors in Toronto. I got one reply so far. He said there is no ATAXIA Clinic in Canada; that donations and funds raised for ATAXIA research should be sent to the neurology department of hospitals and put into the common pot; and that there are, to his knowledge, no "support groups" for ataxians in Toronto (which has over three million people population!).
For the kind of ATAXIA I have, there would be, at least one victim, and with FRIEDREICH'S ATAXIA, there would be around 33 people with that disease. With FRIEDREICH'S ATAXIA, it occurs once in 30,000 people. With SPORADIC ATAXIA, it occurs once in 3,000,000 people. At least, these statistics are the ones quoted in some quarters.
There are several universities and hospitals which have Clinics in the U.S.A.
University of Michigan at Ann Arbour
The Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan provides state-of-the-art care for patients with neurologic disease, education of medical students, neurology residents and post residency trainees in neurology subspecialties, and research programs in basic and clinical neuroscience directed at understanding diseases of the nervous system and developing new treatments based on that knowledge.
This institution of learning has a clinic devoted especially to SPORADIC ATAXIA, directed by Dr. Sid Gilman, M.D. This clinic consists of several neurologists (doctors) and therapists. The clinic's human relations officer is Mary Heumann. It is she who called me and organized the whole set of tests. An M.R.I. and a P.M.I,, among many other tests were done.
I had learned of this clinic by way of a letter I sent to the ATAXIA Clinic at Baylor University, which dealt with SPORADIC ATAXIA, in Houston, TX. It was suggested that I contact the University of Michigan, since it so much closer to me than Baylor U. is. After my letter to the University of Michigan, they arranged a time for me, for February, 2003.
I feel that here I must say something about how this clinic dealt with me. They were extremely polite. From my first contact with them I was treated with the utmost respect and kindness. I was even paid for my participation in their program. Ms. Mary Heumann was assigned to contact me and receive me. She, physically, led me through the whole process.
Never once was I left alone and confused. The Canadian health program could take a lesson from them! The diagnosis was given right away, on the last day:
SPORADIC ATAXIA, with PARKINSONIAN SYMPTOMS, and with M.S.A. (Multiple System Atrophy). A second opinion, with the same diagnosis. Now I was sure of what ailed me!