I apologize, but i don't know where to post for the upcoming program 'surgery saved my life'. i have the above-listed condition, Paralytic Pelvic Obliquity, caused by truncal dystonia, and YES - i'm afraid there probably IS only one person who can save my life. His name is Dr. Anthony P. Dwyer, in Denver. I wrote to him 2 weeks ago about my problem but have not heard back. I found an article he co-wrote back in '75 about the extremely complicated and dangerous surgery to correct this deformity, which was printed in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (I would include the link, but it's in PDF format so I would have to email you the entire article). There is another doctor at Washington Univ., St. Louis who wrote a similar article on www.emedicine.com to whom I have also written, again with no response. I have been to UC Irvine, UC Davis, UCLA, USC, and the Mayo Clinic and no one is familiar at all with this condition. I have been searching the internet trying to find orthopods knowledgeable about this disease with no luck. From the look of the commercials about your new show, I'm guessing the little girl may have the same, or very similar condition as I do. What makes me so unusual is the fact that as far as I have been able to determine, very few, if any, ADULTS get this. I am in my 40's and started developing this problem just 5 years ago.

Currently I am in terrific pain and am taking opiate=based pain killers, which do not help a whole lot. My pelvis has ridden up over the bottom three ribs on my right side, and my right leg has finally been pulled out of the socket by the contraction of the trunk muscles caused by the dystonia. I am in a wheelchair, as i cannot walk. I am just about out of options - if discovery can do anything to help insofar as your new program is concerned - well i could maybe get my life back. i have none now. i truly believe that if i can't get the surgery, this condition will certainly kill me.

You can be sure I will be watching your program on thursday and hoping and PRAYING that somebody, somewhere is willing to help me.

thank you
frudy