Yogi's Story

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A cold day in March of 2001, at the Finger Lakes Law Enforcement Academy during Physical Training, we were running Indian sprints.  We were running back to the Academy when all of a sudden I passed out. The next minute I knew, I was sitting in the front seat of a pick up truck waiting for the ambulance to transport me to the Emergency room.  

I was ...scared.  I didn’t know what was going on or what had happened.  The ambulance backed up and the other cadets started to pull me from the truck and put me on the stretcher. They slid me in the ambulance and drove away, heading to the local hospital.  

The first thing the paramedic said to me was, “What’s your name?”  I just lay their looking at him as if I didn’t remember my name.  After a few seconds, I blurted out Michael Borys. He then asked me, “So what happened?” I replied with, “I don’t know.  I don’t remember.  I was running during Indian sprints and then I was in the front seat of the pickup truck.  Then the ambulance pulled in, and here I am.”  All this was being asked while the other paramedic was taking my blood pressure, giving me oxygen, etc. 

We pulled into the hospital, backing up to the E.R. doors.  One of the nurses came running out and they pushed me into a room where a bed was awaiting my arrival.  The ambulance and the paramedics left and the nurse started taking my vitals again. She then advised me that they would be doing a series of tests on me to make sure that I did not have any problems with my brain, my heart, and my lungs.  

Another nurse came in and did an EKG which turned out positive, no problems.  Then I was given a CT scan of my head, which also came out with no problems.  They took X-rays of my chest and listened to my heart and lungs.  Every thing seemed to be okay.  I was put in another room with a small television and watched some cartoons.  A nurse walked in and said, your mother and your sister were called and they are on their way up here. 

A few minutes went by and in walked the E.R. doctor, Dr. Christopher Lyon M.D.  The doctor introduced himself and then told me the results of all the tests that I have had done.  He then said that he was not comfortable without knowing what was wrong and said he would like to conduct a MRI.  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging technique used primarily in medical settings to produce high quality images of the inside of the human body.  I told Dr. Lyon that I have never had a MRI before.  

The nurses came into my room and got me ready for my first MRI ever.  I was brought into the MRI room and was put on the table.  The nurse told me that the first procedure would take approximately 45 minutes.  After that test, she would put an IV in my arm and a contrast would be used to provide visual contrast in the pictures of different tissues and organs. After the MRI, I was wheeled back into my room.  

Several minutes went by and in walked Dr. Lyon.  He came over the bed and sat down next to me with a huge envelope full of scans from the MRI.  He pulled out several of the scans and started to hold them up to the light and explained them to me. 

I remember it all to clear, when Dr. Lyon said, “You see this right here.  This is what you call a syrinx.  Your two prongs from your cerebellum have grown onto the top of your spinal cord causing the spinal fluid to pool right here.” (As he points near the syrinx)  He then moved his finger, pointing to the syrinx cavity and said, “The spinal fluid is eating away your spinal cord, which is causing your nerves to surface on your skin.  This can cause paralysis if it is not treated.”  While the doctor looked at me. I was sitting there in disbelief and I couldn’t open my mouth to say anything.  I didn’t know what to say, nor did I know how to react. Numerous questions came to my mind. 

What am I going to do? I have a two-year degree in Criminal Justice/Police and I am in the Law Enforcement Academy now.  What if the doctor says that I can’t go back to the Academy?  What if I have to have surgery? What will happen if I don’t treat the syrinx and I keep doing what I am doing?  Where will I end up in 5 years?  There were many other questions that crossed my mind at the point of time, but too many to write on paper. 

The moment of silence was broken with the nurse knocking at the door and my family behind her.  I started to cry, letting all of my emotions come out.  I didn’t know any other way to react.  The doctor and nurses gave my family and I some time to be together, before letting them know what was going on. 

My mother stayed in the room with me, as the doctor came in with my MRI scans in one hand and a cup of water in the other.  He introduced himself to my mother and then started pulling out the scans.  As he was getting the scans ready, he started to tell my mother what he had found.  He then mentioned a long weird medical term.  It was, SyringoMyelia.  Even with my mother being a nurse, she didn’t know exactly what it was.  The doctor explained what it was, where it was on me and what we could do to help prevent it from getting any worse.  Of course, I was right there, and I heard him say, in all his medical jambalaya, two things that would stick with me for the rest of my ER visit and the rest of my life.  They were surgery and not being able to go back to the Law Enforcement Academy.