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Unusual patient

	I am taking care of 14yo who presented to my office with the complaint of
tingling and numbness of her right foot, leg, hand, arm and face.  She had
been at the pool with a friend swimming whtn she began comlaining of the
numbness so they decided to go home.  They rode home on bicycles with no
mishaps or falls.  When she got home, she laid on the couch for a few
minutes, then her mom got her back up and she was somewhat wobbly with
walking.  At that point, the mom decided to bring her in.
	PMH is significant for a head injury in 1993 which resulted in LOC for
several hours but no further problems after the concussion resolved.  There
was no bleed or fracture.  There is some significant family history.
	On examination, the patient was alert with diffuse slowed mentation,
severe confusion, aphasia, apraxia and mild hemiparesis of the right side
from the forehead to the toes.  She had no other physical signs and no
fever.  She completely failed a mini mental status exam, unable to state
even her own name or count.  She could follow only simple instructions and
could not demonstrate how to use a pen even after she was shown how, nor
could she read anything.  However, she appeared to be completely alert,
although somewhat agitated when she could not answer questions, and she
would answer "I don't know" to almost every question we asked.
	What do ya'll think we should include in the differential?  Have you ever
seen anything like this?  She has been scary to take care of because of the
difficulty in following her mental status.
	(I have a little more history and the results of a few tests but will give
them after I get some feedback.)

Thanks for the input.

Dr. Carol
Carol F. Teplis, MD
Associates in Pediatrics
Elgin and Streamwood, Illinois