Re: Organic solvents exposure at work

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On 4/14/08, Kenneth wrote:
> In trying to make a long story short, I worked for Union
> oil research facility in California as an electrician in
> the early 1980s. I work daily with toluene and
> trichloroethylene 111 as a cleaning solvent with no type
> of safety equipment like gloves or respirators
> whatsoever. I worked with these organic solvents among
> others for approximately 2 1/2 years and had some slight
> neurological effects like sleepiness, dizziness and loss
> of depth perception. The symptoms would come and go and I
> thought nothing of them. I left the facility and went to
> work on my own as an electrical contractor and didn't
> notice any more symptoms until I went to do a job at an
> Air Force base which also had lots of solvents throughout
> the plant. The symptoms were tingling and numbness in my
> ring and pinky fingers of each hand. I thought it could
> be a pinched nerve and I consulted chiropractic
> consultation. I was traded approximately a year and a
> half and then numbness and tingling seem to go away. The
> next time any symptoms started was while I was working
> temporarily approximately 3 months at a nuclear power
> plant during a power outage. Again I went back to the
> chiropractor and after several months of treatment, he
> referred me to a neurologist. The neurologist had me
> undergo an MRI and after seeing the multiple plaques on my
> brain and spinal cord I was told I had MS and further
> testing would be needed. I went through numerous tests
> including lumbar punctures and Evoke potentials and all of
> the testing came back normal. So based on the MRI only, I
> have been treated for MS for the past 15 years. Over the
> past several years I started seeing An Internist who felt
> he might be able to help my condition. And has tried me
> and different infusion therapies to help my body repair
> itself. In December of 2007, a genetic blood lab called
> Athena diagnostics in Worcester, Massachusetts started
> accepting insurance and my doctor decided to send my blood
> to them to see if I have any at the anti-bodies of MS.
> Again the results were negative and it has proven to the
> doctor that I do not have MS. So that's when I started
> thinking about where I was and what I was doing when I
> first had any kind of symptoms. That's what I remembered
> working with toluene and trichloroethylene 111. So I
> decided to research on the Internet both these solvents
> and discovered that all the symptoms I have that currently
> has me confined to an electric wheelchair as basically a
> quadriplegic, has been caused by these organic solvents.
> What I am looking for now is other people with similar
> stories and possibly some legal guidance. I would love to
> hear from anybody who has possibly work in the same oil
> industry and you might know other people who has gone
> through the same misdiagnosis. Thank you for your time,
> Ken