Fwd: Tough Break for Sixer's McCullough

["kmalo17 <kimmalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>" <kimmalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/054/sports/Philadelphia_s_MacCulloch_h
as_P.shtml

Philadelphia's MacCulloch has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease 
By Associated Press, 2/23/2003 20:19 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Philadelphia 76ers center Todd MacCulloch has been 
diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurological disorder 
that causes damage to the peripheral nerves. 

It's uncertain when he'll return to action. MacCulloch is scheduled 
to see a specialist Monday. The disease is named after three doctors 
who first diagnosed it in 1886. 

''A lot of people have CMT and are able to live normal lives, so 
that's a good thing,'' MacCulloch said. ''It's not life threatening. 
It usually affects your peripheries and things like that. A lot of 
people live full, happy lives.'' 

MacCulloch, acquired last summer with Keith Van Horn in the trade 
that sent Dikembe Mutombo to New Jersey, has been bothered by foot 
problems all season. He has missed 15 games and has averaged 7.1 
points and 4.7 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game. 

''There is no definite ruling on his career or on this season,'' 
Sixers general manager Billy King said. 

-End of story
ME: for those wondering about what this means, from the NIH site:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disease/Charcot.html

It is the most common inherited peripheral neuropathy in the world, 
characterized by a slowly progressive degeneration of the muscles in 
the foot, lower leg, hand and forearm, and a mild loss of sensation 
in the limbs, fingers and toes. Full expression of CMT's clinical 
symptoms generally occurs by age 30. CMT is not a fatal disease, 
however, and the disorder does not affect normal life expectancy.
--- End forwarded message ---