Text disappearing in merged cell

I have a table with merged cells in the first column. The last row on page 1
of my table continues onto page 2 (I'm allowing rows to break across pages).
The text in the first-column cell of the last row on page 1 begins on page 1
but doesn't appear continued at top of page 2. The text is there alright but
disappears into the bottom of the page. This is the merged cell of this row -
there are four more columns in the table. Thanks, Grainne