The Good, The Bad, and Some Other Stuff

Three months!  It's been three months since there's been news!  How fantastic!

Pardon the excitement, but compared the early days when it seems like things were changing minute by minute, three months feels like an eternity!  Since it has been a while, I do have a number of things to address.; you may want to grab a snack right quick...

The Good 

  • Andy has remained stable for the last three months!  That's huge!  A few of his symptoms have been a bit more bothersome lately so he's keeping an eye on them, but overall, he is doing well.
  • This morning, he had a repeat set of MRIs and we just word that things look good!  He still has one lesion on his brain, but it is clinically stable when compared to the last scan.  His spine remains lesion-free.  Such an answer to prayer!
The Bad
  • We spent some time at Urgent Care and then the ER over the weekend as Andy developed sudden and debilitating pain in his back, hip, and left leg.  Our first concern, obviously, was that it was disease related, but for now they think that it is just a sciatica attack.  Random, since that hasn't been an issue before, but okay.  He is currently on some pretty heavy pain meds and he has to use a walker to get around because he can't put any weight on his left leg.  An unexpected wrinkle for him, to be sure.
Next Steps
  • Andy has an appointment with the UCSD neurology team in January.  Assuming they don't make any changes, the next steps will be...
  • He'll have his annual DEXA scan in February.  We're hoping that the bone density meds have slowed, or even stopped, his density loss.  
  • They have decided to resume his B-cell checks in February.  That will determine when the next infusion will be scheduled.
So that's the news.  The biggest prayer request at the moment is that whatever is going on in his back and leg will resolve.  It would be pretty great if his ability to walk and work would be restored.  If it lingers, we'll be contacting more doctors soon.  

Happy Christmas!

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