Thursday Andy got his new contacts. There is good news and bad news to this. The good news, he can finally see. Bad news, he can hardly open his eyes. His contacts are hard which makes it difficult to even open his eyes. Dr. Richardson numbed his eyes the first day so on the drive home he was like a kid in the candy store. Reading every single sign that we drove by became quickly annoying but I had to laugh at him. Yesterday was a lot more difficult. We got them in but taking them out deemed impossible. I finally had to take them out with the "succor". Needless to say his eyes were very red and irritated.
The reason Dr. Richardson had to numb his eyes was so he could run some more tests on his optic nerve. We didn't think he would be able to do it the same day but he did. I think he could sense our urgency of knowing what is going on. He ran two tests: one that looked through the eye and into the optic nerve and the second, to test his perphial vision. First test went OK. It basically told us what we already knew. His optic nerve in both eyes are "damaged". What that means is it could either be glaucoma or optic neuritis. All we know is that something is wrong. Next test was a lot harder for Andy. While one eye is covered, he had to press a button for every green flash he saw with the uncovered eye. The test took 15 minutes for each eye and after that, he was exhausted. It doesn't take much for him to get dizzy and tired and that test really pushed his limits. He finished and tried to stand up but he nearly fell down. Good thing we were both there to help him to the chair. After a brief break he went over the results with us. From what I understood, everyone has a blind spot but according to this test, Andy's is bigger than normal which confirms what the other test found, damage to the optic nerve.
So, needless to say and what Dr Richardson says, Andy's eyes are goofy. Diagnosing MS is very tricky. There is not one test that diagnosis it. What the doctors do is take all the evidence they have and give you a "you are ms suspicious". So Andy had one more MRI yesterday to check the lesions he already has on his brain. They look to see if there are new ones or if the current ones are changing. If this test comes back abnormal and along with the eye tests it is pretty safe to say that he has MS. But like I said before, doctors hate to diagnose it too early.
As of now, my husband can kind of see. We meet with his neurologist April 30th to go over the MRI results. I hope it is good news. We are long overdue. Good news doesn't necessarily mean good outcomes. Good news can mean something bad like being diagnosed with MS. But for our family, being diagnosed with MS would mean good news. Sounds crazy but it is better than not having a diagnosis at all. We have faith though. Faith that Heavenly Father knows what our plan is. I have realized these trials have been a blessing for us. I don't think if my husband had gotten sick I would have decided to go back to school. I have talked about it in the past but this obstacle has really driven me to do it. Yes, I am going back to school. I actually start on Monday. I am entering the Medical Assistant program at Charter College. Funny, huh? I always liked the medical field. I took a health occupations class in high school and really enjoyed it. But when Kaitlyn was born and had to spend a month in the NICU, I had a lot of time to talk to the nurses. I knew someday I wanted to go back to school to be a nurse. Becoming a MA is my first step. If I eventually wanted to become a nurse, I could, but as of now, this is what's right for myself and our family.
I will let you all know how Andy's apt goes on the 30th. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We can't express how much we appreciate all of them. May Heavenly Father bless each and everyone of you...
Stacey
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Suspicious
"Suspicious for MS" That is what we were told today by Andy's neurologist, Dr. Hamburg. Dr. Hamburg has been Andy's doctor from the beginning. Yes, he has been to other neurologist but we feel she has been the only one who has actually tried to help him.
With our visit today, we gave her all the updated information. His eye problems, medications that have not worked and the symptoms that have been getting worse. Her response, lets do another MRI to check on his lesions. "Why" Andy asked trying not to say anything. She very hesitantly responses "to rule out everything, like MS". She said it, the magic words we were hoping she would say. So she is thinking the same thing we are, FINALLY!
So, here is the plan: Andy is going to have another MRI hopefully in the next 2 weeks or sooner, after his contacts come in, he will try those on and Dr. Richardson can check his optic nerve in his eye. Two scenarios we have now, number 1-optic nerve is not inflamed which means no MS and his symptoms could just be caused by his eyes going bad. So that means wearing the contact lens and being treated for Glaucoma. That would be best case. Even Dr. Hamburg believes this could be a possibility. Number 2- MRI comes back with new lesions and the optic nerve is inflamed. This means more than likely it is MS. We are ready for it. Honestly, its a diagnosis, finally, which makes us both happy because we can treat it and hopefully he will begin to feel better. So, there are our two choices. It is going to be either one or the other. It is such a huge relief that we are finally so close.
My husband is happy, believe it or not. Knowing that we have two great doctors that are helping him has brought us a huge comfort. So, hopefully in the next few weeks we have a diagnosis. Thank you to everyone for the support and prayers. It is because of those prayers we have been blessed in finally finding answers.
Stacey
With our visit today, we gave her all the updated information. His eye problems, medications that have not worked and the symptoms that have been getting worse. Her response, lets do another MRI to check on his lesions. "Why" Andy asked trying not to say anything. She very hesitantly responses "to rule out everything, like MS". She said it, the magic words we were hoping she would say. So she is thinking the same thing we are, FINALLY!
So, here is the plan: Andy is going to have another MRI hopefully in the next 2 weeks or sooner, after his contacts come in, he will try those on and Dr. Richardson can check his optic nerve in his eye. Two scenarios we have now, number 1-optic nerve is not inflamed which means no MS and his symptoms could just be caused by his eyes going bad. So that means wearing the contact lens and being treated for Glaucoma. That would be best case. Even Dr. Hamburg believes this could be a possibility. Number 2- MRI comes back with new lesions and the optic nerve is inflamed. This means more than likely it is MS. We are ready for it. Honestly, its a diagnosis, finally, which makes us both happy because we can treat it and hopefully he will begin to feel better. So, there are our two choices. It is going to be either one or the other. It is such a huge relief that we are finally so close.
My husband is happy, believe it or not. Knowing that we have two great doctors that are helping him has brought us a huge comfort. So, hopefully in the next few weeks we have a diagnosis. Thank you to everyone for the support and prayers. It is because of those prayers we have been blessed in finally finding answers.
Stacey
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
More great news
Andy has been getting worse. I can see it everyday. Now that I know he can't see, I am a lot more attentive to how he is feeling. He went to the doctor last week to see if he has Lyme disease. She told him he doesn't have Lyme or any other infectious disease but that all his symptoms are that of MS....great, we have been down this road before when he did the spinal tap and MRI's and he was told it was not MS. Now, she thinks it could be that? So, now what? It seems like we are running out of diagnosis.
So, he went to the eye doctor today to do more tests on his eyes. Here's what we discovered today: his cornea is very thin which puts him at risk for losing his cornea completely and having to have a cornea transplant; he fitted him for a hard contact which allows him to see but doesn't solve the damage already done; he has glaucoma (enlargement of his optic nerve) in both eyes, something that really can't be fixed; and if his optic nerve is inflamed (something he is going to be tested for next), more than likely he has MS.
One more apt with his neurologist Wednesday will hopefully shed some light on the whole thing. One thing the doctors are hesitant to diagnose is MS because there is no sure test that says you have it or you don't. Hopefully his doctor will see everything that has been going on and not rule it out. My husband is great. His attitude is "if I have it, oh well. At least it is a diagnosis and we can start doing treatment that will hopefully make me feel better." We have both prepared ourselves for this diagnosis and I pray that if it is MS, he will be able to start doing things again once treatment has started.
I love my husband very much and feel very guilty for the way I have treated him in the past. Everything seems very pointless now. Fighting, money problems, not having a job, etc. Health is something you take for granted once it is gone. I hear people complain about things that are so trivial and just want to shake them. Do they not realize what Heavenly Father has given them? They have it all, now just stop complaining.
So, he went to the eye doctor today to do more tests on his eyes. Here's what we discovered today: his cornea is very thin which puts him at risk for losing his cornea completely and having to have a cornea transplant; he fitted him for a hard contact which allows him to see but doesn't solve the damage already done; he has glaucoma (enlargement of his optic nerve) in both eyes, something that really can't be fixed; and if his optic nerve is inflamed (something he is going to be tested for next), more than likely he has MS.
One more apt with his neurologist Wednesday will hopefully shed some light on the whole thing. One thing the doctors are hesitant to diagnose is MS because there is no sure test that says you have it or you don't. Hopefully his doctor will see everything that has been going on and not rule it out. My husband is great. His attitude is "if I have it, oh well. At least it is a diagnosis and we can start doing treatment that will hopefully make me feel better." We have both prepared ourselves for this diagnosis and I pray that if it is MS, he will be able to start doing things again once treatment has started.
I love my husband very much and feel very guilty for the way I have treated him in the past. Everything seems very pointless now. Fighting, money problems, not having a job, etc. Health is something you take for granted once it is gone. I hear people complain about things that are so trivial and just want to shake them. Do they not realize what Heavenly Father has given them? They have it all, now just stop complaining.
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