March 2008
Adie is now walking.January 2008
click here for my 2007 Christmas letter2 September 2005
For the past actually two years and change, I have been in a wheelchair with varying, lessening degrees of mobility. In October 2004, I went at Vocational Rehabilitation's request for three weeks to Columbia for an evaluation of my skills and, well to evaluate me. Over all and in general. It was supposed to be a four week program/evaluation period, but after two and a half weeks, I had taken and aced all the tests, and done everything they asked me to except a project in OT. That I took home over the weekend and finished it and the following week went down for an interview with their computer person and presented it to OT as finished. The computer interview went pretty well: I had hoped that it would help get me into their extensive training program, but instead, I was recommended to take some classes up here to polish and perfect my skills. The which I have been doing. I am finishing my fifth online class and so far, I have gotten A's and B's.
As far as work goes, I am trying to make websites for a living. I have added almost three to my resume. One of which is ongoing: The Political Cesspool in Memphis, TN was originally for trade: you advertise me all over the country and I will maintain your website. Well, it hasn't quite worked out that way, but, they, in addition to the other ones that I have done, have fallen all over themselves thanking me and saying how good it looks.
Socially, I am not getting out too much. Every Friday I still go the Co-op and manage. Sundays I am irregularly in church. Mostly I have to sit at home because there is not a lot of places for me to go or things to do. I have, therefore started the process so that I can get a Papillon for a pet/companion. Maybe I will update here sooner than last time.
April 2005
Major overhauled this website. Intended to say something here, but obviously did not.
2001
About two years ago, Mom found a book detailing the research of Dr. Brown in Virginia in curing arthritis and other related diseases. The study that he did was to use a form of tetracycline to cure it/them under the premise that it is caused by a mycoplasm which is somewhere between a virus and a bacteria. Well, Mom went looking for someone who did the treatment and found someone in NC who did it but for a phenomenally high fee that we could not afford. So it went on the back burner for a while.
In the meantime, I have been to uncounted (shall we group them all into) health professionals. None of them have really done me any good although some have tried and some have done some detrimental like putting me on prednisone. At least two have wanted to put me on methyltrexate and both times we have refused knowing that it is severely detrimental to one's health and does not work: it only masks the symptoms for a short time during which it messes up the liver.
About a month ago, the topic of Dr. Brown came up again and Mom went looking into it again and found a web site that listed a large number of Doctors who knew about it and made me call around trying to find one who would use Dr. Brown's treatment. I found one in Tennessee in Chattanooga who had RA himself and treated himself and several other patients and has not only improved their life, but cured them. So, finally I made the arrangments and Mom and I made the trip.
The one big issue here, is that I go nuts when it comes to getting stuck with a hypodermic needle. An extreme aversion to them is quite an understatement. Even though I knew that the treatment had worked before, and was nearly 100% effective, I did not like the idea of being hooked up to an IV, and on top of that, the protocol called for seven (7) straight days of it.
Well, I was knew that I needed to go and do it, but I didn't want to get stuck. However, Mom and I told several people about it and when you tell the right people, lots get to praying about it and God does hear prayer. Right now, I have the remains of three holes in me: one from blood taken for tests to start out with and two to put the IV's in. I have not killed anyone yet and I still have all my parts intact as far as I know. God has helped me. And I thank everyone of you for praying for me. Please don't quit: I have 5 more to go this week as well as monthly blood work to get checked up on.
Thursday,
I decided that since yesterday my left hand started to cramp while the IV was going in, I would get them to do in my right elbow. However, this time it hurt pretty bad and although the nurse offered to take it out, I told her to leave it in and get it done because logic tells me that if you take it out, you have to put it back in: which would be worse. It took longer than usual to put the cleosin in and my arm hurt for about an hour after it was all done. Usually by the time I got out of the office, it was okay. Really I didn't want to do anything the rest of the day, but we went to the Aquarium ands stared back at the fish and then went to a really good hamburger joint (Cheeburger Cheeburger) and the IMAX which was okay.
Thankfully today, Friday, I did okay--a lot better than I did yesterday. It didn't hurt as bad, and Toby gave me a butterfly as a souvenir. Two more to go.
BTW, this is something that has been bugging me the last couple of days as I have been thinking about what I have been writing. This treatment will not be such that I will be walking at Thanksgiving even though that holiday is only less than a week from right now. It will take at least two or three or maybe even four months to work and then finally about six months total to be all done. Somehow, I have the impression that I am supposed to be getting this stuff and when I come home, start training for the Boston Marathon. Sorry, guys, but there is also something called the Herxheimer effect which means that these bugs will not go without a fight and when they do, I will get worse for a while. Lord willing, it will not be for long, but nevertheless, Dr. Sentef said I have a 75% chance of going through that. Hopefully it won't be too bad.
This is for you who aren't around me all the time and want to know what is going on. Actually, I am doing I think slightly better. I last longer with my prednisone and my joints dont hurt as much. When I came home, I switched from 5mg twice a day to 10mg at night so that I could wean off it. I keep trying to stretch out my legs and make them work right and strengthen them so that sooner than later I can be walking right. The one complaint that I have is that I have the metallic taste from the medicine all the time and I have some nausea. It is really annoying, but hopefully, I will be able to be done with it sooner than later. Thank you all so very much for your prayers and support.