Wednesday, February 22, 2017

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back--Praying for Wisdom

Twenty days can bring a whole lot of change, and not all of it good.  In the last twenty days, Anna stopped taking Methotrexate (because of elevated liver enzymes).  She began taking oral Prednisone and Plaquenil. The oral Prednisone was finished after a week (thank the Lord! Anna does not like what Prednisone does to her mind).  In the middle of that medication dose, Anna's foot was feeling so much better, but as she tapered the medication, the arthritis returned.  So her rheumatologist arranged for her to have a cortisone injection into the joint this past Friday.  This was done by the radiology department at the medical center, as the joint is to tiny and the procedure needs to be precise.  Afterward, Anna wished she had her phone or a camera with her.  She was able to watch on the monitor as they completed the procedure.  She thought it fascinating to see them insert the needle into the joint. Within 12 hours, the foot was feeling good!  In the past, I described this as a toe issue, but Anna explained that it wasn't exactly the joint in the middle of the toe---it was the joint that connects the toe to the foot. Anna has grown to greatly appreciate cortisone injections! Last week Anna described walking as painful.  This week she is back to going for runs on campus.

Thirteen days into taking the newly prescribed Plaquenil, Anna sent me pictures of a rash on her cheeks.  She described some other symptoms of side effects which she was experiencing.  She contacted her rheumatologist, who suggested that Anna stop taking Plaquenil for a week to see if those symptoms would go away.  They did.

Today we had an appointment with the retina specialist, with Anna taking no systemic
medications for almost a week and just eye drops for the eyes.  We discovered that Methotrexate had been doing a great job at controlling inflammation in Anna's eyes---even without the Remicade that we had to abruptly stop in early October. We were dismayed to discover that inflammation is back in BOTH eyes (the right eye has been quiet for years), and the macular edema is recurring in the left eye.  So what do we do now?  The retina specialist put in a direct call to the rheumatologist and left a message.  They will confer with each other to come up with a plan to control this inflammation.  (Dr. N---the eye doctor is willing to use ocular injections, although the risk of cataracts increases with the frequency of those).  For the next two weeks, she is adding eye drops.  And she told Anna to call her and even have her staff page her if she is in surgery if Anna has any concerns.

The Hershey Eye Center became a prayer room/area for me today.  As soon as Anna took the visual test, I knew that it would probably not be the best appointment.  I was praying for wisdom from God for Anna's doctors.  That prayer continues.

This journey is getting rather bumpy again---almost a little out-of-control.  But I know that Jesus remains in control.  The joy of the Lord is our strength---keeps us from drowning in worry and sorrow (although I still tend to sigh a lot as I process all of these new developments).  I just sent out some cards to some people today, and the notecards have a verse on them that kept running through my mind today:  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him."  I'm praying that verse over myself today. Thank you for your prayers for Anna and her doctors.
 



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