Tina spent Tuesday at Providence Care. She was there for about 2.5 hours while different doctors came in to examine and explain things. She was given a list of the doctors that would come in and they would cross it off after they had done their thing.
Dr. Melanson, the neurologist, checked in to see if there had been any changes. The good news was that there weren't too many since her examination in December. He was disappointed to hear that Tina was only getting one hour a day of homecare. He had hoped that she would have access to more.
Dr. Melanson encouraged Tina to continue doing what she was doing. The stretches are working. (Good work, Austin!) She is also going to looking into massages to help keep the muscles soft.
Dr. Sauriol, physiatrist, and a resident did a complete assessment and reviewed all the symptoms. They checked Tina's reflexes and examined her shoulder. They told Tina that her shoulder shouldn't be hurting the way it was.
Dr. Smith, physiatrist, was advised of the shoulder. He said that the pain was caused by inflammation of her shoulder capsule. He put freezing in first and showed Tina how much more movement she had without the pain. He then gave her a cortisone shot and there was almost immediate improvement and even more so this morning when we talked to her.
Dr. Ritzma runs the clinic.
Tina's breathing is really good at this point and will go back in July to see the respirologist to get a baseline. Her oxygen level is 90.
She did not have to see the speech therapist or talk to any one in palliative care. She chose not to talk to the spiritual care adviser as she has her own pastor.
She was advised that she does not currently qualify for the clinical trial due to not having a certain gene. The doctor is hoping that the trial will open up broader to include her.
Tina has started Riluzole (Rilutek). This medication will slow down the progress of ALS but it can sometimes take up to a year to kick in. They offered another medicine but she would have to go everyday to the hospital (30+ minute drive) to have it administered intravenously. She declined it.
Tina has noticed losing strength in her arms. She also has some back pain. The doctor advised her that it would be best for her to use THC for pain. A normal go to is usually ibuprofen and too much of this can cause ulcers. THC not only will help with the pain but helps to relax muscles.
There was lots of information and meeting new doctors. Tina was told to email with any questions. It looks like the army just got a little larger.
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Earlier this week -
On Monday, Amanda brought in a meal which they ate off for three days. Tina was pretty excited about the meatballs! Homecare started. We already appreciate Mel who helped Tina shower and wash her hair. She did a little bit of dusting and getting to know the lay out of things. Roxane and Sandy (first cousins) stopped in and brought some treats.
Tuesday - no homecare, due to the timing not lining up with Tina's appointment in Kingston.
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