Hi Folks,

This has not been one of my better weekends and I need to vent for a moment. As I type this my 20-year-old niece (who for all purposes is the closest I'm ever getting to having a child) is lying in a hospital bed completely unable to move the left side of her body or sit up on her own. She was complaining of a backache a few weeks ago and her doctor dismissed it as being a pinched nerve. She woke up the other day completely paralyzed and couldn't move one part of her body. At first we thought she had had a stroke but it turns out she has Multiple Sclerosis. Tonight they were telling us that she has at least two lesions on her brain and that her white blood cell count is extremely low and if they can't raise it then they'll look into a stem cell transplant. Talk about a wake-up call... Last weekend we were making plans for a barbeque for the 4th of July, now we're just talking about how long she's going to be in the hospital and whether she's ever going to be able to get out of bed again. I guess the point of this message is not to waste your days worrying about the little things that don't matter and just focus on the family that does.

Judy

Oh my god! Judith, that's terrible! I used to think that 20 years old was too young to be diagnoised with mulitple sclerosis, but, god, I just hope your niece will be able to have a stem cell transplant soon. Best wishes to your niece. I hope everything works out okay. God bless.

I am very sorry.


I wish her the best.

This morning the spinal tap's results are finally totally back and
now not only does she have MS but Systemic Lupus too. She can't talk, raise her head off a pillow and all she does is sleep. The blood cell count for lupus is measured in a range of 1-20 for being normal and hers is at 98. They're flying in a specialist from either the Mayo Clinic or Loma Linda University Hospital (I can't remember which). She has 15 lesions between her brain and her spine.

I'm now going completely insane because the stupid insurance company is saying they won't allow a doctor to be flown in and that they have to use someone on their provider list and then she can only be seen if it's an emergency. You'll forgive me but this child has two diseases attacking her brain and spine. How much more of an emergency would they like??!!!

In the meantime I need a favor if you would please. One of the
members in the group I moderate asked me in her last message if there was an address that she could send a card to pass along to Kelly. Her friends have pretty much abandoned her and I was thinking that perhaps if she received notes of encouragement she might form the thought that maybe life isn't going to treat her so badly after all. If you need my address please e-mail me personally at judithmoose@earthlink.net. Thanks for your time and all of the good wishes for my girl.

Keep your head up Judith. Everything is going to be alright.

I am terribly sorry, I hope all of the best

I am sorry. I will pray for her. How is she doing now as of
January 3, 2003? I'm only 22. So It's hard to imagine someone so young being so sick. Best Wishes. I hope she recovers.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Kelly is doing much better spiritwise and has had improvement physically but there's a long way to go. She's able to use a walker for about five minutes at a time but she's extremely shaky when she does and requires someone nearby most of the time. Otherwise she now travels by wheelchair. Although not able to write well yet, she has been keeping up with her college courses via the computer and last week received a letter from the University of Nevada - Reno's Veterinary Medicine School offering her a full scholarship as soon as she's able to attend. I guess straight A's and being one of the Who's Who of America's teens three years in a row came in handy... I'll keep you updated on her future progress and thanks again!

Originally posted by Judith A. Moose
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Kelly is doing much better spiritwise and has had improvement physically but there's a long way to go. She's able to use a walker for about five minutes at a time but she's extremely shaky when she does and requires someone nearby most of the time. Otherwise she now travels by wheelchair. Although not able to write well yet, she has been keeping up with her college courses via the computer and last week received a letter from the University of Nevada - Reno's Veterinary Medicine School offering her a full scholarship as soon as she's able to attend. I guess straight A's and being one of the Who's Who of America's teens three years in a row came in handy... I'll keep you updated on her future progress and thanks again!

Judith,

Although you don't know me, my thoughts and prayers are with your niece and your family.

Much love,
Candace
:)

I can see i'm late reading this but this is so terrible. I hate to see children in pain:(

Im so sorry. You're in my prayers.