Kent Update

The rheumatologist tried to reduce some of the medication doses Kent has been taking a couple of weeks ago. After severalf days Kent noticed he was in more pain and the numbness started spreading again. We contacted the doctor and upped the doses again. It is quite a balancing act to try and weigh the pain of the symptoms against the side effects of the drugs. All these decisions are hard ones.
This week Kent went up to OHSU to see the neurologist for a follow-up visit. These visits are both enlightening and discouraging. The neurologists did some strength and numbness tests which told us that Kent has lost some of his strength and the numbness and nerve damage has spread slightly. The most discouraging part of the visit was the neurologist's feeling that the nerve damage is not going to be reversed. She was probably just trying to prepare us for what is to come. Kent was a little discouraged after that visit.
He is trying to stay positive about things, and he succeeds most of the time. He does have days that are hard for him.
We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers in our behalf.