Hope

 

We are getting some answers!

Yesterday, Galen's doc appointment was with Peter Kim, MD, neurologist. He spoke a bit about the MRIs of the head (normal, no stroke) and spine (disc bulges, but none explaining the symptoms.) 

We came back to the issue of weight loss.

While he has no better answer than the other docs about the reason behind the weight loss, he did say it is a cause of the leg numbness and drop foot. Galen's thinness and muscle atrophy have exposed the peroneal nerve down his lower left leg.

Nerve damage (hopefully, not permanent and certainly not complete) can hopefully be reversed with weight gain. Sooooo.....

Galen has redoubled his efforts to eat, eat, eat more fattening foods (healthy fats, especially), and guess what? Up two days in a row! 

And, he resumed therapy with Tran, on his second time back.

Therapy is going really well. Before his comeback, after Galen's last appointment, he had to be helped to the car and then he was in a wheelchair at home.

But yesterday, we went went for a walk for the first time in over a month.

Galen walked 1/3 mile, well more than the half-block I thought he would. 

Of course, he was tired. He had to sleep two hours afterward. But we think all three things--better nutrition, physical therapy, walking--will help him get past that worrying downward spiral he was on.

We thank you for all the good thoughts and prayers during this time. They have helped buoy him up.

Getting Galen feeling better about his prognosis and his journey is EVERYTHING. Because his emotional wellbeing is a driving force.

(Dealing with depression is a topic for a future post.)

Coming up are appointments with the rheumatologist and endocrinologist. After those two, we will probably be done with ologists for a long time. Hopefully. At least we are ruling out all the major worries.

Oh, yeah. Galen got back to playing his trumpet after a long hiatus!