I finally got a few minutes to put proper blog posts together... so indulge me if you will.

You've all read this point that the surgery went off problem free. While there have been no immediate improvements, I honestly do feel that
it's only a matter of time before I begin to see some amelioration in

my condition. The trip is about more than just venous angioplasty --

it's about hard physio- harder physical therapy than I've ever undergone

in Canada. It's about creating a new support structure, one replete

with people going through the same things as I am. And what came as the

biggest surprise -- it's about learning when to ask for help, even

though I don't want it, and even though I don't think I need it.

Most people reading this know how pragmatic I am; my atheistic views on life are an example of that. That's not to say that I'm devoid of any
sort of spirituality, I just have a hard time believing in a deity, at

least one that controls life as we know it. And if there is one, well...

I have some choice words for 'it'. I don't know if the surgery will

have any impact on my condition. But if ever I were to try something

such as this, even with minimal risk, I think best to do it for the

disease takes an even stronger hold on my system. And that's why I'm

down here - to try. I tried Rebif, a first-line treatment for MS. It did

nothing but leave me feeling like a bag of crap on days posts an

injection, as well as leave the area around my belly button littered

with bruises from the self injector. I tried Tysabri, only to have a

neurologist (Dr. Mark Freedman as matter of fact) suggests that I

discontinue that and instead began treatment with the chemotherapy drug

used to treat leukemia. The chemo drug, as a third line treatment, was

the first one that had an impact on my disease course, and though it

didn't make it any better it's certainly stopped in its tracks for the

27 months that I was able to take (that is the maximum allowable). So

drug one didn't work. Drug two, though not given much of a chance,

likely wouldn't have had much of an impact either. Drug three hit the

pause button on the progression but did nothing to make me better. But

this treatment, this venous angioplasty, at least as in the protocol

laid out by Dr. Zamboni, has had positive impacts on so many people. The

why is still kind of up in the air; are strictures in the

jugular/azygous veins really and truly the cause of this insidious,

crippling, progressive disease? We don't know... but I was desperate

enough to give it a shot.

Some good will certainly come of this, even if not to my disease, its progression, or its impact on me; the blood thinners that I'm going to
be taking for the next month will keep me from drinking. In the very

least, there is a silver lining there. But exactly how this is all gonna

go down is still one giant question mark. I beseech you all stick

around and see what comes of it; at least in my case.

A big part of me being here came from a string of fundraisers. Each and every person that donated wants an answer to the same question I do.
And while I was sad not to have immediate results, I believe they will

come. I'm back in the hospital Wednesday for a post-op Doppler to ensure

that the angioplasty was effective in clearing the blockage. Stay

tuned...

-A.D.