How is Joe?

[Sheila]

Has anyone heard from Joe? He was so sick this past summer, I'm hoping he's busy recuperating and doing well.

Sheila W

[tex]

Hi Sheila,

His last post (12 days ago) indicated that he was planning to make some changes in his medications again, so he's probably in the middle of that process.

I hope it's going smoothly.

Tex

[Sheila]

Thanks, Tex. I looked through archives and missed his latest post. I haven't been able to spend much time reading posts recently but try to check in and scan messages as often as possible.

I'm still enjoying the Leonard Cohen disk. ;-))

Sheila W

[Joefnh]

Hello Shirley, how are you? I have had a tough summer but am on the mend and gettinng pretty much back to my old self. The biggest issue right now is just stamina and thats slowly getting better.

The next stop in treating the Myasthenia Gravis is to re-start taking the form of chemo called Rituximab. This is a very targeted medication that goes after only a single cell type involved with the autoimmune reaction so the side effects are limited.

Beyond the medical stuff I am doing well and looking forward to having family back home over the holidays.

How are you doing Shirley?

[Zizzle]

That's great Joe!! I'm hearing more and more people using Retuximab to treat Dermatomyositis too. I hope it does the trick with minimal side effects.

[Sheila]

So glad you're doing better, Joe. When I was looking for an update from you, I again came across the pictures of you when you were hospitalized. Very, very scary. Thanks for keeping your MC family informed.

I feel very blessed to be in remission after four years with MC. Without Tex and the Potty People, I would probably still be sick and clueless. My mother had MC and died at age 92, after years with WD and undiagnosed celiac disease.

I hope the Rituximab does it's job and you are on the road to recovery. You are dealing with so much more than most of us and you do so with grace.

Sheila W

[mzh]

Yay, Joe!