Today, I learned about a hero. His name is Tony and though his name may never be a household word and you may not recognize him on the street, he is a true hero in my book. Today he is undergoing experimental DBS Plus surgery.
We live in an incredible time of medical advances. Every day scientists find new treatments and sometimes even cures for horrible diseases. Along that journey, real people are volunteering to try out these treatments before they are proven to help or not. These heroes are real folks like you and me suffering from a plethora of illnesses. Today, I thank God for Tony and for his courage. I thank God for those who have been there before him getting poked and prodded in the name of research. I thank God for the doctors that are in the middle of the battle with us and refuse to give up. Tony, you are a brave, valiant warrior. You have a prayer warrior in me that is forever thankful. I pray that if the opportunity ever presents itself, I can be as brave as Tony.
It took quite a while but the FDA has finally approved a new way for people with Parkinson's to get levodopa. It is a subcutaneous pump designed by AbbVie. The medication is Foslevodopa/Foscarbodopa and they have named the new pump Vyalev. Back in 2021, I joined the clinical trial. It was time intensive and I had to drive almost an hour and a half to and from the trial site once a week but I was excited to be part of a trial that I thought might make a difference for people with Parkinson's. In a nutshell, I only got to wear the pump for about a month. The doctor overseeing the trial recommended that I stop because I was having a lot of bruising and swelling at the injection site and the meds were sometimes pooling under my skin instead of going into my system. I was disappointed to have to stop but I was hoping that my experience in the trial gave the researchers some info that would be helpful. Now that it is on the market, I want to try it again. So what w...
Comments
Post a Comment