Since nobody can really put an official diagnosis on what the heck is wrong with Ova, they've been just trying and testing different things. The medication they started him on is helping....he was questioning whether it was the medications that were helping, or if his body was just getting better like it always does, so he stopped taking the medication for a day. I was so mad at him. Sure enough, he was in so much more pain the next day that he couldn't even walk....just from missing one day of the meds. They ARE helping him, and he does need them right now...and a lot! He's been able to get up and get around with crutches....he's not quite able to walk completely without support, but he's going in that direction....which I'm so happy about. Ever since he's been able to leave the house, I've been taking him with me everywhere. Even if he sits in the car while I run into the store or wherever we go, I like him to come with me. :) I needed to change the oil in my Durango the other day and I made him come with me. As we were sitting there in the waiting area for them to finish, he asked me "why did you want me to come?" I just smiled and said "so you could be by me" He just laughed and said, oh yeah! Haha. He knows how I am. I saw a saying on fb the other day and it describes exactly how I feel....
"Sitting next to you doing absolutely nothing, means absolutely everything to me"
So cheesy, I know, but that's how I feel. :) It's been SO SO SO nice to have him back after being bedridden for almost 7 months!
Anyway, part of the specialist's 'plan of action' was to send Ova to physical therapy. Their hope is that by moving and exercising his joints, the stiffness will loosen and give him some relief. They said they've never seen anyone with so much arthritis in one area. On the x-ray, they couldn't even see the bones in his feet because of the amount of arthritis they saw. Their main goal right now is to lessen his daily pain so that he can function normally....and then they will focus on getting rid of the arthritis. Right now the only options we've been given is cortizone shots (which they can't even do on his feet, which is where the majority of his pain is) or to have surgery and fuze the bones in his feet together and scrape the arthritis out. They don't usually suggest that surgery to youger people because it could really limit the use of their foot. Besides that, they fuzed the bones in his right wrist and scraped the arthritis out of there like months and months ago and he's still in pain from it. :( Physical therapy is our next best option right now and we're praying it will help.
His first physical therapy appointment was today and it was very interesting. Since it was his first appointment.....of course, the physical therapist had to do her own assessment on him. She moved his feet and legs in all different directions to see where the most pain was. I felt bad for him because everything she did hurt him a lot, he was trying to be tough, but I could tell he wanted to scream. She had to do it so she could know the areas she needs to focus on. We found out that his left side is so much worse than his right. Everything was a lot more stiff and didn't have even close to the range of motion that his right side had.
After her assessment was done, she sent in one of the techs to do some exercises with him. They were just simple little exercises that help stretch the joints....and they're little exercises he's supposed to be doing every day. When the exercising was done, they took him to the gym area to do paraffin wax. They said that the heat in the wax is one of the best things because it gets deep into the joints. I joked that we're going to have to go get more pedicures now LOL. They dipped his foot in the wax like 10 times each foot and then tied them up in bags and let them sit. He said it felt really good....but the physical therapist said he would have to do it for a little while before he'll really be able to see the positive effects of it.
That was the extent of his physical therapy appointment. It was very low key, but they gave him a lot of little pointers and tips on things he needs to be doing to exercise his joints. And they want him to see them twice a week for now. I'm so releived that we're finally getting somewhere with this. We've got doctors, and specialists and physical therapists and pain management specialists working on him....and it feels good to me that finally, FINALLY we're going to overcome this. :)
After his physical therapy, we had a lunch date at our favorite spot right now, Green Papaya! There's nothing better than some warm Pho on a cold day!
Step by step, little by little.....we're going to figure this out!
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