Why CCSVI Needs to be Followed-Up, Tested and Done in Canada

I thought it would be interesting, as you might have already noticed, to include all the news stories done about CCSVI this week. This has been the fourth one I think in the last few days.

What angers me most if the lack of understanding people have about what is going on. The angioplasty that mom had is available to ANYBODY in Canada, so long as you don't have MS! I could get it if I needed it. My husband could get it. My brothers could get it. Her sister could get it. Her friends could get it. My friends could get it. But because mom has MS she can't.

Even more angering is the stories in the news that are showing how "risky" and "controversial" this treatment is are ONLY talking about people who have stents put in. While we were in Bulgaria we never met anyone who needed stents because nobody was that severe. At 80% blockage mom wasn't severe enough. Why aren't we paying more attention to this majority of patients who aren't getting the stents?

Anyways, enough of me ranting, here is the news story. My thoughts and prayers go out to this man's family.

CBC News - Health - Ontario man dies after MS vein opening

Two Weeks Since the Procedure

Two weeks ago was "the big day," which is hard to believe.  It seems like so much has happened since then - the rest of our time in Bulgaria, the travels home, all of mom's little improvements, lots of shopping trips, lots of visiting... plus getting back to normal life.

In order to properly reflect on all of these things mom and I are going to do a blog entry tonight to try to list all of the changes we've noticed since the procedure.  Be sure to check back this evening.

CCSVI in the News AGAIN

It is great to see all the media coverage that CCSVI is getting however the lack of response/action by the "powers that be" is so frustrating.  This is the fourth news story about CCSVI since we started our trip to Bulgaria two weeks ago. 

Edmonton Sun:  Protests in Edmonton for "Liberation" Treatment

CCSVI In the News... Again

Just saw this news story about the Liberation Treatment, which will also be on the evening news tonight. This is reason again that we need to get this treatment to be tested in Canada.

When you read this news story you will notice that the complications are caused by the stents, which mom did NOT get put in. This seriously decreases her risk of any complications. It does however remind us of the importance of getting follow-up and testing for this treatment in Canada now, because there are going to be hundreds of MS patients who've had this treatment in Canada soon.

CBC News - Health - MS patients lacking follow-up after experimental procedure

Mom's Improvements

We've been back in Halifax for a few days.  Mom is feeling good and full of energy.  She's been out and about most days since we've gotten out - shopping with her sister, nieces and myself.  Her energy is really good and she is out shopping all of us!

I'm back to work tomorrow so Mom will be at home for the day by herself.  Over the weekend she discovered that her walking was really starting to improve so now she'll have something to practice while I'm at work.  Check it out!

Before treatment... in our hospital room in Bulgaria.



After treatment... tonight in my condo.

Getting Back to Normal Life

We've been back in Halifax for about two days now and am slowly trying to get back to normal life.  After such a long trip I just feel tired to the core of my being.  I am still off in my internal clock by about 2 hours so still have some adjusting to do before I'm back to work next week.

The trip back seemed less organized to me than the trip to Bulgaria.  Every airport we arrived at was confused about the scooter and its battery.  I also found that the airport staff wasn't as helpful on the trip back than on our trip there.  Several times I was responsible for pushing her wheelchair as they didn't have staff to do it.  My personal favourite moment of the whole day was when they pushed us to a security gate and then said to me that they would try to send somebody to push the chair but if we wanted to make our plane I should probably push the wheelchair myself and run. 

Mom is not as tired as I am now that we are home.  I can't remember the last time she had more energy than me!  She's been noticing lots of little changes in the last few days - being able to get out of bed from the other (not wrong) side of the bed, using her bad hand to power her scooter, and moving quicker.  Today she "walked" across the my living room without a cane.  This would be about a four metre walk and it was a pretty shaky/draggy walk but still, she made it.

Mom spent all day shopping with her sister Margaret.  They left my place around 9:30 am and came back around 5:30 pm.  Mom isn't feeling tired like she normally would be and still has energy this evening to do some puttering around. 

It has been really nice to be home though.  We've had lots of phone calls and visits of people wanted to see how mom is doing now that she is home.  Its been really nice to share our pictures with everyone and to see all the support.  I know mom is really looking forward to getting back to Peace River and seeing everyone there.

I have to also apologize for some the blog spelling while I was in Bulgaria.  What I didn't realize when I started the blog is that blogger is an international website so when the computer was in Bulgaria the website thought I was Bulgarian!  Spellchecker didn't work and ever so often decided to change words into Bulgarian for me.  It was really helpful.  Ha Ha.  I'm going to eventually go back into past posts and try to fix these mistakes but in the mean time just remember one of my favourite quotes: "It is a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word." (US President Andrew Jackson)

We're Home!

Thank goodness we survived that trip and we are back in Halifax!  We're so happy to be back.  It was great to be met a the airport by Nick, Margaret and Bhreigh. 

I'll do an update about the trip home tomorrow... I'm to tired tonight.