Thursday, September 21, 2006
It's All About Amy #2 (Amy Update 1)
(This is the first email)
Howdy Folks,
It's Kevin.
I'm not sure who all knows what. Amy has told some folks stuff, and I'm not sure who. So, I will start at the beginning and get us up to today. Also, I'm not going to go into great depth explaining my terms, but I will put links in this email that contain explanations.
Sometime in February, Amy noticed that there was something odd about her vision in her left eye. Not just blurriness, colors through that eye were washing out. She describes it as if she was looking through a matte-finish document protector. She saw the ophthalmologist here at the Army clinic in Bamberg. He referred her to a more completely equipped clinic at the Army hostpital in Heidelburg. (About a 4 hour drive away on the autobahn. I rented a Mercedes E-class for the trip. The drive was GREAT!) They thought it might be optic neuritis. They referred her to the best eye clinic in Germany, if not Europe, in the town of Erlangen. (Erlangen is about 20 minutes down the autobahn from here.) They confirmed the diagnosis, and referred her to a neurologist in town, because optic neuritis is a pre-cursor of, and, sometimes, a symptom of multiple sclerosis. We saw the private neurologist a couple of weeks ago. He did some tests in his office, and looked at the MRI that the eye clinic had done. He saw enough to refer her to the German hospital here in town. We met with the head of the neurology clinic last week. He looked everything over, and said that Amy needed to come in for testing. It would take, at least two days, maybe more, and would involve a spinal tap. The hospital (if I slip, it's called the klinikum in German) was full just then. So, he scheduled for her to come in today for the testing.
Which brings us to today.
Amy was admitted to the Klinikum at 8:30 this morning, and they took some blood. Her roommate in the hospital is a former school secretary with MS named Birgit. She speaks very little English. We didn't see a doctor until about 12:30. They consulted with us, and left. About 3:30, Amy's spinal tap was done, and some more blood was taken. She is fine. She was up and walking an hour and a half later. At 7, she and I walked through a little park that they have on the grounds of the hospital. Her back was bothering her a bit, but not much more than normal. The spinal tap was performed in, basically, the same area where she has a bad disc. I left the hospital when visiting hours were over at 8. We had not heard anything about the spinal tap. They are going to do more tests, less invasive ones (meaning she shouldn't have anything poked into her, or anything extracted from her), tomorrow. We are hoping, at this point, that she will come home either tomorrow, late, or Wednesday. We, also, hope to have some answers tomorrow some time.
The final wrinkles in all of this is the Army and Germany. Let me explain, and bear with me, this will involve alot of Army acronyms.
Before you (a soldier) can go to, or leave an overseas assignment your family members have to go through an EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) screening. EFMP is a program designed to insure that soldiers only go to duty stations where their family members can receive adequate medical care for their conditions. TriCare is in charge of this. (Amy calls it "Try to Get Care".) TriCare will not sign off on her going to Fort Lewis until all of this mess is over. Our first shipment of our stuff is supposed to get packed up in 11 days. Until TriCare signs off on things, Amy can't leave the country. On the other hand, according to the SOFA or Status of Forces Agreement that Germany has with the US, I have to be out of the country by midnight the 17th of July, unless some type of deferment is given. So, Amy may get stuck here in Germany without me, the dogs, or our stuff.
On the flip-side, however, is Fort Lewis. Madigan Army Medical Center is one of the best hospitals in the Army Medical system. It's not just a hospital, it a training center where doctors, physician assistants, nurses, etc. (both military and civilian) are sent for residency and other training. Beaumont, at Fort Bliss, is a similar hospital. I had sinus surgery there in 1990. A friend of mine (civilian) did a residency there in Ear, Nose and Throat. He asked me, during his residency, who did my sinus surgery. I told him. He told me that I probably had the best ear, nose and throat doctor in all of New Mexico, and western Texas working on me. From everything I have heard, the level of care at Madigan is just as good, if not better. So, if I can just get Amy there, I am very confident that we can get her some of the best care that you can get in the States.
So, here I am, at home. I'm fine.
The dogs are fine. The pup and the old, crippled dog are wrestling in the floor. I think Tasselhof is getting the better of the pup. Not bad for a geriatric dog, with only two functioning legs, especially when the pup is twice his weight.
Amy and I have concerns. I wouldn't call them worries, yet. We are both good. We are going to get through this together. We are praying. Any prayers are, as always, appreciated.
Thanks,
Kevin
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 1:04 PM
Subject: Amy Update
Subject: Amy Update
Howdy Folks,
It's Kevin.
I'm not sure who all knows what. Amy has told some folks stuff, and I'm not sure who. So, I will start at the beginning and get us up to today. Also, I'm not going to go into great depth explaining my terms, but I will put links in this email that contain explanations.
Sometime in February, Amy noticed that there was something odd about her vision in her left eye. Not just blurriness, colors through that eye were washing out. She describes it as if she was looking through a matte-finish document protector. She saw the ophthalmologist here at the Army clinic in Bamberg. He referred her to a more completely equipped clinic at the Army hostpital in Heidelburg. (About a 4 hour drive away on the autobahn. I rented a Mercedes E-class for the trip. The drive was GREAT!) They thought it might be optic neuritis. They referred her to the best eye clinic in Germany, if not Europe, in the town of Erlangen. (Erlangen is about 20 minutes down the autobahn from here.) They confirmed the diagnosis, and referred her to a neurologist in town, because optic neuritis is a pre-cursor of, and, sometimes, a symptom of multiple sclerosis. We saw the private neurologist a couple of weeks ago. He did some tests in his office, and looked at the MRI that the eye clinic had done. He saw enough to refer her to the German hospital here in town. We met with the head of the neurology clinic last week. He looked everything over, and said that Amy needed to come in for testing. It would take, at least two days, maybe more, and would involve a spinal tap. The hospital (if I slip, it's called the klinikum in German) was full just then. So, he scheduled for her to come in today for the testing.
When we met with the chief of neurology last week, he confirmed, again, the diagnosis of optic neuritis. He said that to determine if this was MS he would have to do this testing. He, also, said that it might be MS, but MS in such an early state that it would not be detectable. If there was enough evidence to support a suspicion of that, he was going to start Amy on treatment for MS. He said that recent studies have shown that treatment started at that stage have been very successful. The primary method of treatment that he mentioned was with interferons. So, even if they don't find MS, they may start treating her as if she has it.
Which brings us to today.
Amy was admitted to the Klinikum at 8:30 this morning, and they took some blood. Her roommate in the hospital is a former school secretary with MS named Birgit. She speaks very little English. We didn't see a doctor until about 12:30. They consulted with us, and left. About 3:30, Amy's spinal tap was done, and some more blood was taken. She is fine. She was up and walking an hour and a half later. At 7, she and I walked through a little park that they have on the grounds of the hospital. Her back was bothering her a bit, but not much more than normal. The spinal tap was performed in, basically, the same area where she has a bad disc. I left the hospital when visiting hours were over at 8. We had not heard anything about the spinal tap. They are going to do more tests, less invasive ones (meaning she shouldn't have anything poked into her, or anything extracted from her), tomorrow. We are hoping, at this point, that she will come home either tomorrow, late, or Wednesday. We, also, hope to have some answers tomorrow some time.
The final wrinkles in all of this is the Army and Germany. Let me explain, and bear with me, this will involve alot of Army acronyms.
Before you (a soldier) can go to, or leave an overseas assignment your family members have to go through an EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) screening. EFMP is a program designed to insure that soldiers only go to duty stations where their family members can receive adequate medical care for their conditions. TriCare is in charge of this. (Amy calls it "Try to Get Care".) TriCare will not sign off on her going to Fort Lewis until all of this mess is over. Our first shipment of our stuff is supposed to get packed up in 11 days. Until TriCare signs off on things, Amy can't leave the country. On the other hand, according to the SOFA or Status of Forces Agreement that Germany has with the US, I have to be out of the country by midnight the 17th of July, unless some type of deferment is given. So, Amy may get stuck here in Germany without me, the dogs, or our stuff.
On the flip-side, however, is Fort Lewis. Madigan Army Medical Center is one of the best hospitals in the Army Medical system. It's not just a hospital, it a training center where doctors, physician assistants, nurses, etc. (both military and civilian) are sent for residency and other training. Beaumont, at Fort Bliss, is a similar hospital. I had sinus surgery there in 1990. A friend of mine (civilian) did a residency there in Ear, Nose and Throat. He asked me, during his residency, who did my sinus surgery. I told him. He told me that I probably had the best ear, nose and throat doctor in all of New Mexico, and western Texas working on me. From everything I have heard, the level of care at Madigan is just as good, if not better. So, if I can just get Amy there, I am very confident that we can get her some of the best care that you can get in the States.
So, here I am, at home. I'm fine.
She has her Palm, a good book(a collection of Mark Twain short stories), a miniature DVD player, a huge book of DVD's, her cell phone, and two MP3 players full of music (about 8 hours a piece). She is, probably, watching the US play the Czech Republic in the World Cup with her roommate, right now. That game started about 20 minutes ago.
The dogs are fine. The pup and the old, crippled dog are wrestling in the floor. I think Tasselhof is getting the better of the pup. Not bad for a geriatric dog, with only two functioning legs, especially when the pup is twice his weight.
Amy and I have concerns. I wouldn't call them worries, yet. We are both good. We are going to get through this together. We are praying. Any prayers are, as always, appreciated.
Thanks,
Kevin
