Mom's in Florida!!!!!

So, that last time I posted, I mentioned Mom's FIRST attempt to fly down to Florida before Ali started Kindergarten. We had booked her flight but then decided to cancel it since it wouldn't have been the best for Mom to have been around Lisa's son, Ryan, who was sick at the time.

Mom hadn't flown in about 23 years which was back when Lisa was involved in an Odyssey of the Mind event in Arizona. Today, Mom went through security and found her gate with no problems so before we know it, she'll be a seasoned traveler! She even made a friend...a woman was behind her in the security line, and somehow Mom discovered this woman was also headed to Lakeland. So they sat near each other at the gate, and the woman even sat next to Mom on the plane...and it's funny since Mom had said, "it would be nice if there was someone I could chat with next to me". Another connection they had is that they are both Christians...not sure how they discovered that...possibly because of the books Mom brought along. So that was just one more little way that God blessed Mom as she traveled today! Mom plans to fly back home on either Saturday or Sunday so Ryan and Ali will have almost a week with their Mom-mom!

Mom wanted to fly down to Lakeland, FL today so she could be with Lisa and the kids while John is in the hospital. For those who weren't aware, Lisa's husband, John, was diagnosed with Meningitis and Gullian Barre Syndrome in late July, and here are the recent updates from Lisa:

(As a follow-up to my post from August, John was able to come home from the hospital BEFORE Ali started Kindergarten which was an answer to prayer!)

Sept. 22
We have hit a little snag in John's recovery process and I wanted to ask you to please pray. It has been 5 weeks since John has been out of the hospital. While he was there for almost a month he made great progress - going from not being able to hardly move his legs while lying in bed- to being able to walk with a walker. He came home and started physical therapy 2-3 times per week. Progress seemed to slow down, even plateau. The end of last week, he was complaining of his legs feeling more tired. Sunday afternoon, he fell twice - having never fallen since being home. Today at PT, John was in the hydrotrack and his legs started to give way - causing an emergency evacuation that got the staff's adrenaline flowing! The doctor at the rehab suspects that John might be experiencing some kind of relapse.

Sept. 23
Last night after the neuro eval, the doctor suggested that the numbness could be caused by something other than the GBS, b/c he has some leg strength and his reflexes are good. There has been another series of back and brain MRI's - but nothing significant has emerged yet. They have started him on a IV steroid treatment, to treat any inflammation that might be contributing to this.

Sept. 24
From the beginning of this - when John was first diagnosed with the Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) - it was also told that he had a very atypical presentation. There were some things that didn't add up, but he received the protocol treatment and improved as time went on and he had physical therapy. As he has been evaluated by his neurologist this time, there have been some things that have again not fit the GBS profile - especially hyper-reflexes and good muscle strength. Also - before, his right leg was the weakest - but this time it is his left leg. The neurologist has now narrowed this down to 2 possible new diagnoses, the first of which he is leaning more towards. They are called Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (MNN)http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/multifocal_neuropathy/multifocal_neuropathy.htm and Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS)http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/primary_lateral_sclerosis/primary_lateral_sclerosis.htm.He is seeming to think it is the MMN, and will be doing more testing to see. Treatment for the MMN often includes the mmunoglobulin treatments he received when they believed it was GBS. These 2 conditions are rare - so much so that the neurologist has hardly seen any cases. So it is possible we might be reaching out to some more docs in time, possibly at Mayo clinic in Jacksonville, who have more experience. For now, he will be finishing out his steroid treatments, and will be possibly be going to the rehab floor again. There will be some more testing, and we will go from there.

Sept. 28
Nerve study that seemed "good" but keep praying.... increased numbness in his legs and hands compared to last Monday.

So as Lisa requested, please pray for John and the medical staff who is treating him and trying to figure everything out. I also ask that you'd pray for strength for Lisa as well as she continues to her household and her job.