More Trials?

Can you believe how fast the holidays went by.  Another year to look forward to. Sam's baclofen trial went great. Baclofen is a medication used for decreasing muscle spasms. Most people take it orally and the body distributes it to all muscles in the body. The problem is it needed to be more spinal cord specific. A group of researchers developed a trial of the drug that is put into the body like an epidural.  So a couple of days ago I took Sam up to the U of U for the trial.  Sam's only apprehension was the needles they used. She had an IV placed, a flu shot, and the epidural that requires the use of a couple of needles. After the medication was injected she was assessed every two hours to see if her spasms, especially in her legs had been reduced. The assessment prior to the trial was hilarious. The doctor and physical therapist came in and neither could bend Sam's legs first thing in the morning. Both proclaimed Sam as the person with the worst spasms they have ever seen. Sam uses the spasms she gets to assist her in moving in some cases. The majority of spinal cord patients have some level of spasticity.  We stayed in a room for about seven hours.  It took almost two hours for her legs to go flaccid.  So what this tells the doctors is the baclofen would be a benefit to her. A company has developed a pump that doses small amounts of the medication into the spinal cord to help reduce or eliminate the spasms.  They instructed us to go home and think about having the pump surgically implanted.  We are going to let Sam think about it for a few days and talk with her main physical therapist about her thoughts on its use.  When Sam's legs were spasm free the doctor asked her how they felt. She said "weird". She was so used to feeling the spasms the feeling was foreign to her. Her regrets of that day were, the IV placement hurt her little arm, and the doctor doing the epidural was not a hotty. Go figure. Sam snap chatted her friends and did homework the whole time.  The epidural wore off sometime the next day.  We are still waiting for the power car seat to help Sam get in and out of the car but it looks like it will be soon.  A couple of people at Neuroworx are starting to walk again.  It is so enjoyable watching someone getting a chance to walk again. It is taking longer than Sam or we want but, she is progressing toward recovery.  We continue to appreciate everyone who visits Sam.  It truly is part of her psychological health. Please know how much we appreciate the concern everyone shows us for Sam.  Thanks for taking care of us in our time of need. Its going to happen!! Pray, Pray, Pray.  Love You Guys.