My Father's Day Wish

This is my Daddy. He raised me, long ago when dads didn't normally get custody-but he did! He let me barf on him, put bows in his hair and pick out his grey hairs (which I probably caused in the first place). Words cannot describe how much he means to me, and watching him suffer has been truly gut wrenching.

We do not know what is wrong with my dad. We need to know what is wrong with him. He has been going to doctors for so many years, so many doctors for pain that he has had and countless surgeries that never helped anything. One day, he was messing around on facebook and clicked a link about MS. Something clicked with him, when he read that article, that maybe all his weird symptoms are all related. He never really had gone to just one doctor for all the ailments before. He immediately made a doctor's appointment and began trying to get to the bottom of this. We aren't saying he has MS-but he does have SOMETHING. We just don't know WHAT.

Needless to say, one doctor's appointment turned into a few doctor's appointments with specialists with long gaps of time between (specialists take forever to see) and so far, nobody has had any diagnosis or even an inkling of what is wrong with my dad. We are begging someone to please care enough to look at his case and help figure it out. He has gotten so much worse in just a year, I am scared that whatever he has may be irreversible and if we wait too long the effects could be devastating. If this could all be treated or cured in some way, we would love to know-and if it can't, we STILL want to know!

This video is of my dad explaining his symptoms...

Video of my dad describing his symptoms

At least the ones we thought of whilst sitting there talking to the camera. Since we filmed, he probably has remembered a few more that we left out. He isn't a complainer, he doesn't want to burden people with his troubles, he isn't asking for anything for free-he just wants to find a doctor that is willing to help him get to the bottom of this. He does have insurance and can travel (with the help of his loved ones) anywhere in the US.

I am just hoping that this might click with someone somewhere. Maybe someone can share it with a doctor that specializes in this kind of stuff, or maybe just share with me the information of a doctor that may be of help to us.

Chronology of Information/symptoms as best of his knowledge (please excuse the poor formatting, but it was a copy/paste and facebook didn’t like it. I hope to edit it when I have time).

Age 5. - 1958 –I had mono. Epstein Barr virus antibodies are believed to contribute to MS symptoms later in life. Age 8 (or 9)-had an appendectomy

Age 10. - 1963 – Tremors started and continue to this day.

Age 14. – 1967 – Earaches with no sign of infection and eardrum damage. No wax buildup. Doctors can find n reason for the earaches. Continues to this day. (Common among MS patients.)

Age 14. – 1967 – rapid heartbeat and irregular EKG. Common with MS patients. Continues to this day.

Age 25. - 1978 – Tiic Dolorous started. (More common among MS patients than the general population.) Attacks frequently are accompanied with pain behind eyes, blurred vision, and / or double vision. Continues to this day.

Mid 20’s. – About 1980? – Began having serious gum disease. Quarterly visits to dentist for deep scraping/cleaning did not help. Kept loosing teeth until I gave up and had dentures put in.

Age 30. – 1983 – High blood pressure. Continues to this day even after deliberately losing 80 pounds and modifying diet. (Common among MS patients.)

Age 40. - 1993 – Developed symptoms similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. Had bilateral carpal tunnel surgery. No relief. MS can cause pain, numbness, cramping that mimics carpal tunnel syndrome. Many MS patients are miss-diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Age 41. – 1994 – Ulnar nerve issues. Surgery with no relief. Same issues as carpal tunnel. See above. Continues to this day.

Age 55. – 2008 – Balance issues. Stumbling, falling, numbness in feet and legs. Pain in both upper arms – constantly! Continues to this day.

Age 57. – 2009 – slurred speech. Continues to this day.

Age 62. – 2015 – An hour or two in sun and I am totally exhausted. Legs collapse. Fall. Cannot walk. (I was hospitalized for this in 2015.) Elevated creatinine levels (common among MS patients.) Occurs periodically to this day.)

Currently – Chronic exhaustion. Daily periods of double vision. Lack of balance. Frequent falls. Although I can hear fairly well, I always have the feeling that one ear or the other is plugged up. Pain in upper arms never goes away. Numbness in feet, legs never stops, and right forearm numbness never stops. Hands frequently cramp up.

My PRK Story: I Spy With My Little Eye

Update on my corrective eye surgery: Many thanks to all those that have asked how it went...I've avoided giving an official Facebook update because I wanted to give my eye time to heal and really be able to speak about whether or not I thought it was a good thing...

So I sat and pondered the laser corrective eye surgery a LONG time. I was always petrified to do it, because I have, like everyone, heard horror stories and I didn't want that to be me....BUT I am just so sick of contacts, I never really felt comfortable in them and glasses make me a complete lunatic (ask Jaime-and yes, more so than usual).

I consulted three different places-one was Lasik Vision Institute in Oak Brook-They were terrible. They gave me the best deal but they packed people in the waiting room like cattle and then made you wait...and watch a stupid promotional video on loop...then they had you speak to a salesman to ask if you had questions...um..I had plenty of questions for the DOCTOR...Long story short, after many hours of waiting here waiting there I got to see the doctor. She was a complete ass and was so overly fake that even my husband commented on it (he's usually Mr. What'sYourProblemPants)... Another was in Seneca-they were great-just REALLY far away...I finally went with Spectrum Eye Institute...it was much closer to my home, but that is not the reason I went with them. Out of all the places, this was the only one to suggest that I could try a contact in one eye to see how I liked my vision corrected with only ONE eye being operated on...AND they suggested I consider PRK because I am so active (plus the chickens)....The negatives of PRK is that it is very painful to heal from for a few days and your results are not immediate-it can take months to fully see well...

So...Had the surgery almost two weeks ago. My eye felt like it had grains of sand in it at first, followed by a herd of MMA people having at it and popping it back into my head, followed by glass being shoved in my eye and then a boulder on top of the glass...That lasted for three days (first time I ever took prescribed pain pills and they didn't touch the pain)...Then they removed the bandage contact on the fourth day and I was a bit sad because my eye was so blurry. But it has gotten progressively better and here I am two weeks (tomorrow) out and I can see. I can tell you already it was all worth that pain. YEAH! And a bonus is that my eyes have returned to their white color-when I'd wear contacts they always seemed to look an unhealthy creamy almost yellow color.

So there you have it, my stupid summary of my eye surgery. In case anyone wanted my info for their own personal info bank.

UPDATE:  A few days after writing all that I wound up jabbing my eye with the disposable dropper (that jaggedy edge) and got an abrasion.  Instantly, the world went blurry again.  I made it to the doctor who confirmed it was an abrasion, that looked like a big blister.  IT was awful.  It hurt and I couldn't see well at all. :(  It took a solid MONTH for my vision to come back.  BUT  now that it has I am so happy and 100% thrilled with the surgery.  Just remember, when doing drops, drop them into the corner of your eye and then tilt your head to the side so it falls into your eye. :)