Update on Jodie

Jodie had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Yablon in Jackson on Wednesday, November 16th. This is an email update from Mama after the appointment - I am posting it directly to the site....

The appointment with Dr. Yablon on Wednesday went very well. When we first got there, some of the nurses, therapists and case manager that knew Jodie when she was at MMRC heard that she was there and came to see her. Everyone was so excited at how well she looked – they were very pleased and surprised. All of them complimented on her hair and how cute it was and how her sweater complimented her green eyes.

Dr. Yablon decided that she has had a good response from the oral Baclafen (for spasticity, aka tight muscles) that he feels she is a candidate for the ITB therapy screening test, the ITB stands for Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy. This is especially effective for the arms and legs and often there is relief to the trunk. If this works it can help in her so many ways. Is this a cure for anything – NO – but it could increase her ability to have more control over her movements. So we will pray for this to work and be good progress for her.

She will be admitted to the hospital on December 19th (obviously Jodie must like medical procedures the week of Christmas - if you remember her sinus surgery Christmas Eve a few years back). On the 1st day the therapist will evaluate her – movements, what she can and can’t do and the spasticity issues. The 2nd morning (around 7:30am) they will inject the Baclofen in the area below her spinal cord where the spinal fluid flows around the cord. People often see almost immediate relief, but usually it takes 30 minutes to 1 hour to begin to relax the muscles. They will then re-evaluate her to see if she responds well to the Baclofen. This is only a screening test and the positive results only last about 6 hours, but it is mainly to see if it will work for her, if it does then she may then get a Baclofen pump. The pump is inserted just under the skin of the abdomen (it is 1” thick and 3” across and weighs 6oz.) - the tubing will be inserted directly into the fluid surrounding the spinal cord.

Now I said she may get the pump - the only possible problem with that might be with her shunt and Dr. Yablon will discuss all this with Dr. Espisito (her neurosurgeon).

I know this is a lot of information and I hope I have explained it where it is somewhat understandable. I have been studying the literature he gave me and tonight Jodie and I will watch the video. She listened to everything we discussed on Wednesday and when we asked if she wanted to do it, she raised her hand yes.

Please ask all those who have been praying for Jodie to pray that this procedure will be good for Jodie and it gives her the boost she needs to have a better quality of life.