Timeline from first symptom to diagnosis

Our son Connor was diagnosed with JDM in January of 2010 and here is a bit of a timeline to show you how this diagnosis was reached...

Towards the end of November 2009, Connor mentioned some pain in his right foot. We found a Plantar Wart and began treating it. We went on vacation in Germany were he mentioned a pain in his knee's, to feeling in his own words, pain 'inside his legs'. By the time we got home on December 9, he needed to be carried almost everywhere. By the end of December he was unable to feed himself, dress himself, sit up or down, lay down and of course walk. Here is a list of tests he went through between December 10 to December 28, 2009

X-ray of his Hips
MRI of his spine
X-ray of his chest
CAT Scan of his brain
CAT Scan of his chest
MRI of his chest
MRI of his hips
Numerous Blood Work
Spinal Tap
and we finished with a Muscle Biopsy

There were many speculations of what might be causing Connor so much pain and one of them was Gullian Barre Syndrom (GBS) due to his first symptoms showing up within a few days of his H1N1 Flu Shot.

The final Diagnosis came on January 11, 2010
-Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM)-

Hope

Hope

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Remembering Rev. Sanford (Sandy) Morgan


Oh where to start other then putting focus on the fact that Sandy, a precious friend to us, finally went to Heaven, the place he was looking forward to going to. It was a long journey for him and as he told me so many times in the past, he was ready.

You sure remember all my postings about the Morgans since the start of my blog. Our paths this past year were intertwined strongly and even thought we did not always see eye to eye in our believe he never gave up on me. He put up a huge fight in God's name and he was a true warrior and I always, always respected and loved him for it. I feel bad that his battle for me and him trying to keep my believe in God strong failed, BUT no matter in what I believe or not I will take comfort in the hope tonight that he is soaring up in heaven now looking down on us without the pain that had taken over his body here on Earth. I hope now that he was right and that I am wrong because if all he tried to tell me was true then he will be happy at last.
He got all he wished for in the end. He was with his beautiful wife and in his home! He might not have sat in his favorite recliner but he was in the same room as his recliner, and the last touch he felt before leaving was that of his lovely wife.

My heart is hurting today because I lost a friend, someone that was proud of me every step of the way. There were times when he was not always able to understand me, especially towards the end. I truly admired him, respected him and loved him. He knew how to build me up or give me hope when I did not feel up for the fight. I am truly sad that he was not able to show me a way back to God, but by gosh, he was the only one that never gave up! He was everything a Church should be like when it comes to trying to keep the sheep in a congregation and not let it loose! I guess the truth is that we were very well matched. He was as strong in his believes as I was strong in mine. Maybe the true issue was, as my husband so beautifully pointed out, is that I never was a sheep but just a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing ;) I know I am not good at following so maybe there really never was a chance ... ;)

So rest in peace, Sandy! Know that you were loved by us and that you will always be part of us! I will miss our talks so so much! I will miss getting letters in the mail and mostly you are the reason I am still working on this blog ... you told me each and every time we saw each other how much this blog mend to you and how proud you were of my writing. You even took the time to correct my grammar and spelling ... How can I write from here on out and not think of what you would think about this and what sentence structure should have been corrected.

I am going to stop now but here is what they boys want to say to you:

Alexander: 'Mr. Morgan, I hope you are feeling happy now that you are in heaven. I hope you like it there and that you are seeing some of your friends.'

Connor: 'Dear Mr. Morgan, I hope you are having a wonderful time in Heaven.'

Hugs,

R A C A

1 comment:

  1. Anke, I am sorry for your loss. As always, I love to read your blog because it is just like being next to you, with the real you coming out, grammar imperfections notwithstanding :) I admire your ability to share unselfishly, and put your emotions out there. What a tribute to your friend. I guess I will have to pick up the slack, because I am confident God will use someone to help you find your way back, and we can't waste all the groundwork that your dear friend Sandy laid....

    ReplyDelete