Update on Rex Adam’s health

November 19, 2010

This is to update you about Rex’s health. Most of you know he had
a complete knee replacement last April, which was a great success. Yet
following that operation, over a number of months he lost strength
(especially his left arm), suffered from balance problems, and
experienced severe peripheral neuropathy (numbness in numerous body
parts, most especially his feet and legs). After approximately six
months of tests and visits to various specialists, the consensus is
that there appears to be more than one source for his problems. The
peripheral neuropathy source is unknown, but could be some of the
cholesterol/other drugs he has been on over the years, or a host of
other reasons. Hard to know if this can be improved, but it is
considered a separate issue. The loss of strength in his left arm is
pegged to severe compaction/torquing of his cervical vertebrae, due to
osteoarthritis, which he has had for years. This compaction has
essentially cut off the main nerves to his left arm, causing all the
arm muscles to atrophy. So, a spinal surgeon will operate on Jan. 3rd
to stabilize a number of these vertebrae with a titanium rod/screws.
Then the doctor will carefully shave off some of the vertebral bone to
open up more space inside. This is intended to stop further spinal
compaction and give the nerves more room. Without this operation, we
can expect continued nerve pinching and loss of strength in other body
parts. Rex now relies heavily on his right arm for stability (with a
cane) while walking, and if that arm goes he could lose the ability to
walk. This operation is not expected to rectify the problems with his
left arm…once those nerves died the chances of regenerating them and
rejuvenating the muscles are very low. There are a number of
hair-raising risks in this surgery. But given the likelihood that the
vertebrae will only continue to compact and torque, this risk is taken
to stem that process and hopefully keep him stable in a condition we
are calling the “new normal”. So, we’ll keep you posted on how this
goes. Clearly, by now we all know that “getting older is not for
sissies”. Best wishes to each of you, Karen

Posted in BCP