Husband's log - February 4th, 2026

 Today Angela was scheduled for a few consultations with different doctors and an HSCT research team.  The first consultation was with the on-site neurologist.  She was very friendly and reviewed the MRI scans with us which Angela had done a couple days ago.  Overall there was good and bad news from the MRI scans.  The good news is Angela has no active lesions, and the old inactive lesions she has are limited to the cerebral cortex and an area my non-medical brain will call 'the middle spine'.  The bad news is the grotesquely alien MRI scans of my wife will give us nightmares forever.  The inactive lesions around the cerebral cortex are believed to be responsible for lapses in memory, slight bladder control issues, and the reason I'm not allowed to lock the washroom door in our house.  The inactive lesions in the middle spine are believed to be responsible for leg numbness after walking short distances.  The neurologist then performed physical tests with Ang to observe the strength and dexterity impact MS has had on her.  She passed all her tests with flying colours except she was a bit slow walking the imaginary tight rope.  This crushed any dreams we might have had of Angela joining the circus.

The second consultation was with an MS research team who determine statistics for outcomes from the HSCT treatment.  To establish a baseline, they had Angela play a game of pegs where she must place pegs in small holes and retrieve those same pegs from small holes one-by-one while someone times her.  All this test established is my wife is great with her hands.  It's almost as if she kneads dough and decorates treats for hours every day.

The last consultation was with one of the hematologists who runs this clinic, Dr. Guillermo Ruiz.  Also a nice man, we learned he and his father run the clinic together.  This was a nice appointment as he was able to tell Angela and I she's in picture perfect health aside from the MS, so she will be the ideal candidate for the HSCT treatment process.  We also learned the chemotherapy has a low chance of side effects (aside from hair loss) on younger patients, yet another reason to undertake the HSCT treatment early in one's MS career despite what the Canadian Government would have us believe.

After these consultations we went on an excursion with some of the other patients to the Great Pyramid of Cholula.  While there, we learned this pyramid is larger than the pyramids of Giza and that each layer of the pyramid was built by different cultures which conquered the previous owners of the pyramid, dating back to societies such as the Olmecs and the Aztecs.  Atop the several layers of pyramid lies an ornate Spanish cathedral built several hundred years ago.  After the long climb up to the cathedral, we're hopeful the next culture to conquer this pyramid has the good sense to install an escalator to the top.  Today was a good day to visit this pyramid, as the Chemotherapy begins February 5th.

Comments

Gma said…
Glad everything going well so far and you both are in my thoughts and prayers 🙏🙏.
February 5, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Shelley & Bob Lowes said…
Sending love and light to you both 🙏⚡️
February 7, 2026 at 4:48 AM
Madeeh said…
Yeah MRI scans can be haunting but glad to hear it’s only on the “middle spine”
February 7, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Hayden M. Lowes said…
I failed the anatomy test in high school, that's the best I can do :P
February 8, 2026 at 6:47 AM
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