Name : Rev. Floyd Ethridge
E-mail : wordoftruth1@Juno.com
Adult: 60 years old
City, State: San Fidel, New Mexico
Areas of body affected: spine, pelvis, right femur, left lower leg bones, big toes and probably hands or wrists
Personal History:
Tentative diagnosis 02/11/02! My husband was hospitalized in February 2000 for a neurological work up. The bone lesions were found by "accident" during an MRI. There followed a round of MRI's, CAT scans, x-ray Bone Surveys etc. The original consensus was metastes from probable prostate cancer. Another doctor was positive it was multiple myleoma in a rare blastic form. Another specialist has been sure it was testicular cancer. The only problem was ... no cancer was ever found in biopsies of pelvic bone and marrow and two sets of prostate biopsies.
In 2001 my husband was awarded Social Security disability with Medicaid due to come into force in February 2002. We applied for Medicaid through our state welfare system and it was approved in December 2001 with back pay to October.
My husband is in a wheelchair most of the time. The pain in his lower body and legs is nearly unbearable. Until two years ago he was a hard working man. Building many churches for Indian Missions congregations across the USA and building a church and campground here at our Indian Mission. Even after the first hospitalization he built a camp dinning area and kitchen extension with over sized 45lb cinderblocks. Now he can't put on his own socks or bathe himself. He gets into the shower, holds on to the frame and I bathe him. He is getting to the place he can barely cut his food but he feeds himself fairly well. I am now the pastor of our church as he can't be up very long at a time.
His only treatment for the past two years has been a single treatment for another type of bone condition but it was discontinued. He's been on morphine for most of the past two years, along with Percosets, Amyltriptylene etc. None of it really gets ahead of the pain but sort of makes life bearable. Today brought the probable diagnosis and a request for bone scans of all four children. Our 38 year old daughter has been suffering with similar pain and problems since her early twenties. I'd been asking the doctors to look at the possibility that it was a genetic problem rather than cancer since cancer couldn't be found. The radiologist brought up the possibility of it being Osteopoikilosis along with Melorheostosis. On reading the symptoms he immediately called us to come in today. Since there didn't seem to be a treatment to help it, he conferenced with several other specialists for anything that might bring relief.
Today the doctor also started my husband on Thalidomide experimentally to see if it will help. It has done great things for cancer patients and is being looked at for some autoimmune diseases. If it helps in anyway, we will post the information. It is expensive...about $1000 per month but he's trying to get medicaid to agree to pay for it.
Looking back this has been going on for years. He just lived with the pain and exhaustion for too long. Good luck to all of you. We'll be praying for you as well. If the Thalidomide helps in a way we'll post the news.