Today is the day of my first infusion. I am learning a lot about DMTs (disease modifying treatment) options, and I still have so much to learn. I may look back at this post and laugh at my description of the treatment plan and how little I knew. That’s okay! You have to start somewhere.

I’ll never forget the appointment where the neurologist showed me the image of my spine and walked me through the game plan. It was hard to hear because if you know me, you know I am a little bit crunchy (note the article in the sidebar).

I still eat processed, non-organic foods, but I lean towards hippie on the spectrum. So I’ve always had a very good relationship with my immune system. I took care of it and trusted it. I am the type to go outside barefoot, give birth in my own bathtub (or wherever, naturally, but that’s another story). I got chicken pox the old-fashioned way, and according to my recent bloodwork the antibodies from that are still doing their thing. I got Covid naturally in 2020 and haven’t had it since. Yes, I do believe in vaccines, medicine, good hygiene, and the reality of bad bacteria. But I’ve never really been afraid of germs. For 43 years I’ve trusted my immune system and nourished it.

Now I’m going to go into a sports analogy, which is comical because I am not, nor have I ever been, an athlete! Still, the way I see it is I’ve been playing basketball with my immune system on my team. I am confident that we could do a pickup game on the street at any moment and my immune system and I will crush it. Whatever I throw at my healthy immune system, it slam dunks. I’m so proud.

So then when I go to the neurologist and she tells me my immune system is turning on me and actually playing for the opposing team, it hurts my feelings. We’ve worked so well together! I trusted them! My neurologist has a game plan though. She says we need to bench my B-cells. We watched the tapes (looked at the imaging of my brain and spine) and she’s right. We’ve been on a losing streak. But then she showed me the roster (the bloodwork), and the team looks healthy, but they just don’t have a great strategy. It’s not teamwork—it’s a catastrophe. So she says we are going to bench the B-cells. The rest of my immune system will still be in the game and can win, but we just have to get the B-cells to stop scoring points for the other team (attacking my central nervous system) . At first I felt uneasy about letting go of this teammate, but in it made sense. So I agreed, and I’m ready to start winning again.

Now back to non-sports terms, the treatment I start today is called Briumvi. It’s an immune-suppressing drug with the highest efficacy. It’s powerful. So powerful that we have to be super careful so that I don’t get hurt. We will start slowly and monitor everything. I will have regular bloodwork and MRIs to make sure that things are going the direction we want. I know I have a mighty army of prayer warriors in my corner, and I am so thankful for that. It means everything to me because this is scary. But God is on my side.

My neurologist showed me my B-cell lab work, and it looks great! My numbers look strong and healthy. She pointed to the CD19/CD20 rows (I think) and then told me we are going to take all those specific b-cells down to zero. ZERO!

Ugh. It’s a very targeted strategy that will still allow me to function but prevent future flare-ups from wreaking havoc on my central nervous system. I will not get into all the science of it, but it’s actually pretty fascinating.

I did get a second opinion from a friend’s husband who is a neurologist that I completely trust. He looked at my chart and agreed with the treatment choice. He was very optimistic. I am also diving into natural remedies and fighting this with a healthy lifestyle.

So that’s the game plan for now. Thank you so much for being the world’s best cheerleaders. Honestly, I could not in a million years dream of a better support system. I picture all of you hoisting me in the air in victory as we beat this thing (metaphorically, of course).