i have been in rhode island with steve since jan. so much has happened that i dont know where to start, but i thought i would fill you in on some of what i do know. i arrived in jan in a lot of pain and virtually bound to a wheelchalir. i am now walking though i still have moments of hard pain shooting down both legs and my right arm. i am getting very foggy and my memory is shot. i have had a lot of med changes and sometimes i feel like i am just exhausted and want to throw my arms up in total defeat. there is so much.. just soo much.

Stevem53 here..I am going to put my 2 cents worth in..Laura has been here almost a year now, and she has been through alot..Alot of pain, alot of Dr's, and alot of med changes..You name the pain med, or muscle relaxer, and she's probably been on it..She also went from Sinemet to Stalevo..Some of the meds looked very promising, only to be disappointed in a few days when the pain came back..I have seen her in pain that I can't imagine..I lost count of how many trips we made to the ER, but those trips to the ER, and the two hospital stays at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River Ma, have opened up doors for al kinds of help..The event that opened the door for the most help, was the 6 days when she was hospitalized with cellulitus..She got hooked up with a social worker, during that stay, and that opened up the door to the Southcoast VNA..She has nurses come here almost every day, and the nurses are on call 24/7..She has a social worker, an advocate, reiki, a massage therapist, volunteers who do different things..She has a great Primary Care Dr, a Counselor, a pain clinic, and she now has roots in Mass General Hospital in Boston, and has a neurologist who the Chief of Staff at the hospital

It has been a very long road to get the care she needs..In the beginning, because she had healthcare insurance from the State of Washington, we would go to Dr's appointments and when they looked at her health insurance card, they just slid it back back to her, and said "sorry, we cant help you"..Come to find out, Massachusetts is in network, and Doctor visits are only a $15.00 co-pay

She came to Rhode Island in a wheel chair, and now she is walking, not all the time, but alot more than she was..One day she even drove..We went to the beach one afternoon, and on the way home I got dyskinetic, and I can't drive when I that starts..So she drove about 8 miles without a problem

So it has been a journey, and hopefully it will conclude with Laura feeling better, getting her independence back, and living the life that she has wanted to, but hasnt been able to