In December 2011 she developed a dry cough that was lingering and the doctors thought it was seasonal and related to her work with children. She was offered over the counter cough medicines and told it will get better over time.
In February 2012 she began a workout class and she found her joints to be stiffer. Contributing it to her new workouts, Brittany dismissed these new symptoms. Shortly after that, she developed heartburn and again, began over the counter treatments. However, her cough remained, the heartburn was not dissipating and new symptoms began to surface; the swelling in her hands and feet became constant, she was experiencing dry mouth, difficulty with swallowing, and her cough was still prevalent. We returned to the doctor who referred her to a rheumatologist, Dr. Soleimani, in Arcadia. He diagnosed her with Scleroderma on the basis of her symptoms and sent her for further blood tests. He also referred her immediately to Dr. Furst at UCLA.
After reviewing her blood work and performing a full exam at our first appointment, Dr. Furst and Dr. Kafaja confirmed Brittany’s diagnosis as Diffused Systemic Scleroderma. They ordered additional tests to determine how far the disease had progressed. Brittany had a CT scan of her lungs, an echocardiogram of her heart, a pulmonary function test, and lots more blood work.
Our next appointment in June, was to review all of her results and to begin to look at possible treatment options. Her heart looked good and strong, but from the CT scan her lungs showed that the disease had spread internally to her lungs. She has pulmonary fibrosis in the base and top of her lungs and her lungs are only working at 50% of their capacity. The center part of the lungs showed inflamation and a couple of nodules which the doctors will continue to watch.
Multiple treatment options were presented, including a clinical trial. Since the disease was determined to be quite aggressive,we decided to move forward with the most aggressive option - Cytoxan infusion (form of chemotherapy). Brittany had her first 8 hour infusion at UCLA medical center on Friday July 13th. She did fabulous! Her second one was yesterday, (August 10th) and she handled it like a trooper. Several of her family and friends have joined her not only at her doctor appointments, but at her chemo treatments as well. "Brittany's Entourage", as her doctor's office has affectionately named them, have been a tremendous support to her and her family. The doctors and nurses at UCLA have been supportive as well, welcoming the group- often booking a conference room for their visits so no one is left out.
Brittany has four more treatments to go, and we anticipate she will be done around the end of November/beginnig of December. After her first treatment, she experienced fatigue, and slight discomfort. There are strong long term side effects associated with this drug, and Brittany is taking several other drugs to minimize and these effects. In addition to the Cytoxan, she also is given Mesna to help protect her from potential bladder cancer. She is taking Lupron hormone injections, this puts her body into a temporary menapouse so that in the future she may be able to have children. Like any chemo, there may be some of the 'normal' side effects, like nausea, fatigue and hair loss.
We are so grateful for the love and supprt that all of our family and friends have shown. Please continue to keep Brittany in your prayers. We hope that this blog will help keep each of you informed of her progress. Recently we were able to attend a National Scleroderma confernce in Texas where we were able to be informed and inspired by the many great people we met there. We know that we are on the right track and in the BEST hands.
Although this has been a life altering journey, we have been so blessed to quickly have been put into the right hands, met the right people so we can agressively fight this disease. From the doctors' initial diagnosis, the resources at the conference, the nurses and support of family and friends we feel we are being well taken care of and are so very hopeful!
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| The Morris Family |
