Greetings from the Enumclaw Expo Center, where I am happy to report I have 50 amp service for the first time since I began living in Nellie! I am attending the first annual Son of a Bear vintage trailer rally with the friends I made over the last eight years while I owned FiFi. You may recall that in May I attended a rally without an RV at all. Now I have Nellie, and I stick out like a big, sore thumb. Everyone is very welcoming though, and curious about Nellie, and I am having a great time. And did I mention that 50 amp service? I can run everything, and I mean everything, all at the same time, and without using propane. Bliss!

I have been thinking a lot about the medical appointment I had last week, and what it means for my health and my future. My physician at the University of Washington is encouraged by my current condition. I have now had three infusions, and the question at the appointment was if I should continue with Entyvio.

When I left work on March 31, I was a complete mess. Each day, I was experiencing at least 15 urgent trips to the bathroom for digestive emergencies. You may recall from other posts that simply leaving the literally gut-wrenching job resulted in improvement; the events reduced from 15 to approximately 10 per day.

They say that it can take a minimum of 10 weeks to see improvement on Entyvio. On what was almost exactly the 10 week anniversary, I experienced an event-free day for the first time in nine months! The following day, another gift of no events. For the first time in almost a year I felt reconnected to my abdomen. It sounds funny to say this, but when I was at my worst I felt hollow between my rib cage and my pelvis. It was as if my midsection was made of dust and could be blown away by the smallest gust of wind.

After two days of feeling normal again – six events the next day. I won’t bore you with a daily calendar, but suffice it to say that I have had two days of normalcy since April. The rest of the time I average between two and three events today, sometimes as many as six.

It is an imperfect improvement, but improvement nonetheless. But, even as I write this, my stomach is pitching and rolling and making terrifying noises – good morning to you too!

My physician recommended that I continue with the infusions, and I will have another one next Monday. When I last wrote about my condition I was concerned that the doctor would recommend ceasing the infusion and beginning clinical trials, which would tether me to the area, so this is indeed happy news. So far I have had none of the side effects reported by others, and I hope that continues. Entyvio can be very hard on the liver, but my blood tests of a few days ago were good. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Like my doctor I also believe that Entyvio is helping, but I believe the biggest factor in reducing my symptoms was leaving litigation. It’s funny – becoming a lawyer was one of the biggest and best decisions I ever made in my life, and ceasing the practice of law was equally so.