After having what was arguably one of the worst evenings of my time here, (and if you have read any of my other posts, you know that is saying A LOT!) I woke up on June 24, feeling OK. As I said before, I ate a little and it stayed down. I showered and no dry heaves. Ana and I headed to the infusion room at 10:00am for the Rituximab infusion. About 10 years ago, I was in a trial for Rituximab and MS. I actually had great success on the drug. Meaning, no new or active lesions.

After all that has been going on for the past three weeks, you are probably wondering ‘why the Rituximab? Didn’t you just wipe out your immune system?’ Yes, that is exactly what was done. The Rituximab is just a ‘final sweep’ to make sure that there are no rogue sickly B-Cells floating around. The infusion took about three hours and was pretty uneventful. I took a nap for most of the time.

Shortly after we got to the room, Daniela, the Program Coordinator, delivered my discharge papers. The packet contains information on the do’s and don’ts upon returning home and a list of medications that I will have to take for the next six months.

Now, I know that you might be thinking that just yesterday I told you that my wbc count is at 12,300. Why on earth do I have to take all of these precautions? The reason is because my immune system is now like a baby. Yes, the wbc count is up but those are brand new cells. I need to rebuild my immune system and it is a slow process. The best course of action is slow and steady. I will need to avoid crowds and will not be able to eat out or do a bunch of travelling for at least three months. I will get blood panels done at home to make sure that everything is holding steady and I am recovering. The last thing that I need is to get sick and have to travel at least an hour to get to an ER! One of the drawbacks of living rural. Once I return home, I can start back with physical therapy and exercising but it is recommended to take it very easy for the first two weeks. That will be hard, because once I am home, I know that I am going to think that I have to get back to my usual schedule right now!

And so, just like that, it’s all done! As I said before, this was the hardest thing that I have ever done! The only part that wasn’t difficult for me was the first few days of testing. I believe that it was worth it, though. I am already noticing improvement in my bad leg. My spasticity also seems to have decreased.

I am still a person with MS. Those lesions aren’t going to disappear, ever. The hope is that I don’t progress any further and that I may even have some regression. I feel very positive about that in having had a few PT sessions with a great physical therapist in the last six weeks before I traveled to Mexico. From what I understand, symptoms can flair a little with stress or illness. I expect that. I am not wearing any rose colored glasses. I have never expected to walk out of here and have a fully functioning body. Let’s be honest, my mobility changes didn’t happen overnight. They aren’t going to get better overnight and change will take effort on my part, but I have to remember that my effort needs to be slow and steady.

Clinica Ruiz is an amazing facility. Apparently, the Center for Outpatient Recovery (where we have been living for the past 26 days) was only added a few years back. This is amazing as the patient and caregiver has a small apartment, three meals a day and transportation to any outside appointments. Chemotherapy is done at the Center for Outpatient Recovery. There were only four times that we actually had to leave the facility. The only drawback was that we were only able to take a quick bus tour of the city. We couldn’t get out, because of COVID. I saw so many places that I wanted to stop and eat or look at different artisans wares. I have no complaints about Mexico. I was mad at myself for not having learned quite a bit more Spanish before we left. I’m going to keep working on it! All in all, I give all things Clinica Ruiz, five stars!