Drew Grimes' MS Journey Fund
Donation protected
Hello! I am Drew's friend, Bianca. I am starting this GoFundMe account in Drew's name and have written this explanation alongside Drew, with their help and permission. They personally thank you in advance for reading their story.
In 2017 Drew started to notice that their left leg was weaker & hurt particularly when something cold touched it. Drew was confused, and able to work so they just kept going. Eventually they started to notice that there was a gray dot in the middle of their vision in their right eye. The dot started to grow as time went on, but they were very busy with work and nursing school and just kept going. A few weeks later they were putting their socks on and noticed an unusual inability to keep their balance. They sprained their ankle, and as the leg grew more painful, and the dot in their eye grew larger it became obvious that something needed to be paid attention to. They started with the optometrist, who even after nerve stimulation could not figure out what was wrong. So, they went to the ophthalmologist who's first words after looking into Drew's right eye with a slit lamp were, "This looks like multiple sclerosis." They were referred to a neurologist and decided to not take anything seriously until it was confirmed. After only an MRI, the neurologist said it was obvious enough to go ahead and diagnosis Drew with remitting relapsing multiple sclerosis in April of 2017. They were given IV steroids and, within a few weeks, 95% of their vision returned to their right eye and their leg got better without ever being the same. Over time they found they were able to live with the remaining symptoms from their left leg, and they remained free from relapse. However, they had small flares that ended up leaving permanent symptoms including intermittent chest pains called the "MS hug", incredible fatigue, and heat intolerance that affected their life more and more each year.
In September of 2020, their routine lab work came back to show that their disease modifying therapy, or DMT, had depleted their lymphocyte count to 0.3. Their neurologist told them to temporarily stop taking their DMT and advised taking the safest precautions possible against COVID-19 considering their then weakened immune system. They stayed almost completely inside except for walks from the beginning of September to the beginning of November of 2020, when their labs were back in normal range. During this time, Drew developed heavy mood swings that began to effect their daily life and sought help from their neurologist who shed light on the fact that bipolar disorder and MS are commonly linked. They were prescribed a mood stabilizer that changed their life for the better and made them themselves again. In January of 2021, their labs were good enough to start a new DMT that was chemically almost the same as their previous DMT, newer, and supposedly more effective. However, during this time off of DMT they felt their neurologist in Frisco was not communicative enough and decided to seek care with a bigger world class facility, at UT Southwestern in Dallas, TX in April 2021. Drew met Dr. Horton who had high hopes for their MS care, started leading them in a new direction, and ordered an MRI to determine baseline for her care and to see how their disease processed may have been effected by being off DMT. The MRI happened to show that Drew was in their first true relapse with 3 new lesions compared to their MRI in Summer of 2020, and two of the lesions were active. To combat this disease activity, Dr. Horton ordered a high dosage of oral steroids for three days that Drew took at home. Drew usually has a hard time with steroids and expected to not feel well, but this expectation caused them to overlook the fact that they were becoming highly symptomatic in a way they had not been before. They were exhausted to the point of no words, they could hardly use their left leg, and their brain was so fogged they started to lose memory and cognitive function. Their partner convinced them to call Dr. Horton's office and their nurse set up a room for them in the ER at Clements University Hospital. They were admitted that evening, May 25, 2021 for an exacerbation of MS, and prescribed high dosage IV steroids for 3 days. The next day Drew woke up and realized that their body was completely different. The entire left side of their body was now effected with totally different sensations split down the middle of their face, through their torso, and to their toes. The feeling and pain increased down the body with the leg being the most painful and hypersensitive. They were weak and immobile and for the first day still not cognitively functional. During this admission they started physical and occupational therapy and were recognized as a candidate for inpatient rehabilitation. As the week went on, the symptoms lightened but persisted and Drew was transferred to Zale Lipshy Rehab Hospital on May 28, 2021. The next day, after physical therapy had assessed them and determined their baseline, Drew was taking a shower with their occupational therapist. When they stood up to the walker with their left leg outside of the walker and their right leg inside, they experienced the worst pain they've ever felt in their life: shooting fiery, electrical pain in their leg all the way up to pins and needles in their scalp. Immediately after, Drew was unable to move their left leg and began to have constant tremors in their back, shoulders, and arms. It became very confusing to Drew and their family why they would continue to experience new, worsening symptoms and pain when they had been treated for the relapse with steroids thoroughly. They began working with neurology at the rehab hospital and had another MRI ordered. This MRI came back showing no new lesions and no active disease process, which sounds like a good thing. But the neurologist explained that because they continue to have symptoms that aren't neurologically attached to their lesion locations, that it's a sign their lesion load is overwhelming the brain. This is an indication that the remitting relapsing disease process is now changing to progressive disease process.
This means that Drew is, in a way, consistently in relapse and subject to many different changes at any time, most likely for the rest of their life. There are certain symptoms that are still a part of the remitting relapsing disease process and certain symptoms that are apart of the progressive disease process. Which ones we will not know until about 6 months out when the dust has settled and Drew has started their new DMT. This is going to create an immense amount of change in Drew's life. Currently, they are mostly wheelchair bound and able to walk only to transition and for therapy. They spasm and move nonstop throughout the day. They had to secure a new housing situation due to the stairs in their current home. They will be moving at the end of June. They have not been employed since the beginning of the pandemic and have been scraping by on unemployment which is due to end in Texas on June 26th, 2021. In the coming months, employment does not look like it will be an option until they can get their symptoms better under control.
Drew is asking for help in order to focus on their recovery over the next year. There are also a slew of incoming medical bills of which size we can only imagine, with a hospital stay, a rehab hospital stay, and an undetermined amount of time with home health rehabilitation. This is an extremely scary and unnerving time not only for Drew and their life but also for them and their family, financially. Anything at all that you're able to give at this time or any time in the future is appreciated more than you could possibly know. Any amount of stress lifted on Drew right now enables them to focus on their recovery and not have to worry about things like housing, food, and other bills. If you've made it this far, thank you so much in advance, thank you so much for reading, thank you for being a part of their journey, whether you're able to help or just be here in spirit. Please send a good vibe or prayer Drew's way. They love you and we all love Drew.
If you do not feel comfortable donating via GoFundMe, Drew's other accounts are:
CashApp - $drewannplz
Venmo - @drewannplz
Paypal - @drewsey
In 2017 Drew started to notice that their left leg was weaker & hurt particularly when something cold touched it. Drew was confused, and able to work so they just kept going. Eventually they started to notice that there was a gray dot in the middle of their vision in their right eye. The dot started to grow as time went on, but they were very busy with work and nursing school and just kept going. A few weeks later they were putting their socks on and noticed an unusual inability to keep their balance. They sprained their ankle, and as the leg grew more painful, and the dot in their eye grew larger it became obvious that something needed to be paid attention to. They started with the optometrist, who even after nerve stimulation could not figure out what was wrong. So, they went to the ophthalmologist who's first words after looking into Drew's right eye with a slit lamp were, "This looks like multiple sclerosis." They were referred to a neurologist and decided to not take anything seriously until it was confirmed. After only an MRI, the neurologist said it was obvious enough to go ahead and diagnosis Drew with remitting relapsing multiple sclerosis in April of 2017. They were given IV steroids and, within a few weeks, 95% of their vision returned to their right eye and their leg got better without ever being the same. Over time they found they were able to live with the remaining symptoms from their left leg, and they remained free from relapse. However, they had small flares that ended up leaving permanent symptoms including intermittent chest pains called the "MS hug", incredible fatigue, and heat intolerance that affected their life more and more each year.
In September of 2020, their routine lab work came back to show that their disease modifying therapy, or DMT, had depleted their lymphocyte count to 0.3. Their neurologist told them to temporarily stop taking their DMT and advised taking the safest precautions possible against COVID-19 considering their then weakened immune system. They stayed almost completely inside except for walks from the beginning of September to the beginning of November of 2020, when their labs were back in normal range. During this time, Drew developed heavy mood swings that began to effect their daily life and sought help from their neurologist who shed light on the fact that bipolar disorder and MS are commonly linked. They were prescribed a mood stabilizer that changed their life for the better and made them themselves again. In January of 2021, their labs were good enough to start a new DMT that was chemically almost the same as their previous DMT, newer, and supposedly more effective. However, during this time off of DMT they felt their neurologist in Frisco was not communicative enough and decided to seek care with a bigger world class facility, at UT Southwestern in Dallas, TX in April 2021. Drew met Dr. Horton who had high hopes for their MS care, started leading them in a new direction, and ordered an MRI to determine baseline for her care and to see how their disease processed may have been effected by being off DMT. The MRI happened to show that Drew was in their first true relapse with 3 new lesions compared to their MRI in Summer of 2020, and two of the lesions were active. To combat this disease activity, Dr. Horton ordered a high dosage of oral steroids for three days that Drew took at home. Drew usually has a hard time with steroids and expected to not feel well, but this expectation caused them to overlook the fact that they were becoming highly symptomatic in a way they had not been before. They were exhausted to the point of no words, they could hardly use their left leg, and their brain was so fogged they started to lose memory and cognitive function. Their partner convinced them to call Dr. Horton's office and their nurse set up a room for them in the ER at Clements University Hospital. They were admitted that evening, May 25, 2021 for an exacerbation of MS, and prescribed high dosage IV steroids for 3 days. The next day Drew woke up and realized that their body was completely different. The entire left side of their body was now effected with totally different sensations split down the middle of their face, through their torso, and to their toes. The feeling and pain increased down the body with the leg being the most painful and hypersensitive. They were weak and immobile and for the first day still not cognitively functional. During this admission they started physical and occupational therapy and were recognized as a candidate for inpatient rehabilitation. As the week went on, the symptoms lightened but persisted and Drew was transferred to Zale Lipshy Rehab Hospital on May 28, 2021. The next day, after physical therapy had assessed them and determined their baseline, Drew was taking a shower with their occupational therapist. When they stood up to the walker with their left leg outside of the walker and their right leg inside, they experienced the worst pain they've ever felt in their life: shooting fiery, electrical pain in their leg all the way up to pins and needles in their scalp. Immediately after, Drew was unable to move their left leg and began to have constant tremors in their back, shoulders, and arms. It became very confusing to Drew and their family why they would continue to experience new, worsening symptoms and pain when they had been treated for the relapse with steroids thoroughly. They began working with neurology at the rehab hospital and had another MRI ordered. This MRI came back showing no new lesions and no active disease process, which sounds like a good thing. But the neurologist explained that because they continue to have symptoms that aren't neurologically attached to their lesion locations, that it's a sign their lesion load is overwhelming the brain. This is an indication that the remitting relapsing disease process is now changing to progressive disease process.
This means that Drew is, in a way, consistently in relapse and subject to many different changes at any time, most likely for the rest of their life. There are certain symptoms that are still a part of the remitting relapsing disease process and certain symptoms that are apart of the progressive disease process. Which ones we will not know until about 6 months out when the dust has settled and Drew has started their new DMT. This is going to create an immense amount of change in Drew's life. Currently, they are mostly wheelchair bound and able to walk only to transition and for therapy. They spasm and move nonstop throughout the day. They had to secure a new housing situation due to the stairs in their current home. They will be moving at the end of June. They have not been employed since the beginning of the pandemic and have been scraping by on unemployment which is due to end in Texas on June 26th, 2021. In the coming months, employment does not look like it will be an option until they can get their symptoms better under control.
Drew is asking for help in order to focus on their recovery over the next year. There are also a slew of incoming medical bills of which size we can only imagine, with a hospital stay, a rehab hospital stay, and an undetermined amount of time with home health rehabilitation. This is an extremely scary and unnerving time not only for Drew and their life but also for them and their family, financially. Anything at all that you're able to give at this time or any time in the future is appreciated more than you could possibly know. Any amount of stress lifted on Drew right now enables them to focus on their recovery and not have to worry about things like housing, food, and other bills. If you've made it this far, thank you so much in advance, thank you so much for reading, thank you for being a part of their journey, whether you're able to help or just be here in spirit. Please send a good vibe or prayer Drew's way. They love you and we all love Drew.
If you do not feel comfortable donating via GoFundMe, Drew's other accounts are:
CashApp - $drewannplz
Venmo - @drewannplz
Paypal - @drewsey
Organizer
Drew Grimes
Organizer
Plano, TX