G'day,
Well, Merissa is in big troubles, the 2 Retuximab infusions/treatment did come out as failed, not that surprised us as Merissa never had any improvement while on it, in fact, there has been now over 4 months since Merissa has had any relief.
According to the Department in charge of these special treatments authorizations, there are 5 possible treatments allowed/covered by the Government funds, Merissa is on her last one that will arrive today if it fails, she has to wait 5 years before she can apply again.
These new "Biological" treatments are extremely expensive, tens of thousands of dollars each so, I can understand why the Government is not only selective but also restrict with their prescriptions, however, the though/possibility is most unsettling and scary.
According to her specialist, this last Biological treatment called Certolizumab also known as Cimzia, will be administrated with a cocktail combination of "old style" drugs hoping that Merissa will have a positive/improved reaction.
The drug is in a form of an injection that will arrive this afternoon from which I will administrate it to her so, it would be reasonable to say that Merissa is starting today her 5th and last approved treatment for the next 5 years so, is extremely important that it will work and start to work sooner rather than later as Merissa has reached a very high inflammation percentage with lots of swelling, joints "curling" and pains.
This has been a long road and one that would not have happened this fast if wasn't for the extreme generosity of Mr. Anonymous, allowing Merissa to be put in the "private" system and have access to private specialist and test facilities that would otherwise not be possible or at least, be under waiting lists that can be years long...!
So, we try to keep positive but I know that Merissa is getting extremely agitated and frustrated, I try my very best to help her in any way I can...!
It will take a few weeks before we know if this new treatment is working in some way, I will keep you guys updated...!
Cheers
George