CentraState - Healthy Directions

9 www.centrastate.com Spring 2014 Board-certified neurologists Yih Lin Nien, MD; David Frank, MD; and Anita Mehta, DO, played key roles in Elizabeth's success story. Symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis The Neuroscience Center of Central Jersey at CentraState offers comprehensive care for brain, spine and nervous system conditions. For more information, visit www.centrastate.com/neuroscience or call 866-CENTRA7 (866-236-8727). HD • Drooping of one or both eyelids • Double vision • Facial or throat muscle weaknesses, resulting in altered speech, difficulty swallowing or chewing, or limited facial expressions • Weakness in neck, characterized by the head dropping forward or backward • Weakness in arms or legs • Shortness of breath turned the tide. According to Dr. Nien, "Elizabeth was awake, following commands and showed signs of improvement." With the confirmatory test finally in hand, Dr. Nien started Elizabeth on a long-term treatment regimen of two immunosuppressive medications that would work to keep the disorder under control. The pulmonary physicians weaned Elizabeth off of mechanical ventilation, and she was able to breathe with portable oxygen. Within another three to four days, she was moved to The Manor Health and Rehabilitation Center, located on CentraState's campus, for rehabilitation, where she was weaned from oxygen and recovered her strength and her life. "They were just brilliant, the people at CentraState, because they coordinated between the pulmonary group, Monmouth Ocean Pulmonary Medicine, the staff neurologists, and her internist [Leonard Schindel, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician on staff at CentraState]," Hal states. "The nurses in the ICU were wonderful; they see this all the time. To them, it was just another day at work. To me, this was my mother's life, and they were great." Elizabeth is now followed on an outpatient basis by David Frank, MD, board-certified neurologist on staff at CentraState, who notes that "she walked in here upright and basically in remission. All of her various ailments are largely gone." Dr. Frank is slowly reducing the high-dose steroids that saved Elizabeth and replacing them with steroid-sparing medications that can be taken on a long-term basis. "The goal is to have her on a regimen where she's on the least amount of prednisone she needs," Dr. Frank says. "Hopefully, no prednisone and instead another drug that will suppress the autoimmune process without the side effects of prednisone." "She looks five years younger than when she went into the hospital," Hal says. "Her smile came back, her mannerisms, her personality. She's back to cooking, cleaning, everything she enjoys." Hal adds, "When a person deteriorates in the late 80s, it's not necessarily from old age. It could be a specific disease that tends to get masked. That's why the hospital was so wonderful. They were able to coordinate between the different disciplines and get to the cause of my mother's illness." Although Elizabeth doesn't remember much of her time at CentraState, she does appreciate the care she received there. "It's a miracle. They were excellent at CentraState," she says. "I guess [God] didn't want me up there yet."

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