Rough Day

Today was treatment day again for Tracy. Unfortunately this has not been a good day for her. Tracy is not feeling well at all, has lost control of her legs again and as if that wasn't enough, she also has a cold. All of this has her her doctors very worried because her body's defenses are low which makes fighting off more viruses/bacterias extremely difficult. With that in mind they are going to do an X-ray today and check for infection.We ask that you all pray and send your positive vibes to Tracy that the result is negative! The last thing any of us want is for Tracy to suffer more than she already has. Not only that but this has also made for an extremely tough day on Josue who tries to remain strong but can not bear seeing Tracy suffer, so let's keep him in our thoughts as well, he needs the emotional support!
Lastly a very special thank you to Barbara Curry and to Macy & Helen Hovland for reaching out and sending much needed and appreciated donations. 

Didactics Mi Primer Cole

This deserves a special post all of it's own!

I am so happy to announce that 'Didactics Mi Primer Cole' has gone above and beyond in their support of Tracy and is offering several months care for Xavier at NO COST!

For those who are not familiar with Didactics it is one of the most highly recommended pre-schools in Vallarta. The quality of care they provide along with all the fun activities is top notch. Their show of support in the community clearly can't be beat either!

Many thanks to Rosario and everyone at Didactics, your kindness knows no bounds!

For those of you looking for somewhere safe and fun for your children to go, you can contact the school as follows:

Tel: 52 322 225 4836
Address: Niza #269 Colonia Versalles, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

You can also find them on facebook!

Yesterday Tracy received her second treatment and will continue to receive one every two days. We are happy to report that she is responding well to these treatments. Tracy said that she is feeling a bit better as well as has gained some feeling back in her face already which is great news!

One of the things that Josue mentioned to me was how hard it was to see Xavier wanting to be held by his Mama but that she simply does not have the strength. One can only imagine how heartwrenching this is for Tracy as well. Here you can see Xavier trying to get his cuddles in with mommy and just how weak and exhausted Tracy is.



Tracy still can not stand or walk and will be out of commission even when she goes home which she hopes will be in about a weeks time. It will be a hard journey for them all but I know that Josue and Xavier will be thrilled to have Tracy home again.

With all of the treatments necessary and Tracy unable to work or keep up with Xavier we are calling out to everyone for assistance. It is always hard to ask for help and we don't want Tracy and Josue to even worry about doing so.

The Young Professionals Organization which is run by Lindsay Prime Mayer is in the works of planning their November meet-up where all funds raised will go towards supporting Tracy. As soon as the details are in order I will post that info and we hope to see you all there.

Other things we can do to help would include things such as childcare, meals, and of course monetary donations can go a long way in helping with the medicals bills. If you feel that you are able and would like to help with any of those things, please contact me and we will organize it or click "donate" on the sidebar.
For businesses that would like to offer services/assistance, as a thank you to you for your support we will also promote your establishment both on this webpage as well as the YPO page which has over 700 active members who rely heavily on member recommendations.

I know that Tracy and Josue appreciate all of your well wishes and send a big thank you out for that.

Thanks also to Lorrie Barclay Sandoval, Lindsay & Paul Mayer, Brandy Schwab and Jessica Ritchey who made very generous donations.

Tracy's story

It all started on Wednesday, October 17th when Tracy woke up. She had numbness in her right foot and toes. Thinking it was odd that it felt this way, she blew it off and figured it would go away. Later in the afternoon, she started having the same sensation and numbness in her left foot. By that evening, she was frustrated because she couldn’t get comfortable on the couch and kept switching positions while trying to watch TV. Giving up on watching her show, she went to bed and had a restless night with the same discomfort.

When she woke up on Thursday, she felt worse. Her entire back was in a lot of pain and now she had
numbness in her mouth, food tasted funny, and her hands were also numb. She had never had back
pain like this before and decided to locate a chiropractor to see if she could find relief. She visited
a chiropractor who adjusted her to realign her spine and pelvic bone. She talked to him about the
numbness in her hands, feet and mouth and he performed a neurological exam. He ruled out the
possibility of the problem being neurological and thought that he had located the problem.

Thursday night was another sleepness night and Tracy was in tears because of the pain. She considered going to the hospital because of the discomfort. She couldn’t eat, sleep or get comfortable no matter what she did. On Friday, it only got worse so her husband and a friend took her to the emergency room. The doctor on duty saw that her problem was neurological and called the neurologist. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see him until the next morning, so it was another night without sleep or comfort.

Saturday morning she saw Dr. Soto at the San Javier Marina hospital. He performed more tests and
ordered an MRI especially since her face was showing signs of paralysis and numbness now. With the
help of Pam Thompson-Webb, she was able to receive the MRI later that day rather than waiting until
Monday. When the test results returned – everything looked normal.

The doctor started thinking that it was Guillain Barre Syndrome, which is a disease that attacks the peripheral nervous system and is very rare, but dangerously serious if not treated. It begins with an infection from something as simple as a cold, (which Tracy had two weeks prior) followed by ascending paralysis starting in the hands and feet which travels towards the trunk of the body. It can cause life-threatening complications, in particular if the respiratory muscles are affected or if there is autonomic nervous system involvement.

Luckily, Dr. Soto was familiar with the signs of the disease and started conducting more tests including an electrolysis exam to examine the nerve reactions in her body. The results of this test confirmed that him and his colleague Dr. Peña's diagnosis was correct.

There are only two treatments available to cure this disease if caught early enough - intravenous
immunoglobulins or plasmapheresis. For the first treatment, Tracy decided to try the immunoglobulins
medicine since it was immediately available in the hospital, however, she was told that she needed 36
treatments, which would be very costly. So, on Sunday, she met with Dr. Raul Morales, who turned
out to be Tracy’s savior. Dr. Morales is one of the leading doctor’s in the research and development of
plasmapheresis treatments. His methods are world renowned and have the best results compared to
other treatments available. During this process, the blood is cleaned with a UV light from the antibodies
that are causing the deterioration of the peripheral nerves and replaced with clean antibodies when the blood is returned to her body. After one treatment, Tracy regained some feeling in her right foot and face. The doctors were amazed at the almost immediate results.

Tracy truly felt so grateful that she was able to find Dr. Morales in her home town of Puerto Vallarta. He has had patients fly from all over the world to Puerto Vallarta to receive his treatments and here he was in the right place at the right time to help her. Dr. Morales told Tracy that they had started treating her disease at just the right time since her central nervous system was continuing to deteriorate and travel up her body. It becomes very serious if it starts attacking the upper chest area where the heart and lungs are located.

At this time Tracy is scheduled to receive 8 treatments from Dr. Morales, her next being on Thursday, Oct 25th. Her entire body is very weak and she cannot stand up, walk or move without assistance. After the treatments are finished, she will continue to be monitored to ensure the disease is cured. If more treatments are required, she will receive them. She will also require physical therapy for weeks or possibly months to regain strength in her face, hands, feet, legs and other affected areas of her body.

Guillain Barre Syndrome is very rare affecting 1 or 2 people per 100,000 annually. Tracy was extremely lucky to find the right doctors that helped diagnose her quickly and start treatment.

We are all hoping for a full recovery as she has the care she needs right here in her hometown of Puerto Vallarta.

As you all know by now, Tracy was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome.
This news comes as a shock to all of us, but no one more so than Tracy herself and her husband, Josue.

With Tracy's family and friends located all over the globe we hope to use this blog to keep everyone updated on her condition, her progress and to give her and Josue much needed emotional support.

But that's not all we can do. Tracy's road to recovery will undoubtedly be a long one therefore we have set up an account so that donations can be made to assist Tracy and Josue through this very trying time. (Just click the donate button on the sidebar.)

We hope that you will check back here often and share this page with everyone you know.

Please feel free to leave messages for Tracy and remind her that she is not fighting this alone, but that she is supported by her loving husband, her son, her family, her friends, and her community.