IRVIN VANDER LEEST

Irvin was diagnosed with Amyloidosis in November of 2006. Earlier in the summer he began to be short of breath when walking slowly and steps were nearly impossible. He was scheduled for a hip replacement in October and the late September pre-op determined that his heart would not allow surgery. The doctor in Pella Iowa suspected Amyloidosis because he a patient diagnosed with it just before that. He scheduled tests in Pella and Des Moines that took a couple of months, scheduling meetings with doctors, then scheduling tests while Irvin continued to loose weight. Even the fat pad test did not prove it. Fluid build up around his heart was a serious problem and we were getting anxious to find out the problem. We espressed our wishes to go to Mayo but the doctor did not make work of it until we insisted.

His first few days at Mayo were extensive tests on his heart with Dr. Kyle Klarich. The following week were more tests with Dr. Luis Porrata to try to diagnos Amy. The following week we returned to find out that his fat pad test/bone marrow proved it and treatments began. He has been on Alkeran and Dexamethazone 4 days each month since with a few months off the end of "07 and the first few months this year. His hemo count was down and even with a number of units of blood off and on it took a while for it to recover. During those months off, he was on a weekly treatment of Dex.