Monday, January 5, 2009

Thanks Dr. Roy L Swank!

Over 17 years ago my wife first met Dr. Swank. She had devoloped some odd symptoms that the doctors were not able to explain and had went through all of the normal testing to find out what it was. After months of testing, prodding and frustration, my wife's family was exhausted. The medical bills were stacking up and the doctors were lost. My wife's father is a pharmacist and has spent years working in the medical field. He had an idea that my wife might have MS even though her tests had come back negative at this point. With this thought on their minds, my wife's mother had heard about Dr. Swank at a concert by a famous pianist. He had mentioned his daughter was seeing Dr. Swank for her MS so my wife's mother approached him and asked him about their situation. He told her about Dr. Swank and his research and they immediately contacted Dr. Swank and setup an appointment.

Because of my wife's age, Dr. Swank was able to see her immediately. They visited him at his Oregon office and he confirmed that she had Multiple Sclerosis. He spent a lot of time explaining what they needed to do and how they could treat the disease without the medications. He started her on the Swank MS Diet and instructed her about rest, stress and a host of other important things. He helped her family to understand how to best help her and reassured them that she was going to be OK. After this first visit, Dr. Swank became their rock in an unstable world of MS. He would take emergency calls at all times of the day and night, and would consult as needed on my wife's health. After we were engaged, I took the trip with my wife to meet Dr. Swank. He took hours with us that day to explain how the marriage would affect her health and explained my role as her new spouse. We visited him yearly and he helped us with the decision to have a child. We feel strongly that he helped shape our view of MS and our view of living with the disease.

Dr. Swank passed away in November and he is going to be sorely missed. He was always so positive about my wife and her health, and everytime we would leave his office feeling like we had some control over this crazy disease. He has left a mark on this world and has helped hundreds, if not thousands, of MS patients have a normal life without lots of medications or side effects. Thank You Dr. Swank for your research, life and your passion for people.

1 comment:

Ze O said...

Thanks for the tip, I will look the good Dr. up. :)