Gettysburg Chiropractic / Dr. Timothy Sheahan / Dr. Carter Stephan

Great news, I’ll be back to work soon. I’ll start with part time and increase hours as my legs tolerate. I’ve missed you guys!

Week by week I am slowly, slowly, slowly showing signs of improvement. (I know now why the Sea Turtle is the CIDP mascot.) I've settled into my weekly routine, ...consisting of PT sessions (where I usually get scolded for doing too much), daily exercise sessions (where I usually do too much), daily naps (love my new chair), lots of reading (Kindle Unlimited is my friend), some TV (daytime TV is horrible), giving Jess a back rub (the least I can do for all her work helping me), and the highlight of the week is my Friday date with a nurse (for an inhuman amount of steroids delivered via IV). The steroids have not made me into the Incredible Hulk, but do make me want to eat myself into the Incredible Bulk. My hope of being back to work by early January looks too optimistic, so I'll shoot for February now. Reevaluate, adapt, repeat, is the new normal. I'm walking better but fatigue sets in rapidly and I still have that pesky numbness in my hands and feet. Today was a beautiful day so I invited Mom and Debbie for a scenic drive and picnic lunch to see some places where Jess and I used to run (and where I will run again). One positive from being off work on disability is you get a lot of free lunches and I never pass up a free lunch (thanks, Mom). Thanks for your continued thoughts, prayers and support. I can stay strong knowing I have so many pulling for me. It does help. I didn't choose to get CIDP, but I can choose how I respond to this challenge. If I can be positive, so can you. Love to all. #CIDP See more

Went for short walk with Emily and Jess along one of my favorite creeks. Very slow recovery with a few bad days sprinkled in, but just trying to focus on the po...sitives. I fatigue easily, so mornings are my best time of day and with the beautiful sunshine this morning was a good day. I have had several letters and texts asking how I can stay so positive. I've always been an optimist and I've always been able to see a problem and make a plan. This has greatly helped me to stay positive and remain "oh so pleasant", especially on the bad days when I feel like I've had a set back (I added my favorite quote from "Harvey", which I feel the whole world would do well to follow). I've also been asked if I had, or if this is COVID related, and NO it is not. This disease is CIDP and is an autoimmune disease where my body decided to attack the myelin covering my peripheral nerves. As I've said before, it's treatable but not curable, but I'm focused on the treatable part. Thanks for your continued support and prayers. At times I feel like George Bailey (I know, a second Jimmy Stewart reference) , and it truly is humbling. Here's a short video link explaining CIDP. https://youtu.be/oDSWrMkvnn0 See more

What do Lance Armstrong and I have in common. We've both done triathlons, ultra marathons and use(d) steroids. Today I'm getting my weekly 1000mg dose of methyl...prednisolone. Lance got his own cocktail. Feeling stronger week by week but some days have set backs. Able to walk a bit with a cane, but I do tend to look like Frankenstein's monster. Hands and feet still feel a little numb, but hoping that too will improve. Sunday Jessica Slechter Sheahan and I got away to Ocean City for a few days for a change in scenery. Made our usual stops for OC's gustatory requirements. Thanks for the continued support and prayers. Baby steps are still signs of progress. See more

Dr. Sheahan’s update from his personal FB page.

Well look here....Someone walked with the walker to kitchen table. Goal for the day met by 8:00am. Tim woke up and said, "I think I'm going to walk to the kitch...en." I said, "Um, ok. I'm going to put some shoes on!" This is the third day he has been able to stand up. He celebrated with a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats at the table. Second round of IV steroids was yesterday and things are slowly and steadily improving. The mascot for CIDP and GBS is the turtle. He is embracing that! See more

After his second trip (10 days this time) to Johns Hopkins Hospital, we are happy to say that Dr. Sheahan is back at home and hopefully on the road to recovery. This stay involved multiple tests (MRI’s, CT’s, PET scan, numerous blood tests) and he had 5 treatments of plasmapheresis, to hopefully stop and reverse the progression of CIDP (an autoimmune neuromuscular disease). Since his third treatment, he has noticed some return of leg strength, which is the first positive sign since his illness began 12 weeks ago. Dr. Sheahan thanks everyone for their prayers and support as well as the many cards and messages of well wishes. He feels truly blessed and touched by the show of support he has received. We will keep you posted of his progress.