Local resident tries new treatment to fight MS – Martinsburg Journal

Submitted photo The Hess family enjoys time together around Christmas 2016 as Kelly Hess, right, goes through a new drug treatment plan for multiple sclerosis.

MARTINSBURG Kelly Hess is a hardworking family man. He lives with his wife and two children and goes to work every day. In 2013, however, everything changed.

One day I woke up, I think it was a Saturday, and had a tingling in my feet and then by Monday I was numb from the chest down, Hess said.

He went to urgent care, and they sent him to the Winchester Emergency Room.

I was there for three days, Hess said.

It was there that Hess was informed that he has multiple sclerosis or MS. Hess said he had only heard of MS and wasnt even sure what it was.

I had no idea, no idea. My education with that started when I got diagnosed. They brought me pamphlets and paperwork and stuff like that told me what I had, and that was the first time that I really had been exposed to anything other than the name of it, Hess said.

Hess said limitations accompany the diagnosis.

I have balance issues its harder to walk on different terrain and running is not the best. You feel a little clumsy more than anything, Hess said. You can have brain issues; I dont always remember things. Im getting by day to day. Its not like I cant handle anything, its just there are certain limitations.

At first, his medical plan was working.

They hook you up with an IV and they keep you in the hospital for three to five days depending on what they feel is necessary. After that, they figure out what type of medication you should be on. Anytime you have an active lesion and they think the medicine is not working anymore, they need to switch you, Hess said. At that point, I had never been medicated so they began the process of getting me on my first medication, which was Tecfidera which is a pill and you take it twice a day.

I was fine. I started on that the beginning of August, which was like three weeks after I got diagnosed and nothing happened from then until September of October of last year.

As Hess was transitioning to a new doctor, a discovery was made.

In the process of changing doctors, you have to do new labs and new MRIs and stuff like that for a new patient, and in the process of doing that there was an active lesion on that scan, Hess said.

His new doctor had a plan.

Dr. Mark Landrio is a neurologist who runs a private practice in Winchester, Virginia. He recommended a new drug called Lemtrada.

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced that the first U.S. patients have initiated treatment with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) in the commercial setting following its Nov. 14 FDA approval for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

I am actually the second patient that theyve had go on it. The first patient that they actually infused with it the first time, they werent infusing people yet so they had to send him down close to D.C. to get him infused, but I am actually the first one that they have infused (in Winchester), Hess said.

Lemtrada has a unique dosing and administration schedule of two annual treatment courses. The first treatment course is administered via intravenous infusion on five consecutive days, and the second course is administered on three consecutive days, 12 months later.

It more or less knocks out your immune system and knocks out the T cells and B cells of your body, and they will regenerate over time, Hess said. The thought is they come back and dont have the MS component in them to where it doesnt attack you anymore. Thats basically the laymans terms of the drug.

Hess said his doctor thought he would be the perfect candidate for the drug.

Im young and Im still able to do more things than an elderly person that wouldnt be able to fight off the diseases because this drug knocks down your immune system, Hess said.

In trials, Lemtrada has proven successful.

Basically with MS, there is a whole bunch of wires going to your brain, which is your nerves and a lesion is where it kind of cuts one of those wires and there has been people that have had MRIs after the Lemtrada that have seen some of those legions disappearing or have disappeared and things have fixed themselves, Hess said. So, there is always that possibility that things can get better or things can just stay where they are and not get worse.

Hess took two weeks off from his job as a bread delivery man. One week was used for the five days it took for his treatment, and the other week to give him time to adjust and build up his immune system.

My wife is pretty hopeful. Im not really going to bother the kids with it. They know I cant go out in public right now because of fear of catching something, Hess said. I have a couple of precautions that I am going to take. I have a doctors mask. If anybody gets near me with the sniffles or anything, it could just knock me down and I could be out for a while.

Hess said his employer has been working with him.

They have been pretty understanding. They have been really good, Hess said. So far so good, I have been able to keep up with the demands of the job.

Dr. Landrio and his team have been happy with the results.

So far they have been saying I am doing awesome. They are very pleased with the ways things have gone, Hess said.

Hess will have to return in a year to go through three days of treatment.

Hess recalls when he was told the news that he had MS.

It was scary to hear and frustrating, Hess said.

But he has kept a positive attitude through it all.

Im a pretty confident person, Hess said.

Staff writer Jeff McCoy can be reached at jmccoy@journal-news.net.

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Local resident tries new treatment to fight MS - Martinsburg Journal