In total care, quality of life for MS patient becomes the goal

By Cynthia Pegram

Published: April 5, 2008

Sarah Southerland steadies Jeff Holdren as he walks to a bench under the bare branches of a soon-to-be blossoming weeping cherry tree.

Holdren, tall and thin, has progressive multiple sclerosis. He loses skills and they don’t come back, for the most part, said Southerland, his legal guardian and friend.

“Jeff’s case is unusual in that he’s obviously lost cognitive function,” said Southerland. It’s documented in IQ tests, and shows in his attention and speed of processing information.

Holdren, 47, of Lynchburg, works on keeping the skills that he has — things most people take for granted like being able to dress himself.

“He’s not totally incapacitated,” she said, although he requires total care.

He was diagnosed in August 2000 after leg tremors began, she said. But the damage to his brain indicated active MS for 12 to 15 years. He thinks he may have had vision symptoms when he was in his mid-20s, but he never went back for the second MRI to diagnose MS.

Now, the college graduate and former claims adjuster wears a Project Lifesaver bracelet, an electronic locator, which has helped on occasion, Southerland said.

Before the electronic bracelet, his dog Sadie Mae Sunshine, a Golden Retriever, likely saved his life when Southerland was out of town. He had gone outside in sudden snowstorm, and fallen. The dog found him and cover him with her warmth, until human friends found him, too.

Holdren has “his ‘yes’ days and his ‘no’ days,” she said. On his ‘no’ days, “he says ‘no’ to everything.”

He rents from her, and has in-home help from an aide during the week. Her gold standard for a caregiver is someone who makes him laugh, said Southerland.

“Quality of life is a major goal,” she said. “He’s blissfully ignorant of the situation.”