Local Woman Receives IV Infusion Treatment at MRH for Early Alzheimer’s
Shellee Luke and her husband, Forrest, want the Craig-area community to know that specialty treatments are often available right here at Memorial Regional Health, even if they’ve been ordered by physicians in other cities.
Depending on your illness and care plan, there may be no need for you to travel to a different area or state for your regular treatments and testing. All you have to do is ask.
Four years ago, Shellee, who worked at MRH in the business office for 30 years before retiring in 2021, saw MRH visiting neurologist Dr. Logan McDaneld for some language difficulties she was experiencing. He diagnosed her with primary progressive aphasia then referred her to Dr. Vivek Reddy, a neurologist at the University of Utah.
“PPA can be associated with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Forrest, who is also retired but was Environmental Manager at Trapper Mine for decades and served for 12 years on the MRH Board of Trustees. “To see if Shellee was developing Alzheimer’s, Dr. Reddy did some testing in his office, and he ordered a spinal tap, which Shellee was able to have done at MRH.”
Shellee’s spinal tap sample was sent to a Mayo Clinic lab in Minnesota. Unfortunately, the proteins in Shellee’s spinal fluid tested consistent with Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, a new FDA-approved treatment shown to slow the progression of the disease was available. Dr. Reddy recommended that Shellee, age 67, receive the medication, lecanemab, by infusion every other week.
But would Shellee have to travel to Salt Lake City twice a month for the infusion?
“We asked Dr. Reddy if Shellee could have the infusions here at MRH,” said Forrest. His time on the MRH Board had made him very familiar with MRH’s capabilities. “Dr. Reddy was concerned that our rural hospital system may not have the quality of infusion care needed, but we were able to demonstrate to him that the MRH infusion center is actually state-of-the-art. He also wanted a local provider to oversee Shellee’s care—someone who could ensure the infusions were going well and communicate with him directly about her treatment. MRH Physician Assistant Carol Bolt was happy to assume that responsibility. She has been an integral part of this.”
So Shellee started her biweekly infusions of lecanemab at MRH a few months ago. The drug targets and removes beta-amyloid from the brain. She drives herself to the infusion center and is there for a couple of hours. “We only live about three minutes away from the hospital,” she said.
She’s experienced no side effects but does receive regular brain MRIs at MRH as well to ensure she isn’t developing brain bleeding, which can happen with lecanemab. “So far, so good,” Shellee said.
“People don’t know that these drugs can be administered here,” Forrest said. “The infusion center at MRH is the nicest part of the hospital. It has big, open windows with a great view. That was by design.”
Shellee and Forrest plan to visit Dr. Reddy in Utah once a year. But usually they’ll just zip down the road to MRH for Shellee’s care. Receiving care close to home allows them to devote more time to their four kids and nine grandchildren.
“We’ve very attached to this hospital,” Shellee said. “They take good care of us and this community.”
