Stem Cell Transplant

Yahoo! We made it. We thought this time would never get here. But GOD IS FAITHFUL!

On Wednesday, Febuary 3, we left for our final trip to Chicago. And boy! were we ready!

At 1pm that same day, Keith had a Triple lumen PICC line put in. This is for medication, hydration, chemo, blood draws, etc. Crazy spot, huh?

That night we stayed in the same hotel, Hilton Homewood suites, that we have been staying in on previous trips. I got a great deal through Travelocity for $81.75/night! I will be just sleeping & eating here, Keith will be staying at the hospital. On Thursday at 7:30am, Keith was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. His room was on the 15th floor, it was big, but it had one small window, and the view wasn't great. They right away told us that we would be moved to the 16th floor as soon as there was a bed available. The 16th floor is where Dr. Burt's patients are. 

The next day we were moved to the 16th floor to the exact same room we had during our last stay here. HA! Two big windows with a better view!

Also on Thursday, Keith started his first of 4 days of chemo. He would get chemo around 2pm each day and it would run for a couple of hours. (The chemo works to kill his immune system so it stops attacking his central nervous system. Once the immune system is killed, they put in the stem cells to jump start the growth of his new immune system.) They also gave him some anti-nausea meds to help him stay ahead of getting sick. He did great through all 4 days. He never got sick, but it drained him pretty good. A couple of laps in the hallway each day was enough to wear him out.

Friday afternoon, February 5, Keith's parents, Dale & Marla Nienhuis, came with our youngest 2 boys, Jaden & Josiah. Dale sat with Keith while me and the boys showed grandma the Water Tower Plaza, Lego Store, and we had to pick up more hand sanitizer, so we hit Bath & Body, too. Saturday night, we enjoyed some deep dish pizza. Other than that, we basically just hung out with Keith, and in our hotel room. They headed home Sunday noon.

Here we are at Gino's East, which is right behind our hotel and on-the-way to the hospital. We played 5 Crowns to pass the time. :)

Sunday night we watched the Super Bowl. Neither one of us had ever watched the whole thing, so we had to see what all the hype was about. We were both disappointed. Oh well, at least we know that we haven't been missing out all these years!

Monday. Keith is dragging, sleeping more than usual. He basically has no immune system, so he is pretty week, barely has a voice. Which most of you know, he barely had a voice to begin with. I'm ALWAYS saying, "what?" :)

Today is Tuesday, February 9th, the BIG DAY for him! New stem cells!!! Hopefully not a single one of the 9 million stem cells remembers anything to do with MS. Hopefully they are all babies and ready to begin a new, healthy life!

Frozen stem cells in big white container.

 Thawing stem cells.

 Stem cells coming back through IV.

So, everyone told us it smells like creamed corn when you get your stem cells back. Yep, the whole room smelt like it! So strange. 

Again, we pray for each of our supporters every day, and thank God for every one of you. I know we say this a lot, but we mean it! We would not be here, hoping for another chance at a healthy life, without God and without a single one of you! To God be the glory, great things He has done!! Love to you all!!

Missing these guys...the loves of our life!!