No news is good news

Christmas 2015

Well, they told us it would be 6 months before he would be feeling better, and it's looking like they were right. I guess going into this we (maybe more I) thought Keith would sprint through recovery. After all, he is a pretty tough guy! But they said, "we wiped him out, it is a very harsh treatment plan. Even tough guys struggle." Keith is gaining, but it is very slow.
Keith now goes every other week to have his blood tested here in Holland. All his counts are right where they need to be. PTL!
On Monday, March 21, Keith saw his neurologist here in Holland. Dr. Ariagno. This is the second time we have seen him, and we will continue to see him every 6 months. Dr. Burt is the neurologist in charge right now, but we want to keep Dr. Ariagno on board because after 5 years, we are done with Dr. Burt. Keith will always have MS, so we will need a neurologist here for future needs. We did not need Dr. Ariagno's permission to see Dr. Burt but he was excited from the get-go! At our first appointment, when we mentioned we were doing the stem cell transplant, he said, "this is the up-and-coming thing! We have to keep trying new things to advance medicine. If no one participated in these trials, we would never know if this kind of treatment works." So he was excited to see Keith now and was impressed at how well Keith looked and is doing, thought his counts look good, and his kidney and liver too.  Keith had to walk down the hall for Dr. Ariagno, a typical request from any neurologist, and again, the Dr. thought Keith did great! Keith no longer shuffles his feet when he walks, he picks them up. And he walks faster and his gait is steady. PTL! These may not seem huge to you, but this is PROGRESSION!!!
Keith and I have been walking up to a mile each night. (Man, it is FRIGID out!) Sometimes not as quick, and sometimes not as far, but he keeps a pretty steady pace, and again we are thankful to be out walking.
Keith is not supposed to be around sick people for 3 months. But he has been going to a small men's Bible Study at Church, with me to Couple's Club, out for breakfast a few times with friends, and to Tractor Supply (TSC) a time or 2. He is able to drive but not far. He is still pretty weak but is working on building his endurance. Again, it has been a very slow process and can be discouraging at times.
Keith is still not able to work and this will be for at least 2 more months. He needs to stay away from dust and dirt for 3 months. His shop is super dusty from running the bead board and his barn is dusty from all the hay and straw. A HUGE thank you to Dave DeZwaan who has been making all the bead board, and a BIG thank you to our boys who have been running the farm.
Some of the things he wishes would hurry up and heal are: his double vision and the numbness and tingling in his left foot/leg. He wears glasses to help his eyes see correctly, but he cannot stand to wear a shoe or even a sock on his left foot right now.
It has still not been one full year since Keith was even diagnosed with MS, and look how far we have come!! Next month we will celebrate on April 7 God's faithfulness to us over the past year. When we thought life was spiraling out of control, God had us in the grip of his hand. We have been covered in prayer and blessed in so many ways. Although it has not been easy, we have learned a lot of good things along this journey, especially all the different ways you can love and serve others. We continue to trust that God will provide for us, and that He would heal Keith so that he can do the things he enjoys again. We know that God's timing is perfect so we will wait on Him.

Happy Easter everyone!