Last night we returned from 2 days in Cascade. Each time we go up the trips get a little easier. Doug becomes a little more independent and enjoys being there a little more. I realized that for several months since he came home, I have been pushing him back into a normal life. It would be so easy to give up and just accept this level of improvement. It takes real work to heal and needless to say we have to believe in healing to continue to push forward.
I started to write a post last night and remembered that last year before Doug had the HSCT treatment I had made a list of Doug's symptoms and had him rate them on a scale between 1 and 10. I have done nothing with that list since we got home. We certainly had not planned on him being paralyzed and having to come back from that. This list lost importance. After he was paralyzed I started a separate list keeping track of each movement he recovered. I looked at that list last night as well, but decided to only update the original list because what most people want to know and what we wonder about is if the HSCT worked. Has the progression of the MS stopped?
Reviewing the list, t was heartening to see that physically he has almost recovered the skills that he had before we went to Mexico. Not quite, but almost. His balance to stand independently without the walker is not where it was last year yet, but close. He is not as strong as he was. The good news is that he no longer feels dizzy. Before he felt dizzy every day and took medication for it. He no longer takes this medication. Also he had daily pain in his abdomen. He took pain medication everyday. He had to sleep in the recliner to help control his stomach pain. He no longer as any pain, anywhere. He no longer takes pain medication. Last year he was having frequent choking (daily) and he would pound on his chest. He no longer is choking. He has had migraine headaches for years and years. He is not having migraines. Also he rated numbness in his feet as a 2-3, which was fairly low. But he does not have any numbness in his feet now.
What do I make of all this? Do I dare hope? It certainly looks like Doug is not progressing with the MS and he is indeed recovering some. I could not say that before, because he has been recovering from polyneuropathy. We had no idea what was going on with the MS. In the past he has never had a respite from the progression of the disease. If one year after HSCT he is the same or better, this indicates that the treatment has worked. Of course we can be more certain in a month or two, but we prayerfully hope this is true.
God of promise and hope, on this pilgrimage of healing and wholeness you led us to Puebla in search of healing and wholeness. We give thanks for the healers that cared for us there and for those who have been with us on this journey since we returned. As the days go by, we feel your presence with us. We give thanks for Doug's continued improvement day by day. We pray for strength and courage to continue on this journey. Fill us with hope with the new day and we pray, heal Doug of MS. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment