+47 Days!!

I have been home now for a little over 3 weeks. My time is spent at home and outside
on the deck! This is one of the views from the deck. I am very thankful that it is so pretty!
I am getting cabin fever.

I posted a question on Facebook about mosquitos and if they are dangerous

after having HSCT. I am now the proud owner of all sorts of mosquito

repellant that does not contain DEET. I guess that getting mosquito bites is

not a good thing when your immune system is not 100%. 

The week before last, I ended up in the hospital Emergency Room with a fever

of 38.8. Going to the ER was just a precaution and I am happy that we went. The

ER doctor had never heard of HSCT for MS, which is not a surprise. My internist

decided to have me see the Oncologist for my checkups after the fever. 

I have now seen the Oncologist two times. My blood work has come back very good.

Everything is within normal limits. She is very happy, but I still need to be very

careful about being around other people. 

A few of my close friends have come over to visit. Not all at once though! 

Each person has to wash their hands before touching anything and then we go 

sit out on the back porch. I'm just thankful that it is Summer in Montana and not

the Winter, or we wouldn't be on the porch! This is a picture of what it would

look like in the Winter from the deck. 

So, now I am waiting to get my immune system back to where I won't have to 

worry about getting sick anymore. I've seen improvements in some of my symptoms.

The first symptom that I saw improvement in was being able to bend my toes on my

right foot. I noticed that they would bend when I was in the hospital in Jerusalem. 

The next symptom that improved was my worst one. My right leg has been 

dragging behind me for a few years and I have had very bad foot drop. 

My right leg is not dragging behind me anymore. It is now possible to go for 

a real walk. My cane lives in the car now. I'm hoping it will stay there for good. 

When I had that fever a couple of weeks ago, my leg got bad again. After the

fever left and I rested up, it started working again. 

I'm thankful everyday for being able to pick up my right leg and walk. Now, I am

focusing on building the muscles up since they are much smaller in my right leg. 

It would be nice to have matching legs again.

My goal with having HSCT was STOPPING the disease progression. 

Any symptom improvements are a BIG BONUS!!