Adventure in Faith

Hello everyone!

We know it has been a long time since our last post. We have been going through a lot. Some big stuff and some regular everyday stuff, but hopefully I will be writing more. Maybe on this site or possibly a different one, I have not figured that out yet. For now though, let me tell you about what's been happening with Chris's treatments.

All loading doses are done, yay! Those two hour drives (one way) are tough. I have an all new respect for people who drive for a living. I've known a few, including my dad, and knew it was tough, but experiencing it...wow!

We have been working on physical therapy along with the treatments. While Chris has not had a huge change in abilities, physical therapy and the treatments are helping. Well, we should probably be doing better with our everyday therapy homework. Sorry Dan (Chris's therapist), we're still figuring out our best time frame. We'll keep working on it, and make time for it; we know it is important. Aside from the physical benefits, we know it is important spiritually. We want to put actions to our prayers and desires. As it has been pointed out to us by a few people, this treatment is not a miracle cure. It is going to take time and persistence to reverse years of muscle loss. Showing we are up for the challenge makes us have to rely more on God and His strength. Lots of growth all around, hopefully (see doubt still likes to creep in every once in a while).

The next dose will be the first maintenance dose. Maintenance doses happen every 4 months. That means sometime in March we will make our next trip to OSU. Maybe the roads will be better by then, but I doubt it. We will gladly drive it though because OSU is one of the only places that are doing the treatments in a way that works best for Chris. You see, OSU and UCLA (as far as we know) are the only ones doing the cervical injections, which is probably the only way Chris would be able to get the treatments done. I think we'll stick with OSU because UCLA might be a tough commute LOL. Again, God showed up when we were looking at different places to get the treatments done. He lead us to OSU even when other locations seemed like the better option.

Oh, I almost forgot. Chris and I have been concerned from the beginning about how we were going to cover the cost of the treatments. Instead of letting the money stop us from starting this adventure, we chose to trust God to help us. We had family and friends come together to help us financially from the beginning. This made the first steps easier. Then the explanation of benefits (EOB) started showing up in the mail. Wow, talk about sticker shock! We were still trusting God, but little cracks of doubt were starting to weaken that trust. Then Chris heard about a financial program Biogen (the company that makes the treatments) was offering. After just one phone call, all those little cracks quickly disappeared. Now we only have to worry about the doctor visits and travel costs for these treatments. What a huge relief! God is so good and provides in ways that are truly amazing. We are so glad we chose to trust in God and go on such an awe inspiring adventure with Him. We can't wait to see what is next!

For all of you that have helped financially and/or with prayers, we greatly appreciate all that you have done! We ask that you continue with the prayers because we still have a long way to go on this adventure, but God is with us every step of the way!