Moving SLOW

Moving slow is hard for "ex athletes." Everything Keith does is such a struggle. He is doing it with determination but it is getting the better of him. I'm trying to have strength for both of us but who am I kidding? I only get strength from the Lord. We are having some good talks. Be careful if you ask for more time to talk to the Lord, you may just get it! =) Selfishly, the Lord, via the Holy Spirit, is the most comforting, not to mention most clear one to talk to. Satan on the other hand is trying hard to attack any area of my life that I have not protected with God's word. Keep praying against him please, though he doesn't even deserve mention. Our God is greater that any evil!

What I wanted to say was I am so grateful that I have not had to cook for over 2 weeks because of all of your generosity.

I'm hearing Christmas music =)

Keith comes home

If all goes according to plans, I should be picking Keith up to bring him HOME in a few hours. He can't wait to come home. Thus begins a new chapter in the ongoing MSA journey.

I thank  all of you. You ADD so much to our lives.

Information

Just wanted to let everyone know that Keith is now at Providence on Pacific. He was moved from critical care to inpatient PT rehab at the other campus on Pacific Ave. I says this because even some family members couldn't find him. And also, his real name is "Dennis Keith Johnson." Didn't know that huh? It will make it easier if you ask for him. =)

He is doing much better and getting stronger. Thank you all for the encouragement. We want him out Wed. but they are predicting Friday. He doesn't really like it there.

Don't hesitate to ask me, Clint, Kristi or Kristen Curry about us. But you can call or tx me.  You will know I am done texting or talking when I end with my smiley face.

=)

Sure, not Strong

All right all of you who are praying for me. The Holy Spirit is revealing some good stuff to me. I will share more later but want all of you to know that Keith and I are living like we are expecting a MIRACLE. What form that takes is up to our God.

They drained about 95 milliliters of fluid from Keith's knee and he was able to walk a little. In fact, enough that he will be moved to in house re-hab this morning.

A fighter that guy is through it all!

Thanks so many of you for the cards =), food, help, and so many offers of help. The Lord is good.

Pam

FUNNY

As most of you know, Keith has been in the critical care unit at Providence Hospital since Thursday. No pneumonia but incredibly weak from MSA following a cold. His immune system can't handle a lot. Then yesterday his legs swelled up and his knee hurt so bad. When the doctor saw him he was shortly after taken to ultra sound to rule out blood clots. Thankfully, he had none.  Then  they took x-rays of his knee but I don't know those results.

So it has been pretty serious in our lives lately. But yesterday, when I came to see him we were alone and I went close to hear him because he looked serious, he said, "This is the end." And then I said, "It's not the end until  God says it it!" Then he looked at me and said, "It's the end of the game." We both got a good laugh at that. =)

We can use some comic release. Now I know why my sister who went through Cancer gave us a funny card. In fact, it is the only card we have received. I know cards are expensive and outdated because of our "enlightened electronic times," and I am the first one to love our knew world of communication,  but I have to tell you, it was good to laugh at that card. Thank you Cheri and Stan.

The other problem is that we don't know each other's addresses so here is ours,

Keith and Pam Johnson
504 Hemlock Ave.
Granite Falls, WA 98252

Hate to be so blunt, but I know you want to help and this is one way. Thank you all. We love ya.

Back to bed again. Maybe I will regret what I wrote in the morning. =) Goodnight.

I can't sleep

I've been up since about 1am. I thought I would get a better sleep without Keith but it is turning out not to be true. After almost 33 years of marriage, it feels like a big void. I cleaned the floor, started the dishes and almost vacuumed, but instead,  I thought I'd update all of you on his condition.

 As you know, Keith went to the emergency room at Thursday after catching a cold. What is a simple cold for most of us is not when you have MSA. It laid him out so bad that he was unable to walk. Thankfully, Dr. Burke advised us to call 911 and have him transported to rule out pneumonia and other infections. Of course Keith did not want to go but agreed later that it was a smart decision. Without going into details, basically we are at a point where we have to decide if he should go to in house re-hab or come home. We are leaning toward a week or so in re-hab where they will work to help with gain the strength he had before this episode. The worry is that this may be the downward spiral of MSA and nothing but prayers are going to help and should we put Keith through this.

Then I thought, Hey, wait a minute. Keith is a fighter, a former athlete and coach. He likes to exercise and he already gave an outstanding effort for his first PT session in the hospital. Though it was 5 steps forward and 5 steps back, he was still  coach-able and they were pleased.

I called the hospital a few minutes ago and they said Keith was doing well.

I think I will try to go to sleep now.

An easy way to keep people updated!

Dad is currently in the hospital. He went in yesterday morning and they determined that he has a sinus infection. It made him so weak that he could not walk. We will see if he is able to walk today. Hopefully he will be able to come home today.

 

 

We just set up an easy way for everyone to get updates on Keith. We want to keep everyone updated, but it can get overwhelming.

 

 

We just set up a twitter account which will make it easy!

 

 

You do not need a twitter account. All you have to do is:

 

 

text: follow keithjohnsonmsa

to: 40404



You will then get a message from Twitter letting you know that you are now following keithjohnsonmsa

 

 

Repeat: You do not need a twitter account to get the updates! :)

 

 

That's it! You will then get a text when mom has an update about Keith! If you decide that mom is "tweeting" too much you can simply:

text: unfollow keithjohnsonmsa

to: 40404

You will then stop getting the twitter updates.



Please leave a comment or send an email if you have any questions.



Clint

Scary night and...................?

Keith caught my cold and by 6 pm was unable to walk. We had to use the wheelchair inside.  By bedtime, he didn't have enough strength to get in bed. We finally got him in after about 30 mins. Then he had no strength to get comfortable. We ended up moving him to the recliner in the living room. May have to move it to the bedroom. We were up 3 times during the night.

Gotta go. Thought this morning would be better. He was even walking himself but now he is getting feverish. We have a Dr. appt in a few hours to get his flu shots.

Prayers that he can get to his appt. We have one granddaughter with us. She is a delight and so easy but may have to ask one of you to watch her =) during the appt.

I will let you know how it turns out. Whether this is a new chapter or I am just over reacting. I hope it's the latter.

Aren't you glad one of you weren't the one who gave him the cold? We have a BIG God who loves Keith and we trust him.

I wish I was hearing Christmas music.

Thank YOU, Thank YOU, Thank YOU

We already feel better. We have been given a wheelchair, transfer bench and other medical supplies  we  may need later. Someone brought soup. Some gave money. Some offer prayers. (Love, need and  want them always.)  Others have offered cinnamon rolls and super oatmeal! We are looking forward to those =) Our friends from church put in a floor for us.

Some of these things are big and some are small. All are welcomed and we thank you for them. I just told Keith that these gestures seem to free me up. Last night I was able to watch 4 grandkids and make cookies. It was fun and we need times where we are smiling. Nothing makes you laugh as much as hearing  the grandchild  who says, "Can I pleaseeeeee crack the egg? I know how." saying to the other, "You knew how to crack an egg real good but I put the whole shell in the bowl." Anyway, it was funny to me and that's all that matters. Keith and I want our whole family to be doing  "NORMAL" stuff because it is pretty heavy around here most of the time. Just when I feel times are so heavy, I hear Keith playing Christmas music! Now that is what Keith has done all of our lives. We usually ask him to please wait for Nov. But somehow this year I don't care when he plays it. Yayyyyyy!

Just wanted to let you know, we are having a great day, trying to take it one day, sometimes one hour at a time.

I NEED YOU NOW

When Keith was first dx with MSA  3 years ago and  symptoms exhibiting a year or so before, my church family asked what they could do for us.  Back then, Keith was still working , coaching and rigorously  exercising. Now, he is not. I can hear myself answering 3 years ago , that we didn't need anything but please ask me again. I knew at that time, but hadn't shared, that his disease would most likely  progress in the manner it is now and because of that, we would probably need  a lot of help later.

Later is here. As can be expected, there is good news and bad. Keith's walking is becoming more difficult. So much so that we have been busy ordering a light weight wheelchair, and looking at electric ones so he can have more mobility.  Because of his balance, getting him out places is not pretty but funny at times =). We often laugh so we don't cry. The good news is that he seems to be communicating better.

So I had to let go of my pride and ask more specifically for help because you guys can't read my mind.  And do you know what?  Yes, we were so blessed as several of you called or came to us to offer meals and to spend time with Keith. The church is going to set up a sign up sheet to help in the effort.

Just wanted to update all of you. Thanks for the prayers.