Sunday, February 9, 2014

Days -5 and -4

Rachel is still feeling great. Tonight her chemo gets changed so hopefully she won't react strongly to this. She gets this new drug for 2 days and then gets 2 days off  and then transplant. We've been making some friends. Of course no one is her age but everyone is relatively friendly . Sitting in the lounge with older patients Rachel is receiving an education. We have had some very interesting patients sitting with us and they had us in stitches for most of yesterday. I must say a lot of it was not for my young daughter's ears. Barry called it the Gong Show. But it's good. Most of the people here are making the best of a bad situation. Today we had visitors for most of the afternoon which was very encouraging for all of us. Olympics had been a good distraction as well. Each day Rachel feels good gives us a lot of hope.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Day -6

Another good day. Still feeling quite good and eating lots. We enjoyed watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in the patient lounge. We enjoyed a few visits this afternoon. It was so nice to catch up with you Anna Vandershee (Harder). And Simon Fallon, it's always a pleasure chatting with you. Keep Praying for a full recovery and restoration of her health.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Day -7

So far so good. I guess I mean it's as good as it gets. This time around they are giving her steroids to control her nausea and boy is it working. She is eating. YAY. She is doing laps in the hospital. YAY. We even had a comment from a mother of a 28 yr old getting a transplant "I kept telling my husband and son about this young girl who is always smiling". That was a huge encouragement to her.
I know there will be ups and downs but we are enjoying this up, especially when it was unexpected.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Day -9 and Day-8

I'll give you a short explanation on my title. The days before transplant are in the minuses. The day of transplant is Day 0 and then after that we increase in numbers. Day 0 is to represent a new life for her or a rebirth of her immune system.
Day -9 we arrived at the hospital mid afternoon. We got Rachel settled into her new room. The nurse went over a few things and then told us to go out on the town for the evening. That was a nice surprise. In London , because we were pediatrics, Rachel was kept on a short leash. We checked into the Ronald Mcdonald  house and then went to the Keg to give Rachel a big protein shot.
Day-8 we all woke up to another crazy snow storm. This whole winter has felt like one big storm in more ways than one. We also found out some sad news. A young man who was in London with Rachel had passed away on Tuesday. Rachel never met him but we had talked to the parents here and there. A very sobering way to start the day. Rachel also starts her last round of chemo this evening. This round will go for 6 days.