Big Wheel Keeps On Turnin'

I am not a ride person....too much of a control freak. Being pregnant with Nick & Sara were the only rides I agreed to get on. Yes, I equate pregnancy with a roller coaster, once you get on you can't get off until the ride is finished. Only on that ride, you get a baby in your arms at the end. So, yeah, I generally hate rides; but, I am a fan of the big wheel. I love being up so high and seeing everything down below and going real slow! And I like the lights too! Makes me happy. Oh and I like to make the gondola tip forward and backward too; which, all my roller coaster ridin' crazies don't seem to enjoy and I don't get that at all. You like dropping from insanely dizzying heights at 1000mph, but you will have a major freak-out if a gondola tips back and forth ever so slightly? That don't make no sense!

Today, we got some good news. While we were down at John's Hopkins, henceforth to be known as "the hop," we got to speak with one of the big wig doctors. He was very nice and the first thing that he shared with us was that the first person that has tested is a full match for Nick's BMT!!!! This is great news and I think we were all in a little bit of shock as Nick, Kate, and I all sort of just stood there and laid there and went....(gulp) OK! They will still be testing some of the other candidates and if there are other matches they will pick the best one. The other variable is that the donor can refuse to donate if they are unavailable or they have changed their mind or whatever. So that is all yet to be decided.

The process is in full motion, so it may be as soon as early August that Nick will begin his pre-testing and his preparative regimen. We were told we will have at least a month's notice, as there are so many aspects of the BMT that have to be coordinated on many levels. Once the bone marrow is harvested, it must be transfused within 72 hours. Usually, a date for the actual BMT (infusion of the donor marrow into Nick) will be set. That becomes Day Zero - Nick's new birthday (hey...I was just thinking that his real due date was August 20th, now wouldn't that be ironic. He was three weeks overdue, that his how he ended up being born on Sept. 11th).

They then count backwards from Day Zero...so all his prep happens on Day -14...day -13....day -12 etc. and you count down until Day 0 is reached. I hope this is making sense to everyone. It is great news, but, let's not get to excited just yet. The doctors make the BMT sound like a walk in the park and everything I read makes it sound like anything but, so I hope the truth is somewhere in between.

I think Nick is taking things in stride and he is asking good questions and staying positive. He still wants to go to the beach, but, he has one more LP to go, next Friday. We are hoping that he will feel much better by the end of the following week. The spinal headaches and the nausea from the chemo are keeping him from being as active and eating like he wants to...his appetite is Ok and all things considered he is doing pretty well.

And now for my pubic service announcements:
Please take a moment to remember all of the soldiers deployed around the world in service to our country, particularly those in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to know we are with them and support them each and every day! If you really support the troops try to find a concrete way to show that you do!

Also, if you want to do something to help in general...consider giving blood! Supply is low and demand is always high at this time of year. Lately, when we go to clinic, they are always short of platlets and those needing transfusions have to wait until they can find platlets for them.

"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson