Transplant Day to be Weds Feb. 21

Brianna is definitely up and down with how she feels. Saturday and Sunday were the most difficult with the high dose of chemo she got. Plus the effects of the radiation are catching up with her.

It's so hard as a mother to watch them pump your child full of this horrible toxin, to smell it on her and then to see her so sick because of it. Even harder still is being helpless to take away the pain. And I mean really take it away. Massages, soothing music, reassurances, pluggin in and unplugging her IV pole when she's doubled over in pain from her stomach and going to the bathroom are just the small things I can do. But I know it's all to make her body ready to receive her new life-giving marrow.

The donor is from overseas - we don't know where. She was harvested today and a special courier brings the precious substance by hand to the hospital. They don't expect to receive it until 7 pm tonight. They have 72 hours to infuse it into the recipient from the time it was taken.

In Brianna's case, the donor is blood type A and Brianna is O. So they have to take out as many of the red blood cells as they can in the marrow they extract, so Brianna's body doesn't immediately reject it. This process takes several hours. So it was decided that instead of subjecting Brianna to the infusion in the middle of the night, they'd wait until 8 am to start. That way the doctor will be here and she won't be woken at 1 am to have her vitals checked every 15 minutes. I know I will be relieved when I finally see that bag hung and the new marrow going into her bloodstream!

So for now, I'm just trying to encourage her that she will feel better in the coming days. It make take another week or two, but some of the nausea and stomach pain should subside. Sleep is a welcome respite for both of us, when we can manage it.

Thank you for your lovely emails. They really do help us through.

Take care....Iva