finally a plan!

Well as i said in my last post i try to update when we get new news. well today we finally have a plan! (kind of) my doc this morning came in and to my suprise said he had been in contact with the bone marrow team here overseeing my transplant. they have set some dates that they are shooting for but are still pretty tenative. but, as of right now things are as follows: may 10 or 11th will be my next bone marrow aspirate to make sure we are seeing none or a very minimal amount of diseased cells. assuming (and praying) thats what they find they will start the "conditioning" round of chemo to completely wipe out any existing marrow to make room for the transplant on the 17th of may, and the transplant itself is scheduled for the 23rd. happy birthday kaley!

so thats what we know right now, its possible and likely some of that will change though. as for going home.... that varies depending on what doc you ask but my gut feeling tells me thats not too promising. its absolutely critical i keep free of infection between now and transplant so depending on what my counts and immune system look like will be the deciding factor on that. however after 5 intense rounds of chemo there is a possibility that my immune system has been too damaged and wont recover. if thats the case then i definately wont be seeing home anytime soon. as frustrating and scary as that sounds, after going through a relapse a month ago i am willing to sacrifice a week at home to prevent that and get on with the transplant sooner. in the long run thats 7 days sooner we can get back to normal life.

in other news after a month of being here we finally made our way to the "penthouse" of the ICS here. a much bigger room, including a couch for the parents to stretch out on instead of the lovely chair/bed/cot in previous rooms. sarcasm aside, it is definately nice to be able to stretch out a little more.

lastly, so many thank yous are in order i dont even know where to begin. i guess all the visitors over the last few weeks! we have had lots and its definately been nice to see everyone! to the mclungs for the balloons, very much appreciated! i wont say too much about the fundraiser because it would take all night to write my thoughts and appreciation to each and every person involved with that. i am still in disbelief about it all so a BIG thank you to everyone! you are all amazing!!

so its really nice to have a game plan now. it really helps to have things to look forward to instead of sitting here day after day wondering about everything i just talked about. in turn i think the mood and spirits of myself and those around have definately been lifted today!

- tanner