October 7th, 2008

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Day 0…the countdown begins!

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Well, hellllooo there everyone!!

You may now call me JuLaura. :) My radiation went well this morning, especially because I was able to bring in my own CD. Remember when I was in isolation and I wrote about my new favorite song by Joshua Radin? Well, when I got out of isolation, Laura and my mom surprised me with his CD, so I took it in today. Despite the mellow tunes, it helped pump me up for the day ahead.

After radiation, my mom and I had some lunch and went up to visit Laura who was getting some fluids. She looks much better today, although I don’t think she’s 100% yet. Her arm is pretty yucky looking where they infiltrated it, but she’s feeling much better in terms of a headache and nausea.

At 2 PM, I went in to my room for the big transplant!! I got some premeds (Tylenol and Benadryl), and pretty soon the cells arrived…it looked just like a bag of blood.

Everything went smoothly. I also got an iv of magnesium because my level was a little bit low. After we finished, I just walked out and we came home! Pretty cool, huh? It was quite an exciting day, and although I know I may have bad days ahead, I have a good feeling about Laura’s healthy cells. It should take about 18-21 days before her cells start to engraft, so keep those prayers up! My next bone marrow aspirate and biopsy is November 4th, so hopefully with lots of visualization, prayers and good cells, it will show some healthy happy Laura cells.

When we got back from the clinic, I had a snack, talked on the phone a bit, ate some spaghetti, and then I went for a walk with Hollie and Kona. Now I’m getting ready to rest and relax, but I wanted to let you all know I’m doing well, and I’m thinking good thoughts!! Thank you for all your thoughts and well wishes. I can feel ‘em!  Check out Laura’s post below for pictures from today!  Thanks for putting them up, Laura!

Lots of love,
Julie/Laura (I’m a mix now)

PHOTOS, PHOTOS, PHOTOS :) :) :)

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Greetings from Seattle! Today is day 0, also known as Julie’s new birthday! :) Enjoy the photos, Julie will post something when she’s feeling up to it. She’s doing well, and resting. Love you, Laura

It’s almost Day 0!!

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

It’s 10:05 over here in Seattle, and back on the east coast it’s already day 0 for me! Finally, transplant day has arrived!!!!!

Unfortunately, Laura is not feeling well today. She threw up three times, and has a bad headache, both of which they think is due to the growth factor. Also, one of the iv’s infiltrated so her arm is all puffy. I felt pretty guilty when I walked in to see her after getting two units of blood this afternoon. She was sleeping, and she looked pale and vulnerable all hooked up to the apheresis machine. I wrote her a note today to thank her for “the gift of life”, but it turns out I have no idea how to express myself on the matter. I’ll try again here, but I’m sure whatever I write won’t come out as well as I want it to. Sometimes it’s so hard to put feelings into words.

Laura, thank you for giving me the opportunity for a cure to this awful disease. Thank you for making me smile, for growing through the pain of donating, for taking time off of work, for being there whenever I need you…there are so many things, big and small, that you have made easier on the whole family, and I appreciate everything. Man, I’m STILL not doing a good job of translating my feelings…you know how much I love you, and I’m sorry you’re sick because of me. I’m sure once you’re feeling better, you’ll be teasing me and telling me how I wasn’t worth the vomiting or the pain! :) I love you, and I’m excited to get those cells!

Speaking of, this was my last day as myself…tomorrow, I will be filled with Laura cells…crazy to think of, don’t you think? I’m gettin’ sleepy, so I better go to bed! I have to wake up at 3:30 AM to give myself an iv of fluids (before the radiation). I start that other creepy pill tomorrow so think good thoughts about the transplant and the medicine!

Sending lots of love from Seattle,

Julie (starting tomorrow I’ll be JuLaura!) hahaha :)

P.S. Thank you to Ronnie and Laura for the hard work on the hula hoop slideshow…I love it!!!!! This blog is definitely a team effort…who knew it was so time consuming?! Thanks for being my blog mastermind, Ronnie, and Laura and Katie, thank you for all your suggestions and hard work to make it fun. :)