Happy Birthday

I have a very tired, bone-weary husband, no pun intended. Today he received 6.7 million of his own stem-cells. They will make their way into his marrow and begin differentiating into new marrow cells, producing red, white, plasma, and other normal cells. There is an overlap between the death of his marrow and the life cycle of previously formed blood cells, and the time when his new marrow comes to life. Again, days 4-about-14 can be very rough. He has, as usual, escaped the worst of it thus far. Knock on wood. We hope and pray that he will continue to escape the worst, as he is so bone weary, and does now have some "chemo-brain," a condition following chemo where it is difficult to concentrate, etc. But it's a fairly mild case. He now has to follow all of the neutrapenic guidelines, so he cannot be in public, eat uncooked foods or foods not prepared at home, wash, wash, wash our hands, etc. He is pretty quiet right now, as his energy is very low.

The staff at Huntsman all wished him a Happy Birthday, as this is the day he gets a new lease on life. Literally. They also gave him a certificate and a new blanket made by a local scout troop. They made 100 for the cancer center, and I think they all go to transplant patients.

Josh is playing some basketball, Alexis is doing lots of homework, and Kyle is having so much more fun outside now that there are kids around to play with all the time. They are adjusting well. I think I am also. Dani is in London today, has seen Phantom of the Opera, As You Like It, Big Ben, will be going to St. Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace tomorrow, and gets to speak English all day long. We are living vicariously through her. Have I mentioned that? I think I have. :)

Congrats to Bishop Ferland. Hope he adjusts well also! Take care.

Marleigh