Day 11

Her counts are still holding. They will be stopping the GSF shots which boost her neutrophils, so they said to expect drops even below 1000 again. If that happens, then shots will begin again. She is glad to have a reprieve because both arms are so bruised from the shots.
She remains having a low fever, but nothing worrisome. They just dropped the IV form of one of the immune suppressive drugs to oral form. The other one already is oral. The once a day IV antibiotic to treat the staph bacteremia(sepsis) will continue and the other is stopping .She could go outpatient on the IV drug and just pop in once a day to change the bag. It does not look like she will be outpatient this week, but every day is a day closer. The key thing is not move too quickly and remain safe in treatment regimes. The multitude of docs finally agreed it was safe to start the IV Cidovofir today after taking 2 doses off. So, she is happy about that. She had started to see the shape of her real fingers after 5 weeks of it and the virus was starting to return with being off. On Thursday, they will check for the first "chimerism" from her blood, no bone biopsy until Day 28. A test for chimerism after a stem cell transplant involves identifying the genetic profiles of the recipient and of the donor and then evaluating the extent of mixture in the recipient’s blood, bone marrow, or other tissue. They should be able to tell the percentage of each cord and Kelsey. They will continue to check this at certain intervals.

More prayer requests, I found out that Tyler is sick at school. He has an ear infection and possibly mono. The doctor didn't test for it, but said if he was still sick in a week, he would. Tyler's throat is on fire, but no strep. He will be home in Muncie this weekend, so pray he gets well, no mono, no getting anyone sick, and most important he doesn't bring anything horrible out here. God can heal the sick. We need to be together for the holidays. I would hate to leave him alone at home. May this not happen.

The previous entries to the blog, the YouTube videos, were to encourage Kelsey. I hope that you can be encouraged to. It was a huge hit here. Thank you guys for doing that. Oh, another fantastic thing happened last Wed. and Thurs. at Taylor University. My mom, with a bunch of friends, took just over 400 swabs to send to Be The Match. It was an awesome show of support. What a sacrificial thing these students are doing! May God Bless them. Thank you mom, friends, and all the people at Taylor University.

I am constantly challenged by all the blessings we receive. The challenging part is the receiving. Feelings of guilt, unworthiness, and thinking others are more needy creep into my thinking. God's kingdom is not about earning and deserving; it's about believing and receiving. I am learning to accept the gifts with an extremely grateful heart. I rejoice and try to find ways to bless others while here. Our God is a God of abundant gifts, may you receive from Him with a grateful heart.

Love,
Mom