Day -8

To be spiritually minded is life and peace.
     Romans 8:6

Today is considered Day -8 because it is 8 days before my mom receives the donor's cells. The day she gets them is called Day 0. She went in today to have a Hickman placed in her chest. It is a type of port that is placed in the chest, under the skin. It will be used to infuse the donor cells and also if she needs IV Nutrition if she is unable to eat. Her surgery went well and she is now going to her hospital room. Tomorrow will be day 1 of her 4 days of chemo. Then she will have 3 days off and will receive the donor's cells on the 24th. The purpose of the chemo is to knock her immune system so low that it can be replaced by the donor's. The side effects will unfortunately be similar to the ones she has had before. Mouth sores and nausea are common.

The doctor decided to go with the 26 year old donor because she had  a few things that matched better (nothing crucial). There were very few differences between her and the 19 year old. We only know her age and that she is from Europe. We are so grateful to her!!! Her cells will be collected from her arm and shipped to the US immediately where my mom will receive them. The transplant itself is very uneventful. It usually takes about 1 hour and is pretty much the same as a blood transfusion. Who would have known?! After that, the donor's cells should begin to engraft in my mom's body over the next few days/weeks and start to build all new blood cells. The stem cells know exactly where to go (inside the bones) and what to do once they are placed in the body.

Because my mom basically will have no immune system, only immediate family can visit her in the hospital room, and we will have to wear gloves and masks. She is only allowed to eat food from the hospital or microwavable meals (no fruits or veggies). Everything also has to be individually wrapped because once it's open it has to be thrown away. The doctor said if you can go to a grocery store and blow the dust off of it, she can have it. The more preservatives the better apparently. Seems strange to us but there can be no risk of bacteria or food-borne illness. The restrictions lessen after 100 days and we can cook certain things for her once she comes home.

I will keep you all updated (hopefully everyday). I have become so appreciative of every second we get to spend with one another. My mom is doing really well and is laughing and joking all the time! My dad is pretty comical, so how could she not? We will take it day by day and be grateful for even the littlest things each day. I bought my dad a devotional this Christmas, and while feeling low today looked at the entry for February 16th. I thought it was worth sharing because it reminded me to stay spiritually-minded and to think positively. We can't change the circumstances, but we can change our response and attitude!
"Spirit-filled men and women are not isolated from what's going on around them... They experience hurt and disappointment like everybody else. What sets them apart from the rest of the world is their response. When circumstances wreak havoc with the peace of the Spirit-filled people, there will be some downtime. But they won't stay down. They refocus their attention on the big picture, acknowledge the truth that their peace is from the Lord, and then move on... They know that 'the mind set on the things of the Spirit is life and peace.'"