Remission...onward to Phase 2!

OK so first off, sorry for the major delay in posting. It's been an extremely busy summer, but more on that later! Let's get to the point - Ed is "officially" in REMISSION! Can I get an Amen? (amen!) So, it's a little weird - the docs aren't really "saying" remission. In fact, our very stoic, Billy Bob Thornton Look-alike Lead Transplant doc writes Ed an email and says "Ed, I'm sending you a copy of the report. The cyto-genetics are normal. Have a nice weekend!" Actually, I don't even think he added the exclamation point! LOL. In any event, it means, that he has no evidence of Leukemia in the blood, bone marrow, or at the chromosomal level. All in all a very good place to be as we proceed to Phase 2.

Phase 2 means - Stem Cell Transplant. So far, we have had multiple donors identified. Not everyone is that fortunate. If you don't have a sibling match (only a 25% chance), and need an Allogeneic (from someone else) transplant, you must go to the National and/or International Bone Marrow Donor Registries. (if you haven't yet done so, PLEASE consider registering - you COULD save a life!) So, the transplant team is hard at work vetting the donor - all we know at this point is that he's 30 and a "7 of 8" match and is still willing to donate. This is pretty much the same type of donor we had last time so it's all really good news. If all goes well, Ed will get admitted the week of August 23 to begin the conditioning chemo required to prep him for transplant. They will basically wipe out his existing immune system to the point of no return and then infuse the donor stem cells. Aside from the "sucky chemo" and side effect aspect, it's pretty anti-climatic. The donor cells are hung and infused into Ed via a central line. Those little suckers cruise through his blood stream and take up residence, eventually, in his bone marrow. Then around Day 21-ish (from day of Transplant - which is Day 0) his new immune system will "engraft" and start producing new White cells, Red cells and Platelets. The trick will be to keep Ed infection-free during this prolonged period of exposure. It's doesn't mean we have to gown up or keep him behind a plastic shield. We just have to use common sense precautions: hand- washing and staying away when sick.

In the meantime, we've planned a little family get-away courtesy to introduce Ryan to Mickey Mouse (thanks Uncle Dan!)! Regan's met him of course so she'll have a little reunion! We leave this Saturday and will have a full week in the extreme Florida heat (what timing!), but we're so grateful for the time to spend together before we move to this next phase.

Otherwise, we're just trying to keep every day as normal as possible. We have to send shout outs to all our peeps (again, you know who you are!) as well as our family for all the support we get every day. We could NOT do this without you! Oh yeah, and I just got a new job! Well, not "new", but I am now officially a full-time associate with Ally Financial. I've been a contractor there for about 15 months; so it's not much change other than to who signs my paychecks, but it give us quite a bit more stability as we move forward with Ed's treatment. All in all a great thing!

One final note. This past weekend, the Fitzpatrick family said goodbye to a dear member of our family - my dad's sister Mary Anne was taken from us way too young. We spent this past weekend not only mourning our loss, but celebrating her life all together as the big Irish Clan we are! It was a very moving funeral mass. AMA would have been first and foremost, very proud of how her only daughter, Tami, conducted herself with dignity during this very difficult time - you did your Mom proud Tam! And she would have been very touched by the tributes (both in actions and in words) from her brothers, sisters-in-law, numerous nieces and nephews; and by the fact that a Bishop, a Monsignor and several priests, along with about 160 family, friends, and co-workers traveled near and far to pay tribute. Truth is, she probably would have been a bit embarrassed by all the attention - but, TOO BAD! We loved you! She was such a selfless person while on earth, I look for her to continue her charitable work from heaven and to help Ed and our family along our journey. We need everyone's support as we move to the next phase.

With love and highest hopes - Ed, Kelly, Regan & Ryan