Happy Birthday Ed!

They say a stem cell transplant is like a new birthday...a new chance at life. Ed successfully received his transplant Friday and we will now mark a new birthday going forward - September 17, 2010! The event itself was quite UNeventful. They deliver a bag of fresh stem cells (ours travelled from Europe) and hook you up; all in all about 30 minutes of watching the cells infuse. But we know the event itself is quite meaningful. The hard work now begins. Ed is still getting through some side effects from the conditioning chemo and radiation he received last week, but so far - thank God! - nothing he can't handle. As you can see, he looks great! Next steps will involve his new stem cells "engrafting", or setting up production for a new immune system. Then the doctors will carefully control his immune system operations while it gets used to its new surroundings. Graft versus Host Disease (GVHD) is the next thing we have to watch for - it's good to have a little GVHD, but not too much. The good is that the new immune system can seek out and destroy any residual Leukemia. The bad is that the new immune system can go a little crazy and attack it's "host" - AKA, Ed! So, it's a fine balance that Ed's team of doctors will try to control with various medications.

My parents brought the kids up to visit yesterday - they haven't seen Ed in over a week. It was a very happy reunion and they brought balloons and cupcakes to mark the occasion. Ed and Ryan played "Mr. Potato Head" and Regan showed off her new flute. As you might imagine, it did a lot to raise Ed's spirits to reunite with the kids. He's only been in hospital for a little over a week, but we all feel his absence - and I know he wants to be home too. Hopefully we'll be done with this phase in another couple weeks at most.

As usual, we want to thank everyone for continued prayers and support! We all feel your strength and support every day! And, big shout outs again to the OLGC families who are taking time to send us meals. This has been a HUGE help for us. As much as I love to cook, I couldn't imagine having to deal with meal planning right now - so thank you!!

With Love and Highest Hopes - The Thorps