Onward to Phase 2 - No really, we mean it this time!

Yes, I'm delinquent again! I have no excuse! Shoot me! - OK, enough apologies?! :-)

By now you may have guessed that Ed did not get admitted the week of Aug 23 as I stated in the last post. So, let me rewind a bit. We did go to Disney - thanks again Uncle Dan! - and had a great time with the whole fam. It was hotter than we imagined it could be, but the little kids got to see Mickey (Ryan actually "met" Stitch of Lilo and Stitch and was very star-struck. She now has a stuffed Stitch that she takes to bed each night and carries with her whenever possible - it's very cute) and the bigger kids got to also do Universal and experience all things "Harry Potter" (extremely cool exhibit BTW - get there if you can!). Most importantly we got to get out of dodge, relax and recharge.

The original target admission date of Aug 23 got pushed a bit due to some delays in all the pre-work required for Ed's donor. Our new admission date is now Sept 10; in other words this will be a very busy week for us! In addition to getting Regan back to school and all her routines and activities, Ed has a few pre-admission appointments this week - including one on Thursday when they'll place his central line - or Hickman Catheter. Then Friday afternoon he goes in and it's really, game-on.

We're meeting with Ed's team tomorrow to get final details, but in general the schedule is this: Ed will receive 5 days of conditioning chemotherapy to kill off his existing bone marrow. Then he'll have one day of rest before receiving his transplant. Transplant day is currently targeted for Sept 17 - this date could shift if there are issues with the donor, but we're pretty confident that's when it will happen. So pencil it in for now as Ed's "3rd" birthday - the first of course is Nov 30 when he arrived on this earth; the second is April 15 when he received his first stem cell transplant. Then if all goes well we expect Ed to come home 21 days or so after transplant day. So, it's another long haul, but one he's ready for!

We meet this challenge again with the greatest optimism for a positive outcome. We cannot thank you all enough again for your support and prayers during this time. Keep em coming!! And for those of you who continue to help us manage the daily and mundane tasks a special thanks - we (especially me!) could not get through this without your support! I promise to strive for more timely updates throughout the next month!

We leave you again, with love and highest hopes!

Ed, Kelly, Regan and Ryan