An Over-due Update..Day +2

 Friday was the big day! Day 0/transplant day. It was a day full of emotions, preparing our boy/man for surgery and excitement over the cells that would then be placed into Anna's body. We were so proud of Daniel! He was never nervous, just excited over what he was getting to do!!! We met up in Anna's room for a time of Bible reading and prayer before taking him down for surgery. One last hug from Anna before he left to give her the gift of a lifetime. Daniel went back into surgery a little after 2 p.m. and came out around 4:30. While he was in surgery, Craig and I went to the gift shop and got balloons for the entire crew. It was fun carrying so many balloons through the hospital halls! Then we decorated Anna's room with them. This made for a very festive atmosphere for a very special day!! The children came for the big event as well as a couple others. Then it came.....the cooler with Daniel's cells. As everything was being prepared, the nurses from all over came in to sing, "Happy transplant day to you!" (to the tune of Happy Birthday") Day 0 is a highly celebrated day for bone marrow transplant patients! The cells took just over 7 hours to be administered, so Anna actually became one of a few double 0 patients! This means, that since it went into Saturday, that Saturday was also day 0. Sunday was day +1, today is day +2.

Saturday, we received the disturbing news that an error had been made concerning the first 2 bags of cells. The wrong tubing had been used. The tubing that the nurse hooked up had filters and the Dr. was unsure if the stem cells had been filtered out. This was devastating! Though the good thing was that the last bag was the fullest and the amount that most transplant patients receive. Daniel had produced 3x more cells than most donors are able! Well, this didn't seem to help much in the way of encouragement to a very sick young lady who is depending on those cells! Tears were spilled and questions were asked. We know that human error is a part of life and we must be accepting of that. We all make mistakes, and God is still ultimately in control! He has a plan! Well, a couple of hours later, Dr. Woolfrey came back with some VERY good news! She had just gotten off of the phone with the head of bone marrow transplants at UW, and he said not to worry! That they actually use the filtered tubing on patients with allergies and have always seen good results. (in other words, the stem cells got through the filter and grafted into the patients) He said to go ahead and count all 3 bags as good!!  What a relief!

At this point in the transplant process, we are looking at rough days ahead. Anna will continue to get sicker. She already has mouth sores forming that go throughout her digestive tract. The nausea is increasing, but they are trying to keep it at bay with around the clock anti-nausea medication. She also has pain meds at the push of a button to keep her feeling as good as possible. I am so proud of Anna! She is doing quite well! She pushes herself to be as physically active as possible. Everyone here is pleased with how well she is doing. Keeping active will really help her recover better later. She is also being a witness at every opportunity. Today we were able to talk about her mission's trip to Uganda with her nurse and CNA. They asked what Anna and Craig had done while there, so we were able to share just what they did! They then asked if any of the younger ones had gotten to go on their trip yet, so we then shared about the situation that took place when it was Samuel's turn to go. How perfect each part was in keeping them home when we would be faced with the diagnoses of Anna's CML. The nurse was amazed at how it all worked, to which Anna replied, "It just shows the Sovereignty of God! He worked it all out!" Little things like that can plant seeds in the hearts of those we share it with. We pray those seeds will be watered, and that God will get the increase one day!!!

The longer we are here, the more families we are meeting. The other day we met a man who's wife had a baby girl named Isabella, born on the ninth of May. Their baby girl needed to have open heart surgery and was scheduled for Thursday the 16. We told him we'd be praying for his baby girl. I was really burdened all day Thursday and told Craig I truly hoped God had answered our prayers for that family! Who knew if we'd ever see them again? Craig shared with me today that he ran into the dad yesterday and so he asked how everything went. I am so blessed to say that she made it through with flying colors! She may even be going home this week!!! While we were both in Anna's room today, A code blue went over the intercom. Craig immediately stopped and prayed, "Dear God please help that child be okay!" and would you know that literally seconds later the code blue was cancelled!! To which Craig said, "Thank you God for answering our prayer so quickly!" It is so awesome to see God working in so many ways!!! I mentioned a young lady in the room next to Anna's named Lynsie. I have had the privilege of getting to meet her and chat with her on a couple of occasions. Please Pray her transplant will be successful and that she will be able to live a long and full life! Pray we can share the love of Jesus with her and her family!!! Also, please pray for a 19 year old young lady who is also on her 3rd relapse. It is very sobering to meet patients who have been down this road a number of times. We have such a burden to see them get better and we are praying for them! It is wonderful to know that the love as well as the healing hand of Jesus has no limits!!! It isn't all bad news here, though. Today we heard of a young man who is on day +21 and was getting a two hour break from the hospital! We enjoy hearing good news on occasion! Our mission field is all around us, please pray that we will take the opportunity God affords us! May we be a beacon of light to all who we meet! May they all see Christ in us no matter the situation!

Thank you all for your love, support, and esp. your prayers! It was so good to be in the House of God yesterday and to get to see many loved ones and be encouraged by them! And to those we don't get to see, we know you all are praying for us and we are encouraged by that!

Please enjoy the spattering of pictures from the special day!

The look is him watching the t.v. above him

A prayer from his Pastor/Daddy

Headed back for surgery

Balloons for the crew!

A festive room for a special day!

Little siblings who LOVE their Anna

All the nurses singing, "Happy Transplant Day!"

Daniel's cells

All hooked up and ready to go!

The cells getting started

Another prayer over Anna and the cells

Anna showing off her line

Overwhelmed with thankfulness toward her brother

A proud little girl who is touching the light on Anna's finger!

Daniel getting to come up and see Anna