after the storm

Just nine months ago we were living life as normally as we could with three children, four and under.  Adam had just started his new job at CBTS and I was staying at home with the kiddos. We complained about how hard our lives were. We complained that we were so strung out with all the kids, too few breaks, and not enough sleep.

...and now I cling to what I knew...

Today marks the first day of the rest of our journey. We start the process in our Stem Cell Transplant. We have a whole new team that so far treats us completely different. The Onc team treats us as though we know everything. They speak over our heads and in turn it agitates, but educates. The BMT staff treats me like I know NOTHING. For those of you who know me...like really know me, I'm sure you can imagine how I take it. :) I like to fancy myself as a pretty knowledgeable gal when it comes to this stuff at this point. Adam might say sometimes I think I know more than the doc; he might be right. So, I am scared beyond belief. Elijah is having the time of his life so far. Upon arrival yesterday, we were surprised with two huge baskets of awesome toys and activities to keep Eli and I entertained over the next few weeks. Aunt Christie and some of her wonderful friends got together and gave him bubbles, pinwheels, super fun straws (all great for keeping his lungs clear), dress up and imaginative play toys, crafts, puzzles, so much more and all of it is so much fun! The smile on his face was priceless. I'm pretty sure it was better than Christmas morning (plus he didn't need to share with anyone! Score!). I will be forever grateful for the surprise and the joy those ladies have given us.

We started Busulfan at 10:30am today which marks Day -6. He will get a two hour infusion every six hours for the next 4 days. We will then have a "rest" day on Day -2. We will have another dose of chemo on Day -1 and then we will have our transplant/stem cell rescue on Day 0. After that, we will nurse him until his counts recover and until he starts to feel a little better then we will go home. All told we will be here for about 30 days if all goes well. The biggest risk is VOD. Read more here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8467232 .

Since I am nursing I am able to take Faye with me everyday to the hospital. This causes a little bit of trouble because she is teething and all of a sudden starting to become mobile. But! She creates a bit
of distraction for us and reminds me to smile a little bit more. Adam is slammed at work, but he's no
less than a super badass and is killing it at work and then coming here in the evening so I can go see Dylan and Cecilia who are staying with Aunt Christie this week. He has a huge project that comes to fruition this weekend. Amongst all of this he manages to keep it together. Have I mentioned how badass he is? Seriously. Dude's got it going on. I respect him deeply. I don't know how he does it.

Dylan's second season of soccer starts tonight. I might be more excited than him. Who knew I'd turn into such a mom!

Love to you all!