A Hero In The Shape Of A Brother

 

Yesterday was the long-awaited "bone marrow transplant day".  It was a big event in our family as well as in the oncology unit at LPCH.  Emilie went through two weeks of chemo in November and December to get her bone marrow to show zero cancer.  Last Monday, she got a new central line (the third time is a charm) followed by radiation orientation.  Tuesday through Friday of last week Emilie endured 3 radiation treatments per day.  She needed to stand for 7 minutes during each treatment and with the help of her straight leg braces, she did wonderfully.  All the months of physical therapy and swimming really paid off; Emilie had great balance and endurance.  She is one tough kid! Last Saturday, she had a very high dose of chemo which required her to also have a high volume of IV fluids.  The three of us worked very well to manage the 5 liters of "output" in a short 24-hour period!!!  Sunday and Monday were days of rest and Emilie really needed to rest as the radiation and chemo on her little body knocked her out.

Yesterday Nicolas arrived early for the harvest of his bone marrow.  He handled everything like a little man with no crying and lots and lots of smiles.  He thought it was pretty fun to order food off the hospital menu, play with the height of his bed and ring the nurse when his IV pump alarmed.  Nicolas ordered salmon and mashed potatoes for lunch and when I let Eric and Emilie know his lunch order, Emilie said that he would surely send it back to the kitchen.  When it arrived, Nicolas removed the lid and said, "OOOH, that looks good" and proceeded to eat everything on his plate.  He and I joined Eric and Emilie in Emilie's room to celebrate Emilie's new bone marrow before Nana took Nicolas home. The (really bad) photo above shows Supergirl, Frosting, and the bag of "hope". The hope which is our strong and confident expectation that this bone marrow transplant will keep Emilie in remission forever. 

We will be staying in the hospital for about 4 weeks after which we will move to the Palo Alto Ronald McDonald House.  We will hopefully be home on May 25th just in time for summer.  We have experienced long hospital stays and lengthy time away from home and we are determined to get through 100 days and put this part of our journey behind us.

I have had many feelings over the last few months and I keep coming back to gratitude.  I am so grateful for yet another shot at life for Emilie and grateful to God for blessing us with Nicolas.  God knew!

Here's the story of Supergirl and Frosting from 2010.