It all began at 10:45 am and was over by 12:45. That may seem a little anti-climactic to some, but for us it is absolutely phenomenal and miraculous.
How many of us can say that we have literally been given the chance to start our lives over? That in a way, we have cheated death. We have been shown favor by our God and the wisdom and skills that He has given others to proclaim His glory through their hands.
The staff at MD Anderson has been, without exception, the most caring and gracious that could ever be hoped for. We had a rough time Friday evening through Sunday afternoon with side effects from the chemo and related drugs. They all spent time with us, talked Tamara through the pain, and worked alongside us to develop a regimen that could keep the headaches and nausea at bay. Before we leave this institution, and our temporary family, I will try to mention all of them by name.
For now, there is one nurse assistant named Mira. A very friendly person, who was not afraid to share her faith and her story with us this morning. Tamara was extremely anxious about the transplant, not the procedure, but the milestone that it represented. Mira spent a long time counseling and witnessing. I will make sure that she knows what that meant to us before we leave.
On a slightly lighter note, have you ever seen a bag of life?
Well, now you can say that you have.
These are the 903.95 x 10^8 (90,395,000,000) cells that Tamara received this morning from a 47 year old male. [That's total nucleated cells. Not sure what that really means, but I think it means that not all are actual stem cells.]
Straight in through the CVC, and now we wait.
A little soapbox diatribe here. All of you need off of your lazy butts and sign up to donate. Blood, plasma, platelets, organs, stem cells, and everything else.
Would you like to tell your loved one that they are going to die because no one cared enough to give up something that their body could replace easily? Or that they can not see their kids grow up, or grow up themselves, because narrow minded people won't contribute organs that their body can sacrifice without major hardship. Or that some people thought it more important to bury their loved one with his/her heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, etc. that are going to rot in the ground, but which could have saved your life?
You can definitely bet that this is not the end of the donation diatribe (kinda catchy, think I'll use that).
