Day +74

First day of September. We love September. September means going home month.

Kristen had her transplant discharge class this morning. We were familiar with a lot of what they covered. One of the major items is her need to wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace. It needs to say that she has had an allogenic (unrelated donor) bone marrow transplant and that all blood transfusions must be irradiated. If she would receive blood that wasn't irradiated, it would be life threatening. Basically they wanted to remind transplant recipients that they were given a gift and had responsibility to take care of it. They reminded her of the ways to prevent infection. Hand washing is the most essential! Keeping herself hydrated is important to care for her liver because the medication they give her is basically toxins. She will need to be careful on what she eats, drinks, and get regular exercise and sleep. Consideration for her own well being needs to be taken into account when she attends concerts, classes, or football games. Late effects of treatment or disease can occur months to years after her treatment. For the next couple of years she will be checking in regularly with her SCT team.

I found myself a little shell shocked after attending the class. I don't think I fully allowed myself to absorb that this will affect her long term. For the rest of her life. That will make it hard to step back and let her live her life. Can't you just hear it already, "Kristen, do you think you should be doing that?" Or even, "Kristen you need to drink/eat more. Are you exercising?" I will really have to work on that. Shifting gears will not be easy.

Once again thank you for the prayers. Praise God for all he has done. Praise him for how well Kristen has gone through this and will continue to go through this. Pray for our transition to living back home. Pray for Devin and I to be able to step back and let her be in charge of her recovery. Also please pray for all the Transplant patients that are struggling. Who are we to have had such a successful treatment so far.