Day 14

Kristen is at the apartment. We didn't leave without some drama. She had a slight cough so after receiving platelets, she had a chest x-ray, and a nasal flush. So we didn't actually leave the hospital until around 3:30. The biggest relief for Kristen will be getting a night of undisturbed sleep. No one checking vitals or getting your weight at 4 a.m. and then being woken for a blood draw at 5 a.m. with more vitals at 7 a.m. We start again early tomorrow at 7:30 with labs and then to the ATC for IV medications and possibly more platelets. So we will pack breakfast and lunch for Kristen because we have no idea how long we will be at the clinic.

The peds floor has a tradition of having you ring the bell as you leave the hospital. So I've attached a couple of photos of Kristen ringing the bell with Dr. Alaa and Rachel our nurse for the past two days. She had to ring it again because Anne wasn't there to see it. Anne was Kristen's discharge nurse and she was also the nurse that sat with her last year when she got her stem cells.

I do have some prayer requests this time. First, that Kristen's nasal wash results come back clear. Second, that she won't come down with some huge complication that causes her to have to go back into the hospital. Third, that she continue to eat, drink, rest, and exercise properly to regain her strength and help with her healing. Finally, our continued prayers for the long term success of this transplant.

I met a dad today that was there with his 18 year old son. Jonathan is on day 120 after a cord blood transplant and is having trouble with GVHD of the gastrointestinal tract. His original diagnosis was similar to Kristen's in that he had AML but with a different variation. He was diagnosed in 2008 but did not have any matches so they had to do cord blood transplant. So please pray for healing for Jonathan.