Happy Cell Day, Avery!

What I'm feeling today can be summed up in one word: thankful. Not just a little thankful though, deeply grateful from the bottom of my heart to my wonderful God, to the amazing medical team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and to the donor who gave a little part of himself to my Avery on this very day one year ago.

Prior to transplant and for a couple of months following the transplant, Avery was transfused with platelets about every 7-9 days and with red cells about every 2 weeks. He would go from having a platelet count of around 200k post transfusion to a single digit count about a week later. He was covered in bruises and ptekai. He would get red cells when his hemoglobin dropped below 7, although at times it was much lower.

Not to bore you with all the details, but the weeks following the transplant were Avery's worst. The weeks of chemo finally caught up with him about the same time his body was invaded with new stem cells that were trying to replace his. His body put up a fight, and he was so pitiful as he rocked back and forth in pain despite his pain pump night after night. The vomiting and diahrrea were out of control, and even the tube feeds had to be stopped and replaced with TPN through his central line for a few months to give his gi tract time to heal. His kidneys and liver were hit very hard, and his immune system had to be repressed to allow the new cells to graft without being attacked. He developed rashes all over his body, mucousitis (sores inside the mouth and throughout the gi tract), graft vs. host disease in his mouth and throat, thrush, spinal/lumbar fractures, and a variety of other symptoms that go along with the treatments used during the process.

While Avery may seem fragile, and he is in some ways, let me tell you, he has fought through some dark, dark days and endured pain that would make most folks just give up. This day will always be the day we remember that Avery got his second chance on life and his brand new cells!  It also marks the time we've waited for when the worst is behind us and Avery's recovery period is nearly complete.

Happy cell day to the bravest little boy I know, Avery!

My boys and I on Avery's transplant day.  Bryson got special permission to come for the event.

Avery watching his Barney while he is receiving his new cells.  He thought the whole thing was a little boring. :-)

Avery's new bone marrow!