BIG NEWS! Danny’s transplant is complete! It went well, and we are now focused on his post-transplant recovery.
At around 11:30pm CT on Tuesday, May 23, the transplant doctor entered Danny’s hospital room followed by four nurses, one carrying a small blue cooler. It didn’t take long to figure out that the cooler did not contain beer and snacks!
It was a sobering moment when one of the nurses pulled a small IV bag out of the cooler that was filled with a thick pinkish-red fluid that looked quite a lot like a frozen strawberry daiquiri. All the effort, people, and resources that went into bringing this little plastic bag of life-saving liquid to our room on the sixth floor of St David’s Hospital in Austin, Texas felt like a culmination of hundreds of miracles. It really felt like somehow the impossible was made possible.
It was also astounding to think that such a small volume of liquid could produce such a big and meaningful outcome!
The transplant team wasted no time getting the IV bag tube connected to Danny’s PICC line. Then it slowly drip drip dripped from the bag, down the tube, into Danny’s vein while we all sat around and talked about everything from the history of stem cell transplants and what to expect in the immediate days following the transplant to the challenges of taking kids on international flights and Rihanna’s status as the world’s richest female musician.
After about 90 minutes or so, the bag was empty. Just like that, the transplant was finished. They told us it would be anticlimactic, and they were right.
The transplant team enthusiastically wished Danny a happy birthday as they filed out of the room, and Danny, exhausted from the long day and previous four days of chemo, instantly drifted off to sleep.
With adrenaline still coursing through me, I sat awake in my recliner in the corner of the hospital room, marveling at the gift of a second chance at life that Danny and I had just been given. I thought about the young man, thousands of miles away, who donated his stem cells… and I was so overcome with gratitude. I have never in my life felt so deeply connected to a complete stranger as I did in that moment.
Twenty-four hours later, Danny is doing great! He’s having some yucky side effects from the conditioning chemo and he is extremely fatigued, but he has a positive, hopeful attitude and is focused on resting so his body can recover. He will remain hospitalized for another two weeks (at least) so that he can be monitored as the engraftment process begins. He’s very vulnerable during this time, so the hospital is exactly where he needs to be, even though he desperately wants to be home!
Don’t stop your prayers, chants, healing energy, and good thoughts! We need them now more than ever. And look how far they’ve already brought us. Thank you!
Leave a Reply