Time Keeps On Tickin'

I haven't written in a while, so I thought I'd write a little update.

Not much to report, really.  Miya started walking on her own on Sunday the 11th of September.  I was making brownies in the kitchen at the time. By the time Chris got over the shock and awe and called to me, she had made it all the way across the living room. I caught her walking into the TV stand.

Miya has also started saying "what's that?" and pointing at various things. She can point to her toes when you ask her to.

We got Miya's chemotherapy protocols on the 9th of September. This is basically a schedule of the different drugs she'll be taking and we also went over the side effects of said drugs. A couple of things which struck me are these:

1)  A donor and a recipient may not necessarily have the same blood group. Blood groups need not match in order for tissue types to match.  The thing that amazes me is that by the time the transplant is over and Miya is out of semi-isolation at home, Miya's blood group will have changed to match that of her donor's.  Miya is currently O+ (like Chris and myself) but will turn O- (like her donor). 

2)  The second thing (which is more interesting than it is amazing) is that since chemotherapy changes the skin, Miya will have to wear sunscreen for life, even in winter. The importance of this was stressed to me. Long sleeved shirts, big hats, LOTS of sunscreen. 

We also know some information about our donor. The donor is female and a German. She is 50 years old and weighs 60kg.  I also know that in order to be deemed fit to donate (from her failing medical back in July) she had to go through many, many, many kinds of tests and procedures. Apparently the work-up this woman had was phenomenal. She could have said "No, never mind" or "I can't go through with these tests, remove me from the donor registry" but she didn't. She gave up a lot of time and went through a lot of medical testing just to be able to be cleared for donation. To save Miya. How do I find the words to thank this woman for all she has done?

Want Some Chicken?

We've all been sick with a stomach bug and for the first time ever (even as a little baby) Miya threw up. In the car. All over her car seat. I can't get the smell out and I'm tired of trying every piece of advice someone gives me about how to get the smell out. It ain't comin' out.  Nan H and Grampy Green (my parents in Canada) have generously agreed to buy Miya a new car seat. 

So we're on a countdown now. 20 days until admission for BMT. Three more regular ERTs on the ward.  In the words of the iconic Steve Miller Band, "Time keeps on tickin' tickin' tickin' into the future....Tick, tick, tick, tick....