Transplant Day

Thanks so much for all of your prayers. The transplant went well.

Transplant occured at 1 pm today. We thought it would be a two hour infusion, but it was done in less than 15 minutes. I think it took 10 minutes, but we weren't paying too much attention to the time. There were 5 medical staff standing around Natalie to watch for any bad reaction. They hooked her up to the monitors like they have down in ICU so we were getting a little worried. A couple of minutes after the transfusion, the doctor calmly said, "Well, if she was going to have a reaction, she would've had one by now. It looks like her body is saying it's okay with the new cells."

Natalie was curious the entire time. She asked a lot of questions and was staring at the bag that contained her new cells. She was worried about the smell of the preserved cells because everyone said it's the worst part of the transplant. However, she wasn't bothered by it at all. She said it smells like mango sorbet. I think it smells like clam chowder. It was a tiny little bag so it's hard to believe that the cells in there are actually going to take over her entire body and replace her old cells.

Natalie has been moody today. She's on one medication that made her so angry this morning. They gave it to her to help with her hives, but said they are stopping that today. She seems more like herself now. She ate a bowl of cinnamon Life cereal this afternoon.

Since it was Natalie's second birthday today, we got her a small laminating machine. She has been asking for one ever since a certain special friend gave her the idea. She is happily playing with it now.

So, now we wait and pray that her new cells multiply and grow. We pray that it attacks all her leukemia cells and does well growing in her body.

Natalie will start feeling a little icky the next couple of days as her new cells grow and the aftermath of the chemo inside of her. We are hoping she sails through this rough part and her counts start to recover quickly!