Transplant Day

Tomorrow is TRANSPLANT DAY.  From what I hear, it is a little anti-climactic.  Your child gets all this heavy duty chemo that can cause all kinds of issues and then they get a transplant of their own cells back. Apparently, it is just a little IV push of some cells that takes less than an hour.  Nonetheless, I'm nervous because I want to make sure everything happens correctly and that Reese feels fine and that the cells are vibrant, ready to find the bone marrow and start producing cells again!

I realized a few days ago that Reese's stem cell transplant day is March 27...which is exactly 7 months to the day after her diagnosis on August 27, 2011.  It's really mind-boggling to think of all that Reese (and the rest of us) have been through over the past 7 months.  I am thankful today that we are in as good of a place as I could have hoped 7 months ago.  Reese has to get through this immediate transplant period in the hospital, then the first critical 3 months, then the 6-9 month period of decreased immunity, etc etc but she has been SUCH a champ through it all to this point.  Nearly 7 months ago, I just wanted my baby to smile again.  A few short weeks after her surgery on August 30, she gave me her first post-surgery smirk. I have been blessed with many, many sweet smiles, squeals and giggles since then.  Can't beat that!  There are so many other things that we (and many many others) have prayed specifically for that God has given so graciously to us....even down to the mild winter we had... My sister has been keeping a document with all of my Facebook posts over this time period because I want to be able to look back and see specifically how God has answered our prayers and carried us through this.

Today, I am praying that the chemo that Reese has received has whipped the proverbial tail of any remaining cancer cells in her body.  I pray that nothing will EVER grow back, that all of the possible longterm side effects would be minimal if at all and that we can move forward from here as a family and rehabilitate her body that has been beaten up by cancer, surgery and chemotherapy.  I'm ready to see Reese take a bath with her sibs (can't because of her dressings right now), crawl, eat by mouth, toddle around and yes, even climb on top of everything like all the Stansfield children do.  I'm ready to be done with lines and wires and tubes and masks.  A family vacation would be nice too :)

I do pray that we are done with treatment and done with cancer.  I pray that we don't have any more brain surgeries or radiation in our future.  (She will be having an MRI 30 days post transplant and every 3-4 months.)   BUT I do know that God has been with us every step of the way...and that He has carried us through the most difficult season we have ever experienced.  We aren't out of the woods yet but the meadow is much closer than it has been in 7 months.

I do know one thing from all of this.  I will never be the same again.  We have been and are going through a fiery trial...but we have been sustained by God's hand.  God has done more in my heart in 7 months of suffering than in 7 years of ease and comfort.  And I trust Him.

We have done the treatment, tomorrow we "rescue" her with her stem cells, then we pray and wait and trust.  "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" Exodus 14:14