Recharging

Recharging and it's all good:

• The moratorium on close contact with William is over.
• His blood counts continue to be high enough to allow him some freedom to be a boy!
• Spent 1 day in S.F. for a stem cell rescue (a simple transfusion) of one of the three batches of his own stem cells that were harvested back in August for his upcoming transplant. The purpose was to give him a simple boost before transplant since the MIBG radiation therapy can be quite taxing on his stem cells and their ability to produce the needed blood products to keep him healthy.
• Enjoying every minute of not being in the hospital or living under the threat of admittance for a while.
• Scheduled to be admitted at UCSF for stem cell transplant on January 24th.

We are filled with deep gratitude for how blessed we are. We are so grateful William is doing so well right now and how well he has tolerated so many hard things. He still has a long road of treatment ahead of him, but we are thankful for today. We are immensely thankful for an incredible support unit. I don't know where we would be without our family support. Our parents and siblings have swooped in to lighten our burdens on so many occasions and often at very short notice. Our love for our families has always been great, but it has truly intensified as we have seen and felt their love. We have been nurtured and strengthened in many instances when we could not do so for ourselves. We also have amazing friends and neighbors and live in a community that has shown us many thoughtful and often secret acts of kindness that can only be paid forward by serving others in similar ways. Thank you. Thank you.

The past 7 months have been intense and very exhausting. We still have at least another 7 ahead of us with treatments that will included many scheduled hospital stays and countless tests, etc. I can't help but feel that the Lord knows our capacities and knew we needed this small period of time to breathe, regroup as a family, and recharge for the battery draining that will soon recommence.