Friday (Bonus posting!)

Since this blog started on May 13th, there hasn’t been an occurrence where there were two posts in one day, so this is a first. We share this post with excitement as the bone marrow transplant occurred this evening at 7:15. We are so very thankful for the willingness of the 49 year old male who made this sacrifice for a completely unknown person, Bonnie. We hope that someday we will be able to thank him personally for this incredible act of kindness.

Our BMT doctor was here tonight to administer the transplant and she shared with us that for an unrelated donor, they have established a minimum of 5 million stem cells as the baseline threshold for the grafting, although they are thrilled when that number is higher. While the infusion was occurring, a representative from the lab came to the room with the actual count of the stem cells, which were 3 times the baseline or 15 million cells. This means our donor has incredibly healthy bone marrow. Wow!

Please see our post from earlier today for some of the issues that most likely will occur following the transplant. Specific ways to pray are outlined in the post as well. We are celebrating tonight and glad that this chapter of the book is complete, but recognize the plot that follows is just beginning to unfold and will be revealed in the weeks to come.

Thank you again for your prayers! We repeat this over and over, but it’s overwhelming to us the amount of peace as well as stamina and endurance we have felt through this ordeal. God answers prayer.

Good Night!

Steve & Bonnie