Day 8. Doing Great!

Today I am overwhelmingly grateful.  Willie is feeling good and continues to handle things like a rock star.  He kicked the fever again last night and so far today has been fever free.  His hair jumped ship yesterday and started falling out all at once so we buzzed it all off. 
The hair loss is curious process.  Before cancer, I had only seen movies that depicted how the process goes.  In the movies a person receives chemo and loses his hair instantly.  I was expecting that to happen to Willie the first time he was admitted in the hospital.  I would see other patients walking the halls with patches of hair on their balding heads and I wrongly assumed that their hair was in the process of growing back. The reality is that the hair loss doesn't happen right after treatment and when it does begin to fall it takes weeks to lose it all.  I finally understood the strange hair patterns on the other patients when Willie lost his hair the first time.  It fell out haphazardly with patches of hair scattered among bald spots. 
I have noticed how much easier everything has been this time time around.  The first time his hair fell out I cried the whole time I shaved his head.  It was so emotional and raw.  Maybe I've become callous, or maybe it really is easier this time, but last night as I shaved his head I didn't feel any sadness. Part of me was relieved that we have made it this far in the process.  The hair falling out represents a passage of time that we have been eagerly awaiting.
We made a "Happy Day 7" card for Casey last night.  He is the 22 year old we met during radiation treatments.  His Dad comes to check on us or I got over to their room so we can keep up on the others progress.  Casey has not done nearly as well as Willie.  When I checked in on them last Saturday he had just got an IV pain pump installed and was feeling pretty happy.
"Hey Missy!" he said when I entered the room."Look at my pain pump." His speech was slurred and his eyes were barely open.
I oohed and awwed as he pointed to the giant pump plastic pump that had been attached to his IV pole.  The pump had a button attached to it that would allow him to press it every 15 minutes according to his pain. 
"There is this green button that makes me feel good when I press it."  He smiled at the button like it was a long lost friend.  "Do you want to see?"
"Oh you don't need to press it for me."
"No, No." He interrupted, "I want to."
He pressed the button and it turned red.
"Oh no Dad," he exclaimed "It's red now."
His dad laughed to himself and shook his head. 
"Remember Casey, that it is green when it's OK to press it then it turns red until it's OK to have more."
"Oh yeah," Casey laid back and smiled. "I remember."
I doubt he remembers anything, but I'm glad he's not in pain.
Last night when I went to check on him he was all alone.  The room was dark and I wasn't sure if he was awake.  He opened his eyes and slurred something at me that sounded like "come in."
I could not believe how bad he looked.  He had dried blood around his mouth and on his teeth, his color was pale and he looked exhausted.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
He just groaned.
"Not looking so good." I said sympathetically.
"I'm not excited about tomorrow." He slurred.
"What's happening tomorrow?"
"I have to have surgery on my throat."
"What for?" I was surprised.
"I threw up last night and tore my esophagus.  They have to go in and repair it tomorrow."
"That's horrible."  I said, holding back tears.
I gave him the card and he smiled and thanked me.  He has been alone for the past two days as his Dad is not feeling well and can't come to the hospital.  It seems he is living the worst case scenario.  I told him I would check on him tomorrow and hurried into the hall before I burst into tears.  I cried for Casey and his pain, but the tears were mostly out of gratitude for the miracle we are receiving in Willie's recovery.

I came back and updated Willie on Casey and we talked about how lucky we are.  We started making a gratitude chain for each day we have been here.  I learned long ago that the highest form of energy is gratitude.  A sincere "thank you" can turn a bad mood into a better one and transform the direction any situation is going.  We talked about the past 7 days and created a link in the chain for something we were grateful for each day of the journey so far.  Our number one link says: The donor.  Other links state our gratitude for our family, the doctors and nurse and each other. 
"What are you thankful for today?" I asked Willie as we got to the chain for day 7.
"I'm happy that I can still eat." He said and I wrote it on the link.
"I'm grateful that you are doing so well." I said.  I thought of Casey as I wrote it and fought back tears. 
We are so incredibly blessed.
Willie got red blood cells last night and had no reaction to them.  He will probably need more platelets today or tomorrow and more red blood cells to come.  The coming week will be a whole lot of waiting for his white blood count to start rising.  In the meantime they will keep replacing his reds and platelets as much as needed.  The doctors are entirely impressed with his progress.  I imagine he is their favorite patient because he is so easy. 
Thank you for the prayers. We are grateful for all of you!