Transplant Day!

Today is day zero. 
Today we start life over. 
I woke up this morning feeling a strange level of excitement.  It was masked under a heavy cloak of anxiety, but hidden in the bottom of my mess of emotions was a tiny sliver of excitement at the hope today is bringing.  I got a large tray of cookies and a candle of the number zero to celebrate Willie's new birthday.  We will give them to the doctors and nurses when they come around. 
When I arrived this morning Willie was feeling nauseous and had just thrown up.  His upper lip is really swollen and he said he is starting to feel his mouth swell. The nurses were running late with his anti nausea medication this morning which landed him in that mess.  As soon as he got the IV Zofran he began feeling better and was able to go back to sleep. 
The nurse came in and informed us that his transplant will take place at 12:30 PM.  The donor cells will arrive in a bag that looks identical to a blood transfusion and he will take Benadryl before receiving the cells just like he does for any other transfusion. 
In essence, the transfusion is nothing more than receiving a bag of cells from someone else. It is the same process as receiving blood or platelets. They don't anticipate any reaction or any visible side effects from the cells today or many days from now. (and hopefully never!)
It's a funny process to consider.  There are no needles, no surgeons, no anesthetic, no stitches to be removed.  It is unlike anything that comes to mind when you hear the word transplant. The drudgery that lies ahead is not actually from the new cells, but from the chemo and radiation he had to receive to get ready for them.  It's the ultimate catch 22 because he had to first kill off all of his cells in order to accept the new ones, but in killing the old cells he will have to suffer the effects.  On the other hand, if they just gave him the new cells without killing the old, the new cells would kill him.
It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "what doesn't kill you will make you stronger!"
This morning I watched a video on youtube that really spoke to me.  It was a good reminder that we are under the watchful care of a loving God.  This trial we are going through is simply some "pruning" arranged by the wise Gardner who knows that we must be clipped in order to grow.  I believe that with all my heart and know that we will come out of this stronger, wiser, healthier, and better looking!

His new cells arrived just after 12:30PM.  The middle Eastern doctor who works with Dr. Laport came in carrying the bag like a waitress with a loaded tray.
"Your new cells sir," she said with a crinkle smile in her eyes.
The nurse hooked up the cells in no time and soon the red fluid was travelling down the line.  The doctor and nurse watched as the stream of red cells entered his body.
"First cells in at 12:47 PM" the doctor stated and made some notes in the computer.
"This will take about an hour so you can go ahead and make yourself comfortable." She said.
We decided to watch a movie to keep us distracted from the emptying bag.
The nurse stayed and monitored his temperature and vitals during the first half hour then returned at the end. 
"Last cell in at 2:10 PM" she announced as she noted it in the computer.

"Congratulations Mr. Beavers," she said and we could feel her smile through the mask "You're a new man!"
"More like a new woman!" Willie corrected and we all laughed.
His donor cells came from a woman in her late 50's.  We learned today that she had them harvested through apheresis.  This is an easy way to collect the cells that involves her getting a shot daily for 4 days to boost her cell count then she sat at a machine for 4 hours to remove the stem cells form her blood.  As Will's body accepts her cells, he will take on her blood type, allergies and markers in her blood.  They warned us that if he is ever involved in a crime where his blood is part of the evidence, she will be the one to be found at fault.  If he was ever considering a life of crime, now is the time!
We lucked out on the allergies because her only allergies are to penicillin which is the same allergy Willie has.
He has been resting since the transplant.  The nurses came in with a birthday cake to sing to him, but he was sleeping so they said they hope to return soon.  There has been a lot of congratulations from workers on the floor.  They have really made the day special.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement today.  We were blown away by the amount of texts, emails and facebook messages we have received.  We are blessed to have such amazing people in our lives. 
Here's to a fabulous day 1!