Our superhero!

Our superhero!
Our superhero!

Monday, January 13, 2014

Transplant day!

Finally!  The day we have been working towards since June!  Our morning started early.  Brayden and I got up at 4:30 to get ready.  We had to leave the house at 5:15 to get up to the hospital in time for Blake to check into same day surgery.

Blake had a lot of fun at first:



But then he decided this isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Doing vitals and putting THEIR pajamas on are not his favorite:



Going to the playroom waiting room to play made it all better though:




They gave him versed to make him relax, and took him back.  Then we waited.  Merrill was upstairs with Ethan, so I was grateful that Brayden was willing to come with me to help me.  He and Blake formed a special bond while we have been in and out of the hospital so much.

After about 1 1/2 hours, Blake was finished.  We went back to get him.  He was very, very sleepy!  We could move him around however we wanted, and this boy was NOT waking up!


After about 2 hours of waiting for him to wake up, they finally decided to wake him up with a cold wash cloth.  He woke up and enjoyed some nice applesauce.  






Then we headed to Ethan's room.  Brayden decided to veg on the hospital bed since Ethan was up playing!


After eating some lunch and waiting for a bit, we all donned our party hats.  It was time for a celebration!  They gave Ethan some Benadryl so he wouldn't have an allergic reaction to the bone marrow, so he was a little sleepy for his celebration :)



All of the available doctors and nurses came in to sing Happy BMT (bone marrow transplant) Birthday!  They are all wearing gowns and masks because Ethan has paraflu and rhinovirus.  They wear these to protect other kids from getting it too.



 They gave both Blake and Ethan gifts for Ethan's new "birthday", and to Blake for making his new birthday possible.



It is tradition for the staff to guess what day the transplant kids will engraft.  They make bets and put their money in the envelope.  Regardless of who wins, they give the money to Ethan!


My awesome hubby drew Ethan a lego batman on his whiteboard for him!


All of the staff signed Ethan's banner, and they hung it in his room:


Getting ready to hang up the bone marrow.  Double and triple checking everything!


This is Jordyn our nurse.  She is special to us because she started us on blinatumomab (our experimental drug that saved Ethan's life), and she was here to hang his bone marrow, which saved his life as well!


Here it is!  From Blake to Ethan in one day!  Blake's (and now Ethan's) bone marrow!  They do this just like a blood transfusion and put it into Ethan's central line.  This is the easy part for Ethan.


The cute brothers playing on Ethan's bed with daddy, or more like Blake hoarding all of Ethan's new cars :)


After an exhausting day, they both took a nap next to each other :)  I love them so much!


These are the t-shirts they gave Blake and Ethan.  Blake's says "donor", and Ethan's says "recipient".  We didn't get them on them before they fell asleep!

This is Blake's bandage on his back.  He has been such a trooper!


It has truly been an exhausting, wonderful, magical day.  I have been so worried about Blake having to go through this.  The boy has been amazing!  He was up and playing.  Climbing on things, jumping around, running, and laughing.  You can tell he is a little sore, but he is doing much better than expected!  He is our little miracle worker!  

Ethan has been up and down a little bit over the last week.  Today was a good day.  He was feeling well and having fun.

Now we just wait for engraftment.  The average for this is 21 days, but it ranges from about 2-6 weeks.  In the meantime, they will be watching for graft vs host disease, fevers, mucusitis and any type of infection or illness. 

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father that we were able to do this today.  That the experimental drug worked.  That Blake was a perfect match.  That Ethan is doing so well.  That we have so many AMAZING people around us offering love and support in every way.  I have seen so many miracles and tender mercies throughout this whole process. 



7 comments:

  1. So happy for you today. You're attitude inspires us all.

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  2. Thank you so much for sharing! We've been praying all day that things would go smoothly! Sure love those cute little boys!

    I can't help but think of Blake as a Christ Symbol. He, like the Savior, was sent here to save.
    Thank heavens, we too, have a Brother that came to this earth to save us too!

    I feel so blessed to know your sweet family!

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    1. I have had the same thoughts, and I have also thought a lot about our Heavenly Father and how He must have felt to send his son to save us, his other sons and daughters. I have really struggled with Blake doing this, even though it is necessary. I think our Heavenly Father must have felt the same way, only on a much grander scale. It has definitely given me perspective that I didn't have before!

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  3. Thank you for the update. We have been wondering how it went and I will have to tell them all first thing tomorrow morning. Great pictures, especially love the ones of the boys sleeping, how precious! Please let me know if there is anything we can do! Continue to pray for you - this time that the engraftment will work and that there won't be any infections or complications!! How long will Blake be there or is he already home again? You guys are just amazing!

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    1. Anne, Blake was just outpatient so he came home last night after we were finished with everything. Thank you for the prayers!

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  4. Awesome Day! Thanks for the update!

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  5. Was brought to tears as I watch a truly inspirational story about Ethan today. It's wonderful to see all of the support of the neighborhood and people loving you guys in every way they can.

    You don't know me, but I prayed for you guys this morning after I saw the story. May Peace, Love and Blessings follow you guys.
    Best,
    Blake

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