July 26 - We have a donor!!

We got the call early Tuesday morning that Meghan is a "perfect match"!!!!!!  I was so excited that I called Meghan (forgetting the 3 hour difference between here and AZ) and woke her up to tell her.  She was a bit groggy.  Not known to be be a "morning person", she perked up and was pretty cheerful in spite of the early hour.

Meghan thought from the very beginning that she would be the match, and said she hoped it would be her.  In terms of personal obligations, she has more flexibility than Missy & Sean, who have kids.  And unlike Shannon, Meghan has paid time off.

I also immediately told Ryan, who was still asleep.  He muttered something like, "That's great!" and went back to sleep.  Three hours later he overheard me talking to someone else about Meghan being the match and asked when I was going to tell him!!

We don't know yet what this will involve for Meghan.  What additional tests she'll need.  How long she'll need to be in Boston.  I'm sure that the transplant team will be informing us soon.

Sean is still a possibility - they haven't processed his specimen yet.  If he is also a "perfect match", he would be preferred since he is male. 

Ryan is still sick, but not as bad as last week.  The mornings are the worst - probably a combination of mild dehydration after not drinking all night and the nausea meds having worn off.  After he takes his meds and drinks he feels a little better.  He drinks and nibbles through the day.  By late last night he felt well enough to go out and get a Subway sandwich.

Sophia went out to dinner with a couple friends last night.  I'm sure it was a nice break for her.  She works all day and comes home to our usual household mayhem and a hubby who is getting pretty lonesome.

I'm in the final stages of Youth Conference prep - it starts tonight.  Only 160 kids this year and a great support team, so it's relatively easy.  But I'm sure I'll be pretty shot after trying to keep up with - or ahead of - a crowd of teens over the next 3 days.

Next Tuesday Tim and I and the girls will be heading to Minnesota to spend a week at Uncle Tom's Cabin.  My brother and his family have built a cabin on Little Toad Lake and we have never been there.  So we're finally taking them up on their invitation and looking forward to a week away.  By now Ryan knows his way to the hospital, and Sophia is taking a Monday off to go with him.  Yet part of me worries about him needing transfusion or getting a fever, etc, while I am not here.  I'll just have to call in my wonderful friends to bail us out if that happens.

Things are looking up and seem to be coming together for a success.  In the early stages soon after his diagnosis, the doctors were talking about achieving "remission", but wouldn't use the word "cure".  The transplant nurse at Dana Farber said flat out, "We're going for a CURE.  Not suppression, not remission.  CURE".  Now it's starting to seem safe to let my heart believe that we can have a CURE!!!
---Barb