Here is the latest today on Daniel:
At 3:15 PM today, Daniel started his bone marrow (stem cell) transplant procedure.It will take about four hours to complete.
Carter Blood received the donor stem cells from the courier and separated the red blood cells from the stem cells because the donor and Daniel have different blood types. This reduced the overall IV volume to 75 ml (2.5 oz) for the transplant. In that tiny amount of volume, there are 169,650,000 stem cells (try wrapping your head around that). These stem cells are now entering Daniel’s body and finding their way into his empty bone marrow that was wiped clean from the chemotherapy and radiation. How amazing and intricate has God made our bodies—it’s incredible. We are thankful for science and all the brilliant minds who have developed this treatment.
Please pray that these new baby stem cells take a stronghold in Daniel’s bone marrow and begin producing and growing new cells over the coming days and weeks. Pray that he tolerates the transplant well and doesn’t have any adverse reactions. Pray for us over the coming days. Pray for a speedy recovery for our donor.
The next two weeks are going to be roughas we deal with the repercussions of chemotherapy and radiation. Pray that the side effects are milder than anticipated and that the doctors and nurses can keep him comfortable. Pray for Ashly and me that we will strongly endure each day. Seeing your baby hurt is hard for any parent. One day at a time.
