Waiting for Transplant _March 24_Update

Hello Friends and Family,



Trudy is back in Houston and as of the moment, the Stem Cell Transplant is back on schedule. I say "as of the moment" because of her nagging cough. This morning when we saw Dr. Giralt, her cough was dry and rare. However, by this afternoon, the cough is persistent and productive. So, with much prayer, perhaps this too shall pass.



Trudy has a full day of outpatient procedures and appointments on the docket for tomorrow. She will have the central line (to deliver meds and blood products) implanted first thing, then appts with Opthamologist and Dentist to follow. No appointments are presently scheduled for Friday. She will be admitted to the hospital on Saturday, with chemo to begin on Sunday. The chemo infusion will cover several days. During these chemo days, Trudy will have lots of check-ups to monitor her response and lots of encouragement to stay positive, active, and nourished. Those check-ups and cheers will continue as she receives the new health-giving stem cells that will be infused on April 5, 2010. The stem cells will come from the umbilical cords that were harvested from two different babies from two different Continents. Dr. Giralt has named them: Juanito (from Barcelona, Spain) and Mick (from Australia). Dr. Giralt can't predict which one, but one of the stem cell sources will eventually be the dominant source and that baby's blood type will send nice healthy red, white, and platelet cells all through Trudy's circulatory system.



One of our appointments was a meeting with a couple of the nurses that work on the transplant floor of the hospital. Very informative and encouraging. These people know their stuff, deal with transplant cases as their profession, and have the most up-t0-date equipment available...and they are very committed to the people to whom they give care. None of this is any picnic, but it is good to know that the Lord has directed Trudy to this place of excellent care.

While praying for Trudy's cough, please also pray that all of these amazing dynamics to be divinely directed to bring health and healing to Trudy. Thanks so much for the prayers. Each is appreciated, felt, and needed.

Blessings,
Trudy and Robert