Happy Re-Birthday Mayleigh!

The day we've all been waiting for has finally arrived! Mayleigh's bag 'o stem cells were delivered just past 11 am this morning and administering began shortly after. With 50mg of benadryl and some additional pre-meds on board, she was a little dozy but other than that she was comfortable and ready to go.
The time leading up to this moment in some ways went by quickly, but with the anticipation and nervousness it also seemed to creep up on us at a speed that resembled a sloth stuck in molasses. We have all done our best to stay positive and know that everything will all go as planned so sleeping last night seemed to be achieved by all.
My mom has been here for the past week as well so Mayleigh has had her Grandma with her through the past couple nights. The previous night was probably the roughest so far due to the ciclosporin (immune suppressant) causing anxiety. I honestly am amazed at how long it's taken for her to have a panic attack but she has been a rock star when it comes to the medications and poisons being injected into her body and still not even batting an eye. It's gotta be the age; the invincibility you have when your a young adult that doesn't allow worry and wandering thoughts to enter your mind. If I get a chest pain, the hypochondriac in my thinks I'm having a heart attack instantly. This time she would not escape the anxiety though and it caused her to shake uncontrollably and have a horrible night of trying to sleep. Not the greatest experience considering this was the first day she didn't have radiation or chemo. It should of been a day of rest and relaxation before the transplant but it turned into a nightmare for her.

They were able to get her calmed down with additional medication but we definitely did not anticipate the morning text to be of panic and concern. Grandma was there at least to keep her company so we were thankful again she's been here to help us with the love and support. But according to her, Mayleigh's attitude and spirits were raised somewhat when Mom and Dad finally showed up. It's awesome to know that she realizes she will get full love and attention when we are here and that is exactly whey we wanted to be here for her. The toughest time of all of this is when we will need to come home next week when she is probably going to be feeling her worst but thank fully Ian will be here to support her. Everything is going to continue to go smoothly though so again we anticipate nothing but positive results as we move forward.

As the last cells dripped out of the bag and into her body, we continue to think about how blessed we have been when it comes to how smooth this experience has been and how quickly we were able to get a donor. Without the generosity of this anonymous person, she would not be able to begin to piece her life back together. We are beyond words when it comes to the love and appreciation we have for everyone at OHSU, our friends and families, co-workers and even complete strangers that have taken the time to tell us how much they are thinking of and praying for our daughter. As a parent, you are always thinking about your child and how you want them to be taken care of and loved. You want nothing but the very best for them in every aspect and to know that people are thinking about them. You want them to be surrounded by friends and family that show their true feelings without hesitation and to let them know they care for them on a daily basis. Mayleigh unfortunately has not had a lot of friends and very few if any have expressed their concern or thoughts in any fashion towards her. This breaks our hearts greatly as all we truly want is for her to be loved and appreciated. Even family has been distant at times and hard to read when no words are ever said. It's definitely a lonely place to be on the 14th floor of such a huge facility where you are one of thousands here receiving care.
What we do know is that the love in this room is overflowing for Mayleigh and we couldn't be more proud of her as she took a huge leap of faith moving forward with the transplant. What once was a scary process to think about has now been transformed into a ray of hope and a window of opportunity for her...and most importantly a renewed life!
I am confident she will rebuild her immune system and gain back the time that was lost. If anything, as I've said before, we were given this past year to become closer and to try and understand each other better as things weren't as lovey at a time. I think parents also begin to realize you are not the most important things in their lives as they leave the house and begin to build a family of their own. It definitely wasn't easy having our only child move away but fortunately for us it was only a couple miles vs halfway across the country.

Maybe someday I will be thanking cancer for bringing us closer to each other instead of being a devastation to our family. We have spent more time together this past year than we have in the past 5 combined. It may not have been the type of coming together we had wanted but it was definitely the type of healing we needed. <3

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH SWEETIEPIE!!!!

My Happy Place