Hi all. Thank you so much for your kind words and prayers. Please keep praying for Cora. She needs it. This is what I heard from Heather today from her Caring Bridge journal. Heather was also able to have a few moments to call me today and update me before this news was received. She is so strong and I am in awe of her strength. Please just keep praying- that is all I can ask right now.
“The Bad and Ugly
I am sure you can tell by my title that the news today was not good. But, if you know anything about me, I can handle anything if I can make a plan. I can see the two tracks we could take and I can get a plan for each track. We might fall off the track here and there but I can handle that. (Aunt Suzanne is gagging at the cliche’!)
Cora needs a bone marrow transplant. There are two tracks that this will take. The best option would be if Grace or Andrew were a match. There is a high success rate with this. We would come home for a few weeks and while the transplant is prepared (whatever that means). Around the end of August, we would do the transplant. Cora and I would be in the hospital for several months. I have already made it my goal to be home by Christmas.
The second, and less desirable route is medication. The success rate isn’t as high. Enough said! Outside donors have the same or lower success rate as the medication. It is also more complicated to put in outside donor marrow so medication is more desirable.
Grace and Andrew will have simple blood tests in the next day or so. We will know if there is a match in 5-10 days. In the meantime we wait in the hospital and try to get into a routine with Cora.
Tomorrow afternoon I will spend a few hours with the big kids, take them out to dinner, and read a few chapters out of our book “Winn Dixie”.
Thank you to the family that sent us the gift cards. I will use them to take the kids out to dinner tomorrow as that is their favorite place to go. I will also stop off at Target and get Cora some pj’s. She needs short sleeve tops that will fit over her “power arm” (iv port) and long pants because she is chilly. Thank you for your kindness! You obviously know about the financial strain this is going to put on our family.
So, keep praying that she doesn’t get an infection and her body stays strong. Also, pray for a bone marrow match in Grace or Andrew. “
