Thank You and Fast Invitation

Joy is back home -- to her real home now. While things are progressing, Joy is still having problems with her red blood cells. Because the blood-type from her bone marrow transplant is different from her old blood type, her antibodies are attacking her red blood cells as foreign. The problem was expected and should eventually dissipate, but, in the meantime, this means Joy still needs transfusions. She had one today and all went well.

Meanwhile, Joy's family would like to invite any family members and friends to fast on her behalf this Sunday. For those unfamiliar with fasting, this entails abstaining from food and water for two meals and accompanying this sacrifice with prayers on Joy's behalf. Ken and Joy are both so grateful for all of the prayers people have said for Joy.

Also, Joy and Ken and their mothers want to thank so many friends and family who have been bringing meals to Joy's home and supporting Ken and the kids in other ways. Your efforts have been so appreciated. :)

Home Sweet Home . . . Almost!

Joy has returned home . . . almost. She's staying with her parents since the twins are sick. While the transplant is still progressing, Joy has to be very careful not to get sick. She has a weekly doctor's appointment and things are going along as expected. The goal is to have her stay healthy for the first 100 days (through April) of the transplant. In fact, with a brand new immune system, she'll be needing her baby immunizations again in about eight months.

Still, she's recovering well--she's just tired a lot of the time and needs to sleep 14-16 hours a day. But, she's having a great time getting to be around family all the time and finally having a room with a view again!

Joshua to the Rescue

Joy's not home yet. She's having a colonoscopy today to see if she has an infection or the graft vs. host disease. Both would keep her in the hospital. She's quite disappointed, but she'll hopefully be out in the next 4 to 5 days. The delay at least gives the twins a few more days to get better from being sick themselves since they can't be around her until they're better. Of course, her whole family wants her home, so Joshua went over to the hospital today to cheer her up. :)

Tennis Anyone?

Joy is doing wonderfully. Her blood counts have come way up. Her white count is 1900 and her Nutriphils are at 900+. She will even likely be able to go home this week! However, she needs to be able to eat normally before they will discharge her.

Meanwhile, Joy had a special night with Joshua this week. They played tennis and car racing on the Wii and watched Night at the Museum. Needless to say, Joy's been keeping the nurses entertained with her activities!