Harvest Day / Transplant Day

Friday, June 27th
Day 11 in the hospital

Day 0, transplant day

PART ONE
What a fascinating and intriguing day. Everything went well, very well. The pictures below show the chronological order of events. Two parts to today's event; Morgan's marrow harvesting and Camryn's infusion of the harvested marrow. As I mentioned last night, Morgan's day began at 6:00 am in the surgery waiting area. She was all prepped and ready by 8:00 am and the procedure was completed around 10:00 am. Approximately 27 ounces of marrow was harvested. According to Dr. Frangoul, Morgan's marrow is loaded with everything that Camryn needs (my own terminology). Morgan needed some time in recovery to wake up, then needed some additional pain meds as the anesthesia began wearing off. Lee Ann brought Morgan up to the myelosuppression unit in 6a, to be with Camryn before she headed home to recover from the procedure. I have to hand it to her, Morgan handled all of this with grace and dignity, even being calm prior to surgery. As Morgan was leaving the hospital, the pain from the surgery began to settle in and a few tears began to flow. "You done good girl, you done good". Let the tears flow, it's all over. You accomplished everything that was asked of you, and more…

PART TWO

Quite frankly, things could not have gone any more perfectly than they did. Camryn had a very good day today, the best since admission day. Still not eating, but more active and talkative. She certainly sensed the significance of the day. We really should have posted a picture of her IV hanger just so everyone could visualize the number of meds being dripped into her veins, last count was eight. You practically need to be an engineer to calculate maneuvering that IV rack around all the obstacles in the room just for Camryn to go to the bathroom. The infusion (bone marrow transplant) began around 3:30 this afternoon and will be completed around midnight. Regarding Camryn's vitals and organ functions, everything lined up beautifully and normalized for the procedure to go on as planned. All of us are so relieved, just to arrive at this point where the transplant is actually occurring and the harvest was conducted flawlessly. Morgan will be VERY sore the next 3-5 days and may be somewhat challenging as she manages the pain. Dr. Fragoul told us the Morgan's bones are very strong and solid, meaning that they had to apply significant pressure to drill through the bone to get to the marrow (did anyone cringe while reading that last sentence???). Those tough bones are from playing all that rugby, no doubt, right Coach Boone? So, as Lee Ann and I take a night to catch our breath before the next phase of this process (acceptance or rejection of the transplant), we once again recognize power of prayer from the many, the power of faith from the many, the kindnesses bestowed upon our family from so many near and far, and the unsurpassed God-given skills of all the medical personnel involved with the care of Morgan and Camryn. I have been quite strong emotionally so far through all of this, but now, tears of gratitude are flowing. For Morgan and Camryn to have made it this far with relatively few complications, is truly a blessing. Tonight we celebrate, but tomorrow it is back to the grind of endurance for Camryn, and our family. 

Morgan and Dr. Frangoul
pre surgery: smiling now, not so much later

Morgan going under / Harvest time

Morgan in recovery…zzzz 

The bond is sealed.

Marrow, 1 of 3 vials, ready
 for infusion.

The infusion of Morgan's Marrow
 into Camryn that will produce
her missing army of NK cells.

Lee Anns' handiwork, of course on Camryn's hospital room door.
It reads: WELCOME NK CELLS, OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW
"Happy Birthday" represents Camryn's rebirth or 2nd chance at a full life
and that she now has TWO birthdays: August 28th and now June 27th.