Day +6. One Day at a Time.

Prep for Transplant

Bag-o-Marrow and Blood

Day +6

 6 days after transplant, Ryan is home in Connecticut and Cole is feeling pretty well in the hospital.  Ryan and Cole were both transplant champs and now are Bone Marrow Brothers for Life.  Ryan had very little reaction to the procedure outside of sleeping for about 20 hours afterwards while the anesthesia wore off and his body regenerated marrow. 



Ryan Pre-Op



Since transplant, Cole has been doing great.  He hasn’t lost his hair and hasn’t gotten too puffy from the steroids.  He hasn’t been too sick and he’s managed to stay virus and infection free, which has kept him out of the ICU.  He hasn’t gotten any mouth sores or had any shedding of the lining in his digestive system.  We know this could change in an instant, so we are reluctant to celebrate just yet.   

Cole's immune system is still completely gone – so the chemo did its magic.  His white blood cells, platelets and other key indicators are all hovering around zero.  Typically, white blood cells start to produce over the next 4-12 days.  Then we test if the cells are Cole’s or Ryan’s.  From there, it’s a slow, long road to getting the rest of his numbers back to normal and trying to keep him virus free.  We remain hopeful that we can have him home in time for his birthday in October, or at least by the holidays.     



Ryan Post-Op



We continue to take it day by day.  So far, the doctors are pleased with his progress and his spirits are generally good.  As long as he’s good, we’re good.  It’s hard to believe it’s already been over a month.  We miss the two older kids immensely as well as family and friends.  We look forward to continued progress and being together again as a family unit.