Day -2

Hey everybody. I'm very happy to say that I have very little to report. No news is good news.

Day -3 was pretty boring in Unit 5D room 5. Gracie is still tolerating the chemo pretty well. Last night she started to appear a little more pink than usual, which may have been a minor reaction from one of the drugs she is taking to address chemo side effects. Other than that, she was sacked out most of the afternoon and evening when I was there. She woke up for diaper changes, played a bit, and then down for another hours or two. She did have a big day yesterday, with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy in the early part of the day, but we are suspecting that the chemo is wiping her out a bit, and making her a little more tired than usual.

With not much else to do, daddy and uncle mack played wii most of the day. We mostly play wii tennis. It's a lot of fun, and passes the time relatively quickly. It's tough to play in the tight room, especially when you have a big serve like me. :) We now have a third controller, so mommy, daddy, and uncle mack played for a little bit which Gracie cheered from the bed.

I'm happy to report that the diaper rash is getting much better. While it sounds like the stuff from the pet section might've been a better choice up front, the spackle seems to be doing the trick.

Noni will arrive in Minneapolis around 3:30 tomorrow. While uncle mack is good company, loves to play with Gracie, has a car, and can type, I don't really trust myself to be alone holding Gracie. I'm too clumsy and as most of you know I only have 1 fully functional arm (I type with one hand), and if I drop her she might break! Noni is much better at holding babies, and will be a great relief for mommy and daddy to get outside a bit more. We can't wait for her arrival!

It's very hard to believe that 2 days from now, Gracie will get the new cells from the anonymous cord blood donor. We are so grateful to this donor. I wish we could tell her just how grateful we are. We did find out it's a little girl, and we know the blood type, but that's it.

Noni was going to have the unbilical cord blessed, but it doesnt sound like the timing will work out. Next best thing is for everyone to pray really really really hard tomorrow night and first thing Thursday morning for the new cells to work and for Gracie's recovery to be a smooth as possible. All of our collective prayers will bless the cord cells.

Or friend Rylie is at Day -1! Tomorrow is her big day. Please send warm thoughts and prayers to her tonight and tomorrow as well! We'll catch you up on the play-by-play later.