A Move of God

It's Day 6 or Day 0 as the Transplant Team classifies it. They work on a negative counting system. So we came in on Day -6 and counted down from there. Either way today is all about life and love. Life being infused into Mireya's body through the love of Christ and the love of her brother. God couldn't have planned this any better. The Transplant Unit recognizes this as a New Birthday for Reya.

Leading up to today, I had a difficult time getting to sleep. My nerves were trying to get the best of me, my heart wanted to beat out of my chest, tears filled my eyes but I finally drifted off to a peaceful sleep around 3am. I know it was the prayers of many that took me to that place. I needed it. Stress has attempted to consume me, but hey, I'm the Queen of relaxation (well mostly for others) but I had to go for 'self application' most of yesterday. Going through breathing techniques, relaxing music (yes I travel with that), and some creative visualization. I found myself on the beach with warm sand underfoot, the sun shining on my face with a nice gentle breeze. If you've ever been to one of my sessions you know I can take you there if only for a few moments.

Speaking of the beach, we were scheduled to go on vacation this week to our most favorite beach to enjoy some time together. I'll have to factor in a moment of silence and act like there are waves lapping in from time to time. Trust me, when this is over, we are headed on the ultimate beach vacation. Somewhere tropical, all-inclusive and we're going to celebrate this victory in grand style. Tell my fairy Godmother to work on that one too. While she's working those details, GOD will be handling it all. Ok so I've gotten off track and digressed, just thinking about the the beach has that affect on me. It's our feel good place...now back to our originally scheduled programming.

Mireya had a good night. She's become a bit uncooperative in taking her oral medications, so that has required some true mommy finesse. I'm beginning to run out of creative ways, activities or mind strategies to get her to do it. I guess I'd be tight lipped and hostile too if someone kept trying to shove tiny vials of liquid medication in my mouth every few hours. I've noticed Mireya's hair is beginning to thin a bit near the front, particularly in the areas where there is a lot of friction from laying down. We understand hair loss is a factor we have no control over and it varies from person to person.

Jalen was scheduled to arrive at the hospital very early this morning. He has been preparing himself as best he could to endure the needle for his anesthesia. The Lord cares so much about the things that concern us. Jalen ended up being sedated with medication to relax him. Once he was comfortable they placed the IV in. Thank you Father. The bone marrow harvest took about two hours. Jalen was pretty worn out from the procedure. The bone marrow transplant took about four hours in its entirety. It was very emotional to witness the bone marrow taken out of Jalen's body being transferred into Mireya's. I saw love, courage, life, answered prayers and a future flowing into her body. It was amazing!

Upon completion of the transplant, our nurse Hillary threw together a little 'birthday' surprise for Reya. Imagine your at your favorite restuarant and the waitstaff 'suddenly' comes over to sing 'Happy Birthday' to you. Hilary rounded up the Nurses on the floor and they all filed in singing Happy Birthday bearing a birthday cupcake for Mireya to enjoy. That was really special. We have a long road ahead of us, but we continue to take it one day at a time and thank God for overseeing our care and recovery until Mireya's health is restored 100%.

There is so much to share. I'm excited to talk about something really special I got to do today. I'm feeling depleted and definitely need to rest so I can be an asset to the process in the morning. I'll have to share that tomorrow. Thank you for every phone call, text, email and/or phone message. We appreciate your prayers and support throughout the day.