an update

Dear Gabrielle,

I finally have a quiet moment to update all our friends and family about you.  You are sleeping peacefully beside me and your dad and brothers have gone out to run some errands.  Three kids make for a very busy household.  The house is a disaster, I still haven't fed myself or had time to get showered and dressed.  At least I had time to have my coffee and wake up after a pretty busy night with you!  Amidst all the chaos, I wouldn't trade it in for anything.

We got a call from the BMT doctors and your date for your surgery is March 7th.  Originally we were told the 28th but now I get you home for another week.  You will have your central line put in first.  We will stay the night in hospital with you and the next day you will start your 10 days of chemotherapy.  Once the chemo is done they will give your body a day's rest and the next day will transplant.  Once your white blood cells come back up to a normal count we will all go home.  I was very upset when I was told that they had made a mistake on the dates because a big part of me wants to just get started so that we can get it over with.  Another part of me was so relieved to be able to put it off longer so that I can keep pretending that nothing is wrong.

Your brothers are so in love with you.  You are one lucky gal!  Michael continually wants to hold you in his arms and when he does he lays so still.  You should see how proud he looks to have you all to himself. The other day, the boys wanted to put you in the tiny baby stroller but I had to save you from that.  Thank goodness they aren't in charge around here, who knows what kind of activities they'd have you involved in!  Your big cousin Anna had to explain to James that he wasn't able to marry you because it was against the law. James was heartbroken as he had planned all the details of the wedding.  He even planned your outfits and the dinner you would have!  I told him that instead of marrying you he could look for a girl who had some of the same qualities - calm, tough and beautiful:)

You will be in the hospital for roughly 6-8 weeks best case scenario.  I can hardly bring myself to think about it without getting emotional.  We are going to make it through this Gabrielle and we will be by your side every step of the way.  Stay strong and brave like you have thus far.   Our hopes with this transplant is to get rid of your old cells and give your body some new cells that work more efficiently.  We hope these new cells will give you the opportunity to come home and enjoy the rest of your life the best way possible.

We love you Gabrielle.

Mom