Night at the Pool

This is McKay thinking that he "10!" I do not know what to do with this kid. He is always thinking that he is older than he is. I don't want him to grow up to fast.

Hannah was a little hesitant this night to get in!

K'Leigh always willing to jump in and give us a big Smile!!! We love you kids SO much!!!

Our Precious Miracle

I was just reading all of the blogs and came across this update and more information than I knew. This is coming from Trent's cousin Michele and it is her mother that gave her bone marrow to our Grandpa.
THANK YOU
We are so thankful for all you guys have done for our family!!!

Hi,
As you all know, Mike was diagnosed just over a year ago with leukemia. Right from the beginning, the doctors started talking about a bone marrow transplant. So Candice and my mom were tested to see if they matched Mike.

There are 10 antigens in the white blood cells that could match in the donor and recipient. A good match is 7 or 8. My mom and Mike matched all 10. An interesting fact is that they have different blood types - Mike is O+ and my mom is A+.

After the testing, they decided not to do the transplant last year. Mike received lots of chemotherapy and eventually the leukemia was gone.

On May 14 (his 59th birthday) of this year, Mike received the phone call that the leukemia was back. He was back in the hospital 4 days later having a chemo treatment and he called to ask my mom how her bone marrow was. They needed to do the transplant.

So, this week we watched this miracle happen.

Each morning for 4 days (starting July 3), my mom went in for a shot (in her stomach) that increased the stem cell production in her bone marrow. Her bones were achy and she got headaches. On the 5th day, she received another shot and got a catheter put into her jugular vein. Then that morning, over a 4-hour period, 14 liters of blood were taken out, run through a machine that removed the calcium first, then the stem cells, and then put back into her body. 14 liters of blood is approximately 2-2 1/2 times her body's full blood supply. The next morning, the 6th day, she received another shot and then they removed 14 liters of blood again.

The first day's collection was one cup. 1% of that cup of liquid was stem cells. It looked like watered down blood. There were 2.7 billion stem cells collected the first day. That's a lot but Shawn could probably count them. There were 3.6 million stem cells per some unit of measurement (I can't remember what). They said that was a great number. We don't know the number of stem cells collected the second day but they figured it would be about 2 million per unit.

My dad and I went to the hospital on the second day. We watched my mom's blood run through a machine and then back into her. The second day they warmed the blood before it went back because the first day she got really cold (which never happens) from the cold blood. They also put calcium back into the blood before it went back because she felt very tingly due to a loss of calcium. We saw the little bag of stem cells hanging there and the plasma that was also collected. We watched the tech pack it in a cooler that is kept at room temp. A technician stayed with my mom and the machine the whole time both days. The tech personally delivered the stem cells to the lab.

When my mom was done, all 3 of us went to Mike's room. He had received his last chemo treatment 2 days before (July 6). The infusion of stem cells from the first day had just started. They are run into him like an IV. He has a line into his jugular vein. It took just over an hour or so. I sat and held the little tube and watched the cells run through it. The nurse kept checking his vital signs to make sure he wasn't having a reaction to receiving foreign cells into his body. While we were there, the nurse and other staff members came in with a birthday balloon. They sang Happy Birthday to him because it was the first day of his new life and being a new person.

The stem cells will take 2-3 weeks to ingraft (I think that's the word they used) in his bones. Then they'll start producing A+ blood. So, Mike's blood type will be changed. Over the next few weeks, he'll need blood transfusions since he has no bone marrow to produce blood. They'll give him O+ red blood cells but A+ plasma and platelets. If there are any remaining leukemia cells, my mom's cells will kill them off. As soon as his white blood count is 500 then he can leave the hospital but has to stay somewhere close. I don't know how long he has to be here in SLC.

It is an amazing miracle and so neat to watch. I'll try to attach some pictures. You can send this on to anyone that you think might be interested.

I will send the pictures we took also. But I will need help so it might be a few days until I get that done.

Love, Michele

Celebrating our FREEDOM :)

We started the day out with some usual games. The kids had a great time and so did I. We walked around and played games and talked with our friends. It seems like we sometimes don't have enough time to visit, but the kids had a great time.

In Salina the Parade is at five in the afternoon. So we joined up with the Gladwells and there families and had lunch and watched the parade on there porch.
(Look at all the girls poor McKay has to deal with!)

Hannah LOVED the parade:) She wanted to eat every piece of candy that she got.
Patiently waiting for some more CANDY!!
McKay had a a great day and he got plenty of candy. K'Leigh was lucky and got to ride on a float. She was so happy to be with her friends from school!

We ended the day with going with our other adopted family and having dinner. Then we went swimming and then met back at Grandma Seals house and had some fireworks.
Hannah HATES the fireworks, she laid her head against my chest and I plugged her other ear and she would just lay there so still, it was so weird.
All in all we are so grateful for our freedom and thankful we could celebrate the holiday with our dad for the first time in six years. It was well worth sticking around home!!!

Two Cuties!!

Hannah and Charlee were the best of buds. Charlee is kind of a hard word for a two year old to say, I think. Hannah would run around saying "Charlee." It was so cute. I love these two girls.

K'Leigh's Big Performance

K'Leigh has been going every morning to a Cheer Camp and practicing this dance. She loved it and did so well at it. She was so nervous for two nights before, I know that she has inherited some of the worst parts of me and thankfully she has a wonderful father that knows how to deal with us both.

She sure got into it and did her absolute best and we loved watching her perform!!

This is her with her friend Katie Rosquist:) They had so much fun going every morning and having that time together.

Our Little Beauty

Tonight K'Leigh was performing at the Aurora Park with the cheerleaders.
Well while we waited Hannah gave us quite the little show.

I think that this is my new favorite picture!!
I think that she is pretty cute, but I am a little partial.

She has some pretty good dance moves. Some of our friends were calling her Hannah Montana.

Road Rash

Today Mckay wrecked on his bike! The other night he wrecked on his bike!
So therefore he has road rash on top of road rash!!

This looks like a way sad face. I was sad that I could not be their to make it all better!!
Daddy did a great job though.

OUCH!