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Day 0

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Day 0.  Today is the day.  The stem cells are officially infused, so now we wait.  We wait for them to find their way into his bone marrow.  We wait for them to make their home and begin to grow.  Grow into white blood cells, platelets and red blood cells.  This will take 7-10 days.  In the meantime, the chemo is still working to kill any remaining cells in his body, both good and bad. By Day +5 his blood counts will be at their lowest, which means the stem cells
can officially begin their rescue operation.
These next few days will continue to get harder as his counts drop.  He will continue to be nauseous and extremely fatigued for the next week or so.

They have assured us this is is completely normal and WILL get better.  
Matt was completely unenthused with the transplant itself, as he slept through the entire thing.  It lasted approximately 30 minutes and he opened maybe one eye, only to see about 7 people standing over him.  He made a typical Matt comment about not being able to reveal his new super powers with so many spectators and then promptly went back to sleep.  He is extremely drowsy from the pre-medications they gave him, which included an anti-nausea medication and benadryl to reduce any allergic reactions to the preservative.

Thank you so much for everyone's love and continued support.  Matt isn't able to check his phone very often so the more love you can send him to the hospital, the easier it is for him to see.  Thank you to everyone who has called / emailed / texted these past few days.  We've got a long road ahead but your support makes it so much more bearable.

All our love,
Matt & Mandy

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