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Day +16

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The bald-headed crew
It's amazing to think of all that has happened in the past 16 days.  In the past  2.5 weeks Matt's white blood cells have been wiped to 0, his stem cells have officially engrafted, he now has a working immune system, and most importantly - he came home! Matt was discharged last Tuesday, which was Day +12.  The doctors watched Matt's white blood counts increase slowly then jump drastically, signifying engraftment.  Those stems cells are working!  Matt has had two check ups since his discharge and both times his levels have looked great!  His white blood counts, platelets, and hemoglobin are all within normal range and no sign of fever or infection.
He continues to be very weak and tires easily but life is slowly resuming back to normal.  We have to be incredibly cautious of germs because Matt can develop an infection very easily, but besides a little extra Purell and Clorox Wipes, he is doing great.  The doctors have instructed him not to leave the house for the two weeks after discharge, unless going to a doctors appointment or a short walk outside, to protect his new immune system.  We've made it almost a week and so far, so good.
A huge shout out to everyone who has helped over the past three weeks.  So many meals, cards, texts, messages, gifts, and love!  Each day is better than the previous one and we continue to celebrate the small successes in each day.  Today, Matt was not only able to walk to the park, but he was able to stay and watch the kids play for a bit.  We will count that as a win!

All our love,
Matt & Mandy

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