One year ago...

Around this time last year we were preparing to be admitted to the BMT unit for Colt's transplant. In some ways this year has just flown by and it seems like a blur, but in other ways it has felt as though time stood still. My family and myself will be forever grateful to Colts donor, his doctors, & nurses that helped save his life, and of course god. This experience has made me a much stronger and thankful human being. I give thanks everyday that I have my precious little boy. As I sat down to update the blog, I checked my Facebook page and saw another little boy lost his battle to histio....my heart just breaks for his family. Here is his blog link...be prepared to shed some tears. Colt had his check up at TCH last week and we got nothing but wonderful news :) He had some labs sent to Cincinnati last month that measure how strong his new immune system is working. The test showed that his new immune system is in the normal ranges of a healthy child. The doctor did say it was a the lower end of normal, but that it was in the normal ranges and with time he will be at the higher end of normal. In July Colt will get his annual test done to see how his body has handled all the chemo and steroids. He will also get his first vaccination then too. As most of you know, my brother got married in Aruba last month and that was our first BIG outing with Colt! I was very nervous about germs and how Colt would react to being out of his little "bubble," but he did extremely well. We flew first class (per dr recommendation), and he did wonderful on the plane. When we got to the resort in Aruba I was very well surprised at how clean everything was (thank goodness). I did of course lysol and take wipes everywhere we went. It was very nice to relax and get away from technology for a few days. When you are in isolation for a year and then get to all of the sudden come out of our little saftey zone, its a little hard to handle....I think about germs A LOT, but Im getting better. Overall, it was an awesome trip and I'm so glad I got to witness my brother get married. Colt had his first transplant on June 1, 2011 & his second transplant on July 3, 2011. We plan to celebrate both dates by having a one year post transplant party at the end of June. So many people have supported us through this journey and we feel we should thank them and give them an oppourtinity to finally see Colt :) I also submitted the necessary paperwork to get some information on Colt's donor....I'm crossing my fingers he is willing to release his information. Thank you to everyone who has supported us! Words cannot express how thankful we are to everyone.