BBBBBB's

It’s a “B” post today! “Busy” couple of weeks, “Back” to school, “Blood” counts are looking good, “Bounced” back to Scottish Rite, celebrating our transplant “Birthday”, and the sweet “Blessings” of health & happiness continue to abound!

8/15/11 Back to School!

Sydney and JT started back to school on August 15th. I have two high-schoolers now, can’t believe it. They are handling the transition very well. Me, not so much. I have been so focused on the kids for the last couple of years that I’m finding it hard to figure out what to do now. As with everything I do…I need to remember to have patience as I enter this next phase in life. My dining room has become a dumping ground for medical papers, school work, old bills, and anything else I can pile in there so I think it will be a good place to start. Clear out the mess and clear out the mind so to speak! I also have a stack of insurance “issues” to resolve. That has always been a thorn in my side and I’ve said it before and will tell you again – when you or a loved one has a major health problem, stay organized and on top of the insurance. You, your medical team and your wallet will be glad you did!

We had our one-year post transplant clinic visit on August 17th. There is nothing else they can do for us from a transplant perspective and we have been officially moved back to the care of our Hematology team at Scottish Rite for continued follow-up. It was a sad and bitter sweet day. I cried when I hugged Dr. Chang and said goodbye. How on earth do you thank someone for saving your childs life? I have nothing to give except my eternal gratitude for what he and his team did for my family the past two years.

JT will begin his immunizations starting next month with our family Pediatrician. We will continue clinic visits with CHOA and monitor his blood counts over the next year. And at the two year mark, JT will then start Survivor Clinic! Speaking of blood counts, for those of you who are interested…our one year counts look like this: White Blood is 1.86 – still low but holding steady. Red Blood is 4.67 – normal! Platelets 121 – still low but rising steadily! ANC .95 – still low but holding steady. And the one I especially love, his hemoglobin is 13.5 – first time being normal since his diagnosis in May 2009!

We celebrated JT & Sydney’s Transplant Birthday one Wednesday the 24th. It was so much fun surprising them in the morning because both had forgot the actual date. Big breakfast before school, birthday gifts, and a dinner celebration that evening at O’Charleys! The only thing missing was Dad in Wisconsin :(  He is coming home this weekend so we will continue the birthday celebration when he returns for a week.

God has blessed us over and over again these past few years. So many things could have gone a different path. The people we have met, the friends we have made, the patience, courage, strength and most of all the hope God has given us have been truly a gift from Him. Thank you for continuing to follow my blog and for all your prayers and encouraging words. I pray as you are reading this, you are experiencing the same gifts from Him in your lives!

xo - Sabrina

Happy Birthday

One year ago, Sydney donated her bone marrow to save JT's life. Happy Transplant Birthday to two awesome kids ♥!!!

"But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." - John 1:12

Summer 2011

Happy summer of 2011! I took some time off from the blog to enjoy a fun filled summer with Sydney and JT. Life has been good. JT’s blood counts were not cooperating for a long time. We ran a multitude of tests and nothing came back conclusive. The doctors said to be patient and wait since he was not getting worse. Slowly, our patience paid off and by the end of July we finally saw an increase in white blood cells, hemoglobin and platelet’s! We received even better news that JT would be allowed to return to school. On August 15th, JT will enter Sprayberry High School as a rising freshman! Our family is very excited to start this new chapter in our lives!

The summer started out with Sydney getting her driver’s license. Jim surprised her by bringing back his old clunker from Wisconsin that she promptly decked out in her own personal style. She loves it and we love the 4 cylinder engine for her! Jim’s Aunt and Uncle were gracious enough to loan him a car while he works up north. A few weeks later, Sydney traveled to Americus, GA to attend the HOBY Leadership Conference as a sophomore representative for Sprayberry High School. It was an awesome experience for her and an honor to receive this award. During the month of June, we enrolled JT in a summer golf camp that was hosted by the Sprayberry Golf Team. He spent each week in practice and participated in four tournaments. He had so much fun, that he is looking forward to trying out for the Sprayberry Team this year. In his first tournament, he didn’t have the energy to complete 18 holes. With the remaining three, he consistently improved his scores and was able to complete all 18 holes. Our coach and the tournament directors were so great to him, knowing his limitations and accommodating him as he built his strength up.

Jim was able to sneak in a week vacation before things got busy in Wisconsin with a new President being sworn into office. It was the first time he got to see JT’s Place in person since Make-A-Wish completed the room in May. We watched a boat load of movies and JT even let him play on the new X-Box. We were also treated to a lovely dinner at Maggiano’s who was running a promotion during the month for Make-A-Wish. Later that week, Maggiano’s invited us back to honor JT as a Guest Chef in a cooking class. Jim was also able to attend one of JT’s tournaments and the two managed to play a round themselves. We ended the week celebrating our 20th Anniversary!

In July, Sydney participated in her first mission trip with the Christeen group from Transfiguration Catholic Church. Many of you sponsored her and we are very grateful for your support. She had a wonderful time, made new friends, and came home with a heart filled of love & joy for what she accomplished. Later during the month our good friends, The Allen’s, invited us to tag along in a beach house they rented on St. George Island. It was a wonderful and relaxing trip for all of us. A great way to end our summer!

Thanks for your continued love, prayers and support. Many of you who follow us on Facebook recently were bombarded with postings that JT was heading back to the hospital. Unfortunately I was on vacation when our Facebook page was updated to a new format and they reposted old news. It was confusing, but I assure you JT is doing great. When you see him, you will be amazed at how healthy he looks and would never know what he has been through over the last year and a half. As a matter of fact, we will soon be celebrating Sydney and JT’s “new/second” birthday in a couple of weeks!

I have so much more I want to say about the life of a transplant family but will save it for another time since I had such a big update today. God Bless you an thank you again for following our journey!