successful apheresis

The stem cell collection (apheresis) was a rousing success today. Shelley produced 7 million stem cells, more than enough for Lindsey to receive tomorrow. They will freeze the extras and keep them just in case Lindsey needs a little boost later. Sometimes if the "engraftment" of the new immune system is moving too slowly, they'll give you a shot or two of more stem cells to stimulate the process. All of this is pretty cosmic, and the science involved in this continues to amaze us ! Thank God for smarter minds than ours ! Shelley is recuperating from having a double lumen catheter in her jugular vein, and from having her blood stirred up in a centrifuge. She's a little dizzy and tired, but none the worse for wear. Lots of sleep is in order there. She should be good as new in a few days so that she can concentrate on her foot again ! Tomorrow is transplant day. Please continue to pray that all goes well, and that Lindsey's body accepts the new immune system. We want her to get a manageable form of GVHD (graft vs. host disease), but manageable is the key word there..............