It's my BIRTHDAY!!!!

Hello everyone!

So TODAY is my big day...it is the day I get my new stem cells (courtesy of Travis) and start my new life post-cancer.

It has already been a week since I've been admitted into MD Anderson's hospital. I went in last Tuesday and started chemotherapy at 4:00 am the next day. I had three different drugs that were given to me at different times. The first was given to me for an hour (it begins with a F but I can never remember the name). After that I received Clorafarabine (i think?) for another hour and then finished off with 3 hours of Bulsofan; this is the drug that will most likely be the reason why I may be infertile now. I immediately felt the effects of the chemo that early morning. I was sick all morning unti 2:00 pm when I finially started to feel myself again. I'm just happy that I didn't have a continuous dose of chemo this time around. I had these three drugs given to me for 4 days which felt like the longest days of my life. I almost cannot believe how fast this week seems to have gone by. Going through chemo for hopefully the last time was so hard to do...I sometimes thought that I wasn't strong enough to get through it all. It really sucks feeling like crap all day! You really do have to live by each moment and not think of the next day because tomorrow seemed so far away. I'm glad the chemo is done but I still have so much to go through yet.

I have been moved 3 times since last tuesday. I was on the 11th floor with adults from tuesday to sunday. I loved my nurse Kelly who was super sweet and only a year older than me :) They moved me to the 10th floor on sunday when a room opened up for me. Once settled in there for a day (and fully unpacked) they informed me I had to move again to a different (but bigger) room that is going to be fully sanitized for my transplant day. I still don't know what time I am going to receive my brother's stem cells but it will be today for sure. So as of right now September 20th will be my new birthday (don't worry I'm still keeping April 24th as my original bday...that way I get two brays a year :D).

My counts haven't dropped yet from the chemo but I am now on a continuous drip of Tacrolimus which is a immunosuppresant. I will be on this drug for the entirety of my transplant process in the hospital and for the 70-80 days after I get out of the hospital (through pills). I have also begun the many pills of antibiotics and other antifungal medicines I'll be taking for the full 100 days as well. The Tacrolimus made me feel a little fatigued but I feel okay right now. I think the way I'll be feeling throughout this process will be fatigued and slightly queezy. This makes it a little harder to eat and keep food down. I still have a bad after taste in my mouth after I eat anything...I hope that goes away soon. I was also told that I will most likely get mouth sores (again) so I need to make sure I am rinsing my mouth every HOUR because I'm so afraid of getting them again. :(

I went to BINGO last night which was hosted by 3 volunteers and involved the kids, young adults and their families. Mom won more times than I did :P. We now have three more games to play-- Uno, Yahtzee and scrabble :) So if anyone wants to come over and play please stop by! :)

My dad is back in town and I will see him today when he shows up :) He will be here until mid October! I'm very excited about that.

So one week gone and I'm just at day ZERO! Still have a journey to get through but I hope I can get through it without too much trouble. I brought my Wii fit balance board to keep me exercising and I can't wait to see my physical therapist here :) I also started the process of sending my transcripts over to the University of Houston and talking with a counselor who will help me get accepted there as well. I hope most of my credits go through!

Well I am going to take advantage of feeling well and get some exercise in this morning. I will update soon! If I haven't updated in a while that probably means I am not feeling very well. Just wish me luck and keep sending those prayers my way! I will definitely need them :)

I love you all and miss you!

-Savannah