Count ourselves lucky

Love is.... Feeling blessed

Aren't we lucky:

-to have time to spent with each other
-to be healthy  enough to enjoy life again
-to get a sibling donor
-to be able to look forward to a year ahead and a future
-to be pain-free
-to not have financial issues
- to have choices
-to have access to free medical care which is top class
-to have remarkable friends and family who keep an eye on us and want to help
-to be able to dance again
-to enjoy the sound of music
-to  love each other
-to have 3 great boys
-to have a wonderful comfortable home
-to live in  New Zealand
- to be able to smell the roses
-to have some time

TRANSPLANT
This is going to be tough going for Colin and difficult for me to watch.  Colin actually had 2 sisters match but they use the youngest so this is ideal. 
The chemotherapy is high dose.  We have been told this can kill you as with no defence it is open slather for infection. No white blood cells to fight it.  The intense drugs blister your mouth and gut so they cannot eat.  Once the bone marrow is delivered via a drip,  the body is given anti rejection drugs.  These cause lots of nasty side effects. His quality of life after stem cell transplant may be affected. I won't be able to hug and touch him like I have been.  Might find myself a moon suit to hold the germs back.

Donor
The donor does not need to have any invasive procedure. They take drugs previous to harvesting to increase bone marrow so they are present in the circulating blood. A needle in  each arm. As the blood pumps from one side it is passed through a  cell separator machine and then returned to the other arm. It can be harvested from the pelvis under anaesthetic but not that common.

Friday
Julie and Pete have visited and brought goodies for us to eat.  Sad to say I have scoffed all the yummy raisin biscuits and blown my resolve to eat healthy. A moment of weakness. OK,  many moments of weakness. The  gow gees are good for lunch the next day. Thanks so much.  WE had a great chat and catch up.
Thanks everyone for the good wishes for the transplant to.

Saturday
I discover a neighbour has a bone marrow cancer so we meet and compare notes.  We feel like we are sitting in the same boat and can't get off.
We will support each other. We have both done much research on food and supplements and the conclusion is similar.  Funny we have ended up taking the same supplements and salvestrol.  It is good to talk as there is an understanding of what we are going through. The trepidation of what is ahead. 

The big companies who created the food on the shelves at the supermarket are feeding us crap . This is classed as healthy eating too. They have a lot to answer for.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/filmmaker-ate-average-sugar-intake-60-days-got-fatty-liver-disease-6291371/video?vid=6291015