WOOOHOOOOO!!!

Mom had apheresis at Duke today and they got more stem cells than they needed!!! This is a process that can take several days but they got all that they needed and more this very first day. They needed 8,000 but they got 15,000 in the first bag and that doesn't include what they got later in the second bag. Amazing!

This means that Mom is DONE with this whole stem cell collection business!  DONE! Yahooo! It's been quite a ride but step-by-step everything has come together.

From this point on, Mom is just on maintenance chemo, to extend her remission as long as possible.  The weekends of September 17th and 24th, we'll be at Duke while she gets Velcade. October and November involve chemo in pill-form that won't require much travel, other than for her monthly check-up at Duke. December, she'll have Velcade again, and so on. For December, we'll have to figure out logistics, since I'll be full-term with a baby and not traveling anymore.

In other news, Will had his very first day of homeschool preschool today and loved it. This week's theme is, "All About Me." We're practicing writing the letter "A," as well as reading books and watching cartoons about what makes different people special. Will is also going to be helping to take pictures of important things like the house, his room, family members, pets, favorite toys, and his favorite things to do, etc. The photos will be compiled into a book called, "All About Me." Today, we made a trip to the library to pick up the week's books and read a few books. We played at the Lego table there and then watched a couple of videos at home. Will was so excited that he had to show Allen everything when he got home. lol. I think this is going to be very good for Will!

Will's cold is getting better. Today, he mostly had a cough. I think he may be back to normal after a good night's sleep. I'm glad to see him back to his bubbly self and I am really looking forward to being able to go visit Amber and fam, as well as meet their new precious baby girl. I have been chomping at the bit!

It looks like Allen, Will and I will have a few days on our own before Mom comes back to town. She and Marilyn are going to have fun around Raleigh/Durham for a few days and head back home on Saturday, when Mom has an appointment with Emily to have her wigs trimmed. We'll have a couple of days to hang out and catch up with Marilyn before she flies out to CA on Monday.