Nothing’s definite in this world.

That’s kinda where we’ve lived for the last six months.

Wow. Has it been six months since my girl’s diagnosis?

No, it hasn’t … it’s actually been almost seven months. Unbelievable that we’ve been on this journey this long and still more paths to travel.

We’ve learned that things can change on a dime, in a moment, in a second.

Don’t plan. Don’t predict because you just don’t know.

I find myself not saying things out loud about the possibility of us leaving because I don’t want to jinx it. I know jinxing is not an actual thing. 

However, I feel like giving words to MY plans leaves less room for God’s plans. 

I’m at the point of just trying to trust and not plan.

That’s a hard thing for people who are planners and like to maintain and have control. Really hard. Because my plans are pretty good. I know them. They make sense. And, I trust them.

But, God’s plans are better. They may not make sense. But, I have to trust them.

Today is Day 76+ … 76 days since La Petite Belle’s stem cell/bone marrow transplant, which means 24 days until Day 100+.

This journey is filled with bumps, stops, and turns.

La Petite Belle is doing well. She feels fine other than being tired. Her blood counts are still holding steady in all areas. However, her white blood counts could use a little boost. 

She was 100% donor in her marrow, which is most important. But, she still has some of her own cells in her blood. The issue now is that the majority of her cells that remain are T-cells, which are a type of lymphocyte (white blood cell) vital to her immune system. They’re pretty powerful white blood cells. Her other white blood cells seem to be mostly donor cells. In order to knock out her remaining T-cells (they wouldn’t want them to try and take over the donor cells), they will be requesting T-cells specifically from the donor. They are hoping to have the collection next week and will get them infused into La Petite Belle. They will also collect enough to freeze in case she would ever need more. Due to the fact that La Petite Belle will get more of these power-packed cells, her risk of Graft-Versus-Host Disease is a little heightened and we will all be watching her closely.

With all this being said, we are still hoping to be home the week of Thanksgiving barring any issues. As I said, we just don’t plan that much anymore. Nothing is ever definite in this world. The doctor did seem to think that even though we would be getting this special infusion, we could still go home around that Day 100+.

We are beginning to really feel the effects of being away from home for so long. Some days are particularly depressing, while others are no problem. We are trying to keep our spirits up and not grow weary.

Please continue to pray for us and this new issue. Pray that the donor cells could be collected quickly and La Petite Belle could get them quickly so that our stay isn’t prolonged. Also, continue to pray for the marrow to produce even more than it is now and that all of La Petite Belle’s cells would be completely gone.

We thank God for all He has done and continues to do within La Petite Belle and our family. He is fighting for us. He is on our side. We stand in awe of His grace and faithfulness.

If you would like to financially support Katie’s (aka La Petite Belle) journey to healing, you can find more information here: www.gofundme.com/Katieg.  All funds go to cover medical bills and expenses.