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| Julie and Paul during the bone marrow transplant |
Julie had her bone marrow stem cell transplant tonight! The doctors started infusing at 7:28 pm and ended at 8:05 pm MST. She is still nauseated and sick from the past week of radiation and chemotherapy to get her ready for the transplant, but overall, we are all very happy with how she's doing.
It can take as long as a year for the bone marrow to function correctly. Over the next 4 weeks, Julie will stay at LDS hospital as they closely monitor the transplanted marrow engraft, for blood counts to return to safe levels, and for nasty side effects to disappear. They also watch carefully for infection, bleeding, graft-versus-host disease, and/or liver disease. I'm sure she'll be super excited to be home following this month+ hospital stay!
None of this could have been possible without the help of her amazing brother. He was an incredible trooper to go through the pain and discomfort preparatory for today's transplant. We will be forever indebted to him for his love and generosity. We love and thank you, Uncle Barry!
