Best Friends & LOTS of Pillows

Yesterday Max asked me to be sure to put something on the blog about his best buddy, Tusker. For those of you that don't know, Tusker has been Max's special blanket/stuffed animal since he was just 6 months old. He goes with him everywhere and has been right by his side through every transfusion, IV and other procedure throughout his journey. He's a very special little elephant and has received lots of attention at Children's along with Max.

We made a HUGE mistake the other night too, related to Tusker. After an 8 hour day down at the Day Hospital at Children's on Monday, Max and I left for home. We had all our stuff...or so we thought! Twenty-five minutes later, as we pulled into the garage at 8:00 pm, Max said to me, "Mom, do you have Tusker?" Oh my gosh! We left him at the hospital! So, poor daddy got in the car and went flying back down there and up to the Day Hospital to rescue little Tusker...and thankfully he did! Tusker was in the huge pile of bed sheets heading for the hospital laundry! We may not have ever found him again! Thank goodness for brave, tireless daddy! We threw him right in the washing machine when daddy got home and then tucked him into bed with Max.

Yesterday morning, Max and Alex decided to take just about every pillow in the house and build a cool fort on top of Matt and I's bed. They had so much fun playing in it. They have been a tremendous blessing for each other throughout this journey so far and I can see them just growing closer and closer everyday as we go through this. One of the many blessings that is actually coming out of this experience.

Yesterday afternoon Max had some outpatient surgery to get his central line put in. They also removed his PICC line at the same time. Luckily, we had our good friend, Ms. Signa from church as our nurse in the recovery room. What a treat! She treated Max like gold and made him feel very special. Max did well, overall, although it was tough on the little guy. He's still sore and a bit tired out this morning but, should be feeling better later today.

We are still planning to check into the hospital on Friday for our long stay and to begin the transplant process. Matt and I meet with Dr. Davies tomorrow to go through the entire plan and sign the consents. Won't be much fun but, we need to know exactly what we are getting into before it begins.

We are all a bit nervous and anxious right now but, we are taking things a day at a time and saying lots of prayers. We know how strong and determined our Max is and we are just certain that he is going to get through this and have the rest of his life ahead of him. Thanks for all the continued support...it means so much to all of us!

Love,

Kristi (and Matt, Max, Alex and Ellee)