Saturday, Day 16 after transplant

Christi was feeling a little better today as her body slowly, but surely, starts the process of developing new blood cells. She is starting to see improvement in her blood measurements every day. She was finally able to swallow some cold water after over a week without eating or swallowing any liquid. It is still painful for her to swallow, but we expect to see great improvement over the next few days as the new white blood cells attack the sores in our throat and esophagus. Her voice made a lot of improvement today and she was able to talk very well. We haven't heard her speak above a very light whisper in several days, so it was great to hear her again. She is still experiencing a lot of pain, but she is dealing with it bravely, with great determination. We are told that once the bone marrow starts producing good blood cells that cell development will become exponentially faster, and she should be seeing greater, faster improvement.

Our parents, Layton and Melba, have been true heroes who have tirelessly stayed at the hospital with Christi for most of the last three months. They had made plans early this year to take a European cruise June 9 to celebrate their 58th anniversary thinking that Christi would be out of the hospital before the trip. They were making plans to cancel the trip as recently as today, but now that school is out for the summer, and it's much easier for everyone in the family to share in the hospital time, they decided to go. Christi told Penny this evening that she was very glad mom and dad were sticking to their travel plans. She wants them to take a breather and have a much-deserved break away from the hospital.

It was a good day exposing greater hope for tomorrow.




Gary Holt