Grandpa and Yossi posed for a picture the night before the big day. This was it, the big day. Yossi spent most of the day sleeping. Grandpa went down to surgery at 9:30, but they didn't take him into the OR until after 11:30. Michael and I tried to find out what happened to Grandpa after the surgery, but they weren't sure where he was going to go. The baby had gone with a care-partner (a program that helps out the families). So we went back to Yossi. Yossi was still sleeping, but feeling very nauseous. We found out that Grandpa was going to the 7th floor, so we went up to see him. See Gramps.Grandpa's main concern was Yossi, and he felt bad that no one was with him. So we checked back in on him, and he was still sleeping.
We took the opportunity to go to the RMH to move our stuff one last time. We finally got our room. The only problem with it (as far as shlepping stuff goes) is that it is on the 3rd floor. Poor Papa who has a sore knee had to shlepp a ton of stuff that he didn't feel I needed to bring. But finally I get to unpack my suitcases, and hang up clothes, and put them into drawers. It's funny what you miss!
Don't forget that we did all this while we were fasting. The room is unbelievable! I love it. I have pictures to upload soon.
So we head back to the hospital, and the marrow is still not ready. Yossi got an extra special phone call tonight. It was Dr. Grossman, Yossi's oncologist from Virginia. We were all happy to speak with him. The nurse from Grandpa's floor was kind enough to bring him down so he could be with us. Finally, a little after 8 PM, the nurse brought it in. We woke Yossi up for the marrow, as he had requested. In her hands the nurse held life! And here it is. Two nurses brought Yossi a Snoopy dog with a balloon tied around it. Then the nurse hooked him up to the marrow. We noticed that the bag of marrow is larger than the one that was used last time. This is because Yossi is bigger and older than last time. One of the nurses took a picture with all of us. Every little while the nurses took his blood pressue and his temperature. This infusion took longer than his first transplant. Yossi and Grandpa pose together, donor and donee. We started to get a little bored towards the end. A close-up of the little bag of life. We thought that Yossi was asleep, but he managed to crack a smile. As the marrow finished going in, Yossi fell back asleep. The infusion finished a little before 9 PM our time. Papa took Grandpa back to his room. I took Sruli back to our apartment to start to unpack.
It's 1:30 AM, and I am just too tired to put anymore pictures up. Goldie should arrive here around 10:30 our time. Sruli is so excited to see her. And I know she will be happy to be here. I will try to update the page tomorrow, and get the rest of the pictures on. Please continue to pray for Yosef Chaim ben Breindle Leah. We need the marrow to engraft, and for Yossi not to suffer. Now only 100 days until we can go home, barring no complications. We are looking at May 9th, I think.
