Follow the River to Get Home (Transplant Day +110)

There was a very good reason we wanted to take pictures in Philadelphia this year. The first reason was that the city became our home away from home and also Mia talked about the river often even though she had no idea where it was when we were in CHOP. Most people don't know this story, but after Mia's transplant she loved watching the movie, The Good Dinosaur. For those of you who have never seen the movie, Arlo gets lost from his family and remembers that his father always told him to follow the river to get home. Well, Mia started telling me, as well as the nurses that she was going to follow the river to get home! She wanted to get home so badly and this little girl fought and did! So this picture especially will always remind me of her amazing fight and all that she had to overcome to follow that river and get home! Thank you, Tammy Scirrotto for capturing this moment for me! Always grateful!

Transplant day +110

Eating Great and Progressing (Transplant Day +110)

Mia had a good appointment today. We are beginning to wean her appetite stimulant medication because she is eating great and has gained a little over 2 pounds in 2 weeks. We also think being on this medication is the cause of her not sleeping well. Hopefully her eating continues and sleep improves once she is off the medication.

We also started weaning her anti-rejection drug today. This medication is considered an immunosuppressant so it could be the cause of her donor cells being 99% instead of 100% in her marrow.

It was also discussed today that she will get bone marrow biopsies at 6 months, most likely 9 months, and 1 year. This is a new protocol so things might change a little here and there. The hope is that her marrow will be 100% donor soon or if by chance the leukemia returns they can catch it early hence the repeated biopsies. So far, everything indicates that things are heading in the right direction and there are no concerns at this time. We will be back in 2 weeks for another appointment.

Mia is enjoying being home and still adjusting to her new life. We are just beyond blessed to have everyone under one roof.

Team Mia continues to work on collecting gifts for the families at CHOP. If you would like to donate anything, please let us know as we will be delivering everything sometime next week!

Thank you again for everything!

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Great News (Transplant Day +98)

Amazing news today!!! All of Mia's donor cell percentages increased which is what we needed them to do! Mia is 99% donor in her bone marrow and 100% donor in her blood! They will repeat another bone marrow biopsy in 3 months to make sure everything is still good! We feel so incredibly blessed by your continued support and prayers! Thank you!!!

Mia's Coming Home (Transplant Day +96)

Mia had a great appointment today! We have the all clear to head home! We are planning to move her home on Friday this way the house can be cleaned thoroughly before she gets there. Thanks to my amazing Mom for working so hard to get it ready for her! Although, she's saying she likes her apartment now and doesn't want to go home, lol! It has been 3 1/2 months since she's been home. We are so excited and feel blessed that we will be home in time for Thanksgiving!

All of her labs looked great too! Her final results of bone marrow biopsy confirmed that there is no leukemia present. We are still waiting on her blood and bone marrow donor cell % and are hoping to get them back by the end of the week! We will keep you updated on that.

She got her flu shot today also. She has even started eating which is great, so her doctor was happy with her weight!

Thank you so much for your prayers. The power of prayer is beyond amazing!

Transplant Day +96

Microscopic Clear (Transplant Day +91)

Microscopic results show no evidence of leukemia!!! We will get the final results and donor % next week. Your prayers are working, thank you! God is good! Team Mia is amazing!

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90 Day Biospy (Transplant Day +90)

Mia had her biopsy early this morning. Her exam was good, except her waking up prematurely from anesthesia. She also has a stye on her right eye which has been there for a week now so we are hoping that it clears up quickly. We will be waiting for the microscopic results which we will hopefully receive before the weekend. This will tell us whether there is any evidence of leukemia in her bone marrow. We won't get her engraftment results; (the donor cell % in her blood and bone marrow) until next week. Her weight was down a little and being she is still refusing to eat anything we will begin an appetite stimulant this week.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support! We truly appreciate everything!!!

Transplant Day +90

Getting Closer (Transplant Day +82)

Mia had a great appointment today. Her labs and skin both looked great.

Halloween was such an amazing day. Mia’s oncologist gave us permission to bring her home for a day trip under the assumption that if she spiked a fever she would have to go to the local hospital and wait to be transported back to CHOP. Luckily, she did not have any problems. She surprised both of the boys at their parade! We were even allowed to go trick or treating early, as long as we avoided crowds, so she wore her mask and did a few houses with the boys.

Next Wednesday, Mia will have another bone marrow biopsy. The engraftment of her donor cells from her last biopsy wasn't 100%, they were slightly under. They explained that this is what they are seeing with the drugs she has been on. Being she is now off of her oral steroids, we want to see that % improve or stay the same. So we are once again asking for many, many prayers that her biopsy is good! Again, we won’t have the results next Wednesday but will hopefully have some preliminary results back before the weekend.

If everything continues to go well, we are hoping she can move back home around Thanksgiving.

Thank you so much for your continued support. It truly gets us through each and every day!

Transplant Day +82