Mary Jo accepted for auto stem cell transplant!!!

We received news late yesterday afternoon from Mary Jo's doctor at Vanderbilt Cancer Center. She has been accepted and is on the priority list for an autologous stem cell transplant there.

Mary Jo had her last meeting today with her oncolgist here in Louisville until after the the transplant. Tomorrow she has appointments with her dentist and primary doctor.

We received several calls today from people at the transplant center at Vanderbilt checking on routine tests, mammiogram, etc. that Mary Jo has had in the last two years. Also, her transplant nurse set up an appointment for us in Nashville next Friday, March 22 for a full day of additional tests there that are needed before the transplant.

The nurse also gave us a rough idea what our future travel plans will be. After next week, we will be going down there for a few days when they will harvest her stem cells for the transplant. She will receive several Neupogen shots to promote blood cell production in her bone marrow.

After the stem cells are harvested, they will be frozen and we will come home for 7-10 days. This will be a critical time because Mary Jo will have no immune system. Isolation from anyone or anything that could cause an infection will be necessary. After that, we will be going back to Vanderbilt for the transplant and recovery, normally 30 days.

We will find out a more specific timeframe for all of this soon. Not sure if we will be here for Easter, or not, at this point.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support.