Day 17

Today was an emotional day for Mel. She was feeling really teary eyed all day and cried very easily. Dr. Ash came in to visit with her and talked about Prednisone messing with hormones and such. It made Mel feel better to know that there was a reason. Heck, I think just being in the hospital for 17 days with Leukemia is enough reason to cry...every single day. Melanie is pretty tired of being in the hospital. She is limited to her room and the hallway. She is missing home. We all assured her that crying is perfectly okay. We all shed tears today.

Dr. Ash told us that Mel's blood levels look good. She is getting anxious for her bone marrow test, two more weeks to go. If that test comes out good than she starts to prepare for the transplant. We are all praying and hoping that one of us siblings will be a donor match. If you could include that in your prayers for Mel, we would appreciate it.

Mel had a visit today from Kate Flukinger. She is a teacher from Providence Elementary. Her visit cheered Mel up. She also brought some magazines to help pass the time. Thanks Kate!

Mel also had a visit from Theo Anderson tonight . She brought her a "Book of Sunshine" from Providence Elementary. Each class from the school did a couple of scrapbook pages with pictures, messages and jokes. A lot of time and thought was put into it and it is so much appreciated. She also brought Mel a pack of things that she can send out to her students. It was a fun surprise and brought a smile to Mel's face.

Mel also had a really nice visit from a guy named Steve and his wife Kristy. Steve was diagnosed with ALL in April of 2007 and has been right where Mel is. He offered encouragement to Mel and gave her some advice. He is still coming to the hospital for a procedure every other week. They talked with us for at least an hour. It was so nice of them to take the time to answered Mel's questions and give her an idea of what's ahead. Steve has had the stem cell transplant and told us a bit about it. He gave our mom his phone number and said that he will visit again.

Kim goes home tomorrow and we are all sad. She has been such a big help and comfort to Mel and we will miss having her here. I think Mel will miss her back rubs. :)

We are hoping for a good week. Hopefully we will find out if any of us siblings are a match, let's pray that we are.

Sweet dreams Mel!