Day 0

Transplant day is July 24! The nurses and staff have "Happy Bday" posted on my visual chart. It is a new day, like Patti LaBelle declares, and I can't get that tune out of my head. My brother was up by 5:30 and he was being drilled and mutilated for his bone marrow by 10:00. Luckily they knocked him out but my mom said he seemed like he was in a lot of pain. She leaves for the day to take care of him an d make sure he is taken care of.

They simply transfuse his marrow through my Hickman Catheter as if it were blood.






Many people wondered how that works. My brother's marrow is placed into one of those plastic bags, like the ones found at blood drives and its disbursed into my blood stream. C'est finis!



They're continuously playing this movie in my $10/day television rental at Hopkins starring Ice Cube called "The Longshots". I absolutely love this movie. I believe it's a story that begins with believing in someone else to the point where you make them great and moves into a much greater theme of simply believing in yourself. I must've watched it 10 times already and still can't get enough. Simply Brilliant! I'm so grateful to be a part of this trial at Hopkins and am hoping to prove to be worthy enough of this blessing. To be cured of this disease is a longshot, but I believe -- in myself, in fate, in my destiny.

Thank you for reading.

Peace and Blessings,

Christina Madry