The appetite is back...watch out food!

Haha. So yeah, now that my counts are more normal and I'm feeling better, my appetite has come back and it seems like I am hungry every 5 minutes! Today at my check in for the clinic to get fluids, I weighed 199!!! I think the last time I weighed that was in 8th grade. I am feelin so much better and it feels so great that food isn't causing me to be nauseous anymore.

Another piece of good news is that today was my last day in the clinic for a while. I won't have to go back to Baylor at all until next Tuesday! And even then, for an actual doctor's appt, not a clinic visit to receive fluids. It's so nice to be able to relax the next few days with the family over the holidays. Speaking of which, my family...not just immediate, but extended is all making the trip from Abilene to spend Thanksgiving with us here in DFW! Such a blessing. For me to get to stay here in case something happens, for me to get to rest and not have to travel, and still to get to see everyone is such a great Thanksgiving gift. Thank you all Stewart family for sacrificing and coming to the DFW area. I know it'll be a fun day at Chad and Holly's house (thanks Cholly for having all of us over!), and I'm so excited for everyone coming tomorrow.

As far as moving ahead, it looks like since I'm finally healthy and my counts are normal, we will begin the official transplant process. Beginning with next week I have to have a dentist's appt, check my kidney function, cardiac function and basically a bunch of random tests to satisfy my insurance's requirements to receive a transplant. They will also contact my donor to ask them when they'd like to begin the process. My donor will have to take a certain medication for 5 days to basically 'beef up' their white blood cells, and then once that is done, they will go to the doctor's office daily for a week to have checkups, labs, and get their system ready for stem cell extraction. Then once they're cleared, they will take the good white blood cells from them and ship them over here to Dallas, where I will be ready at that time to receive them.

The cool thing nowadays about bone marrow transplants is that its actually more of a stem cell transplant. No longer do they have to go thru their hip to extract actual marrow, but rather extract the cells thru their blood. From what I've heard, it's a much simpler process than it used to be, for donor and patient alike.

On my side, once the donor has decided on a date, we will make my calendar based on their dates. Once we get those dates set, the first thing I will go thru is 8 days of chemotherapy to basically knock out all my white blood cells. Once that is done, I will receive the healthy white blood cells from my donor. After that, my bone marrow will need time to reginerate and begin making healthy cells using the new ones I receive from the donor. This process takes about 2-4 weeks. During this time, I will be in the hospital, pretty much quarrantined off from any body or thing that could possibly cause me infection because I will have no white blood cells to fight anything off with. At the end of that process, once my white blood count is back to normal, they will allow me to go home, but still be coming daily to the clinic to receive fluids, check my labs, and make sure the transplant is taking to my body. Once things get better and aren't so critical, it will probably be more every other day, then once a week, then once a month. Depending on how my body reacts to everything, the whole process will probably take 2-4 months.

It's been pretty amazing and informative to be in the clinic all this week, seeing all the different patients who are dealing with different forms of cancer and at what process they are all in of about to have or already having had their transplant. Just like theatre, everyone has their own 'story' and its been so great to hear their stories and share mine with them as well. I truly believe it's only in being there this past week, even though it has been incredibly difficult, that God has been preparing me for this process and giving me the emotional strength that I need to be able to do it. Seeing people on the other side of the transplant who are doing well, even though they have their good days and bad days is so good.

The hard thing is seeing someone who is so chipper and feeling great one day to the next day feeling horrible, nauseated and barely moving as they come in the doorway. But yet we all move on. We keep going and keep comin back because we do have hope. Hope not only in the doctor's ability, not only the amazing medical discoveries that have been made, but also hope that God is doing something greater in all of our lives thru this process. And that is my hope. That no matter what happens, God would use this process in me, whether I know it or not, to glorify Himself. Whether its to see people come to hope in the Lord themself, whether its to encourage someone with the Greater hope we have in Jesus, or whether its for me to draw closer to God during all of this, I know there is a greater purpose, because He is greater.

I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving and please know I am so thankful for all of your comments, prayers and thoughts. I'm thankful to be with my family this year for Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that I have a donor to help me feel better with new fresh white blood cells. And I'm thankful that no matter what, we have a God who is good, who loves us more than we can ask or imagine, and who has such a great purpose for our lives than we could ever imagine for ourselves.

Thankful and blessed,

Luke Longacre