Home sweet home

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who comments on this blog and on facebook. It is so encouraging to know we have so much support from all around the world. Particularly to hear stories of successful bone marrow transplants!!
This week has been a rollercoaster again. Brett and I met with the Transplant Team on Monday - let me just say it was not the greatest moment of my life. They were extremely blunt and 90% of the discussion was about all the things that can go wrong, all the ways we could lose Seth, all the problems we will encounter along the way. We left that meeting in a dumbfounded daze. The next day for me, once I came out of the daze was very emotional as what they had said hit me full force. I don't want to go into all that they said as hopefully very little of it will happen. It has made me extremely nervous of what is ahead, but as they said, we are out of options. It is either do the transplant or take him home and watch him die. The one thing I cannot fathom is that if he relapses in the first 6 months after the transplant we lose him - there is nothing they can do. If he relapses within the following 6 months there is very little they can do and we will probably lose him. A relapse 12 months after transplant means they may be able to do something. Its hard to swallow - the risk is huge - this is an aggressive form that is known to relapse - I want the information, but I don't want to hear it.
Seth had some high temperatures this week so he was put on additional antibiotics and that seemed to do the trick. The fever broke and his counts quickly rose. On Wednesday they began another round of chemo - vincristine and steroids. As his counts rose the doctors took the opportunity to send him home for a short break, so Seth is home with us now - where he should be. He came home late Friday and he is not due back until Wednesday to undergo a lumbar puncture and yet more chemotherapy. He is very lethargic, quite pale but very content being home with his family and his dog Ruby.