The clock is ticking! Thursday was another busy day at City of Hope as we met with doctors, social workers and child life specialists throughout the day. The day was full of information and optimism. We continue to get back the results from labs that put Naomi into a really good position for her transplant. Her and Micayah have excellent results that reduce the risks involved in her transplant.

One of the biggest risks is Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) which is when a host’s body (Naomi) rejects the transplant. Due to so many things, her risk for this continues to be minimized. While never totally erased due to the nature of the procedure, we can only hope for the best, and really the best news is what we continue to get.  Both Micayah and Naomi are positive rH factor, and CMV negative, a perfect HLA match (10/10) and very healthy. Other than Naomi’s blood being completely abnormal, she is strong, energetic and still relatively healthy. Her scans were repeatedly “grossly unremarkable” which is a REALLY good thing even though it does not sound that way!

Friday will be another day of testing, including her last bone marrow biopsy and likely a platelet transfusion. We have a few more things to wrap up over the weekend as far as paperwork and insurance verification leading to full authorization. It is our hope to be completed with all of that by Tuesday and then be able to relax and enjoy some time at home before returning again on December 13th for chemotherapy to begin.

We are in the final stretch and can feel the end of this phase is near. Prayers are for continued ease with this process and good health! We will continue to stay isolated over this next week, so as to minimize risk of illness to any family members.