Survival Guide

Over the last 24 hours, dad started grafting, which means Sissy's stem cells are taking hold and producing blood cells. His white blood cell count jumped from 0.9 to 3.9, he is really delivering! The soreness in his throat and mouth are beginning to diminish and he's better able to eat solid foods, though it's not off to the races yet.

He will likely be discharged from the hospital in a few days, I'll write another update when we know more on that front.

In the mean time, I wanted to share a really important lesson we've learned with some anecdotal evidence. The power of a positive attitude is clearly of utmost importance, both for the patient and the caregiver or family. It's so dangerous to get swept up by fear or sadness, because you inevitably lose momentum. We will all be in the hospital before we check out of this life, some of us more than others, and you get through it. If you believe everything's changing for the worse, you will actualize that result. We have remained absolutely convinced dad's Life 2.0 will be significantly more enhanced than Life 1.0. You have to firmly believe it, no matter what you're going through and how scary some of the possible outcomes sound. And Carl has radically converted negative thought patterns into peace and joy.

Here at MD Anderson, they encourage patients to walk and exercise a lot. Dad's been walking between 2-5 miles a day, usually closer to the higher end. We've made friends with the other more social people on the floor, and it's been a very positive experience. But the patients who are less social, less active, or have attitudes that are suboptimal end up having suboptimal recoveries. A gentleman who complained to me during a walk around the floor that he was just "so sick of being cooped up here," ended up having a struggle of a recovery. Meanwhile, the chatty Kathy, who was nearly always walking around, beat the odds and was discharged on Day 17. Dad may end up beating that, as he's delivering great results on just Day 11 (transplant day is Day 0). It has been anecdotally clear that the positive attitude has made all the difference in the world.

A lot of our friends and other family members have had some medical issues lately, our prayer list has really expanded, and our hearts go out to all of them. Susan, Renato, Halle, Andrew, Rachel, Jack, we are praying for you all consistently. And for all the family members with them, remember your attitudes very strongly influence the attitudes of the fighters and survivors. As a recently passed away genius told us, "Straight and narrow is the path. Waste no time." Make haste in converting negative thoughts into healthy thoughts, and just maybe you'll defy the odds and stay out of the hospital! When you pray, give thanks for the patient's health. Give thanks for the health, because they are healthy, they just need a little time in the body shop.

Thank you for you prayers, support, friendship and love throughout the last 120 days. We look forward to helping you all through periods like this, Carl has the formula figured out and he's a great teacher!

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness." Lucius Annaeus Seneca (taken from Fiat's 2011 Annual Report)