Yesterday and the day before, Laura had what is called a plasma exchange because she has an antibody in her cells that MIGHT not welcome the new marrow. So, they took out all of her plasma and gave her new stuff.

Today, as I've mentioned, the doctors said the transplant will have to take place tomorrow because the draw from the donor is taking a couple of days.

Turns out that's a good thing 'cause they've done a little more research on the antibody in Laura's system and they feel that just to be EXTRA CAUTIOUS they're going to give her some medicine (a six hour drip) that will cause her body to welcome the new marrow. They used the analogy of either treating it like a cat or treating it like a tiger. They're choosing to treat it like a tiger and make sure it has left the building!

And, Lisa clarified some things for me: The engraftment period is the period when her body accepts the new cells. That can take between 5 and 10 days after the transplant. The donors cells ENGRAFT to Laura's body. AFTER the 10 days or so is when the donor's cells make up their minds to live happily ever after in Laura's body or not... This is where one of the possible effects is Graft vs. Host Disease. We do not want that. We want the donor's cells to feel at home IMMEDIATELY. That is our prayer.

Thank you so much for your prayers and love. What a special bunch of friends (and strangers ☺) Laura has!

As always, GoFightWin!

(~ coined by Lisa ☺)