In the meantime

Caleb made this.  Very appropriate

Nate had his last chemo round last week!  We are hoping he never has to be inpatient at Spectrum Hospital again.  The weekend was challenging with symptoms, but Nate is feeling better again.

We went to Northwestern on Tuesday.  It was a long day of tests, but relatively easy.  We met with a nurse who explained the stem cell collection process.  They tell us it could take 2-5 days to collect his stem cells.  While there we met a guy who did it in one day.  You can guess what Nate's goal is.  We also met with the transplant coordinator.  She demonstrated how to give Nate the shots he needs before the transplant.  We also got a better idea of what to expect while he is inpatient and life after he returns home.  I left the meeting thinking, thank you God! I have read and heard about various restrictions post-transplant that had me feeling anxious.  The coordinator explained Northwestern's stance of safe, but least restrictive.  The main concern for Nate post-transplant is bacteria and infections because of his weak immune system.  So for example, he can eat fruits/vegetables as long as they are thoroughly washed. (Except raw tomatoes for a couple months.)  Food needs to be cooked well and no deli meats and so forth.  (Basically like a pregnancy diet.) She said to avoid salad bars and buffets and only go to restaurants we feel are safe.  And in regards to him going out in public, she said just be smart.  Don't go to the mall when it's super crowded, but you don't have to sequester yourself either. He can't swim in pools and lakes for a couple months.  Again, she did encourage us that most of these restrictions are lifted after a couple months.   It was also encouraging to hear her say that Nate could be feeling almost normal about 6 weeks after the transplant.  That is best case scenario, but we need some kind of goal.  We have been very pleased with all of the staff at Northwestern.  We know the next couple of months will be challenging, but we have a goal in mind that hopefully by June, Nate should be feeling back to normal.  It would be pretty great to just have a normal, fun summer.

Please continue to pray that Nate stays healthy and nothing will happen to delay the transplant.  The stem cell collection will begin on March 21.  He will be admitted to the hospital on April 7 to begin the transplant process.