Finally a Place for Snail

So many things to talk about...
First, Wednesday the 18th-
Valerie went into the hospital for her first radiation treatment at 8 am which from what I can gather takes about an hour. If you can believe it even after this there was still no room so they went back to my Mom's apartment which was chosen because it is 4 minutes from the hospital. Soon they received a phone call that Valerie's room would be ready for her at 12 noon. God's timing yes, she has a great room at the end of the hall so she only has a neighbor on one side and her room faces west for beautiful sunset views and trees for her to look at. My Aunt GayLynn and Vanessa went to a meeting with our transplant coordinator Ursula to review shot giving technique and pick up the magic shots that will boost up Vanessa's WBC's so she has plenty for Valerie. At 3pm Valerie had another radiation round and by 6:30pm was really sick. Thankfully she is in the hospital now where they can control this and by the morning she was better.

Thursday the 19th-
Today was a busy day again of course. Valerie was not able to eat anything all day until 4pm after all of her treatments. She had radiation at 8am and had another line put in for her transplant at 1 and radiation at 3 so food finally at 4. The new line is bigger so that there is no squishing of stem cells! I was able to talk to her today and honestly her voice sounded good. I know she is feeling awful and today was scary but we are moving along. 2 more radiation treatments to go and 4 days until transplant.
Vanessa's first shots were today and of course fashionable accessorized by Hello Kitty Band-Aids. She said they feel like if you were pouring tequila on an open wound but well worth it of course. Her husband JP arrives late tonight to support her on her side of the transplant on Monday and Tuesday.

Gluten-Free
It is shocking sometimes when something so normal to us is not available. This is the 2nd hospital that does not have a gluten free menu. Shocking because gluten intolerance, allergy or Celiac is 1 out of every 120 people now. The transplant center normally has very strict rules about outside food but for Valerie there has to be some exceptions. There is a freezer/fridge on the floor that they can use which is a huge help and after meeting with the hospitals dietitian they are actually going to order in GF food for Valerie. Yeah, another hurdle down!