My Christmas Wish Has Come True

I've learned a lot about the important things in life.  Last year I made a Christmas wish and didn't know if it would come true, but it has.  Last year I wished that I'd get to have another Christmas with my Dad.  And my wish has come true.  My Dad is still alive and I will get to hug and kiss him (under the protection of a mask and gloves) on Christmas.

Not a day goes by that I don't get calls and emails from Hawk listeners asking me how things are going with my Dad.  You might have heard me mention on the Hawk Morning Show that my Dad has been very sick for the past year.  He's got an incredibly rare form of cancer called "Myleofibrosis" and had a bone marrow transplant last month with the hopes it'll work and he'll continue to live.

If you've ever battled cancer or taken care of someone fighting the disease, then you definitely can comprehend what my family has been though in the last year.  So many highs and so many lows. My Dad lost his job right before his transplant and was the one who was financially responsible for the household.  My Mom and Dad have four kids who are older and three kids who are under the age of 13 and live at home.  With the help of angels on earth, we were able to collect enough non perishables to last my parents through the winter so that they don't have to worry about how to feed the kids.  We were also able to raise enough money through donations and a benefit garage sale for my Dad to continue paying his COBRA payments so that he could have the bone marrow transplant that he needed to live.

I wish I could tell you that things are peachy perfect and that my Dad's transplant was a smash hit and that all is well with our world again, but that wouldn't be the truth.  My parents live in Albany and have to travel to Dana Farber in Boston twice a week to meet with Dad's doctors.  Yesterday my parents made another trip and this is the email update my Mom sent to me:

Hi,  We are still at Dana Farber but I have a chance to email you.  Dad’s new cells are taking over at 26%. If it were real good it would be 90% or more.  His bone marrow transplant was not a failure as of yet.  Thanks be to God!!  It is not a full success yet.  What the 26% means at this point is that it may take 2 years instead of one to get healing.  We may have to stay away from groups of people for 2 years. BUT what a small price to pay for a husband!  The doctor is rearranging Dad’s medication to try to encourage cell growth.  If this does not work then at the end of January or in February he will need a boost of cells from the stem cell donor.  It will not require any more chemo just more transplanting. So the prayer request is for more donor cells to take hold and for Dad’s cells to die out.  He needs the donor cells to take over completely. Today Dad will be getting more blood transfused.  We also are waiting to see the cardiologist and for an EKG.  Just wanted to catch you up to where we are. Love, Mom

Last Christmas my whole family got together for the first time in years.  It's so sad that  uncertain times brings a family closer together.  Shouldn't be the case, but I was partly to blame because I was the one who's lived so far away all of these years.  We all gathered together because we didn't know if it would be our last Christmas as a whole family. The biggest reason I moved here was so that I could spend more time with my family all the time and not just on holidays.

If you'd like to learn more about our family journey, I invite you to visit this site.