Many Changes

The last week was a very, very busy one. Tony, the kids, John Lee and Tammy all flew out on Monday on a nonstop flight to Utah. They had 12 checked bags with them.

While dropping them off, I also picked up Shay and Karin. Their arrival time was perfect in more than one way. It was so great to be able to pick them up at the same time I was dropping off Tony. But I also really needed their joy and good humor to lift my spirits after some really hard weeks. After picking up dinner at M.A.S.H, we went to the house and they helped me pack the van and the car and get everything ready for our deep clean on Tuesday. Then I drove up to Dulles to pick up my little brother, Jordan. 

Before he left, John Lee helped FULLY load the two pods we got. We absolutely couldn't have done it without him. And we'll likely have to be careful opening the doors when they arrive. They picked them up on Tuesday. We also appreciate all of the help Tony's mom provided with packing, watching kids, doing dishes, and keeping the house in order through all of our craziness.

On Tuesday I was absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of help I received. Over twenty people came to help clean throughout the day, and we had three different friends with trucks that did thrift store runs and dump runs. Our wonderful realtor stopped by to do a few last minute things as well. Shay and Karin were able to head out to Karin's uncle's house with the car. They will be driving it back to Utah for us. The house was spotless and the carpets were shampooed when we went to sleep Tuesday night. It was a very successful day, full of very painful goodbyes. We have such wonderful friends that we are going to miss so much. We also had to say goodbye to our neighbor Jamie. She's been such a huge part of our lives and we're so sad we won't be neighbors anymore. We have truly been lifted up during this life challenge by so many wonderful people and I could never accurately put into words how much we appreciate each and every one of you. 

Jordan and I got up at 4 a.m. Wednesday morning and were out the door by 4:30. We had a 17 hour drive ahead of us and wanted to make sure we reached our destination at a decent hour. Tony had his appointment with his oncology team at Huntsman Cancer Center on Wednesday. His mom went with him to the appointment and I was able to join via phone while Jordan drove. They have an incredible focus on the whole patient, including having a physical therapist specifically assigned to each patient so they can ensure their body gets back to pre-transplant strength. Unfortunately we learned that Tony will need to undergo another bone marrow transplant. Tony was very sad about this, but is doing his best to stay positive. During this appointment, they discussed how in the last 10 years, they have discovered that using a sibling, even if their HLA typings are only a half match, is usually more successful that using a unrelated full match. So right now, the plan is to move forward with using Tony's brother Brad as a bone marrow donor for the transplant. But they both have done a few tests that are still pending results before we can officially move forward. Jordan and I lucked out in Springfield, Illinois, and stumbled upon a place that sold sushi tacos. We also made it to our destination in Missouri Wednesday night ahead of schedule, around 8:30 P.M. just as it started to snow. 

Thursday morning Jordan and I were out the door by 7 a.m. in Missouri. We got Burger King for breakfast which was surprisingly good, and headed East. Another 17 hour drive would get us to Utah. Our second day felt longer than our first, but again, we made it ahead of schedule. I dropped him off at his house in Ogden, and then made it to Tremonton by 10:30 p.m. Jordan was a perfect road trip companion, and we had a great time on our cross country drive. But it was so nice to be back with Tony and the boys. 

Friday, we had a small miracle occur. We needed to get a storage unit for some of our things. We really wanted a storage unit at the storage place as short walk from the house. We've been asking about it for the last week or so and always got the response that nothing was available. We called Friday and they set us up at a storage place that's about a mile away. Just as we were getting set up to head over there, we got a phone call that a unit had just barely opened up at the storage place down the street. She let us know that it is so extremely rare for a unit to open up, so God is definitely looking out for us. We were able to go down to see John Lee perform with his barbershop quartet, and then sleep over at John Lee's house. 

Saturday, we went to a baseball fundraiser for my cousin Jackson, then went shopping for a purple mattress with my cousin Ali, her husband Mike and my Aunt Michelle. Ali works in marketing for the purple store and got us an amazing deal on a full set up. We are hoping this will really help Tony as he heals from his treatments. Michelle got us the pillows and also got Tony and I these extremely comfortable loungewear outfits. So we have officially reached maximum comfort level. After we had lunch with them, we headed to a matinee showing of Drowsy Chaperone to see Erin. She was absolutely wonderful in it and we really enjoyed having the opportunity to see the show. 

Tony has another few appointments at Huntsman tomorrow. We're hoping to get a clearer schedule at that point so we know when all of his coming treatments will happen. The boys are going to spend the day with their cousins that are on spring break this week. 

We have really enjoyed being so close to family. The boys have loved spending time with cousins. But we are all missing our friends on the East Coast as well. Our house in Maryland is going to be listed this week. Our wonderful realtor is putting together drone footage of the property to show all of the things we loved about living there. 

Now that we're a little more settled, I will be posting here more often again. I am hoping to put together a post tomorrow after Tony's appointment.