waiting......

I have been feeling sick for a little over two weeks now, and havnt been able to work. I have has an IV hooked up to my left and right hand and now my left forearm in order to give me daily IV treatments at Puget Sound Cancer Center. The people there are wonderful and take great care of me. I received 2 units of red blood cells on friday at Stevens Hospital, and it took about 5 hours to get inside me but I felt a lot better afterwards.

I started taking my new medicine on friday evening and havnt had any new side effects that Ive noticed. This week we will be waiting to hear from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance as to whether or not my brother and I are a match for the transplant. We are praying that he will be to keep the costs down for the total transplant. I have a $250,000 maximum coverage on my policy, and weve been quoted 2 different prices for transplant so far. $311,000 if its my brother and I, and $380,000 if its an unrelated donor.

We have been holding back from asking people to donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma society and Light the Night, because we werent sure if we would need to raise money for a transplant for me directly. We are so thankful to all those that have donated in the past, recently, and those who will donate in the future. If possible we would ask that any donations go to us directly for the transplant instead of to Light the Night or the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. Mandy has created a PayPal link on this webpage for those that wish to help that way.

I feel my resolve growing stronger as I prepare for this battle, and I couldnt be with a more caring and loving partner! She is very strong but I know she will appreciate any support from friends and family throughout my transplant and recovery. Mandy has been a pillar of strength for me, and I hope that I am and will be the same for her. Its hard to respond to all the nice messages and caring thoughts from everyone.........but I want everyone to know that they mean the world to me right now. It has been very difficult for me to talk with sores in my mouth and just feeling rotten all the time, but I think I am on the mend now and hope to be able to chat it up with all soon. In the meantime please know that I am positive that I will get through this, and that I love you all!

Take care,

Tyler