Tuesday, June 7, 2011

June 7, 2011: Kyle's new life begins today...



Heaveno!

Thanks, Karen, for reminding me to write about Kyle tonight!  The next patient in the U of M BMT trial received his transplant today!  His name is Kyle Hicks.  He is 20 years old.  He is from Wichita, KS, a community college student, and in most ways is as typical a young guy as he can be... except for this thing... yeah, you all know, RDEB.  He only weighs 51 pounds and is is just over four feet tall.

Well today, as his mom says, is the first day of his new life.  Apparently transplant went phenomenally with Kyle sleeping a lot of the day.  Dr. Wagner changed the chemotherapy work-up for Kyle, and so far it has really lowered the side effects, which is GREAT!  Just hearing about transplant brings back some serious trauma, but to know that the doctors are still going at this a year later, and improving as they go, well, it makes the journey we went on not in vain.  (would that be vainless?  Never heard that one before...)

You can follow Kyle's journey by CLICKING HERE.

Here is a photo gallery of the ride home on Sunday.  It was weird driving back, since I didn't drive that way home in the fall.  Check out the sign that warns drowsy drivers to pull over... is that because caffeine is not exactly a popular item in Utah?



I am still so grateful we took the opportunity to travel the country and meet as many of you all as we could.  Meeting Jonah and Tripp was also so important to us.  Now that we are back in the rat race, I can't see pulling a trip like that off as easily as it seemed then.  What's funny about that is the fact that I could even plan a cross country trip, two memorials and three gatherings spanning 15 states over 7 days at that point!  It befuddles me now looking back.  I could barely get through the day.  I have NO memory of my sister and mom and mother in law packing our Ronald McDonald House apartment.  What was I doing?  Planning the trip I guess.  This is one of those times when the "Footprints in the Sand" story seems to fit really well.  It MUST have been God carrying me, cuz it wasn't me.

I'd also like to take a minute to thank Laurie Steiner from The Butterfly Fund for helping me reach my goal for the Children's Cancer Research Fund "Time to Fly" 5K run I am running in two weeks!  Laurie has been a staunch advocate for EB research, advocacy, and patient/family support and holds "The Buttefly Ball" in the fall up in northern California.  She donated cookbooks and a beautiful bamboo dress for Bella's Birthday Bash, and today, she made another generous contribution to our cause.  With so many worthy causes out there, and times still being tight on the family purse, I am continually amazed and grateful for the generosity of so many.  It inspires me to keep "shouting  from the rooftops," as devoted blog reader Jane would say all the way from Vancouver!  You are all so wonderful.

I'd like to invite you all to do something cool tonight.  If you have a blog, a website, a business, ANYTHING that you are passionate about... share it with us!  This is a community.  We genuinely know and care about each other.  Like Laurie says on her page, we all have so many choices when choosing who we do business with, why not support each other?

Okay, gotta run.  Got a meeting with Ang to start working on our portion of PUCK's strategic plan!  I took Ali to the pool before dinner and all I want to do is hit the sack, but in order for any movement, concept, business, entity to reach critical mass, a lot of effort needs to be expended at the onset.  That's where we are right now... hanging on that giant lever trying to get the boulder rolling.  Thanks for hangin' on with us!  With all our weight together, we get that ball rolling MUCH QUICKER than if Ang and I were hanging alone!

God night.

9 comments:

  1. Me! Me!
    first go to this link...and like my picture! Cause i am crazy competitive!
    http://www.capturingtrueemotion.com/contest/vote-now/item/i-heart-baby-toes?category_id=25

    Then..oc peeps can check out and contact me for pictures of their own kids or families....

    WWW.mylifebehindthecamera.blogspot.com

    Part of every session fee goes back to PUCK!

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  2. Hey Tim, thanks for sharing about Kyle.

    Our personal blog if anyone is interested in reading mostly about my toddler and our lives in southern Arizona: Life with the Lairds
    My husband and I both update this one. :)

    I also have my jewelry business; I periodically donate a % of my monthly sales to PUCK. :)
    My Etsy Shop
    My Online Shop
    Facebook!
    Twitter!

    I'll be coming back to check out other followers' comments on this post! It is a community, I'd love to support others in this particular community as well. :)

    Best,
    Cara

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  3. I have a blog that I am pretty passionate about. www.byebyefatgirl.net. It chronicles my journey to overcome my eating disorder, lose the weight, and become a personal trainer. I also have an upcoming book release and television show appearance coming up as well. :)

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  4. Tim,

    Thank you for posting the information about Kyle! How remarkable it is to hear about this process from the patient's point of view. I never even considered that a G-tube would hurt or that he would know his own test results....! Wow! It seems so different compared to the little ones who have gone before him. I wish Kyle all the best!

    PS- It's GREAT to be able to comment again! :)

    Karen Steiner
    Denver, CO

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  5. I've been following Charlie and Nicholas, along with Tripp and Jonah.

    Thank you so much for the link to Kyle's websites! What an incredible kid!

    ~Ann

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  6. I'll take you up on that! Depression is a potentially deadly disease, but also one of the most treatable. People often don't get the treatment they need because of the stigma. Check out www.familyaware.org. They do AMAZING things and were an invaluable support system for us as we supporting my beautiful brother in being well.

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  7. Dear All,

    Lovely to be back on the old familiar turf with you. I can't add anything to your requested roll-call of blogs/businesses and the like because I don't have any of those things. But it does feel good to know that we know one another, even through this peculiar and silent but still so very direct medium: the comments box at the foot of your blog.

    I don't think I remember seeing Bella in the photo you posted today - it's a glorious shot. She looks like she's cooking up some strategy behind those fingers of hers. Those eyes, they get me every time. Such wisdom. Such amusement. Truly, she appears to have lived decades even when she was barely more than one year old. She hovers over my life like a benign spark. For that I shall always remain thankful.

    Beautiful girl. Beautiful family. Ang, you look glorious and so very pregnant! The pics in Tim's blog today encompass so much of the future, the present and the past. Bless your beautiful hearts, each and all of you Ringgolds. You make the world a more interesting and a better place,

    From my slippery rooftop (thankfully now drying out a smidge), with love,

    Jane

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  8. I meant to tell you at dinner...it would be cool to go WAAAY back and post newborn pics of Bella.
    I don't think you have posted any here?
    Right? Maybe you have...

    It might be fun, as we anticipate Julian :)

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  9. Love the pic of Ang! She is looking alike a Mom! :o)

    Cheryl

    ReplyDelete