So, a brief recap on where things stood with stem cell therapy: Weeks ago, I contacted the people at Duke University doing the trial. The place where we'd stored Max's cord blood sent a sample over to Duke. Then we had to get a few vials of blood drawn from Max and mail those, so they could make sure that it all matched.
I got word today: Everything is good to go. The infusion could happen in the next couple of months, I'll know by the end of this week.
I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I can't believe it.
Like I've said, I'm not hoping for miracles here. I'd be grateful for even a little improvement. But, bottom line, I am not expecting anything, this is all still so experimental.
In other news, I walked in from work tonight to find this on the kitchen counter:
In case you can't tell, that's a bunch of caterpillars crawling in a glass jar. We bought the kids a Live Butterfly Garden; you send away a pre-addressed postcard that comes with the kit to order the caterpillars. Once they develop into chrysalides (within seven to ten days), you move them into the mini habitat.
Sounds like a good learning experience, right? It is. Only thing, I forgot how much I HATE caterpillars. When I was a kid, we spent our summers in the country. One year, I must have been ten or so, there was a gypsy moth caterpillar infestation. I still remember seeing the bulging nests in the trees filled with ominous blackness—ultimately, they killed the trees—and then, eventually, caterpillars underfoot everywhere.
Creepy.
I am definitely going to have to find a new place for them besides the kitchen counter.
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