Day 107

When I met Tom I was fourteen years old. I remember where we were (the Santa Maria mall, right outside Sears). I remember what we were doing (working at the Salvation Army's Secret Santa booth). I don't remember what we talked about. But, I remember the feeling. There was a special mix of excitement and comfort which I think one only finds with their true soul mate.

Well, clearly, Tom is still making life exciting. But, if it can be imagined of Tom right now he's still bringing me great comfort. Since Tom left the hospital 74 days ago his God-given peacefulness has ruled his body and his mind. Of course I run after him nagging about sunscreen and the bacteria sure to be found in fast food (and he really should listen to me, don't you think?) but I'm sure his legendary peacekeeping is really on the front lines of this successful battle.

And it has been a successful battle. One week ago today Tom met his first significant milestone of 100 days post-transplant. This milestone, though somewhat arbitrarily selected by transplant doctors some years ago, has been met with great health by Tom. He has had only minor complications since his release from the hospital. These include ongoing monitoring of his kidney function which has been under control almost since it was detected, and a fever that had him fractions of a degree from being rehospitalized. Drinking large quantities of water (or receiving saline infusions when he didn't) and monitoring of his immunosuppressant medication have kept his kidneys in check.

Other significant milestones include the last (we hope) of Tom's bone marrow biopsies. He was as cool as the other side of the pillow for this one. Maybe it's because he knew it would yield such great results. This biopsy revealed how much of Tom's blood DNA was his brother's and how much was his. We were pleased to find out that it's 100% Steve's blood DNA. This is a great signal towards harmony in Tom's immune system. We were also pleased that Mom DuBransky was able to be present with us during the biopsy. This intriguing procedure capped off a month long stay with us where she kept her watchful mom eye on Tom and made sure he took impeccable care of himself during the days, accompanied us to Tom's appointments, shuttled Tom to infusions and helped us so much around the house, including many an inventive idea to make low-bacteria eating more enjoyable. She returned to Santa Maria just in time for us all to celebrate her on Mother's Day.

Beyond his 100-Day mark and all his positive test results we look forward to his remaining milestones: Year 1, which will mark the end of the transplant process (and likely all medication) and Year 2, where his risk of relapse drops dramatically. In the mean time Day 100 offered a specific opportunity that has a great deal of meaning to Tom: In-N-Out!! As of Day 100 Tom can eat whatever he wants again. I'm still feeling a bit cautious, but, of course, couldn't deny him the In-N-Out that he has been waiting for since he was put on the low-bacteria diet in February. To be honest we actually cheated and enjoyed a beautiful meal at the Prado in San Diego with only a few hours left on Day 99. Well, I thought it was beautiful. Tom claimed a palate too simple to enjoy it and eagerly awaited In-N-Out the next day. Dr. Chen and Keri even sent him a gift card for In-N-Out, acknowledging his single most persistent question at each visit: "Can I have In-N-Out yet?"

Tom's strength also continues to build. He has been cleared for the driving range and looks forward to his next full round of golf. He feels so great that every once in a while he's surprised to find that he still has some strength he has yet to regain. For this reason he has eased slowly back into work and had to learn the hard way that he can't quite perform all of the Gabriel/Daddy tricks that he is used to (you'll have to ask him how he learned-there are some mandated reporters reading this blog). Tom is, however, enjoying his new short hairstyle and intends to keep it. I didn't really think I had a preference, as he looks handsome either way, but I'm enjoying seeing more of his face and nicely shaped noggin.

Not only has City of Hope been good to Tom. Blue Shield has, as well. After Tom's life threateningly low blood count scare in December we enrolled in the PPO coverage at my work. One of our favorite things to do now is read our Claim Statements. Claim Statements are those documents that come from insurance companies that look like bills, but specifically tell you that they are not. They tell you how much the insurance paid for your treatment and how much you owe. For some time now almost all of these come with a $0.00 0n the "you owe" line. Our favorite claim with such a $0.00 balance was the one with the over $650,000 in total charges which covered much of what occurred during his hospital stay. That's some high end bone marrow. The PPO, which allowed Tom to receive treatment at City of Hope, has proven to be a wise investment and has brought us, most significantly Tom, great ease with the impact this situation has had on our livelihood.

Finally, as you might guess, our little peanut is so happy to have his Daddy home. Gabriel was excited to return home from a play date on April 9th to find Tom home. It was a long reunion of play, wildness and unabashed lawlessness (or as its known to Mommy: chaos), but over the last few weeks things have returned to normal, as marked by Gabriel's recent whine, "You two always say the same thing to me." I told Gabriel that that was the nicest thing he'd ever said to us. In the last few weeks Gabriel has also become quite eager to see Day 100 come to pass. When it did he announced that it meant, "bone marrow complete" and brought a box of Tom's medication to him asking, "Can we throw this away?" When Tom said "no, why?" he simply stated, "because it's Day 100." Again, kids really do have amazing instincts and observations.

Gabriel (and his uncle Steve) are also Tom's greatest advocates in Tom's quest to claim three birthdays, all of which we've been able to celebrate in the last three months or so. Commonly the transplant date (March 6th) is a widely noted "re-birthday" for transplant recipients. Understandable. Well, Steve has graciously offered his birthday (seeing as it is his blood fueling Tom's life) of June 7th to Tom to share. These coupled with his actual birthday of May 31st have kept us celebrating Tom regularly. Today, on Father's Day, our last official celebration of Tom until next March I wanted to write him this love letter of sorts and celebrate him with all of you.

This journey is not over, but our journey of faith will be so infinitely longer. We can see that long road clearer than ever. With that I'll leave you with Gabriel's first memorized bible verse, one that has clearly illuminated this journey for us:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding." - Proverbs 3:5

Love, Mrs. Tom DuBransky of the Highland Park DuBranskys