Rowan's Story: Miracle #6: "I engrafted!"

Monday, November 7, 2016

Miracle #6: "I engrafted!"

My Daddy gave me his stem cells 21 days ago.

He gave me my life, and now he is trying to help save my life.

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Today, I fight in honor of him.

And guess what?

Today, my...

Today, I officially engrafted!

I still have a long way to go. My counts need to be able to stay up on their own, without daily gcsf. I will still have to battle graft versus host disease. My kidneys need to start working. My bladder needs to heal. I need to be able to get off of dialysis. I need to get out of ICU. We need to do chimerism testing in a week or two, to make sure these cells are my new ones (Daddy's), and not my old ones coming back. I need to make it to at least day +100 before I can go back to Texas. Then, I still have a lot of recovering to do back home over the next year or so too. It is a lot. But I have fought and beat a lot, already. So we are continuing to take things day by day...miracle by miracle. And we have waited for this particular day for months, ever since my first transplant engrafted but then failed.

Today is HUGE!

Today, I officially engrafted.

We are calling this Miracle #6!

(to be continued...)

7 comments:

UnknownNovember 8, 2016 at 12:17 AM
Thank you sweet and wonderful Jesus Christ!
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UnknownNovember 8, 2016 at 1:57 AM
It is indeed a great miracle Rowan by the hands of our lord Jesus and your bravery and all the beautiful people praying day in and day out. I told my grandson 5 years old got so happy and said is he walking Nana I said not yet almost. He keeps saying he and Rowan are going to play cars when he comes home. He said I never met him but he's my friend right Nana I said. We still need to pray he said ok. My grandson showd me he has a heart and cares and showing him what prayers for. On the road to recovery
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UnknownNovember 8, 2016 at 3:26 AM
Thank you God!
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Brenda FaganNovember 8, 2016 at 4:57 AM
Glory to God!!
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UnknownNovember 8, 2016 at 6:01 AM
Praise the lord!!
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UnknownNovember 8, 2016 at 7:35 AM
So happy for you, Rowan. Many prayers are sent your way.
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cath2laughNovember 8, 2016 at 11:35 AM
Look at that amazingly wonderful ANC! Praise God! You are doing ALL things through CHRIST who is giving you your Strength! Love to you and your family! What a bond you have forever with your dad. <3 Keep moving forward Buddy!
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In Memory of Rowan's 11th Birthday

http://a.co/4bNkv62

*Click the link above to purchase a gift in memory of Rowan's 11th birthday.*

In memory of Rowan's 11th birthday, July 21, we are hosting a virtual birthday party to benefit Methodist Children's Hospital (MCH) in San Antonio, where Rowan spent much of his childhood battling for his life. All gifts purchased through this registry will be delivered in person to MCH on Rowan's birthday, July 21, 2017. The toys will be donated to the Child Life Department at MCH and placed in the new play rooms at MCH for many pediatric patients to enjoy during their hospitalizations. The toys on this registry represent a few of Rowan's favorite things. We all know Rowan had such a huge heart for giving and making the good, so this party in his memory is a way of carrying out his legacy by celebrating and doing the things that mattered most to him. Thank you for being a part of carrying out Rowan's legacy, making the good, and honoring Rowan's powerful life while remembering his 11th birthday on July 21, 2017.

In ICU, post vp shunt surgery...precious angel.

In October of 2010, Rowan started having severe headaches again. He had two spinal taps, just three days apart due to increased cranial pressures (double or triple what they should be). They removed over 55 ccs of excess spinal fluid trying to relieve his headaches. Eventually, when the pain was just too severe and his pressures weren't coming down, he finally had to have a vp shunt placed. When he woke up the next day, he told one of the doctors that he would give him a free autograph for helping get rid of his headaches. A couple days later, he made a sign for me to put in the window of his hospital room, that he says said "Open for business. Autographs $15. Free drink with purchase".

Another battle wound...this one from his Chiari malformation brain surgery.

In January of 2009, Rowan had craniectomy/laminectomy surgery to correct a brain malformation that was obstructing his flow of spinal fluid and causing headaches and other neurological symptoms. They removed a small piece of the base of his skull, shrunk up the bottom portion of his brain, and removed part of his C1 and C2 vertebrae to free up space for the spinal fluid to flow. When we told Rowan that he would be going in to the hospital to get his brain fixed, he thought for a minute and then said, "Will I see Logan (favorite nurse) and can I eat baby ice cubes when I wake up?" When we said yes, he simply said "Ok, Let's do it!"

"Our Little Trooper"

Monday, November 7, 2016

Miracle #6: "I engrafted!"

7 comments: