The day we have been praying for, for 20 years has finally arrived. We never thought all these years that one of our own kids would be Mia’s donor. All Mia’s sisters were the same, a 6/10 half match to Mia. Any of them were eligible to donate, but Maddy really wanted to do it, plus logistically it worked better as well. God knew this whole time it would be Mia’s youngest sister Maddy.
Mia getting a blood transfusion with her 4 day old baby sis ...Maddy (2006) Turns out, Mia in fact is holding her cure. An angel sent by God above. A hero.
Maddy always came with Mia to the hospital ... until she went to kindergarten. Maddy grew up in the hospital til she was 5.
Maddy and Mia tuckered out after a Hope Kids Walk ... Mia walked a 5k with a hemoglobin in the 7's ... and Maddy was with her every step of the way.
Maddy & Matt (dad) stayed at the Ronald McDonald house 2 miles away, and met Kristi (mom) at the hospital to register at 7am. They were a little late getting Maddy back but she finally got her iv in (it took 2 pokes & they used an ultrasound to get her vein) all the different doctors spoke to her about what they were doing, like the anesthesiologist…and the NP & Doc who were doing the actual bone marrow harvest. It took almost 2 hours, a little less to get what they needed from Maddy’s hips. They poked each of her hip with a big needle and pulled her bone marrow out like that and put it into a bag. Since they have the same blood type, they didn’t need to do much to it … so by the time they were done with Maddy at like 11:00 am ish, it was ready to be put through an iv directly into Mia at 12:30 pm.
Maddy in the post OR recovery room <3
The only hiccup was poor sweet Maddy’s blood pressure. She woke up fine after anesthesia, had some juice & crackers, but trying to sit up in the wheel chair was a struggle. Her poor body had been through so much, so it was trying to recover, and her BP kept dropping. So it was better for her to lay down.
Maddy and mom didn’t make it up to the room in time to see the cells come in from the lab, but that’s OK because mom had to make sure the (super hero) donor was doing ok. Dad left to go up and be apart of the new CELL-Ebration! Thank goodness Nurse Megan came in on her day off and was able to capture all the good angles & pics in lieu of mom, haha! (Because we all know dad in his excitement forgot to press record 🤦🏼♀️)
No wonder why Maddy was beyond tired ... look how much the doctor and NP got of her bone marrow in that huge bag!!!! Maddy's freshly collected bone marrow (less than 2 hours old) ran just like one of Mia's blood transfusions, except without going through the pump. They let gravity do its work.
Here we go!!! Mia's new birthday...she's 20 and 0 at the same time. Not a lot of people can say that.
Dad and Mia on her speical day!
Mia, how do you feel?! 20 years in the making. It's so surreal to be here in this moment right now.
Mia + Maddy with the 3 nurses who have been with her mostly the whole time. Even Megan came in on her day off (in purple) and brought Mia & Maddy & Mom, gift bags, cards, posters, balloons, you name it.
Mia GOT Marrow! Someone pinch me...is this happening? It wouldn't be if it weren't for Maddy.
Polaroids have been a theme during this transplant. We actually have a polaroid wall going. 
Every time Mia takes a polaroid she hangs it up so everyone who comes in the room can see. Super cute.
As the cells were almost done going into Mia ... they put saline in there to get every last drop. With the clear saline going in the iv tubing becomes a little more clearish ... and if you look close enough, you can SEE the cells going in. It's absolutely amazing. They go by really fast, so you can't blink, mom saw one that looked like a shooting star. Thank you Maddy.
All these sweet nurses making sure Mia gets every last bit. We don't know what we would do with out each of them, loving on Mia like they do. After the party settled down and Mia's cells were infused through her lines...it was time for a photo shoot to end the day.
Hannah - fun fact - Mia is her first BMT patient. We NEVER would have known because she is a champ!
Rachel - going to the Taylor Swift concert soon!
So fun ... but who will be Mia's nurse when they are all at the conert? haha!
Megan - also going to the Taylor Swift concert ... literally mom will have to be the nurse for a night!
Yay Mia! You did it ... you lived for 20 years becuase people donated their blood to you, you made it through the chemo and radiation .... to this day MARCH 9, 2023 so that Maddy could give you a chance at a new life. Thank you LORD! You are working miracles in our family's life.
Prayer REQUEST-
- For Maddy to rest and feel better and not be in too much pain (it really hurts!) bless her.
- For Mia's body to accept these new cells and to start growing and multiplying quickly so she can feel better after the chemo and radiation.
- For Mia to be completely cured.
Amen!
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