Transplant Decision

Dear Family and Friends,

We are all in.  We leave for Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning, to begin the process of the cord blood transplant.  The procedure is a cross between a bone marrow transplant and a blood transfusion. William will undergo chemotherapy for two weeks to clean out his old bone marrow and will then receive an infusion of cord blood from a specifically matched donor to reset his system with the complete protein set.  The whole process will take three months of hospitalization for William in Pittsburgh.  While William is hospitalized,  Robert and I will have an apartment at the Ronald McDonald House adjacent to the hospital.  I will stay in Pittsburgh for the whole duration of the procedure and Robert has worked with his employer to relocate his desk to Salt Lake City.  He will commute back and forth from Pittsburgh to Salt Lake City for the work week.  It's going to be a tough go at it, but we will make it work!

I will keep you all posted as much as time allows.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers and support.  We could not do this without our family and friends.

Love,
The Branches