Both literally and figuratively.
The boy woke up at 2:40 this morning, came into our bedroom, announced he was awake and asked for Rice Krispies and milk. HRH put him back to bed with a drink and some bread and butter. Then at 5:40 the performance was repeated, only this time HRH said, “Wow, he’s really hot. As in way too hot.” So I found the thermometer and we took his temperature, and yes, he had a fever. He was acting perfectly normal in every other respect, albeit a bit cuddlier than usual, so I gave him acetaminophen and we checked the temperature every half hour until we were sure it was going down.
It’s been a quiet morning (if you count watching Veggie Tales songs on YouTube as being quiet). I checked his temperature again at 11:30 and it was back up, so he got more acetaminophen. Apart from that he’s had some juice and water and a nibble of pancake, and a Rice Krispie square from the pan we made; he just hasn’t been hungry. For lunch he had a couple of chicken nuggets with a huge glass of milk. And then he literally fell asleep on my lap, so I carried him to his room and put him to bed, where he rolled over onto his stomach and didn’t protest at all. I’ll keep an eye on him. At the moment it’s a high fever but not dangerously to-the-hospital high, and above all else he’s acting pretty much as usual. He’s fighting something off.
Best news of the morning: There has been a match found among international bone marrow registrants for Emru, who was was diagnosed with leukemia and a condition called monosomy 7 just over six months ago. Does this mean the fight to get the word out is over? Not by a long shot. The donor has to agree, Emru still has to go into remission, be prepped, do the surgery, and then hope the donation doesn’t attack the host, the host attack the donation, and a variety of other things. The most important issue at the moment is that we don’t stop educating and spreading information about the importance of adding your name to the bone marrow registry of your country. Emru is only one man; there are thousands and thousands of people out there who still need a bone marrow transplant to save their lives. Keep the HealEmru.com link circulating; keep mentioning it to everyone you meet. The majority of racial groups are still under-represented, and that’s not going to change overnight. Here’s a passage from Kino Kid’s post, with the pertinent info.
If you’re not going to read this message straight through, that’s ok, but if you resend it to anyone, do so in its entirety or post this paragraph, the next paragraph and point one at least.
A match was found for Emru on Wednesday. If you tell anyone, please remember you must tell them to that many other people are still waiting, and the actual crisis that made us spring into motion is not yet alleviated. Talking about it and passing the information along is an educational tool that you must continue to use, even if we can all breathe easier.
1:
Emru’s donor could change their mind and decline at any time. Right now there is no backup. This is not your cue to stop talking about bone marrow donation and registration. Keep going. Emru wants you to. I want you to. People you have never met need you to. Their lives are in our hands.
There are still massive shortages in the donor pool, and this will not change unless we continue to care about it. What we do will only be known at the end of March next year. What do we want to see when we get those numbers? That 100 more people have registered or 1000? 10000?
If all goes well Emru will have another chance at his life, and will transform from someone needing a transplant into someone who has successfully gone through the process, an ambassador for those who still are in need of a match from the registry. And he’ll have given his name to a campaign that will continue.
Are you a match? Find out how you can help save Emru’s life: http://www.healemru.com
Got Facebook? Please join Help Emru Find a Bone Marrow Donor and if you learn something new, invite your friends.
Got Livejournal, WordPress or Blogger? Blog it!
Got Youtube? Subscribe to www.youtube.com/healemru
Just find someone you care about and tell them.
Contact info:
Hema Quebec http://www.hema-quebec.qc.ca
Canada Blood Services (Canada, except Quebec) http://onematch.ca/registry
National Marrow Donor Program (US) http://www.marrow.org
Anthony Nolan Trust (UK) http://anthonynolan.org.uk