A Little Wedding and a Whole Lot of Stem Cell

Jim and I had an amazing weekend in Carmel.  The Northern/Central California coast is so beautiful, and made for the perfect little relaxation spot to rest Jim's body prior to his stem cell procedure. Even more beautiful is the fact that Jim and I decided to stop in Santa Barbara and get married on our way to Carmel!  It was a long time coming, and we both really felt now was the time to finally make it official.  The wedding and the weekend couldn't have been more perfect, and we are so thankful it went as well as it did, and of course for our support team who made it all possible.

Upon our return from Carmel, Jim started his week of stem cell treatments, and I'm happy to say Jim did great!  The doctor told me after the second procedure that Jim was one tough cookie, but of course I already knew that!  The procedure was hard on Jim's body, and he was very tired and sore afterwards, but he is slowly but surely getting back to where he was prior to the surgery.  Jim is supposed to be resting for 3 weeks following the procedure, that has probably been the most difficult part. We have been told that it can take up to 4 months before he might notice anything different in his progression.  The new and healthy stem cells will not fix the dead cells in his body, but the hope is that the new cells will significantly slow the progression of the disease (that's about as far as I'll go with a medical description for fear of making myself sound incompetent).

We are so grateful for the opportunity to have this treatment done, thanks to the support of our family, friends, and even those we have never met.  It's comforting knowing that whether we're successful or not successful, we took advantage of every opportunity given to us in the hopes of controlling this disease.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

Thank you all for dancing along with us!  xo



Santa Barbara, CA