Dear Family and Friends ...
On this cold, ice-covered day, I wanted to share some warmth and good news.  First, engraftment is complete ... 100% of my cells are from my donor and that will not change, no backsliding there! The caveat to that is since my donor cells are so strong, I've been dealing with GvHD (graft versus host disease) of my skin (rash) and mouth (dry and tender) for several weeks and have been on pretty heavy duty steroids  to take care of it, which is finally working ... I'm on a taper now so hopefully I'll be off of them in the near future, as they have their own side effects.  It's just a bump in my marathon road ... a road that is, in itself, a miracle, a road started just over a year ago ... it seems like yesterday and then again it seems like ages ago.  I wrote my donor a note not too long ago with an ever-grateful heart of thanks.  He gave me back my life.  Thanks seems like such an insigficant word for such a  generous and loving gift.  

Next,  the bone marrow biopsy I had in January also showed that I continue to be in remission  ... the two gene mutations that started this whole thing off show up as "undetected" ... what a great word ...  I smile each time I see it or hear my medical team say all looks well and they are pleased at my blood counts.   Actually I do a little happy dance ... 

I was able to have my first Covid-19 vaccination in late January but have had to put off my second because of the steroids ... hopefully with with the taper, I'll have the second one by the end of this month. Jen and Jay have had theirs.  Just puts an added layer of protection on all of us. 

TODAY: Waiting out the ice storm ... Our street was so icy today, Jenny put on her ice skates and did some twirls.  The boys hooked up the puppies (now almost 4 months old) who acted as sled dogs and pulled them down the street.  Mush! Who needs Alaskan huskies when you can have border collie pups ...Yesterday Jay took his skis to the farm and skied from the top to the bottom and the boys sledded to their heart's delight. Since it's only 28 degrees, the chickens now have a layer of plastic covering what we call the "egg-cellent inn" so they don't freeze and the goats are safe in the barn ... still expecting babies in mid-March.

Each night I go to sleep listening to the choir or to hymns ... and feel such a sense of peace that it sometimes brings tears to my eyes.  Just last night Through It All sung by Pam Baker was the last song I heard before drifiting off and these words leaped out at me ... 

I thank God for the mountains, I truly I thank Him for the valleys, and I thank Him for every storm in life that I've through, for you know if I never had a problem, I surely wouldn't know how God could solve them, I wouldn't know what faith in God could do ... Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to put all of my trust in God. Through it all, through it all, I've learned to depend upon His word. 

Hope you are all well and safe. 

Love,

Melinda