It's been awhile since my last post, and that's because we have had good news. Today was the 4th anniversary of Theresa's stem cell transplant. So, her newly created immune system (from her brother's stem cells) is now 4 years old. Patients who go through the procedure refer to this day as a re-birthday, as it is the day that you are truly reborn and given a second chance at life.

Theresa asked that we not celebrate this year, and I honored her wishes by not bringing it up at all. In fact, I had to wait until she went to sleep tonight to type this journal entry. For her, she just wants to forget that chapter in her life. She doesn't want cancer to define who she is. For me, it's a trauma I just can't shake.

We look at pictures from hundreds of days in the hospital, and we barely recognize the kids and ourselves. With each day, it becomes more and more of a fuzzy bad dream. That's not to say we aren't grateful for all of you and all that you did. We have seen blood cancers take the lives of many people close to us, and we have no explanation as to why Theresa beat the odds and others didn't. So, today, we had a pretty normal day.

On the medical front, Theresa did have a recent visit with Dr. Tomlinson. Her bloodwork looks great, and her lungs are (slowly) recovering from the chemo damage. The best news of all: no more bone marrow biopsies!

Thanks, as always, for reading. Theresa's "other"/real/biological (choose whatever word you want) birthday is June 8, so feel free to wish her a happy birthday then. While she doesn't like to celebrate her re-birthday, she still loves to celebrate her actual birthday.

It's been years since they told her about it
The darkness her body possessed
And the scars are still there in the mirror
Everyday that she gets herself dressed
Though the pain is miles and miles behind her
And the fear is now a docile beast
If you ask her why she is still running
She'll tell you it makes her complete

And someday if they tell you about it
If the darkness knocks on your door
Remember her
Remember me
We will be running as we have before
Running for answers
Running for more

-Melissa Etheridge, "I Run for Life"