The weather outside is dreadful, again. It has rained or been dreary everyday since we have been here. We got good news from the hospital, though. We collected 970,000 stem cells yesterday so we are over half way at 2,690,000. We collected again today and if we got a good number like that, we will be well on our way to finishing this phase. Dr. Anderlini said we could go with anything over 4,000,000 with 5,000,000 being the optimum number. We were feeling much better than last night. My appointment is in the afternoon again tomorrow and that puts us back at the apartment quite late in the evening.

Some have asked about the machine that is collecting the stem cells. I ask questions everyday about what is going on and they are very cooperative in answering them. My catheter has two lines with two lumens it is a large line catheter to accommodate all that has to take place.

One line delivers the blood to the machine and a line feeding a saline solution is piggybacked onto this line. This prevents blood clots in my blood when it is in the machine. Then it enters the machine and a centrifuge about the size of a pie pan whirls the blood and the “parts” are separated then go to the various areas of collection. When the stem cells are collected and deposited into the proper bag, the blood is then returned to me with calcium added that through a piggyback on the returning line. The time I am on the machine is determined by my height and weight; I am on it for 3 hours.

M. D. Anderson can really be a happy place. That may sound odd because most think of it as a place of sadness, pain and fear. Everything is done to make it a pleasant place to be and the holidays are not forgotten. Today I had to have blood specimens, as always, and there was a waiting period until the collections were to begin. We went to the cafeteria for a bite of lunch and while we were sitting there, we heard a band playing; “When the Saints Go Marching In.” We had a front row seat for a wonderful Mardi Gras parade down the hall outside our window. To our delight, here came a parade of the children who are cancer patients at M. D. Anderson and could participate in a parade. Some were walking, some had a volunteer rolling their portable medicine transport, some in wheelchairs, some little ones in wagons and some wee ones in strollers. There were lots of smiles and the kids were having a wonderful time. Volunteers along the way had beads and would add them to their collections. The kids had masks, crowns, wands and all kinds of Mardi Gras costumes. It was a wonderful site but brings home how terrible this disease is for anyone but the children are the hardest to watch. It is so unfair for them and for their families.