Hello everyone!
Its a big day! I will tell you more about it later in this blog!
We have been really busy the last month with all of the projects Laura is finishing up around the house while planning Haydens big number 2 and taking care of me! I need a nap just thinking about it - LOL!
On August 4th, Hayden
turned 2! It is so crazy how big he is getting. For me, it seems like
just yesterday that he was born. Last year Laura had a small 1st birthday party for
him, but had planned to have a bigger party once I got out of the
hospital and it ended up not happening because I was in the hospital so
long. So as many of you can imagine Laura wanted to go BIG for this party! And it was, a learning experience that is! This was our first kids party that we have ever thrown.
Just after his party, I
found out that my counts were dropping. I was advised that I needed to
be even more careful again. It also looked like I was getting a rash
again. The last time it took a few months to get it to go away. This can
be caused by too much time in the sun. The funny thing is that they
treat this rash with UV light. Weird huh? At my next appointment, they
said that it was not a GVHD rash. What a relief!!
OK, onto why today is a
special day! Two years ago today, August 19 at 8:35AM MT, I received my
first stem cell transplant. It was such a scary time for me, but such a blessing at the same time. We refer to it as "my second birthday", but I call it my Wagner Birthday. We are going to have a birthday party tonight to celebrate!
On another very special note, last week, I received a letter from my first donor. Going into this all we knew is that he was a 21 year old male, who lived internationally, and was a 10/10 match for me.
The letter was addressed to “My DNA Twin”. I thought that was so cool. Its hard to believe it, but yes we all have a twin out there and this was mine. He
does not know that I have had a second transplant because his DNA was
too close to mine and so the transplant did not fully work. I wonder how
much he looks like me? It would be so great to get to meet him someday. We believe he lives in Germany, or nearby, but we are only speculating. He is now 23 years old and from what we can tell, like music. He signed up to be a donor at a music festival. (If you ever see a booth called "be the match", you should inquire - you may save a life!)
He said donating to me "changed his life" - for me too! He wrote, "When I first got the
packet in the mail explaining I was a match for somebody I freaked out
with excitement. It literally changed my life. I am so glad I was able
to do this for you, because it feels like it was for me as well. I was
begging to be somebody. Tired of being the average Joe at work, and even
though technically I still am, I know that I have someone out there
that has the same DNA as me, that needed help. That is the greatest gift
I have ever received, that can never be outdone by any sort of present
on Christmas. So thank you for letting me do this, and thank you for
literally having me part of your life."
This last fall, he was
asked to donate some more stem cells again, so that I could have a "boost" and fight of the Leukemia that had come back.
Without question he donated again. He saved my life twice. It is amazing
what he did to save my life. He does not know that I had to get a
second transplant from a new donor. In a way I hate to tell him, but on the other hand,
he helped me to get well enough to receive the second transplant. He will always be a major part of my journey.
Lastly, many of you sent
me information about insurance. Thanks so much for advice and
information. I have decided to switch over to Cover Colorado for the two
month interim until I start receiving medicare benefits. I really appreciate the kind hearts and caring nature that all of you have shown me through this!
I hope you all are doing well, and thanks for reading my blog.
Laura is working on creating a new website for Jons Fight, so that it is more interactive and all in one place. We will still have the facebook page - and we are hoping that will talk to each other!
-Jon