Project Naegle

Friday, August 31, 2012

Recent Videos

In the vein of the last post, here are some recent videos:

Recent Photos

I've been very lax about blogging - three kids does keep us very busy.

Here are some recent photos:

Evan

Alex

Domino and Davis

Alex and Evan in yet another toy battle

Alex

Evan

Davis at a playground nearby

Davis on his new bike

Davis, Kristen, Alex, Grammie and Evan (and some goats) at the Zoo

Alex and Davis

Our three boys

Evan

Evan and Alex

Davis at the Botanical Gardens

Three boys

Davis and Alex

Davis at Kirkwood Pool

10 years!

Today is our 10 year anniversary! We've come a long ways!

I made a video compilation of pictures from the last 10 years as a gift to Kristen (and myself). Its 30 minutes long:

Looking forward to the next 10 years (and beyond)!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

I received an e-mail yesterday letting me know that I was one of only 1% of people who sign up as a bone marrow donor that are matched. I have the amazing honor of potentially helping someone with leukemia. In a short time I've learned a lot about the donation process. I'll try and keep you posted as the process continues, but here's what will likely happen.

Today I filled out a health questionnaire, talked with my donation coordinator and was scheduled for a blood draw.
On Monday I will go to a local lab for a blood draw, which will be used to confirm a tissue match and screen for infectious diseases.
Assuming I'm still a good match, we will wait to hear from the physician of the receiving person to understand the timeline for the donation.
About 4 weeks before the donation I will have a physical including a chest x-ray, EKG, and a thorough screening with the physician who will perform the marrow draw.
Finally, donation!

I will donate marrow or stem cells in one of two ways. It turns out the method will depend mostly on the person's age. Older patients have a higher success rate with peripheral stem cells and younger patients do better with a marrow transplant. If I donate by peripheral stem cells than I will receive injections for 5 days, which will increase the number of stem cells in my blood. The day of donation I will be hooked up to a machine for about 6 to 8 hours where they will move blood out of one arm and back to the other with a collection of stem cells in between. If I donate marrow instead I will go in for an outpatient surgery where I'll be placed under general anesthesia and a small needle will be placed into the back of my pelvic bone. It seems with both procedures I can expect to have some soreness and fatigue and I've been told I can't lift anything heavier than 10lbs for a couple of weeks (which, if you aren't keeping track, definitely includes my very large babies).

I have a lot of interesting emotions. I can't believe I'm in a position to have such an important role in someone else's life. There are so many things that happen in this process and I only know a portion of what is happening on the other side. I know that the family has been told there is a match who is willing to donate. I also know they will have to undergo extensive chemo just before the donation and that they have to be healthy enough to start the process. I hope this happens now that it has started. If it doesn't it means I'm not a match and they have to start again or it means they are not healthy enough to proceed. Please keep them in your thoughts and hope for the best!

Davis' new bike

Last weekend we got Davis his first real bicycle. He is pretty excited about it, but it has been a challenge to get him out of the house and onto his bike. Earlier this week, I took him over to the high school parking lot to ride. I learned how important it is for kids his age to have lots of room to ride - he was very distracted as he rode: "Why is there a crack in the pavement? Where is he going? What is that car doing? Why is that stick there? Why are there lines on the pavement?"

Recent Videos

I've been taking lots of videos lately, and I've been posting them to YouTube every week or so. Here are a few recent ones. Many more here: http://www.youtube.com/user/johnnaegle.