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February 25, 2014

Life is CRAZY!

There is no other way to describe our life right now that comically crazy. If you follow me on InstaGram this is all old news. But for those of you who don't, here is a snippet of our life over the past week.

Things are crazy because we move Wednesday. To temporary housing. Because we sold our house. And do not have a new house. More on that in another post. But we have movers coming Wednesday and officially close Thursday. It is extremely bitter sweet.

I'll start with some sweet! My amazing in-laws were in town last weekend and were so helpful! I had several hours at the house alone to pack. Not only are we packing to move but I am having to sort everything. What do we use on a daily basis? What can we go without for months until we find a house? Needless to say, it has been tedious work.

But I was able to step away from the packing last Monday and we loaded everyone up and headed to the Houston Zoo! Totally unprompted, Kate walked up to Will and said "Bubba, des are flamingos. Hold my hand. I'll lead you to dem. See dose gray ones? Dey are the babies. Dey'll be pink when dey eat more shrimp. Isn't dat cool? I saw dem when dey were eggs. You couldn't come den. But you can see dem now!"


And then my heart melted. And I cried. And I thanked the good Lord for every blessing He has shown our way. Two miracles. Healed. Living life. Perfection! (Side note: how grown does Kate look in her casual wear with her ponytail?)


Ok so back to crazy. A milk sippie got lost in my car. And then exploded. So my car smells like death. And we've been in it a lot as we run up to the apartment for this or that. Kate is not a fan and screams the first 15 minutes we are in the car about how nasty it smells and how she needs someone to hold her nose so she can take pictures or play on her iPad with both hands. Girlfriend is queen of the first world problem.


My kids are certain we don't need any furniture in the apartment. We were there Thursday (pre-flu - see next picture for details) to get the keys and they were in heaven. Too bad it is going to be filled to the brim come Wednesday. They are blurs b/c they were running so fast!


About an hour after we got back from the apartment, I started dying. Ok I'm being dramatic. But only slightly. I seriously was hit hard and fast and could not function by 5pm Thursday (2/20). I called Alex and begged him to come home early so I could make it to the RediClinic before they closed. I got there, they did a flu test, and sure enough, I was diagnosed with Influenza A. Before anyone asks, yes I got my flu shot. And before anyone tells me it is in effective, save your breath...or fingers...I will be getting the flu shot again next year. And all of the years after that. It isn't 100% effective. But I will always do anything in my power to avoid the misery I've been in since I came down with the flu. We all started Tamiflu in hopes of protecting Will and I am finally feeling a bit more human.

So I've mentioned we're moving. And packing. And then I got the flu. And had to wear a mask in order to contain my germs. Fever + sneezing + coughing + mask wearing is not fun. At all.


I was literally unable to do a single thing this entire weekend. Which meant Alex had to pack. And I witnessed this. No that is not garbage. That is my husband's packing method. Throw shit in a contractor bag. No joke. Unpacking should be loads of fun.


Thanks to the flu, this is the current state of my kitchen. Did I mention movers will be here in 36 hours? And that while Tamiflu has most likely lessened the impact, Will is now sick? Fever, snotty nose, fussy. Yep. Probably the flu. I have to bring him in this morning to evaluate him and I am just praying he is not admitted. Because I cannot imagine moving and closing while Will is in the hospital. Not to mention I would probably not be allowed on the BMT floor at all since I have the flu myself. It would just be insane to deal with.

So yes, life has been insane in the Boggan household. Packing, moving, flu, still searching for a house! Lots going on over here! 

All joking and dramatics aside, I'm so glad Alex was able to pick up my slack and that we are ready to make this move...and then do it again in the near future when we find our next house!

February 18, 2014

A Wonderful Will Update


How awesome does my sweet boy look (this was yesterday)? And yes - he is out in public WITHOUT A MASK ON HIS PRECIOUS FACE! And not just outside - he's at the zoo! Looking like a handsome 2 year old. Looking HEALTHY! I don't think anyone at the zoo would ever guess what he's been through. What a huge praise!

That picture shows y'all just how awesome Will is doing.

But playing catching up, here's what's been going on with our sweet boy!

About 9 weeks ago Will randomly got his PICC line removed. For those of you counting, he had some type of semi-permanent IV (PICC or Hickman central line) for 7 months! His lines remained in for so long post transplant due to his kidney issues and the fact that he was dependent on IV fluids. Well, his line was giving us trouble, not giving any blood return, clotting off often, etc. After a few weeks of issues, his doctors made the call to pull his line and see how his body did without fluids. Any foreign object in the body is a big risk for infection so it's always good to remove PICCs/ central lines if possible. We decided to pull the line and not put a new PICC in. If his kidneys started acting up, and he needed fluids again, we would have put one back in. But there was no need to surgically place a new line when we were testing his kidney capabilities and he wasn't IV dependent.

His kidneys did great. It took a few weeks for them to "catch up" after suddenly stopping IV fluids but, all that matters is they did catch up and they are still functioning normally! And will is still line free!

No lines is wonderful but also means Will has to be stuck every appointment for his blood draws. Thankfully he has always been a blood draw champ and doesn't even cry anymore! He even pulls his sleeves up and gives him arm to the nurse without hesitation! He may not be able to talk yet but he sure understands and comprehends everything that goes on around him!

Ever since the PICC removal, things have been relative uneventful! Will had one minor set back and spent about 12 hours in the ER one night due to fever. Thankfully he broke his fever on his own and tested negative for flu/ RSV. His immune system is coming back very strong (we stopped immune suppressants about 6 weeks ago) and it is amazing that he was able to fight off whatever was plaguing him on his own!

One major milestone was that Will was able to receive a flu shot 2 weeks ago! A bone marrow transplant completely knocks out any vaccinations and patients are typically don't start the re-vaccinated process until 1 year post BMT and aren't able to receive any live virus vaccinations (like the MMR) for 2+ years post transplant (Kate has still not been cleared for these). But, Will's IgG level and other immune system markers came back so strong that his BMT doctor went ahead with a flu shot! We are having an awful outbreak here in Houston and the flu would be a major hit to Will's new immune system so I'm very thankful he is relatively covered now!

Ten days after his flu shot we went back to the zoo for the first time! Since then we've done the zoo again as well as the butterfly garden at the Museum of Natural Science. Kate was completely amazed when we loaded the entire family up and went to do something all together. She kept saying "wait. Bubba comes wif us? He gets to come wif me? Oh bubs you will just love my zoo. I will show you all the animals! I so excited!" It was such a precious moment!

The latest development is that Will was just moved to monthly clinic visits! I just can't even wrap my head around this but am so thankful appointments are spreading out as we officially move to North Houston this week!

I will never, ever forget what my children have been through, and I will never stop be thankful for everyone who carried us through this journey. But it feels amazing to close the isolation doors and start experiencing normal motherhood for the first time ever!

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