7/5/05 - TOMORROW IS HANNAH'S BIG DAY!!! We all are praying for you Hannah and hope that tomorrow goes well. Hannah has had a very EXHAUSTING WEEK!! She had a tough round of chemotherapy that has completely wiped out all of her own bone marrow and her immune system. Hannah had some adverse side effects from the chemo. Her heart rate and blood pressure were EXTREMELY HIGH at times and caused some concern. She also had not eaten for a few days and was vomitting & feverish. BUT ALL IS NOW WELL. Hannah finished her last dose of chemo late last night and today had a day of rest in preparation for tomorrows bone marrow transplant. Tomorrow morning Hannah will be moved to an isolation room where she will be monitored very closely. Tomorrow morning the bone marrow will be extracted from the donor (wherever in the world that is) and flown to Pearson International Airport. It will then be transported by ambulance or air ambulance depending on the timing to Sick Kids. Bone marrow only has a short life span once extracted and must get to Hannah A.S.A.P. Shortly after noon Hannah should be ready for the transplant. The fresh bone marrow will infuse into Hannah's body via her central line. The whole process could take up to several hours. During this time Hannah will be very closely monitored. Once the transfusion has taken place Hannah will have blood work done several times a day & may require multiple blood transfusions daily over the course of her recovery. She will be living SOLEY on donor blood as she will not be producing any of her own. It may take several days before they are able to determine whether the transplant was successful. Hannah will then have a bone marrow biopsy done to determine if the cells of the new bone marrow have taken or if any of the bad cells remain. HANNAH, WE LOVE YOU AND ONLY WISH THE BEST FOR YOU. You have been so brave & strong throughout all these months and tomorrow will be the FIRST DAY OF YOUR RECOVERY. It may be a long and exhausting time for you. And at times very scary. But remember that there are SO MANY people from all over the world praying for you and your safe recovery. Keep smiling and we will all smile with you. GOOD LUCK TOMORROW & GOD BLESS YOU!!