2009, A Year in Review

I wasn't going to spend too much time reflecting on 2009, in so many ways I'd rather just be done with it. But I've enjoyed reading the "year in review" posts from so many of our friends and family that I decided to do one of our own.

January

*I discovered a clinical trial at Duke University where Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplants were being used to help slow the progression of SanFilippo syndrome*
*Mike spent a couple of weeks for military training and got to see Death Valley*

February

*I got lots of practice parenting 2 kids while Mike was away for more training in California*
*We received official word that Mike would be deploying to Afghanistan instead of Iraq*
*We had a phone conference with our pediatrician in Washington state and the doctor at Duke to learn more about the Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant and if it would be an option for Olivia*
*I resigned from my volunteer role with Gamma Phi Beta Sorority*
*My Mom flew up to Washington for a quick visit*


March

*We traveled to Duke so that we could learn more about Transplant and see if Olivia would be an ideal candidate*
*After prayerful consideration we decided that Olivia would ultimately benefit from transplant and began the process to obtain approval from our insurance company*


April

*Mike requested a compassionate reassignment to Ft. Bragg*
*We received our 1st and 2nd denial from the insurance company for Olivia's transplant*

May

*After a phone call with 2 of our Congressional representatives (Mike is a registered Colorado voter while I was a registered Washington voter) they petitioned our insurance company on our behalf*
*We received the news that the insurance company WOULD approve the transplant*
*Mike's reassignment was approved*
*We sold the Durango and traded in the Audi and bought a new car. I love the Acadia and I'm so glad we didn't have to drive both cars cross-country*

June

*We packed up to move and all of our belongings were put into storage*
*We said goodbye to our friends in Washington and started our drive from Washington to North Carolina*
*Olivia began her pre-transplant work-up*
*we soaked up every second of time we had together as a family*
*My parents flew to North Carolina for a quick visit and they took Peter to live with them while we prepared to move into the hospital with Olivia*

July

*We got to spend some time with Mike's brother and his family for the 4th of July weekend before he headed to Afghanistan*
*We celebrated Olivia's 3rd birthday with bowling*
*Olivia was admitted to the hospital, made it through chemotherapy, and had her transplant*
*Mike reported for duty at Ft. Bragg*
*We all missed Peter terribly*

August

*Olivia was in the hospital*
*Mike worked during the week and moved in with an old friend from Ft. Carson, CO*
*Mike came up to Durham on weekends*
*We all missed Peter terribly*

September

*Olivia was released from the hospital*
*My Mom and Peter came to Durham for a quick visit*
*My Mom loaned Mike her truck since we would now need two cars*
*My sister Amy, came to help for a month while we re-adjusted to live outside the hospital*
*We learned that our insurance wouldn't cover any of our living expenses post-transplant*
*We missed Peter terribly*

October

*My mom's truck was stolen from the driveway of the house where he was living in Fayettville*
*The truck was found with minimal damage*
*My parents came to Durham for a quick visit*
*We were reunited as a family, Peter came home*
*Mike began house hunting in Fayettville*
*Mike flew to New Orleans to drive with his mom back to North Carolina*
*Olivia and Peter were Thing 1 and Thing 2 and the Duke PBMT Halloween Party*

November

*We found a great, SAFE, place to live near Ft. Bragg*
*Mike's Mom arrived to help us make the transition to Ft. Bragg*
*Mike and his mom moved into our new house near Ft. Bragg*
*We moved to Ft. Bragg for almost a week but Olivia got sick and we returned to Durham*
*Mike's brother came down from Washington DC for a quick visit*
*Mike's parents gifted us with their Explorer so we became a 2 car family again*
*Mike's Mom returned to New Orleans*
*We celebrated my birthday and Thanksgiving*

December

*We learned that Olivia had norovirus and we'd be in Durham for a couple more weeks*
*Peter took his first steps*
*We moved out of the Durham apartment and into our new house near Ft. Bragg*
*We celebrated Christmas as a family*


Now that I've typed all of that I still think that 2009 was a depressing year! I'm glad it's over but I'm also glad that I went through this little experience to remind me of how far we've come in such a short time! Here's to 2010 being a better year!