On Monday, doctors were able to collect more than enough cells from Nolan for a transplant into Teddy. They actually gathered three times as much as needed, so we are storing the extra in case we need to attempt the transplant again or for future use.

Nolan is thriving and already back to jumping on the trampoline. A huge thank you to everyone who sent him gifts—he is officially a spoiled monster and thinks this is better than Christmas.

Teddy isn’t doing as well, which was expected. The transplant was the easy part for him. Now comes the hard part: between the chemo and the new cells, his body is a mess. He is on anti-rejection drugs, a constant pain drip, and tube feedings. They warned us this would happen, but seeing it is worse than I realized. His body will struggle for the next 12-18 days while the cells work towards engraftment. During this time, we will focus on managing his pain, keeping his nutrition up, and snuggling him as best we can. One of the nurses told me that while this is awful to watch, it is a good sign because it means it’s working. I’m holding onto that as we ride out the next couple of weeks.