And So It Begins

Ashtyn is starting her 4th day of chemotherapy preparing her marrow for the bone marrow transplant on August 6th. I have been thinking about her continually while spending time in California with my parents, siblings, Morgan, and Ethan. Tuesday morning Jason took her to the hospital to start chemotherapy. At 8:20 a.m. I received a phone call from Ashtyn who was happy to tell me she liked her hospital room. We have stayed at Seattle Children’s Hospital enough to know what rooms have the best view. She got her favorite which is a straight view of Husky Stadium and the Space Needle. The room also has working colored rope lights that are super cool at night. It’s the little things that make a difference. By Day 3 nausea, pounding headaches, neck pain, and an aching back have already set in from the chemotherapy. Things will get more and more rough for the next several weeks before getting better. Ashtyn truly is the strong, optimistic fighter I portray her to be. She is courageous and completely determined to survive this transplant. Regardless of nausea, she eats when she can. While feeling lousy, she still gets out of bed and walks around the cancer floor three times a day. Her dad texted, “For someone who has already had to go through a transplant two times and who knows how hard it is, I am impressed with how Ashtyn pushes forward and looks to her future cancer-free life.  She isn’t letting any of this drag her down and is dealing with things in a way that is much better than would be expected.” At the same time she officially qualified to move forward with her 3rd BMT, gofundme.com/ashtynsarmy was started. Both have given her light at the end of the tunnel. The BMT gives her hope that she’ll be able to go home in November and live a cancer-free life. The fundraiser gives her a vision to look forward to. She is starting to picture herself doing humanitarian travels where she can use all her experiences and pay it forward. Her dream is to serve people around the world. My dream is that she will have opportunities that far exceed the countless high school experiences she missed out on. We are dreaming big.