Update from Brandy - Day 17 of Transplant

I know that I love hearing about people's visits with Christine, so I thought I would write about mine.

A few of us went to see her yesterday (day 17 of the transplant) and she looked beautiful and seemed to have more energy than I expected she would.

Her room was by far the most decorated out of all of them - butterflies everywhere. In fact, I didn't even see any decorations on any others. She said that her appetite is very limited and that she will sometimes have a few bites of applesauce and feel full. That night, her mom was going to make her noodles in a kitchen at the City of Hope and she figured that she would only be able to eat a few spoonfuls.

She told me that to get a "change of scenery" she slept with her head at the opposite end of the bed the night before! We didn't really get any updates on the progress of the grafting, but we did find out that it needs to happen by day 21, which made us hopeful because we were all under the impression that the window had passed already. I know it's only a few more days, but every second counts.

Like everyone has said, it's a great idea to call before you go. It seems like the best way is to dial the main City of Hope number and ask the operator for Christine Pechera's nurses station and talk to them. Also, I recommend having a dance routine prepared as Christine did request some of my signature Michael Jackson dance moves and I basically folded under the pressure.

Brandy