First I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there today. I know I have a ton to be thankful for this year. I have a roof over my head. (Multiple actually, My parents house has some of my things at it yet, Mary and Brian’s house as some of my things at it yet, mine and Eric’s house as some of our things at it, Jason’s house as some of our things at it, and Froedtert has some of our things at it) I have food to eat, I have a job, I have an amazing family, and amazing friends, and most of all, I’m thankful for Eric. Most people have told me that their sorry that we’re spending Thanksgiving in the hospital. At first I have to admit I was pretty bummed, but the more I think about it, the more I am even Thankful we’re spending Thanksgiving in the hospital. I know most of you are sitting there thinking, “Did she really just say that? She’s THANKFUL THEY’RE IN THE HOSPITAL?!?!” and yes. Yes I did.
June 5th, 2009 Eric was told he only had Two months(ish). It was his mom’s birthday. We had just started dating. We were all under the impression that Eric wouldn’t be around much longer. Eric started jumping out of planes, taking trips to Vegas, and crossing things off his bucket list. This is why I’m thankful that he’s here, in the hospital on Thanksgiving with us today. I didn’t think I’d be “Mrs. Eric McLean,” Let alone have our first thanksgiving as a married couple, or even just Thanksgiving 2011 with him.
I know Eric’s talked about how he can’t wait to mow his own lawn, shovel his own snow, and do things that most people complain about doing. I can’t agree more. I’ve made the comments to his mom before about how I can’t wait to be a “real wife.” Eric and I haven’t really had the chance to live together since we got married. Given our situation, we had to move back in with our parents. That means mom’s did laundry, cleaned up after us, made us meals, and did all the motherly things. We’re beyond thankful for all of those things, but I can’t wait to do all those things, as Eric’s wife, when I get to bust him out of the hospital.
I’m thankful for everyone out there who has lent a helping hand in the past couple months when we’ve needed it, and all of the thoughts, prayers, and positive vibes coming our way. I’m thankful for the staff at Froedtert who has kept Eric alive this whole time. I am beyond grateful for the donor who just donated to Eric to hopefully rid him of this awful disease once and for all.
On a different note, I’m thankful that I just got back from showering and Eric gave me the news that a doctor had come in and told him his counts were coming up, and the doctors were taking that as a sign that we have a graft. That’s good. That means that the donor’s cells are working. We met a lady once who didn’t get a graft and her bone marrow never grew. She had to come back to the hospital every couple days for blood transfusions. This is something we were worried about with Eric. What if he didn’t get a graft? Thinking about having to come to the hospital every couple days wasn’t something we wanted to do. But since his counts are coming up, this is a good sign! We won’t know for sure until a bone marrow biopsy is done, but the blood counts coming up is definitely a positive sign that we have a graft!
I want to once again say Happy Thanksgiving, and hope that you guys are enjoying your time, and that you remember you should be thankful for your situation no matter where you are, whether it’s around the dining room table, going into work, at the hospital, or eating around the TV watching the Packers kick some butt! (Or the Cowboys, Lions, 49ers, Dolphin’s or the Raven’s…but let’s be honest…you should all be cheering for the Pack) You never know what the future holds, and you should be Thankful for every little thing you have.