Stem Cell Transplant on Day Zero (Sept. 15)

The donor was harvested in the morning. The bone marrow arrived at Harvard Medical Center in the middle of afternoon. The lab needed to process it and only retain stem cells. The Cherng family was so thrilled when a big full bag (475 ml) of stem cells arrived at the nursing station. The infusion began at 7:30 PM and finished at 10 PM. We surrounded Charley’s bed and prayed for healing miracle. Charley’s grandmother gave him a favorite gift: Nintend SD video game for celebrating the big event. Charley dreamed it for a while so that he held it as he fell asleep. No adverse events were observed. We watched the last drop of the precious stem cells dropping into his body. We are so thankful for having so many kind people who care about Charley and helped him to achieve this stage. Lastly, we bless the donor from the bottom of our hearts that she would have a sound sleep as well as a smooth recovery from operation. We told Charley that the precious bone marrow is the biggest gift he can get in his life. We hope Charley can have a chance to express his appreciation to the donor in person in the near future.