our new home.

Well, we are both here and all settled in.  Josh is staying in the University of Michigan's Motts Children's Hospital. I guess they had a feeling he is still a kid at heart! He is on the 7th floor and in room 7678. The staff on this floor has already been amazing. We get a thorough explanation of every medication and every procedure.

We are still working on making our room a home.   We each have a "closet" with a month's worth of clothes crammed in to fit.  Lucky for us, the hospital has a washer and dryer right here on this floor. There are game rooms, family areas, and a nutrition room with some snacks and drinks.  The freezer at the end is full of  ICE CREAM!  It's like someone knew I was coming!

Josh has an entertainment center set up with everything he can not live without.  He brought our flat screen TV, his XBOX 360, and his laptop.  We have DVD's, video games, books, magazines, and mind teasers.  I brought pictures of family and friends to decorate, but I have a ways to go.  My sister Jana made some posters will all of the inspirational notes and cards we have received.  At the top it says, "ALL TOGETHER: RELENTLESS".  The posters are hanging right in front of Joshua's bed.

Josh received his first ever treatment of chemotherapy this morning at 10:00am.  He will receive another round tomorrow, followed by 3 days of radiation. They call today "Day -5," which makes transplant day, "Day 0."  That is Friday, June 11th.

The doctor's say that Josh's side effects from the chemotherapy may take a couple days to show up, or they may show up right away.  They gave him quite a few preventative medications to help curb the side effects.  So far, so good.  He is up,  moving around... and of course, charming ALL of the nurses!

I am going to continue to use this blog for updates.  I quickly realized how much time I will have on my hands here.... so check back frequently!

Mailing address:
F7689 CS Mott Children's Hospital
1500 E Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0246

Phone number to Room 7678:
734-763-7432

Important Notes:
Josh can not have any flowers, fresh or dried in the room.  He can not have fresh fruits and veggies, fountain soda pop, raw/ un-roasted nuts or anything unpasteurized.  He will be on a very strict, high protein diet for the next several months.  Also, we have enough candy to literally last us a year!

If Josh is feeling up to visitors, you are welcome to visit.  Please call ahead to check in or shoot either of us a quick email.  If you or anyone you have been in contact with has been sick, please keep in touch via phone or internet.