Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Moving forward

We know that everyone is waiting anxiously to know whether Amaey has found a donor match, we just got final confirmation that they have found a match for Amaey and they will be going ahead with an unrelated donor instead of Apurva or myself. The donor is a young male from the US, that is all the info they can share with us. After a year if the donor initiates it we can meet but until then it will be a secret to us.

We are really thankful to everyone for helping with the donor drives and adding to the pool of donors. We would really like to thank Davina, Maureen, Helen, Purvi-Samir and Renu-Sunil for helping with the drives. I know there were many people involved and all the names are not coming to me at the moment. A special thank you to Ezra for sending Amaey a video a day. These videos mean a lot to us, for Amaey he does not understand what the fuss is about and we do not plan to explain.

We cannot thank Magda enough, thanks to her all the drives were expedited and who knows, Amaey's donor might be from one of those drives. We really cannot thank everyone enough. Without disturbing us and respecting eveeything we were going through, our friends took on this momentous task and spent several days and weeks in putting all the drives together.

Thank you to everyone for calling and stopping by and reaching out to us in several ways. We are going to get really busy now. I know we have not been talking and sharing a lot but let me be honest, it is really hard to do so. Over the past 2 months since Amaey relapsed, we have gone through an eternity of information and many life changing decisions, these are very hard to express and very hard to talk over the phone or skype. We are so tired sometimes that having a conversation or explaing what is going on feels like a chore.

If everything goes as planned, he will be admitted to the hospital on July 11 and will undergo his transplant on the 18th. He will have 4 days of radiation then 2 days of chemo and 1 day of rest followed by transplant.

The path ahead is long, hard, complicated, and full of risks but this is Amaey's only chance. This is the chance for a second life, for a fresh start. We don't know what lays ahead but we do know that we will never forget where we are coming from. It's been 6 years since Amaey was first diagnosed and he has been through many rounds of chemo, transfusions, procedures, and ICU visits.

The BMT journey is new and unlike anything he has gone through, we know he is a tough child and a fighter. We will be with him all the way, all the time and we will be waiting for him at the end of the tunnel and we pray that he will make it through.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Purvi,
I used to work for A3M and heard about Amaey via the Cure Sonia campaign and have been following his progress ever since.

I started crying when I found out that Amaey found a bone marrow donor. He seems like such a special boy and deserves every chance at life.

Godspeed and God Bless you.

Purvi Shah said...

Thank you for your well wishes. Yes, Amaey wll make it through. He has to, he has a lot to offer to this world. Really appreciate your note. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Pruvi, SO glad Amaey found a matching donor.
All your strength and Amaey's courage cannot be explained in words. We will pray hard for his recovery.

-Radhika

Mary Claire said...

WooHoo!!!! This is incredible!
Yesterday Raffi, Gabe and I watched the awesome power of the waves at Half Moon Bay. We equated this awesome power to yours Amaey. Amaey, you have Some Awesome Power!!!!! We are so excited for you. We know it will be tough. We also know you have the inner strength to do it.

We Love You...Surf the wave, and we will send you strength while on your ride with our prayers...you will push through this. We will also send prayers of gratitude to your donor.
You can do it Amaey!!!!!!!
MC, Raffi and Gabe

Anonymous said...

I have no words to tell you how happy I am that you found a match for Amaey. My thoughts and love are with you constantly.

Marcela

Anonymous said...

Dear Purvi,

I have come to know about Amaey through Sanjana's campaign and have tried to occassianally get the status through your blog. I'm a mother of two and I can't even comprehend the amazing strength and stability that you have to provide to your little ones through a thing like this. Blessed are you as a mom and blessed is Amaey to have a pillar of strength in the form of his family. I have already registered my entire family/friends as donors. We have your family in our prayers always and wish health and harmony headed your way for eternity and beyond.

renata said...

Thank you so much for taking the time and the effort to share the news! As always, thinking of you and sending my best vibes. :)

nishrin said...

Dear Purvi,
I sometimes don't know how to talk to you and ask about Amaey's progress, but I try and follow his progress on your blog.
We are all praying for his recovery and all of you are in our thoughts.