Bone Marrow Registry

Turns out that none of Mom's siblings are a Bone Marrow match. (Well Crap!) So I have a task for each of you. Please (if you are able) go online to www.marrow.org and register to be on the National Bone Marrow Registry. It is completely FREE! They will mail a swab kit for you to use and return in order for them to map your BM.

See what an easy task! Now get to it!!

Bike MS: Best Dam Bike Ride

Brad, Myles & I (Team - Jolley Bikers)are all registered for the 2010 MS bike ride! Myles and I are going for 40 miles in 1 day, and Brad is going to try the 70 mile route. It isn't until June, so we thankfully have time to get ready physically.

This is an annual fundraising event for the Utah MS Society. Our team goal is to raise at least $3,000. So don't be surprised if we ask for a donation. Brad and I also have links for donating on our profile pages on Facebook. :)

So far our biking schedule is as follows:
Feb 27th - 30 miles in St. George
April 17th - 26.2 SLC (marathon route)
June 26-27 - 40 & 70 miles MS ride

Let us know if you hear of more rides we would be interested in. Also, let us know if you can join us for any of these rides. We would love the company!!

"The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle." -- Author Unknown

Calories

So I finally broke down and have started actually looking at my caloric intake. Jen (Brad's sister) sent me a great website to help me out www.livestrong.com They have nutritional information for about every dish that you can think of. So I will keep you posted on how this goes. All I can tell you after having a Dr. Pepper and a Red Bull today is that I take in WAY too much sugar!! But I am getting better about drinking water. :)

"More die in the United States of too much food than of too little." -- John Kenneth Galbraith

Hospital Update

Mom is now at LDS Hospital (room E811). She was transferred there because that is where all Bone Marrow Transplants are done for this area. Right now we are waiting to find out if one of her siblings has compatible BM that they could donate to her. That takes 14 days, so right now it is a waiting game.

The doctors believe that her CLL (leukemia) has morphed into a form of Anemia (forget the full name). She is receiving blood or platelets around the clock at this point. The hopes are that if she gets some healthy BM in her, it could spread and she could start producing blood again.

She isn't eating, so we are trying to get creative. Today I am taking vanilla wafers, as that is as bland a snack as I can think of. I am going to try apricot baby food as well, which she actually likes. So keep you fingers crossed that we can get her to eat something!! Or we might have to resort to protein shakes through a beer bong! :)

Mom does have her laptop with her. So be sure to email her or write her a quick note on FB. I know she would appreciate it.

"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness." - Honore de Balzac

Tuscon, AZ

We decided to go someplace warm for Christmas this year. So we flew to Tuscon on Christmas day. We stayed at one of our timeshare resorts and got in some much needed R&R. The weather was perfect. The scenery was gorgeous!! I have an all new appreciation for desert landscapes now. We sat on the balcony of our room and watched a variety of birds and jack rabbits forage for food, it was great.
We went to Tombstone for a true western experience. We both thought it was a bit corny, but it was still fun.

We went to the Arizona - Sonoma Desert Museum, referred to us by Aunt Nan. It was incredible!! There were every variety of cactus and dessert animal imaginable. Brad liked all the cactus's so much he even bought one to bring home! This place is a must-see if you are ever down in Tuscon.

In Tombstone there was a small petty zoo, where Brad fell in love with this donkey. He stood and talked, petted, and fed him for the longest time. Brad was very sad when I told him he could not bring his new friend home with us :)

We saw tons of cyclists out and about in Tuscon. So we decided that we would surely have to take a trip back down there, but drive so that we could take our bikes. With all the snow here, I am ready to jump in the car and head back down south today!!