Today

It was a very long wait for everyone over the past year and a bit. We prayed that we would eventually go to Italy to take part in a gene therapy trial so that Parker could one day live a healthy and normal life. When we got the call a few months ago that we would could begin to plan for a trip to Italy for mid-March we were ecstatic.

Then when March came and it was time to leave we knew that we were on our way to something very big. Now, after two months of being in Italy, Parker is finally going to receive the cells that we know are going to give him a chance at what every little boy deserves. A life. He will be able to see his cousins, aunts and uncles. He will get to grow up having friends; he will go to school. One day he will be able to go to University, graduate and get a job where he can work with other people.

Right now, we watch out for Parker. We make sure that he is never around germs and that he is always healthy. We monitor where he plays and who comes near him. We have done this for some time now, and at sixteen months, Parker does not know the difference.

Now that today is here, and Parker is finally having his cells reinfused we can know in our hearts that everything that we have had to do for Parker to keep him healthy, he will not have to do for himself. The cells will find their place in his bone marrow. They will eventually grow with an advantage over his old cells and produce other cells that contain a working ADA gene. They will go out into his blood stream, produce adenosine deaminase and as a result the cells of his immune system will be free of the toxins that previously kept them from guarding his body. Yes, this will take some time, but it will happen. Parker will live a normal life eventually and we can watch him do it.

The reinfusion of cells happens today between 2p and 3p here in Italy. For those of you who want to wish Parker good luck or just want to let him know that you are proud of him, you may do so. From now until Parker's cells are reinfused I will open up the comments for people who would like to leave a word of encouragement. Don't be alarmed if you do not see your comment appear right away, I have comment moderation turned on.

UPDATE: Parker's cells have been reinfused. The number of cells that we were already very pleased with had increased significantly. Smart Cells they are!

Thank you very much for those of you that were able to add a comment this morning. I know that my wife will be very pleased to see them as will Parker one day. For those of you who were not able to post a comment, I know that your prayers and thoughts are with Parker.

Where do we go from here? We wait for the cells to take over his body. At least another four months in Italy, but we can do it doing that Parker now has cells to help him.