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Hello All, Cajun Mike here with an update on Chris.

I'm happy to say that Chris is slowly making progress on his own. His white blood cell count is now in the normal range (around 8). The improvement began last Sunday, and has been steady. The red blood cells and the platelets are not yet quite as strong. For some reason, they seem to be lagging behind, but the hope is that they will follow the lead of the white blood cell count and begin improvement on their own. It's pretty much wait and see right now, but the hope is that his bone marrow will begin to function normally on its own without the need for a transplant. The doctors believe that Chris' bone marrow went "dormant" in a sense because of the shock to his system as a result of the severe liver problems before the transplant. Chris' mom & dad tell me that aplastic anemia is as rare or even more so than the rare type of hepatitis that claimed his liver.

I'm also happy to report that - if the need arises - a bone marrow match has been made, but as of yet there are no immediate plans to schedule a transplant. Of course, all of this news is as of this morning (3/14). Chris' aliments have been so unusual that doctors are not quite sure what to expect, but are "cautiously optimistic" (my words, not theirs).

Susan (Chris' mom) has been home for a few weeks tending to the rest of her family and the many friends and relatives that have been worried, joyful, distressed, etc. - and most of all SUPPORTIVE and HELPFUL beyond belief - over the last month and a half. The tremendous support network that has surrounded this family from the very beginning of this endeavor has been truly phenomenal. Once again the family would like to offer their heartfelt "Thanks" to everyone for their prayers, support, thoughts, kind words, encouragement, donations (of blood AND money), compassion, concern - the list goes on and on. The goodness of the human spirit is truly overwhelming.

That support network also includes all of you Freepers and the rest of the wonderful people that have done so much to help out in any way for this wonderful young couple and their families. Your wonderful prayers, comments, best wishes and offers of sincere thanks to Chris and Melany for their sacrifices have truly made a difference in all of our lives. I know that I will never forget the amazing acts of kindness that I was witness to in the short time that I was out there at the hospital. This ordeal has truly rekindled my faith in the goodness of the human spirit.

Susan will be back at Loma Linda in the middle of this week to continue to support Chris and Melany during the long road to recovery. Thanks again to everyone for their support, and I look forward to bringing you all some more good news in the future.

And I'll see to it myself that when Chris is well on his way to recovery and is willing and able, he'll sign on to this site to personally thank everyone for all that they've done.

Happy Easter to all of you!

Cajun Mike