Cristy in Istanbul
One of Our Own Fund for Cristy
Supporting those with life-threatening diseases, big bills, and nowhere else to turn
Cristy and Liz are now in Istanbul, and Cristy has had the transplant, but we are reminded daily that we still don't have sufficient funding to cover all of their expenses--including medical, housing, and travel costs. Fund raising must continue, even if we manage to get a loan to cover these costs. That loan will need to be repaid, so we still need everything you can do to spread the word and help us raise funds.

Follow her progress on Liz's blog, "From Here to Istanbul."

New YouTube video, Keeping Cristy: Part 2

Trip Slide Show: Updated pictures from Istanbul.

Liz, Cristy, and Woot at Buckingham Palace before traveling on to Istanbul.February 28, 2011: Cristy in the hospital's hotel after arriving at Anadolu. She's checking email and Facebook.Nurse Gulhan inserted the IV for Cristy's first infusion. Initial infusion set to last 36 hours designed to stimulate the production of stem-cells she needs to complete the treatment.Nurse Mike's English wasn't particularly good--he needed some translation to get a good laugh from Cristy.Once Cristy knew her hair would quickly fall out, she summoned a barber to get rid of her curly locks without waiting.And here she is--bald, but not as bald as she will be when the stubble, the eyebrows and all other body hair is gone.
The chemotherapy results in Cristy sleeping for hours.The cat is standing in for Cristy here.Macdonalds, Popeye's, Sbarro, and KFC at the Gebze Center.Lexi shows ho Cristy spends a lot of her time. Thanks, Dad and Joy!Withdrawing blood for the stem cell harvest.Cristy's mohawk Cristy with Lexi's girl, NatashaCristy enjoys a seafood dinner on the eve of the transplant.Liz had the sea bass. The maitre d' brought Turkish and US flags to the table to welcome them. The chemo/transplant port in Cristy's jugular vein.No Big Macs from now on!Because of a reaction to one of the meds, Cristy needed oxygen.A little nerf basketball provides a distraction.Cristy's treasure chest of stem cellsThe transplant team: the microbiologist, the nurse. and Dr. Gulbas.This nurse had the honor of hanging the bag for the transfusion.The stem cells are the dark spots in the bag.Nine hours in and counting.Thirty-two hours later.Happy but still lacking energy.Getting a blood transfusion to jump start her system.Walking the halls is a regular part of the regimen.. . . and walking . . .. . . and walking.Rough weekend, feeling badNot very appetizing . . .Getting nourishment via an IVNeed to get those leukocytes behavingDr Gulbas's initials on Cristy's headMessages from homeMeow. Dammit--Cat PMS on the card. Stuffed panther and Woot.Yippee! Stem cells are doing their thing. Engraftment successful!The No Visitors sign comes DOWN!Daily injections leave their mark.OUCH!Dr. Gulbas, our heroGotta pay a bribe to get UPS delivery! Don't think so!All those little platelet bunnies are really busy reproducing!! Ready to remove the catheter from the jugularReady  . . .Set . . . . . .GO!It's coming . . .Still coming . . .Out! Looks like a vampire bite.Free at last!Yippee Yi Yay!!!Yippee Yi- Yo!!!That ol' catheter had to go Pulled it  outGonna dance and shout!Cath scars looking betterDr Gulbas (right) and visiting Iraqui doctorsBidding goodbye to one of the nursesWearing a mask is required nowPacked and waitingPicking hairs out while waiting to leaveand waitingand finally leving the isolation unitAnother reason to do the happy danceHome cooking!Reading cooking directions in TurkishKeeping up with the Eagles--didn't they sing "I'm a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona"?Time to shave it againClean and shiny once moreKeeping close to our spiritual needsand keeping it all in perspectiveGOIN' HOME!WE'RE GOIN' HOMEHOME...BACK TO HAWAIIHOMELOVIN' IThome . . .Dr. Gulbas explains aftercare requirements.Even Woot gets instructions.An interview and videotaping were also part of the discharge process.Telling her storyLots of pictures for the recordAloha pumehana and mahalo nui loa, Dr Gűlbaş Going HOME!
Copyright 2010 One of Our Own Fund
Trip SlideShow: Click where you want to start.
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It’s finally happening. Cristy and Liz are going home. Cristy’s blood test results . . .  were stellar – better than they’ve been at any time in her life. The doctor gives her a success prognosis of 90-95%.  This is great news – obviously!
Someone very close to Cristy . . . offered a loan so that the entire hospital bill would be covered.  We got the final bill this week and it amounted to about $30K. Because of the generosity of this wonderful person, all the costs can be covered.
WOO-
HOO!
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