Tubthumping

There's a song by Chumbawamba called "Tubthumping" that goes:

I get knocked down,
but I get up again.
You're never going to keep me down.

We sing the songs that remind us of the good times.
We sing the songs that remind us of the better times.

There's a girl named Dawn on the East Coast that has CML and is 6 days post stem cell transplant. She's developed a condition called veno-occlusive disease (VOD) as a side effect of her transplant. This morning, Dawn experienced respiratory failure due to fluid in and around her lungs and around her heart. As of 8pm tonight, she's on a ventilator and in stable condition.

She was diagnosed in March of this year, 2 months before I was. It's amazing what different courses this disease can take. I've met people who have died from it, people who started taking Gleevec a few years ago and lead normal lives now, people who've been cured by transplants, and I've met Dawn, whose complications keep knocking her down. But she keeps flashing her mega-watt smile and getting back up.

It's the holiday season. She should be battling traffic, shopping malls, family meals, and anxiety over the perfect Christmas present for her boyfriend. Instead she's battling fluid filled lungs, morphine for pain, hospital food, and VOD.

Please join me in singing a song to remind her of the better times until she's there again. All my love goes out to her and her family in these trying times.