Gary and I had a great night out at the Carrie Underwood concert.  By the time we got home Casey was in his pajamas and in bed.  If you ever need a babysitter, I will definitely recommend Kyle Salyards.  Kyle has been a really good friend to Casey ever since they were 10 years old and started swimming together.  Kyle is a year older than Casey, so Casey did have to endure some of the traditional boy rituals handed down from older swimmers.  It was his rite of passage.  Kyle delayed his entrance to the University of Georgia because he earned a spot on the Olympic team.  In 2000 Kyle had the fastest 200 breaststroke in the United States at the Olympic Trials (I always take credit for cooking him dinner before the race, so I'm sure that is what did it).  That was a night none of us will ever forget.  Casey and Kyle both graduated from college at the same time and came back to Lancaster.
Casey had a good check-up today at the Cancer Center.  He has gone 2 days without being transfused with red blood or platelets.  I didn't remember a day that happening before, but Casey told me there was one day that he didn't have to be transfused.  His counts came down, so I'm guessing the streak will end tomorrow, but I will happily take the 2 days in a row.  The staff at Hershey refer to his new cells as his baby girls.  They assure us the baby girls need time to grow.  If you know anyone who is pregnant, please encourage them to look into donating the umbilical cord blood.  Please see www.marrow.org for more information.  You do need to have a couple of months advance notice for the collection process.  It doesn't cost anything and can save somebody's life.
Today I told Casey, he has gotten such an education over the past 4 years.  I hope someday he will be able to use that knowledge to do something good.
Peggy