Hi everyone!
This has been an amazing week. It started with Sunday, the day of the get-together that Stanford so graciously hosted. Six MMers and their families in one place for a social occasion is pretty fantastic. One of the "pioneer" surgery cases, Matthew Fong (from the MM.com home page video) was there, as well as Mark, Michael, Tara, Royce and Kota. (Poor Michelle missed the party, due to airline difficulties.) Dr. Steinberg arrived a bit late, as he had to do a surgery (imagine that!). Upon his arrival, he gazed around the room and quietly stated how gratifying it was to see everyone there. I guess you had to hear it, but it was such a humble statement, it just made a person want to cry. The party was lovely, and we are grateful for Stanford's involvement in getting everyone together. (And yes DJ, there will be pictures!!!!)
There were two new surgery patients this week. As Ron mentioned in a previous post, Trina's surgery on Tuesday went very well. I was able to see her in the ICU yesterday, and you wouldn't even know she had had surgery, she looked so good! She was in positive spirits, and was moved to a regular room later in the day. Kevin's surgery was yesterday. It was a long day for his sister Lori, but Dr. Steinberg emerged with good news ("he behaved himself!" ) a bit after 4:00 pm. I very much enjoyed spending time with both families, and look forward to getting to know them better.
One of the most awesome things about the week was the support from everyone. The Rowland and Layman families spent a huge amount of time with the surgery families. Remembering what surgery days were like from their own experience, they really went out of their way to help ease the burden for the new families. Michelle finished her testing on Tuesday, and chose to spend her birthday at the hospital with everyone yesterday. While Mark was in testing, Ron and Lisa spent every minute possible extending their support to the "newbies". It was wonderful . . . very much a "Pay It Forward" phenomenon. I am so proud to call all of you my friends!
Michelle and Mark are done with their follow-up tests and will soon be heading home to Virginia and New York. Trina and Kevin are on the road to recovery, and will both gear up for their second surgeries next week. There will be more updates, but I just had to put in my

about what I've seen this emotional week. Truly amazing . . . . . .
Hugs to my MM family,
Jill