****DAY 88****

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to write this update myself. I am so thankful to have so many people supporting me through this journey. Words can not express my appreciation. This has helped me to cope through this setback in my life. As you can imagine, being isolated for 100 days can be tough for anyone, but if you remember the way I coach, you can probably imagine how crazy I am going. I am on Day 88 so only 12 days left. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. They did a second bone marrow biopsy on me 2 weeks ago that showed that my bone marrow is 100% that of the donor and there are no leukemic blasts. Both are awesome signs. My blood counts are coming up as expected. My white counts are a bit lower but, my doctor said they should begin to come up daily. I can not wait to be back in the gym with all of you.

See you SOON!!!!
CFED

****DAY 58****
Over the Hump - Numbers are still very good! She's looking forward to getting back to the gym and seeing all the volleyball players and coaches. We all happen to believe that her positive attitude has done wonders for her recovery!

****DAY 50****
Hump Day - Her numbers are still right where they should be and she's feeling well. I can't even remember the last time she needed blood!! Engraftment has taken place as it should!! We're very thankful for everyone's well wishes, especially around the holidays. Happy New Year everyone!!

****DAY 29****
Numbers are still really strong! Thanks for all the support!

****DAY 18****
Christine's numbers were incredible today! Her hemoglobin, white blood cells, platelets!! It's amazing to watch her numbers go up all the time. She also finally got to spend time with her daughters last night for Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for.

****LUCKY DAY 13****
Christine has been sprung from the hospital!! Her counts are good and she sounds fabulous!! She wants to thank all of you for your prayers and support. She has the best army behind her! I'm so proud of my sister!! What a fighter!!!!

****DAY 5****
I havent had a chance to see her yet as my daughter has been sick but she sounds INCREDIBLE!! Her spirits are up and she's feeling well!! Thanks for all the prayers!

****UPDATE 11/10/09**** DAY ONE
Christine has her new cells, and a new birthday!! Last night she received her tranplant at around 9:30. The transplant went as planned and only took an hour.

This morning, she is feeling well and confident. Actually as her "usual" self, she is working!!

Thanks again for all your prayers. Please keep them coming. 99 more days to go!!


****UPDATE****
Some of you already know that Christine has found a bone marrow match from an anonymous donor. All we know is that he is a male and that he is a 10 out of 10 match!! This is as good as a sibling match!! They have set the transplant date for November 9th. Christine went in today to have some work up tests and she'll be going in at the end of October/beginning of November for some more chemo and two rounds of radiation. Please keep her in your prayers for a smooth recovery. We all know how strong she is and are very positive that she will beat this. Please keep this "angel" of a donor in your prayers as well. She thanks all of you for all your unwavering support and well wishes.


Christine's Story:
As most of you know, my oldest sister Christine was recently diagnosed with a rare disease called MDS, otherwise known as Myelodysplastic Syndrome. It's basically pre-leukemia. As there are no drugs to cure the disease, our hope is that a bone marrow transplant will "cure" it or put her into remission. Her treatment so far has been blood transfusions, (too numerous to count already...), chemo and eventually the bone marrow transplant. My other sister and I are not matches, but with everyone’s help, hopefully we can find a good match for her.

Myelodysplastic syndromes describes a group of bone marrow conditions that cause inadequate production of normal blood cells and have a risk of progressing to acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

In MDS, stem cells (cells in the bone marrow responsible for making blood cells) don't mature and either do not make enough blood cells or make defective cells. Immature stem cells eventually crowd out healthy stem cells. Once 20 percent of the cells in the bone marrow are immature cells (blast cells), the condition is no longer considered MDS and is instead called AML.

Those of you who know Christine, know her as a loving mother of two beautiful girls, Nikki and Kate. She is also a hall-of-fame volleyball alumni of Illinois State and a dedicated volleyball coach to Sports Performance.

Fundraising Information:

Bracelets/Donations:
We are still selling personalized livestrong bracelets, customized to remind us of the battle Christine is undertaking. If interested, please send your payment to:

Robyn Horn
547 Carriage Ridge Lane
Lemont, IL 60439

Cost is $5 each and we have men's and women's and children's sizes. Please include a note stating how many you would like of each size. Checks can be made payable to "Christine Federico MDS Fund".

Bone Marrow Testing:

For those of you who are still interested in joining the bone marrow registry to help others with this illness and other cancers, please click on the link below to get swabbed and registered.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts in joining the battle against MDS. With soldiers like you, we can help her beat this devastating disease.

http://join.marrow.org/4Christine

If you have any questions, please email me at robynhorn@hotmail.com