Today we celebrate Noel Dawes 1st Birthday… yes, he is now officially one year old… ( and getting all those childhood shots) his bone marrow / stem cell transplant that has brought him new life was one year ago today…

A year ago he had just gone through 4 days of very aggressive Chemotherapy to ‘kill’ his own bone marrow , the place in your body where all the blood cells and platelets are made, ready to receive the donated stem cells from a stranger… the past year has had difficult days, painful days described by the Doctors as like a ride on a roller coaster and a walk on a tight rope… But we thank God that Noel has made it through… still on the journey to full recovery but this evening we will go out for dinner, our first meal in a restaurant for over a year to our favorite place… The Pepper Mill Family Diner… for the Senior Special!

We are also grateful to everyone who has stood with us and walked alongside us… and of course to the young man who donated his cells to bring life to a stranger… we hope one day to know who he is and to thank him personally.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOEL. ♥