The day finally arrived! On Friday, September 4th we took the first step in Keira’s gene therapy treatment!
After being admitted to the pediatric floor of the hospital they put in an IV (which needed to be taken out and redone the day after), took blood samples (which they do daily) and every 12 hours inject a medication that will prompt her stem cells to be released from the bone marrow and into the bloodstream.
On Monday morning, she will have surgery to place a central venous catheter followed by the leukapheresis procedure for collection of stem cells.
So far, she’s been handling the hospital stay great and gets over any pokes fairly quickly. The only thing that really holds her back is the IV on her foot and the bandage protecting it.
That aside, she’s having no trouble keeping me up at night.
One thing I came prepared for (for her anyway) was bringing food from home (bananas, avocados and berries). I’d heard stories from other gene therapy families about the difficulty of them understanding that a baby this age eats normal foods (in addition to formula) and not pureed or processed foods. I’ve also heard the food at the hospital is just plain bad. They were right.
I’ve told them multiple times about her diet and they still bring the pureed, processed and soupy foods. For me, here’s an example…
I don’t know what this was but it smelled , and tasted, like black licorice. 😝 
Better this time…chicken thighs (I think), steamed cut carrots and not the best risotto. 
This time I asked for pasta al pomodoro (spaghetti basically) for dinner and got an egg frittata with green beans and soup. 🤔 
This morning I was served tea in a bowl. 😳 With biscuits. This is also the only thing they offer children for breakfast.
Food aside, the rest of our stay so far has gone well and the staff is amazing.
To say we are excited about this treatment and the life it will allow for Keira (and all of us) is an understatement.
What’s next? After this, we go home – to our new apartment instead of the hotel we were staying at – for a few weeks before Keira is admitted to the hospital for 40-60 days for the remainder of the treatment. That will include chemotherapy, the gene therapy itself (administration of corrected cells), followed by ongoing bloodwork, scans and other tests to ensure her body is safely accepting treatments and all levels are returning to normal.
Thank you everyone for the outpouring of love and support throughout this process. It means the world and we will continue to keep you updated on our journey! ❤
The Riley's Road to Italy 
I love reading about your progress – I know this is going to work and precious girl will be back to normal soon – praying for Momma to stay strong
Love you all❤️😘❤️
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I am so happy that there some smiles Lots of love G.G. Pa Dave
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Prayers and love being sent as I know this is hard on everyone but the outcome will be positive. Thanks for sharing your daily ventures and so happy you’ll move to your apartment next. God be with you all.
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We are so excited that its going so fast, to us it seems that way. Prayers continue for complete success. The food does seem a bit of a problem, but Mom’s always know what to do, your great Kendra! Thank you for these wonderful updates, love the pictures , Keira is precious and so proud of her, the journey is long, but she will do great all the way, we know its a struggle on the 4 of you, but how wonderful to have Karen and Mike helping, talk about precious, we love you all. Uncle Jim and Aunt Judy
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This is a great update Kendra! So glad things are progressing as they should. I don’t know if I could survive the food though!😂. Bring some more food supplies when you return for the longer stay. Looking forward to seeing your apartment. Hugs and prayers!
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So happy things are progressing well and sweet Kiera is such a trooper! All the strength in the world to U, sweet Kendra. Thank U for keeping us all updated…we’re thinking of U and sending nonstop love your way!
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