Friday evening, Sam got to drive his car for the first time since transplant *and* he got to drive it to his BFF’s house to watch the NBA finals game (he even went out to see if his car still started at 4:15 pm before heading out at 5:15 pm 🤯).

Now this may not seem like a big deal for most teens, but for Sam, this represented the first time he got to go into any building that wasn’t our house, the clinic, or the hospital. What a great set of moments worth celebrating.

No photos were taken save that of his meal: he blended his cooking skills with a new protein: bison!  And even eating a meal at another home isn’t the usual: he still has to be super careful that everything is cooked thoroughly and have the Stem Cell Diet rules (and there are many!) front of mind. He was in great company and hands with Alec’s family and Earl the cat (I love that name! But even being around another house pet is potentially problematic post transplant 😬).  So much to think about — we’re looking forward to the day when the rules relax a bit but until then, we celebrate these baby steps, these glimpses of teenage carefree summer days that Sam deserves to have.

Also, the bigger milestone in Sam’s mind: he started tapering the %#$$ing steroids today (Friday though I’m writing this on Saturday) . Let’s go!

#FULeukemia

#LFGStemCells

#TeamSamStrong