The test that Ava has done each week to look at her T-cells is called a T-cell engraftment, or a T-cell Chimerism. The word Chimera (chi~me~ra), according to greek mythology, means a fire breathing she-monster. A monster represented as a composite of a lion, goat, and serpent.
In medicine, the word Chimera means an organism, organ, or part consisting of two or more tissues of different genetic composition, produced as a result of organ transplant, grafting, or genetic engineering.

my "she-monster"

Now, I will give you a minute to guess which one describes Ava...those of you who guessed a monster are pretty close, but thats not the right answer.
Last Friday we learned that the make-up of Ava's lymphocyte count was concerning, it showed 80% of Ava's cells and only 20% of Audrey's.  To achieve full engraftment it is critical that all the cell lines are made up predominantly of Audrey's DNA.  Last Friday we were under the impression that if we don't see the % improve, that we'll likely need another DLI.  However, after meeting with Dr. Chen this past Monday we were relieved a bit.  He suggested to us that it is possible for Ava and Audrey's lymphocytes to coexist providing the following things remain in place:
1.  NO signs of GVHD
2.  That even while the actual lymphocyte count remains disproportionately high in favor of Ava, that all her other cell lines remain almost 100% Audrey (because as of now, these other cell lines are at 100%).
Dr. Chen wants to see the results of this weeks test and next weeks before making any decisions.
So... we do have some hope.
On another note, this past weekend was Audrey's birthday. She turned 5 on Sunday! She stayed at the apartment with me on Sat night so Drew could take the boys to a movie. Ava got to have a short visit with everyone.

 Birthday eggs!!

Audrey celebrated on Sunday with her friends and had a great day. Ava stayed at the apartment with Nana and Goompa...she was a very good girl for them.
Here is Ava's cake from her birthday...

And here is Ava eating it...

Besides her appointment and the girl's birthdays, there's not much else to report. I will check in on Friday after we get the results of the test. Fingers crossed!!!