NOVEMBER 25

Gary finished all the test necessary for the screening process. His PET scan showed little improvement from the last one, which means there is still cancer in his nerves. As the doctor says, that is the purpose of the stem cell/bone marrow transplant.... to get rid of the remaining cancer. There is still no cancer in his bone marrow which is great. He passed the lung test with an A+, which the nurse said no one hardly ever does. My guess is... it is because he has spent so many years preaching.... but it may be due to the fact that he is younger than most going through this. The echocardiogram showed up something irregular with his heart, but the doctor seems to think that it could just be something with the way the test was done and is not too concerned. He is scheduling Gary to see a cardiologist sometime next week to be on the safe side. They will probably do a stress test. Gary will also have a second MRI of his head done next week because for the last several days, he has been experiencing significant pain behind his right eye. They want to make sure they are aware of anything and everything that is going on in his body before starting the transplant. I will be giving more information about the process Gary will go through for the transplant in the next few days for those that are interested. We may hear tomorrow if the insurance will be approving the transplant. Please pray with us that they will and there will be no delay. This is Gary's best chance of beating this aggressive Lymphoma.