[Mud Packer]

Andrew just came out of surgery this morning during which they inserted a femoral line which will be used to draw out the stem cells. Later today they will start the process of harvesting the stem cells for future use.

They are hopeful that later on this week they can do another surgery to insert the Ommya Reservoir in the brain that will allow the chemo to be inserted directly rather than through a Lumbar puncture each time. With the lumbar puncture, he needs to be put out each time they do this, so this would be the best way to have the chemo implemented.

Andrew has been home some lately enjoying the nice weather and playing outside on his swing set. They did a sleep study on him last week and found that he didn't have sleep apnea. This was good news but they decided that he needed to have oxygen to help his breathing. Also, his blood count was excellent when they checked it on Sunday so a little bit of good news there as well.

The pace will quicken here very shortly as the next round of chemo is due to start next week. Thanks again for all of the prayers and well wishes. Your notes of inspiration are having a very positive effect and we can feel it.

PS: I can add some additional information this evening as well. The initial stem cell harvest is complete and Andrew slept through most of it. They were hoping for 8 million stem cells and they collected 124 MILLION! That is enough for 8 cycles of chemo. They are also dismissing them to go home so he can continue to rest there. If all goes well the rest of the week, they will be doing the surgery to insert the Ommya Reservoir on Friday. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers.

[ronmil]

Mike,

Good to hear the positive report!

[Gregg]

Glad to here of the good news, Mike. We will continue to send our thoughts and prayers your way.


Mary and Gregg

[Dwight Clock]

Good news, Mike! Keep it coming!:thumb:

[Flatrightrear]

Great news, Mike! I'll keep praying for the little guy. Tom

[racegal]

Thank you for the update! I have been wondering how things were going! I am keeping him and you all in my prayers!

[Danny Burton]

Mike, it was good to see you Sunday at Winchester. I was quite a bit surprised, but it was still a treat.

And glad to hear that the little guy is doing decently.

I think of both him and Drake quite often. Their families too.

[Mud Packer]

Originally Posted by Danny Burton Mike, it was good to see you Sunday at Winchester. I was quite a bit surprised, but it was still a treat. And glad to hear that the little guy is doing decently. I think of both him and Drake quite often. Their families too.

Danny,

I was quite surprised to see you as well. With a weekend "off", I needed to see a race and since all of the open wheel races were finished the Winchester 400 was a no brainer. I will probably be asked to leave the board when they read this, but I still enjoy ALL types of racing and attend whenever I can. Thanks again for the wonderful article about Andrew and Drake. I also think of Drake everyday and include him and the whole family in my prayers. Hope to see you down the road.

Mike