Dave received this card and gift from Peanut (you know he gives everyone a special name) and the card could not have been more perfect. Sweetness. Strength. Doesn’t crumble. Fighter. Lots of friends. This is a recipe for “One tough cookie.” He is all of this 10-fold, but is really focusing on No. 3 – a fighter who’s too busy kicking butt to look back now. He’s going all out and determined to win this battle, one day at a time. He is one tough cookie. 

March 18 will mark the start date of the next part of our journey to beat ALL. We will leave for Seattle today and hope to rest on Sunday. After selling his mom’s house and moving her into assisted living this week, we are exhausted. Next week’s schedule is packed with consultations, testing and another bone marrow biopsy to confirm that active cancer is still evident. If so, the cell collection will take place March 25. The cells will be shipped to Kite Pharma and will be engineered into CAR T-Cells. Two to three weeks later, the CAR T-Cells will be infused and Dave will be under close surveillance in the hospital for at least seven days.

If all goes well, he will be released but confined to sterile living conditions. Still expecting to report everyday to the clinic, he will be closely monitored and receive treatments as needed. We have been informed that the initial process will take at least two months. Seattle Cancer Care Alliance will determine when it is safe for us to travel back to Michigan for a few weeks of respite. However, routine monthly check-ups will require us to return to Seattle every month for the first six months. Currently, Dave is feeling pretty well and definitely ready for this challenge. He has put on about ten pounds (not from eating cookies). I will update the blog bi-weekly so that you can continue to follow his progress. Remember, team. We’ve got this.

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