Picture this scenario. It would be a running contest with lines drawn in the dirt where to start and finish the sprint. On the command “Go,” both Ryan and I would take off at the same time. Seriously, my face would not only reveal how hard I was trying, but how determined I was to win. It was shortly into each child’s kindergarten year that I stopped racing them. A little embarrassing, but as Dave constantly says, “You can walk faster than you can run.”

Dave would not be very good at running right now either. Since being discharged from the hospital a week ago, yesterday was the first day we were up for the challenge of walking home from the clinic. It is just a half of a mile with a short uphill trek. We made it – as we did again today; but it wasn’t as easy as it was prior to his hospital admit April 5.

Tentatively, our team of doctors have informed us that May 6 could be the next visit to the hospital. If all goes well, the CAR-T Cell infusion could take place on that day. Dave’s next bone marrow biopsy is scheduled for April 29, and his chest x-ray is May 2. Our sprint to become infectious-free before the CAR T-Cell infusion will transition back to a marathon after he receives the infusion.

We want to send our thoughts and prayers out to the family and friends of Jefferson’s Gary Betts. One of our favorite Bear baseball players who played for Dave, Gary lost his battle with brain cancer last week. His marathon lasted over eight years, and he battled with the same tenacity he once did as a baseball player.