Mark was discharged yesterday morning. It will take time for him to regain strength and gain some weight, but there's a much better chance of that happening here, at home. His potassium is still low, so we're focusing on foods high in potassium and lots of high-calorie foods. That's a shift in thinking!
Dr. Taylor called this afternoon after meeting with Eric, who is in charge of the T-call therapy. He expects to get the okay from the FDA possibly as soon as this Friday. If so, they can take his cancer-fighting cells out of the freezer and start cloning them. It takes two weeks to clone the 3 billion warrior cells to inject into Mark's body. Before that procedure, he needs to be in the hospital for a week for chemotherapy to eliminate cells that fight against the warrior T-cells. That could mean going into the hospital as soon as October 18th (Happy 89th Birthday, Mark's mom)! That's only two weeks away!!
Can he handle this arduous procedure with his body still so weak? That is definitely a concern, but if the current meds stop working, the tumors could grow quickly. The tumor near the bile duct doesn't have to grow much to cause blockage again. This may be the window of opportunity needed to use the T-cell therapy. So, sooner may be better. We'll talk to the doctor Thursday to make the call whether to start October 18th or wait a week or two. Of course, the FDA approval has to come in this Friday for that to happen. The needle-in-the-haystack cells that have been frozen will need to be thawed before cloning them. If they have been thawed, and we decide it's too soon to begin the process, the cells can be refrozen, but some will be lost in the process. We don't want to lose any of those precious cancer-fighting cells. Please pray that we will be guided to know the right timing for this procedure. It's still amazing that those cells were found and that the FDA has responded so rapidly. It won't be an easy procedure — two weeks in the hospital with chemo and more IL-2, but it is the only treatment available that has the potential to be durable.
It is delightful to have him home and to be together again. Our children joined us last night to celebrate another victory and express gratitude for the miracle of once again having his life spared! We laughed, cried, expressed our love for one another and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a sweet, tender evening together.
Mark is glad to be back among the living and the sane! He doesn't remember much of what happened, even before the emergency, when he was high on painkillers that caused some hallucinations. We've kept a list of some of the funny things he said and did. Sharing those will be entertaining.
What amazing and loving support we feel from you all!!! Thank you! Love, Mark, and Ane
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