Well. There’s much to tell and my ability to communicate coherently is heading south fast, so I’ll hit the high notes and fill in with more details later when I’m better rested.

Tomorrow morning Maggie and I make the trip to UAB for a clinic visit and possible treatment (if liver enzymes and blood counts cooperate). Last visit, due to high liver enzymes, Maggie only had an infusion and did not have to take the trial drug for the past two weeks – a break of sorts – since the high enzyme level is attributable to the drug and not the new tumor activity in the liver. We used the break to have one more in-grown toenail procedure performed on a big toe. Maggie is mending nicely.

Speaking of the new activity: Two weeks ago two new liver lesions were detected – 5 and 7 mm. If their presence is confirmed on the CT scan scheduled for April 12, Maggie will be removed from this clinical trial by reason of disease progression. Her UAB doctor mentioned the possibility of returning to the super effective Folfiri regimen (a chemo mix which brought Maggie to the point of remission, albeit short-lived). Since she never had disease progression on it, Folfiri may still have some effectiveness to offer her. We want to keep this ace in the hole as long as we can while she tries investigational drugs. As long as the clinical trials keep her stable or showing only small disease progression, we buy more time using them before using up our ace. I hope that makes sense. After we returned home from hearing her scan report, I called Maggie’s MD Anderson oncologist to bring him up to date and ask for guidance in finding our next step. As it “happens”, he has a clinical trial opening in the timeframe of late April to mid May. Maggie has been placed on the list for this trial, and we are waiting to hear further details in the coming week.

To sum it up, we are praying for clear direction for our next step in treatment. It’s hard right now to wait for information and the early signs of progress being made. We’re staring at a wall of small uncertainties – meeting clinical trial criteria, scheduling, compatibility with prior commitments, etc. I’m reminded of the eternal wisdom in living ONE DAY AT A TIME. It’s not easy to NOT have control of the details when so much is at stake. But God…. remains faithful to us, guides us as we allow ourselves to follow, lifts us up when we are down, and tempers our excitement with restraint. He is already THERE – wherever we are meant to be. Amen.

Once last item: UAB wrapped up the media package using Maggie’s story. They launched it today through social media. If you’re on Facebook, you’ve seen our sharing of the post. If not, I’m going to figure out how I can link to the video from here and will include that information next time I post.

Thank you – for prayers, moral support, kind words of encouragements, donations to Team Maggie for our Over the Edge campaign, and other acts of friendship too numerous to list. We love you.