We have a date for the official start of the clinical trial. Day 1, cycle 1 will be this Thursday. It took a little adjusting and explaining, but we were able to get the date moved from Tuesday. Now going forward, Thursdays will be the key days for treatments and the remaining biopsies. We are thankful as this will allow Maggie to take part in the OnePraise mission trip to Orlando without missing any of the action. For this Thursday’s appointment, we’ll drive over Wednesday morning. Thursday will be a full day at MDA – lab work, a check-up, and the initial infusion. She’ll only be getting one drug this week (by the first day of the second month she’ll be receiving three drugs – they add them incrementally) and it’s one she had at Batson several years ago – Bevacizumab. We’ll come home Friday as long as there are no complications (and we don’t anticipate any – she tolerated this drug well). She has had a low grade fever today along with some digestive discomfort. We’re thinking this might happen when she eats food requiring extra bile to digest – fatty and fried stuff. Today’s culprit was most likely a Chick-fil-A sandwich. (A girl’s got to have her Chick-fil-A.) This is one more reason we want to shrink the tumor surrounding the bile duct – so Maggie can eat without fear of triggering another major (ER visit) event. As of now, the situation seems to have resolved itself.

We’re excited to be starting this trial. Although we have hope for real results, we continue to place our real trust in the Lord. Nothing reaches Maggie – good or bad – that has not first passed through His Hands. We only want the perfect gifts He has ordained for her. We are praying for effective treatment with minimal side effects. We are also praying for extra stamina – this is going to be a challenge – but one we are fully resolved to complete. Finally, we are praying to be used in any way He sees fit to use us. Thank you for continuing prayers. I’ll update once we have completed the treatment Thursday. I’m also hoping to share a little more about the actual clinical trial – it’s fascinating stuff! Until Thursday….