The call has come...approval has been received

This past week was busy for Amanda as she completed the last of her current chemo series. Labs this morning confirmed that her counts are still excellent.

And...we finally received the call letting us know that the drug, LMTP-PE is now available in Houston and has been approved through the "compassion" track of the University's IRB committee! Whew. It has been a long time coming - for a series of reasons - but regardless, we are happy to know the time has finally come. This new drug is not a chemo but actually a 'booster' to Amanda's system. It has been found - in it's early studies - to reduce "re-occurrence incidents" and it is just now available for the first approved research hospitals to start prescribing it. Amanda is actually # 1 on Dr. Anderson's list of patients that he wants to have receive it and we are very thankful for that. We want to use whatever is available to give Amanda every tool she can in fighting and beating this disease. And this new tool is now ready for her to use.

That means, we are headed for Houston at the first of November. Amanda must receive the first dose of the drug there, for research approval purposes, and then we will return home to begin the 2nd and subsequent doses here at our own home hospital. It is administered through a short infusion twice a week, for a number of weeks, and then once a week until completion. I will share more details of the treatment after we return...I just don't have them all yet.

And on we go. We continue to trust God with each step of this journey and His perfect timing and plan for Amanda's future. And what a future she is looking forward to and trusting for...between now and Houston we will all cheer Caleb and his team on at the state soccer tournament and she has two more college visits scheduled.

Good thing I can sleep on a plane...