A Good Report

We returned to UCLA today for a check up. First up was blood work in the morning, and then we saw one of Dr. K's colleagues in the afternoon. I don't know why we didn't see Dr. K, but the person we did see is the director of clinical trials for the entire kidney cancer program - she seemed to know what she was talking about. She said all of Michael's blood work looked good, and she was extremely pleased that he has had no side effects from the Afinitor so far. Apparently, many patients have experienced unpleasant side effects due to this medication. We thank God that it hasn't been a problem for Michael so far.

While we were still in the waiting room, Dr. K's assistant came by to ask us if we had any questions she could relay to the doctor on our behalf. We asked if we should be seeing a pulmonologist to manage the issues Michael is experiencing due to the cancer in his lungs. In a few moments she returned with a referral to an "excellent" pulmonologist who "specializes in patients like Michael". Once the referral is approved, she will make an appointment for us. Hopefully we will be able to see him next week. I will have to say that I really like how Dr. K's assistant keeps track of referrals for us, and makes appointments for us. We did not have that kind of care with our previous medical group. No wonder UCLA is so highly regarded.

Michael was blessed to have many friends and family members visit him over the last few days. He really loves seeing old friends, and is overwhelmed by the love that has been shown to him. However, all that visiting really tired him out, and I've had to put a moratorium on visits for a while. We talked about this after he was simply exhausted last night and couldn't stop coughing. As if the coughing isn't hard enough on him, it often leads to a GERD attack which is so awful for him. So for this week, he will not be seeing friends and he will not be taking phone calls either. We have seen how much the cough is aggravated by talking - thus the no visits and no phone calls for the time being. We both agree that Michael just needs to focus on rest and nutrition right now. We encourage friends to shoot him an email or post to his Facebook wall any words of encouragement you may have for him instead. Thank you so much for understanding.

Unless something changes, Michael will return to UCLA in five weeks for another CT scan, and we'll follow up with Dr. K about a week later. We are waiting for and expecting good news. Thank you so much for continuing to pray for Michael's healing.