February 17, 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

First, we would like to thank you for all of the wonderful emails, video messages, cards, gifts and meals that so many of you have sent to Michael and to our family. Michael has really enjoyed hearing from everyone. He is doing as well as can be expected, given the severity of his surgeries. Yesterday he sat up in bed, and today he took his first step. He is resistant to movement, but we are taking it one day at a time.

We met with Michael’s oncologist today, and got the plan for the next few weeks. The doctors believe Michael is not strong enough to have his next surgery over the next few days. So the surgery is now scheduled for Thursday, February 23rd at 11:30am. Since that is almost a week away, Michael is going to have high dose chemotherapy for five days beginning this evening. A few days after the surgery on his left eye orbit, the plan is to have surgery to place a central line in Michael (similar to a port, but there are three tubes, and they are outside of the body instead of under the skin). Then his stem cells will be collected and he will continue to recover for the rest of that week. The tentative plan is to have our consult for MIBG therapy the week of March 5th, and possibly begin that therapy the week of March 12th. The specific type of MIBG that we are considering is only done at UCSF, so we will probably be in San Francisco for that treatment. Then the assumption is that he will need to have a stem cell replacement following MIBG therapy.

The next month will be very difficult for Michael – physically and mentally. But he feels the comfort and the love surrounding him right now, and will continue to draw strength from all of you.

Thank you again for all of your support. There is no doubt that this is a frightening, uncertain time for our family. But we have never been closer, never had more purpose, and never loved one another more than we do right now.

With love and hope,

Alison, Mike, Michael and Emory