a little scare...

today we spent all day 8+ hours in the hershey medical center emergency room. all in all i guess it turned out ok, but we decided we don't like the game of "let's rule this out" and "let's rule that out". that game consisted of a CAT scan and MRI and a LUMBAR PUNCTURE (three attempts to get the CSF) and tons of bloodwork.

the final diagnosis was that he didn't have a stroke and he didn't have a mass in his cheek or jaw and he didn't have an infection in his spinal cord and he didn't have a host of other things...what he does have is a case of BELL's PALSY (go figure). he has the droopy lip and the goofy eye and is back on the steroids and has a really cool pirates patch!!! just another day at the dewalts...

we did get good news today though...TIM IS OFFICIALLY CANCER-FREE as far as the negative PET scan and the negative bone marrow is concerned. they were able to get the cancer into remission and now we are going to proceed with the transplant. one may ask--if he is cancer-free why proceed with the stem-cell transplant...good question!?! because of the very aggressiveness of the cancer and the wierd chromosomal abnormalities (i love to use those big words) the doctors feel that the cancer will not stay in remission for long and then when it does come back...they are not sure that they will be able to put in back into remission. we have been told (in so many words) that his best chance of being able to walk his girls down the aisle some day is to go with the transplant, so...off to transplant we go!!!

more updates on that later.

enough for one night.

keep praying.

tim and tammy