There is good news and not so good news... so the good news first. Mac got into Rice, Tulane, Texas A&M and Ga Tech & LSU and he has told Rice he will attend. We are so excited for him, it's been his first choice since we visited 2 years ago. Now the not so good news. We confirmed that he will need a Bone Marrow Transplant in the near future, and this summer is the best time. It is a natural break in his life, and though he is ready to move on to bigger and better things, the time is right to fix a problem that obviously is not going away. We could continue to tweak the medicines and his bone marrow could hobble along for a little longer, but that just adds toxicity and more complications in the long run. So transplant it is... Big risk, Big reward. Mac has several matched unrelated donors, so that is great. We don't have any firm dates, just that it will be this summer with his graduation in May being our top priority. Since the transplant team has time, they are going to start with the donor's availability and work backward. As a general guideline, transplant will mean about 30 days in the hospital, 4 months in Memphis, and 1 year out of school. If all goes well, he will be slowly feeling better after the first 4 months, and we will be able to be home as he gets stronger. They compared him to a newborn, and we will keep him out of the world as much as possible for about a year. Then... he moves on, with a working bone marrow and completely new immune system. This is huge, it's what I've been dreading for 6 1/2 years, but it's the only way to go. And the fact that Mac will be going in strong and is still young and fit are all marks in his favor.

Unless something else develops, I won't update again until closer to May, when we have a better idea of the time table. Until then, keep Mac, and his new donor in your prayers! Mac is handling this new plan in his usual manner. I know he is extremely disappointed about taking a year off, because he is a scholar at heart and really loves school. His elation at being accepted to Rice was short lived because 1 week later we had our meeting at St. Jude. But he doesn't show it; and he said he won't dwell on it. He has a lot of fun and celebrating to do for these last 5 months of high school! He has an inner strength and character I can only dream of having and I certainly wasn't that mature at 17.

Thanks as always for checking in and keeping us on your prayer list! I know 6 1/2 years is long time, and now I'm asking for more. But I am sure that it is all those prayers that are getting us through this extreme roller coaster ride!