update....

So Grandpa will be admitted to the hospital on Monday the 27th.  That day he will be seen by 2 different back doctors.  Dr. Zangari was hopeful that he would be able to start the process of chemo on Tues.

He stay in the hospital for 3 to 4 weeks during the extraction phase. During this phase they will take the stems cells out of his blood, to be put back in later.  They will also give him something to help increase his stem cell growth.  After that, he'll have about a two week break where he can leave the hospital, relax, and recover for the next phase of treatment, this is when we will celebrate Christmas with them!  Yay, for Christmas!

Then he will go back to the hospital for another 4 weeks.  This will be the last phase of his treatment.  This is the chemo phase and then they will transplant his own stems cells, that were extracted, back into him.  The chemo will kill his immune system so he will not be able to be around a lot of people, especially kids and any pets.

-Tami
Please keep him in your prayers and remember that he would love to hear from you.  Write to him here on the blog, or send him a note.  Feel free to send him mail to my address, I will be up at the hospital and in touch with mom a lot.  With any luck we'll be able to teach them how to use a web cam and skype or something.