August 29, 2013
So do not fear, for I am with you
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God
I will strengthen you and help you
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand
Isaiah 41:10
Today has been a very monumental day. It is the day we have aimed for, and hoped for all these many weeks.
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| Ready for TIL cells |
Madeleine has been through so much to get here - flights, multiple scans, consultations, major surgery and recovery, more scans - that it was an emotional moment when the nurses brought in the precious bag of her TIL cells.
101 billion TIL cells, that is!
This bag of cells only took about 20 minutes to be infused. But the potential contained in that little bag is amazing. Each of those 101,000,000,000 cells are now working their way through Madeleine's body - hunting down the melanoma cells on a "seek and destroy" mission.
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| TIL cells going in! |
She will receive another dose of IL-2 every 8 hours as long as the doctors believe that her body is handling it well. The IL-2 is what the cells are grown in, and having it present in the bloodstream helps the little cells survive and fuels them for their mission.
So tonight, we are so grateful to have the TIL cells on board and doing their work. We know that Madeleine still has a lot ahead of her during the next days of IL-2 treatments, and then the additional days of recovery in the hospital.
Thank you for continuing to stand with us - for your concern and encouragement, and for your prayers.
2 comments:
You are in my prayers and on my heart, Madeleine. As always.
I hope the TIL Corps Invasion that landed yesterday is kicking...um...patootie! I have this mental image of them arriving through your IV tube in little amphibious landing crafts and wading ashore firing machine guns and taking machine gun nests and bunkers manned by the occupying melanoma army. You, in this scenario, are the weary Resistance fighters, who have been fighting the good fight against the evil melanoma occupation for two years and just spent the past week enduring the bombing and shelling by your allies intended to soften the defenses in preparatiin for the landing.. By now, the TIL Corps probably has a foothold on the beaches and is starting to spread into the countryside where they will attempt to hold the bridges and force the evil occupation from your borders. This is War! Vive la Madeleine!
;)
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