Another week gone by. And it was a tough one!

This week started with us paying attention to a problem that started last week-which was swelling in my left leg and foot. When we asked the doctors about this, and they looked at it, they recommended I go to Houston medical imaging for a Doppler scan of my leg. Anticipating a minor problem, of course we complied. The minute they were through imaging my left leg however, the lady disappeared and called the clinic to talk to the doctor immediately.

They also performed a similar scan on my chest, with similar results unfortunately. I had a blood clot in my left leg from thigh to the foot, and a couple in my chest as well. Needless to say, I was sent to Emergency right away. By 7:30 the next morning, I was sporting a new device; a filter was installed in my veins to collect these clots. I still don't know how I'm going to get through airport security with a metal stent inside me ... Or what will happen next time I need an MRI. So these are the least of our worries right now, I am recovering from a couple of days flat on my back in the hospital which is never fun. It always takes me a week to get over it!!

Right now swelling in my left foot and leg has gotten much better, though I still have problems breathing which the doctor says is because there is still an active clot or two in my chest. I am now on blood thinners and also another drug which is designed specifically to break up blood clots. I have been told that as these blood clots in my chest break up, I will feel it and my breathing will eventually get better. I can't wait for that to happen! It is no fun being short of breath at any time, but Houston summer weather is so demanding that it's very hard for me to breathe any time I'm away from home or not in the car.

We were scheduled to leave Houston this past Friday, the 15th. The Burzynski clinic has already released us; they are satisfied Lorraine knows what she needs to know about administering the clinical trial medicines and the operation of the pump. At the time they decided to release us, I had been on the clinical trial medicine for a while without trouble.

Then all of a sudden we had these problems with blood clots and a few days in the hospital. Obviously we were not able to fly home to San Diego with me in the emergency room! It is Sunday evening now, the 17th, and we just made reservations to fly home next Friday. That gives me five days to completely recover and allow the doctors to settle on the exact dosages of the new medicines that I am taking since the hospital stay.

As anxious as we are to return home to San Diego, we cannot do so until the final release from Dr. Burzynski. We made the reservations in anticipation of this, since we were already released last week before the hospital stay. All we can do now is hope and pray that my recovery from these blood clots continues well and without any more trouble. If there are more issues, the clinic may not release me to go home for a few more days. This is a possibility however we do not believe it probable. We have every hope and belief that we will be allowed to fly home this coming week and resume the antineoplaston treatments from our own house.

Today we had to drive all the way to Bush airport on the far side of Houston to clear up the rental car contract. It has already been 30 days since we rented the car, and that is the maximum Avis allows! We had no choice but to drive to the airport, terminate the original contract, and re-rent the same car for another week. I cannot believe we have been in this hot city for four weeks-- needless to say, the idea of flying home to San Diego sounds staggeringly appealing. Lorraine and I both have had enough of the Houston summer weather and in my case, my lungs need to get away from the humidity as soon as possible.

Please keep us in your thoughts this week as we will be very busy. We have boxes to package and ship home that we cannot bring on the plane with us. We have one more week of visiting the clinic every single day for four hours. We have one more week with me being tethered to the antineoplaston pump everywhere I go and struggling to breathe the Houston air while I get around.

Our spirits are high though, thanks to Lorraine with her New York fortitude and the strength of being Italian. She keeps me going and in most cases cheerful. Some days I just need to grit it out best I can. At the end of the day however, we always have found a way to make it. We thank God every day for this opportunity to heal my brain tumor and eliminate cancer from me completely.

We have no idea how long this process will take, but we certainly know it is worth waiting for.