Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
In October of 2006, Daddy (Larry) received the devastating diagnosis of Stage IV Nodal Marginal Zone Lymphoma. I'll never forget the day his Oncologist at the time looked at Dad and told him that he estimated he had five years to live. Daddy looked his Oncologist in the eyes and said, "I have five granddaughters, five years isn't good enough." From that moment on, he never stopped fighting. We've had a few scares and a few set backs throughout the last eleven years but, overall, he's done really well and his disease has been managed by monthly IVIG (donor antibodies).
However, since early 2017, Daddy hasn't been feeling the best. He's had a lot of tests on multiple areas of his body over the past nine months or so but none of the results could explain his symptoms. So, in December, we got more aggressive. After multiple other tests and some extensive blood work, it was recommended for Dad to have a bone marrow biopsy. That was performed by Dr. Dugan on January 5th.
I want to stop for a moment and just tell you how thankful we are for Dr. Michael Dugan and the staff at St. Francis/Indiana Blood & Marrow Transplantation. When Dad was originally diagnosed in 2006, we were under the care of a different Oncologist. In 2007, that Oncologist told my Dad that there was nothing more he could do for him...we were out of options. Thankfully, I'm (Amanda) in healthcare and called a good friend of mine (who is a physician) and he was able to get us connected with Dr. Dugan. We truly feel that Dad is here today because of Dr. Dugan and his staff and we cannot thank them enough for all that they do.
So, as I mentioned above, Dr. Dugan performed the bone marrow biopsy on January 5, 2018. He allowed me (Amanda) to stay in for the biopsy and Daddy did really well! On January 10th, we met with Dr. Dugan and found out that Dad, unfortunately, has Stage IV Lymphoma.
At this point, we are waiting for a few tests to come back but hope to know treatment plan within the next week or so.
For now, we are just asking for your prayers. The outpouring of love, support and prayers has been overwhelming and I know it's your words of encouragement and Daddy's faith in God that is keeping him going right now. Please keep the love, support and prayers coming!! We need them!
We will continue to keep you updated on this site but please do not hesitate to reach out to one of us if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you for loving our parents the way you do! And, thank you, again, for your prayers!
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