Michael Gary

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On Tuesday, November 28th, I took Michael to see his pediatrician to look at his leg.  He had been complaining of pain in his leg for a couple of weeks but we thought it was a pulled muscle.  But then it swelled and became painful to the touch.  We took him to the pediatrician, and after getting x-rays done, Dr. Kalil recognized it was a serious problem that needed to be addressed immediately.  That same day we went to Dallas and met with Dr. Gilbert, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in bone tumors.  Dr. Gilbert scheduled an MRI for the next day, and a biopsy the day after. The biopsy confirmed it was a tumor rather than an infection but we had to wait for the biopsy report to determine the type of tumor.  One week later, on December 7, 2017, we were told Michael had been diagnosed with an osteosarcoma in his right fibula.  The next morning, Michael was admitted to Medical City Children's Hospital for further testing and to begin his chemotherapy treatment.  Fortunately the CT scan of his chest was clear as well as the full body bone scan.  The tumor was only in the right fibula.  However, the treatment is still extensive; 6 cycles of chemo (each cycle is 5 weeks long) and surgery will be required to remove the tumor, 30+ weeks total.  He will be hospitalized at least 18 times for chemo.  He started immediately following the testing on December 8, 2017 and he got his first doses of the chemo drugs on the 9th.  The drugs made him pretty  sick and we spent 5 nights in the hospital.  Despite the rough start we got to come home on the 13th.  He is home for Christmas and Michael's attitude is good.  He has been in all the meetings with the orthopedic surgeon and the oncologists and he knows they are confident in their ability to beat this cancer and his long term diagnosis.  They believe the location of the  tumor is optimal for him and he will recover probably with loss of most of the fibula but thankfully the fibula is not an essential bone, but provides support for the tibia.  The response from his and our friends has been amazing, including his school which is FaceTiming him and praying for him regularly, including giving us prayer wristbands citing Isaiah 41:10.  We are thankful for the many friends and family members praying and offering to help, the response is overwhelming.  We know God has a plan for him and trust in His providence and plan.  Please continue to pray that Michael and our family will stay strong and persevere through the battle.  Isaiah 41:10.