Hello all,

We are happy to be back home and are so glad to be back in time to give Glen a little Christmas magic. He has loved decorating trees, getting some early presents, and is SO excited for Santa to come visit him.

This past weekend, I received the best phone call. Glen's bone marrow biopsy results are back, and it was negative for any cancer cells!!!!! GLEN IS CANCER FREE!!! I am still not even sure how to process this. I am over the moon with relief, and am still processing that a trial treatment in phase 1 worked for my baby. We will be able to move forward with the bone marrow transplant as scheduled! 

I know you may have the question in your head "since he's cancer free, why does he still need the bone marrow transplant?" The very simple answer is that for T cell Leukemia, the CarT cell treatment is only a temporary fix. Eventually, the modified cells would die off and Glen's infected cells would become dominant again. The CarT cell treatment is used as a bridge to transplant in T Cell Leukemia patients whose cancer did not respond to chemotherapy and need immunotherapy. 

As we move forward with the bone marrow transplant, our appointments, both for myself as his donor, and him as the recipient begin next week. Glen will be admitted inpatient on January 8, with his BMT scheduled for January 16. There is not a definitive timeline for how long he will remain inpatient, but we expect he will stay in the hospital for at least 6-8 weeks if there are no complications. 

I know these next few months are going to continue to be challenging for us as we have only gotten a taste of what is it like to be inpatient.. We have reached a huge milestone for Glen's treatment, but now is when I believe the true challenge will begin. I hope that you all continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers and I will send out an update in a few weeks. 

Thank you for all that read these updates, have so generously give time, money, presents, and continue to be rocks to me and Glen, and a very BIG thank you to all of Glen's grandparents. His Mimi, Papa, Grammy, and Grandy have been constant sources of strength for us throughout all of this. From Mimi flying up and then right back home to help manage Glen at the airport, to Mimi, Papa, and his aunt Holly driving up to Philly to take a car load of our belongings home the next day, to Grammy and Grandy providing so much peace of mind by watching our pets while we were gone, and then bringing them back home and spending time helping me get my house put back together after I decorated for Christmas and unpacked 6 weeks worth of stuff. We are so thankful to be back home with our support systems and to have a few days to relax and celebrate.

Merry Christmas everyone,
Glen's Mom (Anna)