round #4 starts today

i just wanted to pop in here and say a quick hello to everyone, as well as let you know that andrew is back in houston this week and starts round #4 of chemo this afternoon. up to this point, andrew has been feeling really good. we'll keep you posted if anything changes. let's all be thinking about andrew this week as he receives chemo. hope you are having a great week in whatever you are doing!

"Become Legendary"

Have you been watching the NCAA tournament? Ever pay attention to the Jordan commercials? Well, if you haven't been, click here for a very quick glimpse of Andrew. Yes, Andrew is on a commercial! Well, okay, Andrew has about 1 second of airtime...but still, very cool! Click on the link and it will take you to You Tube. Watch closely right at 20 seconds...you might even need to pause it. Andrew is standing on the very left-hand side of the bench.

For those of you that remember, the UW vs. UCONN tourney game continues to go down in history. I will never forget watching that game. My family was gathered around our TV in the living room and we were sitting on pins and needles. Watching UCONN make that buzzer beater shot was so painful. I think about that moment now and I still get a pit in my stomach. Do you all remember watching that game? Again, click here to watch the commercial.

Happy March Madness!

Round Four Upcoming

I hope everybody had a great weekend, it was a tough weekend for Husky fans, and a good one for Gonzaga and Missouri fans! I wanted to give a quick update. I completed round 3 a week ago and was back in Missouri this past week. I went back to work this week for the first time, it felt good to be back doing something I really like, and feel a little normal for the first time in awhile. I am going to continue to be in St.Louis for the two "off weeks" in between treatments, and commute to Houston for the treatment week. I have a big work week ahead as its the last week in the quarter which means a big push to get all the sales booked! Round 4 begins the week of March 29th, I dont have a body scan this round, with the next scan planned for before Round 5. I feel really good right now, no side effect issues, just tired during the low count portion of the cycle, but I am feeling really good the week before chemo starts. I continue to be blessed with so much prayer and positive thoughts from everybody, thank you so much. Have a great week I will update again soon!

Andrew

Go Dawgs!

We are all celebrating a great victory over the Cougs last Saturday, as well as the title of Pac-10 Champs! Way to go Dawgs! We were privileged enough to gain entrance to the last four Men's Basketball home games to sell bracelets for Andrew. We simply showed up, set up a booth and watched with awe as crowds of people stopped by to show their support. It truly was amazing and a great showing of the human spirit, as well as Husky fans uniting to support a fellow Husky in need. We were thankful for the KJR radio interview, Seattle Times and Seattle PI article - - as the timing surrounding the games provided a lot of exposure. We averaged just under $2000 in sales per game. Wow! All we can say is thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all you Husky fans who showed support. And a HUGE thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers who worked each game. We could not have done it with out you. Another big thank you to the people who gave us the right to be at the games and last but not least, thank you to my dear sister Martha. Martha spent countless hours coordinating the details, as well as working 3 out of 4 of the games. Each and every one of you are an important part of this process and we again want to say how thankful we are. We are amazed everyday by the outpouring of love.

And if any of you wonderful volunteers have more pictures from any of the 4 games, please send them my way so I can add them to the blog!

A Journey has ups and downs, today was definitely an UP!

*Andrew and Dr. Araujo (she is to the right of Andrew)*

Well everybody, I'm sitting in my hotel room here in Houston and I have a big smile on my face after day 1 of round 3. Not because I am cured, not because chemo is all finished, not because I am even done with this cycle! My smile comes from getting some very positive news on my first meeting with my doctor in regards to "how this chemo treatment plan is working" We met with the doctor(s) for about an hour and a half today. I can tell you I was so nervous that I broke out in hives on my neck and back....they actually had to make sure I was ok! haha. That part went away quickly when I left the meeting, trust me. We discussed the results of my PET SCAN, which is a full body (head to toe) scan that detects tumor size, location, etc. The results after the first two treatments showed a shrinkage of the tumors that exist in the abdomen,pelvic area, and the liver. The spots in the liver actually showed the most significant improvement of all the areas that are affected. Also good news is that there is no other spread to other areas of my body at this time. Overall Dr. Araujo was very pleased with my progress, and is excited that I have stayed in really good health so far, not suffering from any side effects and able to be strong and healthy during the chemotherapy. She said that my nutrition has been excellent and my protein level is were it needs to be. She is going to keep me on the same drugs, and amounts for the next two rounds (rd 3/4) The only new drug I am going to introduce is a once a day acid reflex pill (nexium) to help reduce any acid issues. TEAM: I cannot tell you how excited I was when I walked out of that appointment. I went straight over to the chemotherapy intake and got right into the treatment, but not a thing in the world could have gotten me down today! I was getting my big shot of chemo late tonight, and I was thinking how lucky and blessed I am to have every single person in my life that cares so much for me, and of course the big man upstairs has been leading this all from the point guard position! Everyone out there that is with me every step of the way, is truly amazing, and so cool. Each one of you knows just the right thing to say to me, just at the right time that I need it. The prayers have been overwhelming, and our first prayer has been answered, and I feel truly blessed. Have a great week everyone, lets kick some butt this week out there in whatever you are doing!!!

Andrew

Round #3

Andrew is back in Houston this week to start round #3 of chemo. Today he has a full body PET scan and then tomorrow he will meet with his doctor to discuss the results of the tests, as well as evaluate the progress so far. Please pray for positive results and small(er) tumors! We will post any new information as soon as we receive it. Andrew will then begin chemo tomorrow afternoon. He will be in Houston for the week then hopefully back in St. Louis to recover for another 16 days. Let's all be thinking about and praying for Andrew this week. He needs lots and lots of prayer during chemo, as well as encouragement and positive attitudes. Please don't feel bad if he doesn't call you back or respond - he stays very focused during the weeks he receives chemo.

We wrapped up selling bracelets at the final Husky game this past Saturday and will post pictures and share the success we had in the next few days.

Andrew loves this picture of his niece Riley. She is sporting her first ever pair of sunglasses. I wanted to start his week off with a smile, as well as yours - - - Happy Monday!

Seattle PI article

Click here for the link to the Seattle PI article about Andrew. For all you local folks, go buy your paper today!

Seattle PI article to run tomorrow

I just received word from Jim Moore this morning that his story on Andrew will run in tomorrow's paper. Make sure you pick up a copy of the Seattle PI tomorrow and look for Andrew's article in the Sports section.