Mathman 2008

Hi everyone! Its a new year and quite a bit has happened. The good news is that the wizards of MD Anderson put together a clinical trial that combined Temidor and Avastin that has shrunk my brain tumors. This is truly a miracle and makes for a great victory.

Unfortunately, we think that one of these might have also killed off my platelet producing capability. Pat and I spent 3 weeks over the Christmas and New Years holidays locked away in a hospital room while MDA doctors tried to figure out why this was happening. Shortly before the Christmas break my platelet counts began dropping - first slowly, then very fast - down to nearly nothing. The counts were so low that I could have faced a calamity were I to fall and injure myself. So, they began a program to infuse me with donated platelets - daily. After three weeks of this we finally decided to come home. The platelet problem is still not solved. I encouraged the team to solve math problems with me and to bring their graphing calculators - ahh, but still no progress.

So, keep those prayers coming. Thank you all of you who donated platelets and kept up our morale with calls and visits and cards. To Mrs. Moore's math class, thanks for that great poster. Please know that it was mounted in my hospital room for all to see and it helped my spirits. You kept helping us deal with all the ups and downs - even though I looked like Wolfman Jack! They would not let me shave for fear I might cut myself! Pat liked the beard, but I thought I resembled Ernest Hemingway. I finally got Pat to get out the hair clippers and asked her to cut the beard off. I am now my handsome self.

With Love
Mike Mathman Sheridan