Detox Accomplised

This was an extremely busy day at the Sammut residence. It started by the arrival of auntie Grace at 6:30 am on the red-eye flight from Seattle. She was a huge help all day getting everything at the house sorted out as well as helping with Barbara. We were joined by a former neighbor, Zulma Hiske, who has had a lot of personal experience with what we were trying to accomplish. As a team, we managed to get everything that isn’t digestible purged from the house, basement and garage – practically a dumpster full of stuff, most of which doesn’t get used and probably isn’t needed anyhow. We also managed to get a number of “upgrades” pulled together- a new vacuum cleaner with a “heppa filter”, new cookware, an air cleaner, water purifier, etc. and removed the carpeting from Chase’s room. It was a much bigger job than anticipated but overall we accomplished what we set out to do. We’re now ready for Chase to come home early next week (hopefully on Monday).

Meanwhile, Chase and Carol had a good day in Houston. After a fairly uneventful treatment at the Burzynski Clinic, they went bowling and shopping in a local mall. He was reportedly in great spirits all day and is really enjoying all the quality one-on-one time with mommy. Barbara also had a great sleepover at her friend’s place, followed by a good day at school and is very excited to spend some quality time with aunt Grace over the weekend.

In short, we have a couple of very happy campers and a household that has been thoroughly screened of any intoxicants. We feel like we’re about ready for the next big step – managing Chase’s treatments from home. We’re still waiting to work out with his local Pediatrician and Oncologist how the treatments will be monitored, the visiting nurse’s schedule, etc. but we’re confident that all those details will get settled soon and we can achieve some semblance of a routine shortly. We’ve even received some good suggestions for natural remedies, as we requested, to address Chase’s new talent for tooting loudly and chuckling. We certainly want him to stay in good humor, but Carol’s good at finding ways to do that, so we’re not worried about cutting back on that one.

We hope all of Chase’s faithful supporters have a great weekend and we pray that everything stays on track with his treatments so that Monday morning is the last on-site review before the “official discharge” and the journey back home.

Lots of love and gratitude,
John & Carol Sammut
Chase and Barbara Ann