IT'S WORKING!!!

Brothers!

Bando here. I had a treatful conversation with his Birdness this evening. He called a few minutes before the last bag of poison finished emptying into his veins to tell me that that the tumor on his lung shrunk from 5.9 cm in diameter to 3.9 cm in diameter.

Now, Bird asked me if I remembered the formula for the volume of a sphere. I reminded him that I tried to learn calculus by the osmosis method in the Delphic Room; he and Yoda would get me to talk in my sleep while I used my calculus book as a pillow, hoping the learning would somehow make its way into my brain. As a result, I had to readily admit that I had no earthly idea what the formula for the volume of a sphere was.

Of course, I do have Google, so I now know the formula to be volume=4/3¶r3. Essentially, Bird did a quick calc in his head and thought that this 2cm in diameter reduction equates to approximately 50% in volume loss. Needless to say, he is VERY keyed about this news! This means that our prayers and good vibes, and the poisons those wolverine doctors have been dumping into him, have been working. This is very positive. If it continues to respond, they can excise the mass come August and not have to take so much of his lung in the process.

I had the good fortune to have dinner with Bird, Barb and their kids last week in Fenton, along with Chris Suydam and his family. After dinner, we walked down the street and toured Chris' new home. Well, to call it new wouldn't be quite right; it was built in 1902. Bird's three kids, my three kids, Chris' two kids, and the four kids from next door (that happen to be friends and classmates of my kids) all had a very rambunctious game of hide and seek in the massive home, followed by a rousing game of duck, duck, goose on the front porch until the mosquitoes chased us all away. Bird continues to be amazed at how the brothers have come together to help in his grovel, and how much we have poured into his support with prayer, friendship, and our cold, hard cash. All of these actions give him great strength, and remove a huge weight from his shoulders. Today's positive news helps even more.

His spirit improves with each piece of good news, whether its from his doctors, or from the brothers. Part of the good news the brothers have provided is regular infusions of cash that help make ends meet while the medical bills continue to roll in. Many brothers, myself included, have set up regular repeating monthly payments through their bank or credit union to pump much needed capital into the Big Bird Support Fund. If you can, please take a few minutes this week to do the same. Your support, along with the work of Bird's doctors, will help him achieve victory over this menace.

Fraternally,
Bando