WE ARE HERE !!!!

OK, first, the very good news. 

Lori's tumor markers which were as high as 89 are now down to 44.6. (A high "normal" an be 37) 

Incredible, and of course, more important for thousands of women facing similar situations (stage 4 metastatic "tnbc" that has spread to the brain, the liver and the kidneys)  it means this very experimental chemo cocktail that Dr. Joyce O'Shaugnessy at Baylor Oncology and Texas Oncology have concocted, may actually extend their life.

More very good news. United HealthCare (UHC) proved that even insurance companies can have a heart. 

After two appeals and an enormous outpouring of support from women and men and even cancer groups from just about everywhere, UHC announced that they have reversed their decision and the Avastin portion of Lori's chemo cocktail "will" now be covered under her UHC insurance policy.

Prayers, action, individuals, and great doctors, and nurses, can and do make a difference. 

My grandmother always used to say that "money cannot buy happiness". 

Perhaps not, but in today's world it can buy life and being alive is surely a prerequisite to finding happiness.

To all of you out there that responded and there were thousands, may "God bless you and keep you" and the ones you love safe from ever having to live through and face this evil disease. Enough said !!!!

On a business note, we are preparing pond number 1 for stocking shrimp this week. 

This is the first of our ponds that will be stocked with shrimp this week.

Within one year GBT will be producing over 1 million pounds of shrimp annually and this is just the beginning.

I am not being prideful nor overly humble but this has been a long and difficult journey and we are just pleased (and blessed) that so many different individuals have played a major part in making this happen.

I can tell you that if it were not for some very special folks out of Maryland and Iowa and Texas this would not be occurring.

And now that it is happening and we are about to go into what we are calling industrial scale production I can share a little secret.

You have not seen anything yet.

In two years we will be the largest producer of shrimp in North America, that in and of itself is not that big of a deal.

But in 3-5 years we will be producing shrimp and fin fish using a sustainable, environmentally responsible, socially equitable, bio-secure, methodology that others can not even imagine in its scale or complexity.

To all of you who have made this happen and we are talking about 200 or so individuals, including team members, investors, construction teams, and more, thank you.

It sounds grandiose and I apologize in advance for those that think this is hyperbole but "this is going to change the world" and most importantly, the world needs this to happen and now it is. 

Module 1 is up and being filled for stocking, module 2 will be up in another 30-40 days and we are just beginning.

Below is a picture taken at about 3,000 feet by a very good "friend" of our company. Maybe this can give you a sense of the scale at which we are trying to change the way marine protein is produced. 

You can see module 1 and also if you look closely through the blurred glass of the airplane window you can see the ponds already dug for module 2. This system does not discharge any water back into the bay.

The earth's oceans need a break and this is the system designed on the scale that (with enough support and faith) can give our oceans and the creatures in them the respite from our unrelenting depletion of their inhabitants. 

I know our company will be very profitable and I also know we will face challenges, some of which we cannot yet imagine. 

I am not sure if we will be the company and the team that changes the world. 

I hope we will, or at least that the younger members of our team in our company will be that group that does indeed, "change the world".

Regardless, someone had to do something radically different if we are going to begin to "stop talking" and "start doing" something about giving the earth a rest.

This is our attempt. 

It has been a long time in the development and the future will not be easy but we are here.

And the irony is that is exactly the message Lori wants every breast cancer or ovarian or any other cancer patient out there to remember. 

Despite having a score or more of doctors and health experts tell her that she is terminal, and she should give-up and face her fate, guess what "she is still here" and that counts for a lot.