Monday, August 1, 2011

What a Slacker I Have Been!!

My apologies to everyone who followed this page. I just had to take a break. Life gets so busy around our house, I know it is the same for each of you as well. Things have been going good. All of our kiddo's are doing well. I was trying to update more on facebook, but I do realize that not everyone who comes to this page is on facebook.

I want to address first of all some computer glitch errors regarding Team Believe. As we are trying to get geared up for the next St Jude Memphis Marathon, it seems every corner I turn, something is going haywire! Team Believe members, you have not been receiving any team emails, nor has the office St Jude Team page been set up because apparently two ladies decided to form a team and chose our same team name. The way St Jude sets up their system, whomever join the team first, is automatically set as the team captain. Apparently one of these two ladies got registered before any of us did, so therefore the team captain is listed as one of these two ladies. I, nor anyone else in our group know these ladies. The team captain is the only person with passcode and access to the official team page. While the two of them are the only members of "their" team, all others on the list are our normal members. I have been in contact with the Hero's office of ALSAC and they are trying to help us out with this problem. I am praying these ladies will either join up with us and relinquish the team captain position to us or they will change their team name realizing we have had this name and have a reputation with this marathon after raising over $100,000.00 over the past five years. Our next obstacle happened today. Last night our Team Believe page on Facebook was just fine, showing 47 members. Today is is POOF, GONE, VANISHED... JUST NOT THERE!!! Is someone trying to get in our way of doing our good work??? Well, if so, we will find a way to fix it all and get back on track! As of right now, this is our only communication for our team until the others can be resolved. Please be patient and check this site often for info.

Now, for a quick update on some of our kiddo's.
Our team is running for little Trevor this year. He is doing really well right now, but a few things have come up in the past few weeks that are of concern. It has been determined that while he still has a portion of his original tumor and the lito spread on his brain and spine, the chemo is doing more potential damage to his kidneys. Therefore, the doctors have decided it is best to hold off on any more chemo treatments for the time being, give him a few months, then do more scans to see what is going on with the tumor and lipto spread with no chemo. Also, this will allow some time for his kidneys to recover some. Outside of this, he looks great, feels great and is just like any other normal healthy little boy. We are so excited to be running in his honor this year. Please help us out in anyway that you can.

Preston is doing fantastic! He was here last week. He looks great, all of his counts are great and he is just as active as can be. He will begin preschool this year!

Jack is doing great. His last 3 month check up results were perfect. Still no signs of any cancer!!! Jack is also now the proud big brother of Baby Tucker. They are two peas in a pod. Tucker looks just like Jack. Mom and everyone are doing great and enjoying every single day that life has to give them.

Ariel, Morgan, Heather are all doing great too. All are getting ready for school to start back. Ariel and Amber will be college students this year! So hard to believe!

Natalie, is doing great, she recently had her 6 month check up and remains CANCER FREE!! She and Nicole will begin their junior year of college. Do you realize when I introduced her to you, she was supposed to be in her junior year of high school and not a St Jude patient! Wow, time flies and she remains CANCER FREE!

I know I am leaving out some others, I will try to go back and catch up on them in another post. I just really needed to get some info out to let you know what was going on with our team information systems. Say a little prayer that is is all resolved VERY SOON.

Thank you for being patient with we, leave comments and let me hear from you.

Hope each one of you is having a wonderful week.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS!!!

PS I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I am not proofing this. Any mistakes or typo's, please overlook :)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

What A Great Week!


You just have to find a way to have some fun when your on your way into surgery! Regina, mom, was all decked out to go into pre-op with Ariel and having a good time messing with Ariel right before going into surgery. These are some really wonderful people to be blessed to hang out with!!


Ariel, the aftermath of her NO MO CHEMO party!! Lot's of fun, something she has been patiently waiting for!!!


Jordan got to enjoy the carousel at the mall.


Well, our little baby Jordan is showing off how BIG he really is now! He is just such the ladies man!


You simply can NOT possibly get enough Jordan hugs and kisses!

This has been a great week! I am so happy to pass along to you that both Jordan and Ariel have completed their week of test, scans, pokes and prods and are now considered to be NED-ALL CLEAR or in other words.... STILL CANCER FREE!!! Jordan will be coming back in 3 months to have some follow-up test for some activity that showed up on his EEG this time. Nothing they seem to be to concerned about at this time. He has been off of his seizure medication for almost a year now, and this is the first time that any such activity has shown up. He has not displayed any signs of seizures, so this is a precautionary measure, and they may consider putting him back on the seizure meds just to make sure he remains seizure free if they feel it necessary.

Ariel, had her surgery this afternoon to have her "extra part" or her port removed! This is a huge step toward being "NORMAL"! All of her test have come back perfectly normal and she is doing great! She will be returning in 3 months too, just for follow up. They will continue to monitor her closely just to make sure that they stay on top of any and all changes in any moles or spots that may come up. She will not be taking any further treatments, just check-ups. She had her NO MO CHEMO party in her clinic today! She was so excited about this, just like a little kid! No Mo Chemo Parties are a HUGE THING regardless of what age you are. I am so very proud of this beautiful young lady. She has been such a trooper and has come through her journey with cancer with such dignity and showing tremendous faith. This girl has had to administer her own chemo at home on a weekly basis, I have been in very close contact with her and her family through the entire journey and I can honestly say, she has not complained or had any negative comments to bring herself or anyone around her down. She is such a fighter and has faced this like a true champ.

So, having said all of this... we have 2 very happy kiddo's and families who are ST JUDE SURVIVORS and thriving tonight!! Jordan is back home, he left this afternoon, and Ariel will spend the night (post surgery requirement) and return home tomorrow.

Lord, we just want to come to You and thank You for Your perfect healing on Jordan and Ariel. What an Awesome God You truly are. We humbly thank You for all of the many rich blessing that You have bestowed upon us. We love You Lord,
In Christ Name, Amen

On, a sad note, I want to ask each of your for your prayers for Ryan's family. Please keep them in prayer tomorrow as they attend the funeral service for Ryan. I just can not imagine burying one of my children. Please keep them close in your prayers and if you have a moment, leave them a message on Ryan's caringbridge page.

It's been a very busy 2 weeks, things I THINK will slow down just a bit. I have had a call regarding a new patient. He is an older teen, non-hogkins lymphoma diagnosis. His name is Nolan, I would like to ask you to please add him to your prayer list. I will be meeting him tomorrow, I'll give you more info as I know and have permission to share.

Thank you to the most wonderful prayer warriors that I know of! Keep praying, your pleas are being heard.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Prayers For The Madrid Family

Another sweet one has gone home. Ryan passed away in his sleep around 11:30 last night. He did not seem to be in any pain, that is something to be so thankful for. This has been a very long journey, a very painful journey. I know Kim and the family are hurting so much, but at the same time so relieved that his suffering and horrible pain are now gone forever. He is at perfect peace with his Heavenly Father. Please lift them up in prayer as they face the tough decisions and reality of everything over the coming days.

It's been a very busy couple of weeks around the Jude. Last week Lil' Trevor was here most of the week for his big test, scans and chemo. He did great. Had the best results on his MRI since he began treatment. Tumor is still there, but the spine and brain stem looked as if the cancer there was possibly decreased in size. WOOHOO! Please continue to pray for this treatment to work.
He is just as much all boy as you can imagine. He is such a joy to be around. He will be back next week.

Preston seems to be really doing well. He is feeling much better, Renee says he is more and more like the old "pre-sick" Preston! For that we are so grateful! Please pray that he continues to recover for all of this nasty GVHD and will get to go home soon.

This week is a big week too! Jordan and Ariel are both here for the whole week. We have been having a blast! Jordan, believe it or not, is here for his 2 year POST TRANSPLANT check-up!! Yes, it has been two years since his transplant! That is just so hard to believe, but it has been that long! He is doing GREAT!! He is such the talker and really a ladies man! He loves the girls. I'll post more info from our events of the week with pictures later. We did meet up with Ariel and her family yesterday and did some major shopping at the mall and some fun time with the carousel and Spider Jump. These two attractions in the mall are so sweet and allow the St Jude patients to participate for free. Jordan and Ariel had a blast on that Spider Jump. If your on my fb, I have video posted there from yesterday.
Ariel is also here for her big week! She has completed her protocol of treatment and is here for all of her scans and test to make sure the chemo has done it's thing and she is NED or all clear of cancer. On Thursday, she will have surgery to remove her port. Thank the good Lord, this is now an extra un-needed part!!! Please keep her in your prayers as well as Jordan for all scans and test this week to show both continue to be CANCER FREE!!!

Got to run, more fun to be had today!

Please keep everyone in your prayers, especially the Madrid family.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Sunday, January 23, 2011

BUSY, BUSY PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS...

I'm sorry for such a long delay in posting. The first of the year is always quite busy for everyone. I hope that each of you have been safe, warm and enjoying the snow if you are in any of the 49 states out of 50 that have had snow. Sorry, to those of you in Florida who have not had the opportunity to enjoy the snow. Personally, since we do not get to much of it in West Tennessee, I have loved every single flake that we have had so far. I'm just a big kid when it comes to snow.

Quite a few of our kiddo's have come in over the past few weeks for their check-ups. I am so thrilled to tell you that each one of them has had an excellent checkup with excellent results!!! Morgan is doing great, she looks beautiful and is enjoying life to the fullest. We were able to go out to dinner a couple of times while they were here for her two year post transplant checkup. She was selected by St Jude as one of the patients to feature in a huge picture on the wall of St Jude survivors. It's beautiful.




If you are in the hospital, you will find the wall of pictures in the long hallway leading to the Chili's Center right across from the ABC wall.



Please continue to pray for Morgan.


Jack was here for a few days for his 3 month checkup. Everything came back ALL CLEAR! He looks great and is feeling great. He is still quite the adorable little boy, so full of himself and life. He is getting ready to be a big brother. Not to sure if he wants to keep the baby if it's a girl. My bet is, he will certainly change his mind the second he lays eye's on her if it is a girl. They do not know yet, but do plan to find out the gender of the expected baby. Katie is doing great, looks great and has the cutest baby bump going on. Please keep their family in your prayers as they prepare for the new baby and continue to make their trips back to St Jude for checkups. Pray for Jack to remain CANCER FREE forever.

Natalie was back for her 4 month checkup. She got the ALL CLEAR too!!! WooHoo!!! I love when all of these kids come back and get excellent reports. It shows the hard work and success of the teams of researchers and doctors at St Jude. Natalie, looks absolutely wonderful. I got to meet up with Nat and Sandy for dinner the night before her appointments. They are such a sweet family and a blessing to be around. Nat is doing great in school. She and Nicole are in their sophomore year in college and both take full time classes and have a part time job. They are both remarkable young ladies. Continue to pray for Natalie to remain CANCER FREE. I forgot my camera when I went to visit with them.... sorry!

Little Trevor has been in for his treatment and checkups. He is doing great!



Just to give you an idea of his day during treatment... this child is non-stop from the time he gets up till the time he goes to bed except for during his chemo treatment. The minute they start the drip with the benadryl included, he is out like a light for the three hours of chemo! Melinda and I get a chance to visit and catch up on the events at their house while a freight train could come through the room and Trevor would not move! He is just so precious to watch him sleep. He had a rough time with chemo this past week, it made it more sick than usual. Bless his little heart! Please keep praying for him and for the treatment to show stable or actual shrinkage of his tumor. Pray for the sick side effects of the treatment to subside. Please be praying for excellent results on his upcoming scans. He will have his big set of scans coming up on his next trip in.

Ariel was in for her checkup and she too is doing great! She is one shot away from being COMPLETE with her chemo!!!! A HUGE WOOHOO for her!! She will be in for a checkup this coming Friday and I am so excited to be going to Hattiesburg to visit with them over the weekend. My son, Tyler, will be in Hattiesburg for the weekend with the baseball team he plays for. The team just happened to be based out of Hattiesburg, so that makes a win win for me!! I am looking forward to getting to spend time with them and see their hometown. Ariel and Amber are in the final semester of their senior year in high school. Their year is going great and they are really enjoying all of the joys of being a SENIOR!! They are both very busy making their plans for college next year. Please keep this sweet family in your prayers.

Please keep Preston in your prayers. He is once again back inpatient with fever. He has really had a tough time, and needs all of our prayers. He is over day +100 and had hoped to be back home HOME by now. You can check out his CB site, Renee does an excellent job keeping everyone informed of what is going on with him.



Last week I had the pleasure of going to the movies with Preston, his mom and Ma to see Yogi Bear in 3D. We really had a great time and Preston LOVED the movie! He sat on the edge of his seat with his 3D glasses on the entire movie! He was adorable to watch, I enjoyed watching him as much as I did the movie.

One other prayer request that I would like to share with you... our team member Svetlana had ear surgery this week. It was an outpatient surgery and she is doing really well. She has been in some pain and discomfort from the packing that remains in her ear. Please pray for her recovery and also pray that as this heals it will show that the surgery was successful to restore the hearing loss she has had in that ear. Thank you so much for those prayers. Her family is all located out of the country and she did not want to worry them, so she has not told them yet about her surgery. She has ask that we do not post any comments regarding her surgery on her facebook page if you happen to be facebook friends with her. You may private inbox messages to her, or for our team members you may post them on our Team Believe facebook page. Thank you for honoring her request.

Ok, I think that is about it to catch you all up on our kiddo's and team members. The only other thing I want to share with you is a big honor for me! I have been asked to serve on the Advisory Board for the Hero's Program for St Jude Marathon. We will have our first board meeting tomorrow. I feel so honored to be selected for a position on this board. I will fill you in more after we have had our first meeting and I know more. Just pray for me to serve the best way possible on this board.

I pray that each of you have a great week.

Keep praying....

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Monday, January 3, 2011

This is what God's love is all about.... get your tissue!

Plain and simple, I have no greater words to share with you than these of a mom with a precious child fighting the beast.

Please go down the list of names under "Our Friends" on the left hand side of this blog page and double click on "Eli". Please read his mom's post today. This family is so precious and have such a great faith. I will share more with you later.

BELIVE PRAYER WORKS~

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Praying for a wonderful 2011 for EVERYONE!


BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~