Friday, 18 January, 2008

17 days into the new year and Ali's great grandma passed away. That makes 2 for 2008.

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FRIDAY!! January 11, 2008

Ali barely made it back to school on Monday. She flew from Hartford to Chicago where her flight was delayed. Her flight to L.A. was late and she missed her connecting flight to SLO...which was the last one out. So she was able to get tickets to Santa Barbara where she could perhaps catch the train or bus to SLO. But when she got to the gate for the flight they closed it 7 minutes early...and were admitting no one- even though the plane was still there. So the scramble was on. Fortunately her friend is 21 and they were able to get a rental car, battle the rain and make it home. If she were not in classes Monday she would have been dropped....but she made it....and survived 6 hours of classes on Monday.

I do not have photos of her in Europe and have not even heard her tales...on New Year's Day I flew to L.A. to be with my mom who was not doing well. I was with her when she passed at 1:28 on Jan. 3. My sister and I were able to get it together and plan services for her on the 5th so my nieces could be there. My sister and I got so much done by the time I flew home on the 8th it was incredible. I was beginning to think that someone made a New Year's Resolution for me not to sleep! The first week of the New Year went by and I calculated 21 hours of sleep! I got home late Tuesday night and returned to work on Wednesday- and right after work picked up my inlaws from the airport and drove directly to Nolan's basketball game....and the wheel has been spinning ever since.

I hope to hear from Ali soon and post photos- but I am off to a basketball game...run run run!

*LIVESTRONG*
*************************
31 December, 2007/ 1 January 2008

What is New Year's Eve like in Paris?
We'll ask Ali when she returns!

*LIVESTRONG*HAPPY NEW YEAR*
**********************************
Sunday, 30 December, 2007 -8:45 p.m. PST
Wishing you a Happy New Year 2008!
Friday I sent a BIG FAT $1,000 check to Matthew and Ashely's families. Monday I brought a check for $1,000 plus to Mickey's mom. What a pleasure to hand it to her...I wish I could have handed the checks to the other families too...it made all the time, effort and stress totally worth it! Thanks to Postcard Cindy for helping make this possible!

THANKS to those below who DID donate...not who almost donated, or who thought about it, but actually put a dollar bill in an envelope and sent it to me- or purchased a plate or just made a donation. You "Paid it Forward" and helped us write those checks. Happy New Year and May your new year be filled with GOOD HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.


SUSAN FELEDY 2X
APRIL MOLLE 2X
JEAN ALL-KIDS donation
ERIN AUSTIN
CINDY LIN
ANONYMOUS donation
G SHEPPARD donation
SHAUNNA McGLYNN 2X
JANICE LeDOUX- "Grandma J" 2X -Andrew's grandma
MARIE LAPPIN
LINDA ANDERSEN
EVA VAN DEN BROECK- Belgium- (Pay it Forward donation from around the world!) 2X
BETSY PENSIERO
CINDY IN VA donation
DIXIE HALL donation
JAMIE DICKENSON
CYNDI POEGGEL
BETHANY PAYNE
MITCH SILVER donation
SUSAN MACKEY
ANGELA ARMSTRONG
CAROL GRAHAM donation
SIMONE SHWIEBBE- Belgium!-(Pay it Forward donation!)
KEELY KNOCHE
LYNN LEWIS
DARICE KEETHE
FRANCES POEGGEL
BRENDA ORTMANN
KIM MEAGHER
CLYDE SHAFFER
KRISTIE ESCOE
LISA SAVLVUCCI
JOAN CROWSON
JENNIFER MILLER
SCOTT SILVERTHORN
BRIANNA GROVES X2
ABBIE DOSER
JODI KINES- in honor of Ber VanderMeer
CHRISTMAS ANGEL SHERRILL
KADEN KILBURN
KATHY MOSKOVITZ
LESLEY JOHNSON
HEATHER REITZ
JENNIFER BRYAN
JULIE SCHNEIDER- donation
PAM CARMAN
SARINA DANE
KARIN FAIRLESS
DAVID KILBURN
SHERRILL
MELINDA MORTENSEN
PAM CARMAN
KIM SPRAGUE X2
KIMBERLY MAGUIRE
PHILIP ALARIE
DIANNA LAVIDALIE -donation
PATRICE MENGELL
RONEE BROWN
DIANE DIAMOND
BRIANA ROEHLING
SAM GLEASON
URSULA AND IGNACIO VIDAGUREN IN HONOR OF ANGEL ALEXIA
KIM SPRAGUE
KRISTI GERDON- Pay it Forward- sponsor of a plate for a child in treatment
VICTORIA WADDLE
MEGAN COLLINS-PAY IT FORWARD
GEORGIE EDEN
SUSAN BAUM-Matthew's Aunt
JULIE CARLSON- coffee $ donation because she "makes hers at home" :)
CATHY WALSH- in honor of Princess Warrior Angel Alexia Castaneda
ANN ANDERSON- Karina's grandmother :)
CECELIA SPANGLER-Karina's auntie :)
ANONYMOUS $1
MARYELLEN HORGAN-CURRIER
LINDA JONES
SUSAN FROM TX
ANNE HARRIS


*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*PAY IT FORWARD*
****************************
Sunday, 23 December, 2007
First, a BIG thank you to all who donated to the plate fundrasier! A check for $1,000 is being sent to Mickey, Matthew and Ashley's families. There was a little over the $3,000 and Postcard Cindy and I agreed to pass that on to Mickey for his wish trip this week. Donations are still coming in and that is fine...they are passed right along. All the info is up at my LMNOP blog.

Now that my good deed for the holidays is over I am ready for Christmas....it was five years ago today that our entire family went to the mall with Ali in a wheel chair to do our Christmas shopping...it was the 23rd of December and I had but one present purchased...my co-worker had picked up a pair of fleece pj bottoms for Nolan when she went to Old Navy...otherwise beneath our tree was completely empty.........that trip was hectic, chaotic and we were all dragging from lack of sleep- the IV pump had gone off all night, divided doses of methotrexate had me up at 3 a.m, but here we were ready to shop until we had presents for everyone. Now that I look back, it was a fun trip- we took turns pushing Ali so she could pick out presents for us- we had to hide in line to buy for each other and manuever the wheel chair through the crowds. I remember Ali wanted a jewelry box that looked like a chest of drawers....the kind you see everywhere before Christmas....and there wasn't one to be found. Russell kept saying, "It could be her last Christmas," and he was bent on finding one....there wasn't one in the mall but the next day on Christmas Eve, I battled through an upside down WalMart and found one without a box but in decent shape to put under the tree. I can't remember what anyone else got that year but I will never forget that jewelry box.

Today, the 23rd, I am once again braving the stores for a few things I did not get in advance because I was painting and shipping plates and also because once I finished that I got SICK! I am on round 2 of antibiotics and it seems to be kicking it, thank goodness!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a most Joyous New Year-LIVESTRONG!

Sunday, 9 December, 2007

SCROLL DOWN PAST THE CANDLE LIGHTING INFO FOR PLATE ORDER INFO!
THE DEADLINE APPROACHES SO PLEASE DON'T HESITATE!

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Wednesday, 5 December, 2007
THE WORLDWIDE CANDLE LIGHTING

Caringbridge Friends-
Since this summmer I have lost 6 little friends- I cannot imagine how their families feel with the upcoming holdiays. A few days ago I stumbled upon this in the paper:

An organization called COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS is using Sunday, December 9, to honor all children who have become angels. At 7 p.m. local time, light as candle to honor an angel...this will create a 24 "wave of light."

At the website Compassionate Friends you can post a message for a child who has passed, no matter the reason. You can also call (877)969-0010 toll free for more information. There is much valuable information on grieving if you are ready.

*LIVESTRONG*
*Check my blog for an update-

***********************************
Saturday, 24 November, 2007

Let the 2nd Annual Christmas Eve Santa Plate Fundraiser Begin!

This year all proceeds go to:
Mickey
Matthew
Ashley

All 3 have relapsed leukemia and have recently undergone a bone marrow transplant or are about to receive a transplant. Please help these families this HOLIDAY season while they are away from home to save their childrens' lives. Each family will receive a check BEFORE Christmas...so order ASAP :)

The ornamental melamine plates are 10 3/4" and handpainted with your child(ren's) names. Orders are shipped in 2-3 days!

$15 per plate goes directly to the families :)

HOW TO ORDER:
*Paypal- send to my account richino@ix.netcom.com
$15 per plate, $6 shipping and .60 to cover the cut that Paypal takes. Add $1.50 to ship extra plates and .25 to cover Paypal's cut. -Please make sure to put all the plate name info and correct mailing address in the message box of Paypal :)

*Mail Orders: Send to my P.O. Box
Marey Richins
2033 Ralston Ave.
Belmont, CA 94002

*Locals- just email me your order and I will drop the plates at your house, no shipping just a flat $15.

*Donations of any amount accepted...remember pennies make dollars and dollars pay bills.

*If you would like to sponsor a plate for a child in treatment, please email me and I will let you choose a child and enclose a note. There are many children in treatment whose parents are on a tight budget after bills incurred with lengthy treatment.

***I will keep a list of everyone who makes a purchase or donation and present the list along with a check to each family. If you wish to remain anonymous please let me know with your order.***

QUESTIONS? Email me at kteachermom@hotmail.com
For more info and photos, check my blog by clicking HERE

*LIVESTRONG*BUY A PLATE & HELP SPREAD HOLIDAY CHEER*

Wednesday, 21 November, 2007

FINALLY!!

GO HERE TO ORDER CHRISTMAS EVE SANTA PLATES FOR OUR FUNDRAISER!


***********************************


FRIDAY! November 16, 2007
Saturday and SUNDAY! 10-4!
Twin Pines Park, Belmont, right off Ralston Ave.
*HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR*
100 percent the plate proceeds are going to 3 transplant families. All of my other items, reindeer, dog scarves, photo cards and candy canes, will cover the costs of the table and supplies, then the remainder of the profits go straight to families- from me and Postcard Cindy, in honor of ALi...Just Paying it Forward :)
*****************************
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Fly high Sweet Sherilyn
*******************************
Tuesday, 13 November, 2007
Mitchell, a twin who played soccer and baseball and ran cross country with Ali's brother Nolan, passed away yesterday morning. He was a few months shy of 16. His cancer, Glioblastoma Multiforma type IV aggressive malignant cancer usually found in elderly people and usually in the brain. Mitchell was a fighter and his parents believed he could beat the odds- they were told he would never breath again on his own, eat or walk. Mitchell accomplished all 3. He lived longer than expected and was able to take his Make-A-Wish trip with extended family. Please stop by his site and leave his parents and twin brother words of sympathy.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER* LIVE LIKE MITCHELL*
***********************************
Sunday, 11 November, 2007
"GO GIRL!"
Below is:
Marielle and her brother Rico showing off their Christmas Eve plate last year. These are the plates that I will be offering again this year as my FUNDRAISER for 3 families whose child is in transplant from relapsed leukemia. I will post the info to order next Saturday. BUT for now, head on over to Marielle's site as TODAY marks her very last day of chemotherapy! Over 2 years of torture for this little girl and her family. There is much to be THANKFUL for over at Marielle's house today!


************************************
Thursday, November 1, 2007
November...fall...Thanksgiving- much to be Thankful for-

I have so much right now...a job, kids in college, basketball season, a house, food, friends...it is time to start painting plates for Christmas Eve- the annual fundraising begins....BIG THANKS to Postcard Cindy who has single-handedly purchased all the plates! I will be at the Belmont Holiday Craft Fair Nov. 17-18 at Twin Pines Park for all you locals. For those of you far away who would like to help out Mickey, Ashley and Matthew and families stay tuned for the update on how to order and "PAY IT FORWARD!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*PAY IT FORWARD*

**********************************
Sunday, 28 October, 2007
Today I had the honor of attending a CELEBRATION of the life of LUCAS TRAN. He was just shy of his 4th birthday although he lived 100 years woRth in his short lifetime. Although I never met Lucas in person, I feel like I have known him the year that I have followed his treatment.

His wonderful family and the upcoming sibling he will never know on earth, will greatly miss this little smiling, laughing vacuum master. Please leave a note for his family on his site.
*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ENJOY THE MOMENT LIKE LUCAS DID*
***************************************
Saturday, 27 October, 2007

CLICK HERE to be a Christmas Angel
***************************************

Monday, 22 October, 2007

*S.F. Nike Women's Marathon*



Here's Noelle running to the finish with her mom Claire...."GO NOELLE GO!"




Aiden's family met us at the finish. Aiden had several 1/2 marathon runners and 1 marathoner running in his honor!



We met up with Jackson's family and Noelle's family at the finish. Jackson is nearing OT...his mom was a mentor and ran the 1/2- Claire, Noelle's mom ran the marathon. They look great for having run so far on this beautiful fall day!



...and the best photo for last....Noelle and Claire at the finish.

Unfortunately I never met up with Melissa, Baby D's mom....or Brandy, Cole's mom....or Brianna...but there's next year.....should I run the 1/2? I am not sure if my neck can take it or not.
*LIVESTRONG*RUN LIKE CLAIRE, MELISSA, TIFFANY AND BRANDY*

Wednesday, 21 November, 2007

FINALLY!!

GO HERE TO ORDER CHRISTMAS EVE SANTA PLATES FOR OUR FUNDRAISER!


***********************************


FRIDAY! November 16, 2007
Saturday and SUNDAY! 10-4!
Twin Pines Park, Belmont, right off Ralston Ave.
*HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR*
100 percent the plate proceeds are going to 3 transplant families. All of my other items, reindeer, dog scarves, photo cards and candy canes, will cover the costs of the table and supplies, then the remainder of the profits go straight to families- from me and Postcard Cindy, in honor of ALi...Just Paying it Forward :)
*****************************
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Fly high Sweet Sherilyn
*******************************
Tuesday, 13 November, 2007
Mitchell, a twin who played soccer and baseball and ran cross country with Ali's brother Nolan, passed away yesterday morning. He was a few months shy of 16. His cancer, Glioblastoma Multiforma type IV aggressive malignant cancer usually found in elderly people and usually in the brain. Mitchell was a fighter and his parents believed he could beat the odds- they were told he would never breath again on his own, eat or walk. Mitchell accomplished all 3. He lived longer than expected and was able to take his Make-A-Wish trip with extended family. Please stop by his site and leave his parents and twin brother words of sympathy.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER* LIVE LIKE MITCHELL*
***********************************
Sunday, 11 November, 2007
"GO GIRL!"
Below is:
Marielle and her brother Rico showing off their Christmas Eve plate last year. These are the plates that I will be offering again this year as my FUNDRAISER for 3 families whose child is in transplant from relapsed leukemia. I will post the info to order next Saturday. BUT for now, head on over to Marielle's site as TODAY marks her very last day of chemotherapy! Over 2 years of torture for this little girl and her family. There is much to be THANKFUL for over at Marielle's house today!


************************************
Thursday, November 1, 2007
November...fall...Thanksgiving- much to be Thankful for-

I have so much right now...a job, kids in college, basketball season, a house, food, friends...it is time to start painting plates for Christmas Eve- the annual fundraising begins....BIG THANKS to Postcard Cindy who has single-handedly purchased all the plates! I will be at the Belmont Holiday Craft Fair Nov. 17-18 at Twin Pines Park for all you locals. For those of you far away who would like to help out Mickey, Ashley and Matthew and families stay tuned for the update on how to order and "PAY IT FORWARD!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*PAY IT FORWARD*

**********************************
Sunday, 28 October, 2007
Today I had the honor of attending a CELEBRATION of the life of LUCAS TRAN. He was just shy of his 4th birthday although he lived 100 years woRth in his short lifetime. Although I never met Lucas in person, I feel like I have known him the year that I have followed his treatment.

His wonderful family and the upcoming sibling he will never know on earth, will greatly miss this little smiling, laughing vacuum master. Please leave a note for his family on his site.
*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ENJOY THE MOMENT LIKE LUCAS DID*
***************************************
Saturday, 27 October, 2007

CLICK HERE to be a Christmas Angel
***************************************

Monday, 22 October, 2007

*S.F. Nike Women's Marathon*



Here's Noelle running to the finish with her mom Claire...."GO NOELLE GO!"




Aiden's family met us at the finish. Aiden had several 1/2 marathon runners and 1 marathoner running in his honor!



We met up with Jackson's family and Noelle's family at the finish. Jackson is nearing OT...his mom was a mentor and ran the 1/2- Claire, Noelle's mom ran the marathon. They look great for having run so far on this beautiful fall day!



...and the best photo for last....Noelle and Claire at the finish.

Unfortunately I never met up with Melissa, Baby D's mom....or Brandy, Cole's mom....or Brianna...but there's next year.....should I run the 1/2? I am not sure if my neck can take it or not.
*LIVESTRONG*RUN LIKE CLAIRE, MELISSA, TIFFANY AND BRANDY*

18 October, 2007

Okay folks....who's running the S.F. Nike Women's marathon this Sunday?????

I need to know so I can add your name to the sign I am making to cheer you on! I also need your cell phone number so I can meet you at the end and take your picture! GO LADIES! GO cANCER MOMS! RUN FOR THE CURE!!!!

*LIVESTRONG* RUN LIKE FOREST GUMP*
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Friday, 12 October, 2007
Please visit Lucas and send words of encougement to his family. Lucas is in hospice tonight- a sweet little boy who endured way more than any little boy should...he loves the color purple, loves his big sister more than anything and has an aggressive cancer that returned despite a transplant and all the chemo and radiation the little guy could take. Once again my heart breaks...for another family who will say good bye to their son way too soon.

If this news on top of Matthew's wasn't enough, my high school buddy Matt's mother and mystery novelist Helen is in hospice also...breast cancer is taking her life...posted on her site is this poem that is an inspiring way to look at passing:

Gone From my Sight

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says: "There, she's gone!"

"Gone where?"

Gone from my sight. That's all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminshed size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone says: "There, she's gone!" there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout:" Here she comes!"

And that is dying.

*LIVESTRONG my friends...
***********************************
Wednesday, 10 October, 2007
Imagine an 8 year old boy going through 3 1/2 years of daily treatment for ALL only to relapse less than a year later...then to have 2 1/2 more years of chemo only to relapse 3 months later....imagine this boy now 15....it can't do anyting but break your heart...and his family's and his mother's...please visit Matthew's site and leave some words of encouragement...the boy who ran cross country during all this treatment and whose motto is "NEVER GIVE UP."
LIVESTRONG MY FRIENDS...
***********************************
Thursday, 4 October, 2007
Another week is almost over and I have not been able to check on our caringbridge friends like I would like to, visit the local friends Mickey who is 35 days into his BMT or Noah who is 10 months out of transplant and has 2 new twins babies at home. I have had a cough/cold/sore throat for too long now...not enough rest and too much travel. I also missed the MPS walk with Scotty and his parents....next year I will make it! I should be able to recover now that fewer of my kids are coughing...and I am breaking the nose picking habits!

Ali is into her 1st quarter and doing well. She hasn't caught the bug from Nolan and I after last weekend and survived the whirl-wind, exciting trip down south.

*Wishing everyone a wonderful fall*

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*SMILE OFTEN*PAY IT FORWARD*_________________________________
TUESDAY, 2 October-
(I hopefully resized the photos!)
Sunday, 30 September, 2007
Another whirl-wind trip and another non-stop fun-memory making kind of trip. Nolan drove me the 300 miles to ALi's on Thursday after school- then we all drove to So.Cal arriving at our hotel at 11 p.m. We were up again at 9 and off to get the boy to the golf tournament and lunch with friends.

That evening, Ali received her 2nd of 4 scholarship checks from Will Ferrell! Nolan played in the gold tournament this year and was the youngest golfer on the course. The evening dinner and auction was equally exciting-


Ali's box of photo cards went to Postcard Cindy in the silent auction! She won out by $1!


A year or so ago I wrote about a girl who had a softball scholarship to Fresno State...Rachael was dx w/ and was also friends w/Danny's family. When I saw her name in the program I was so excited to meet her- she is truly another very deserving young lady. She is doing wel and has returned home to attend college locally since she can no longer play softball.


Above Rachael is standing/bending next to Ali.
Below Nolan, Ali and Dave have a few moments to laugh, get autographs and harrass Will.

Will was so busy patiently signing autographs and meeting all the cancer survivors afterwards that I am sure he was exhausted. We waited until it quieted down a bit and then had him sign a few DVD's we brought and then I had him sign my left arm! He thought that was funny and we posed for a photo and much to my dismay the photographer must have thought it was funny also because the photo I truly wanted is blurred.

Once again I am truly amazed at the people who make this happen and are so dedicated to college student cancer survivors. We are truly blessed :)

*LIVESTRONG*LIVE LIKE WILL AND CRAIG*

21 September, 2007

Ali has completed her first week of her 3rd year at Cal Poly. I am busy making her cards for the live auction for her scholarship dinner next Friday night...her brother will be playing in the golf tournament, Will Ferrell is auctioning off a part in his next movie and Stacy and Craig Pollard are going crazy with last minute details...and I am frantically getting it all together here on the homefront. Aside from all that....here is an inspirationl clip....

On September 24, Chili’s Grill & Bar offers an easy way for you to join the fight against childhood cancer: dining out. Participating Chili’s restaurants nationwide will donate 100 percent of its profits from this Monday to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. So enjoy those famous Baby Back Ribs or one of Chili’s other signature entrées for lunch or dinner, and you will be supporting the life-saving work of St. Jude.

WHEN YOU READ A STORY LIKE THIS, HOW CAN YOU NOT CRY AND HOPE THAT OUR CARINGBRIDGE FRIENDS MAY SOMEDAY SHOW THE WORLD WHAT THEY CAN DO.... (From the St. Jude site:)

An athlete turned philosopher shares inspiring life lessons from the school of baseball.

He can tell you the number of stitches in a regulation baseball, Babe Ruth’s batting average and the first year the Atlanta Braves won the pennant. He knows the average speed of Cy Young’s fast ball, the distance from home plate to first base and the exact date the lower portion of his left leg was amputated. Thirty-five-year-old Robert Byrd learned at an early age that like a baseball, life can come at you fast and hard. When a cancer diagnosis threw him a curve as a promising 11-year-old athlete, he swung back.

Byrd has taken the competitive spirit and drive that made him a sports phenomenon in grade school and applied it to his pursuit of life. His refusal to accept defeat has also inspired kids on the Little League team he coaches to keep swinging, no matter what.

Three strikes
“A log in the trail hit me on the side of the leg,” Robert recalls of the minor injury he incurred 24 years ago that would lead to a devastating discovery. “I was riding four-wheelers with my friends, and the log hit me in the left leg.” That was the first strike.

A swollen knot formed below his left knee. The tender whelp persisted, and the all star began limping.

A physician in the Byrds’ Arkansas hometown referred Robert to a clinic in Memphis. X-rays revealed an aggressive form of osteosarcoma, bone cancer, attacking Robert’s femur. That was
strike two.

“When you’re a boy that age, you think about two things—playing with your friends and playing sports,” Robert explains. “When the doctors said I had cancer I thought, ‘Okay, what does that mean?’ I just wanted to be with my friends and play ball. That’s all I wanted to do.”

The clinic immediately sent Robert to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In a whirlwind three-week period, Robert’s aspirations went from reaching home plate to reaching his 12th birthday. Acting quickly to stop the spreading cancer, doctors ordered an amputation of Robert’s left leg, 2 inches above the knee. Strike three.

“It was May 7, 1984,” Robert says matter-of-factly. “My leg was amputated on a Monday. I was released that Friday, and I went home and rode my four-wheeler.”

Clearly, three strikes were not taking this slugger out of the game.

A new game plan
“All my brain could think of then was, ‘How quickly can I return to normalcy?’” Robert says.

“Amputation was all we had to offer in those days,” says Debbie Crom, RN, PhD, a St. Jude nurse practitioner assigned to Robert’s case. “He was already being scouted by high school athletic programs because he was so talented, and to walk in that room and tell such a good kid and gifted athlete that we had to remove part of his leg…” Crom pauses briefly, struck by the clarity of that memory. “It’s a moving experience that stays with you for a long time,” she confides. “But Robert and his family never missed a beat. They focused on getting through this and getting Robert well.”

Crom, who later asked Robert to speak to other patients undergoing amputation, credits Robert’s parents for his positive resolve. “He reflected the attitude of his mother and father—that he could do anything without a leg that he could do with one,” she says. “They had a strong, underlying faith that charted the course for their son.”

Robert, who was fitted with his first prosthetic limb six months after surgery, agrees. “Through the entire ordeal, my parents were always there. They encouraged me and inspired me to never give up,” he says. “They taught me that if you want something in life, you have to work for it. You can’t rely on someone else to do the job for you.”

Winning drive
Those lessons rang true when Robert had to undergo a 42-week chemotherapy program, in the days before effective anti-nausea drugs were available; and a second surgery, a year after the first, to remove a bone spur at the base of his amputated limb.

Even someone whose personal motto is, “Thank you, dear Lord, for letting me wake up, and I will deal with whatever happens this day,” faces moments when that is not easy.

“I remember a couple of days before my surgery, just looking down at my leg and kind of crying. I told my leg, ‘Goodbye. I’m not ever going to see you again.’” Robert recalls. “That was very, very hard for me—knowing a part of your body is really gone.”

The future as Robert once saw it was also gone. “I excelled in every imaginable sport, and I don’t mean that in a bragging way,” he explains. “Sports were the pinnacle of my life back then. My future as an athlete was bright; what it may have held I don’t know, but suddenly it was taken away from me.”

But as fast as a homerun can shake a batter’s slump, Robert kicks the dust off his shoes and shifts into coaching mode…sharing life lessons.

“I learned not to pity what I had lost, but to take that motivation, that drive that I had in sports, and use it in other areas of my life,” he says. “So when we talk about purpose in life and why things happen, maybe that is part of it.”

Perhaps another part of it is inspiring the Little League baseball players on the team he coaches, a team he refers to with a father’s pride as the cream of the crop.

“These are 8-year-old kids, but if you use the tool right, you are giving these children valuable life lessons,” he says. “I try to teach them how to take the game of baseball and apply it to life. I tell them, ‘If you strike out, you have to get back up; you have to try again.”

Crossing home
When he’s not coaching Little League or working as a senior marketing analyst for a communications company in Arkansas, Robert pursues his passion for photography and spends time with his wife and stepson.

Since the early 1990s, limb salvage procedures have greatly reduced the number of amputations for patients like Robert. However Crom, who now works as a nurse practitioner in the St. Jude After Completion of Therapy Clinic, explains that even a long-term cancer survivor like Robert is not entirely out of the woods.

“Issues like heart disease, nerve damage and infertility can affect these patients later in life due to the toxicity of the treatments,” Crom says. “That’s why the studies we conduct with our survivors are so important, as we continue to develop safer, targeted therapies.”

But Robert was glad he was in the woods that day riding his four-wheeler when what he calls a “miraculous log” hit him in precisely the spot where his cancer was growing.

“I know someone was watching over me that day,” Robert says. “Something caused that log to hit me. Then the doctors found the cancer and did what they had to do about it—and here I am today.”

With his inspiring drive and determination, Robert has racked up some impressive stats of his own. He achieved an unheard of .569 batting average when he returned to the baseball diamond a year after his surgery, wearing his prosthetic limb. He has coached Little League for 16 years and has seen the legendary baseball film Field of Dreams 12 times. But it is Robert’s winning attitude in the game of life that has scored the biggest hit with friends, family and enough 8-year-olds to fill a triple-A ballpark. It’s one for the record books.

LIVESTRONG MY FRIENDS....
EAT AT CHILIS ON THE 24TH
*LIVE LIKE CRAIG AND WILL*
-----------------------------------------
18 September, 2007
Do you have an extra $20,000 to spend? If you do, and you want to star (be a non-speaking double,)in the upcoming movie "Step Brother," with Will Ferrell you can CLICK HERE

100 percent of this $$ goes to a scholarship! Read the info below to be truly inspired.....

Ferrell to auction spot in movie to help fraternity brother's cancer foundation


Associated Press
SAN MARCOS, Calif. — Will Ferrell is auctioning a cameo spot in his new movie to raise money for a fraternity brother's cancer foundation.

Ferrell came up with the idea to help Craig Pollard's Cancer for College foundation. The two were fraternity brothers at the University of Southern California.

Online bidding will begin Monday and close Sept. 26. Ferrell will announce the winner on Sept. 27, and that person will meet the actor the next day at the 14th annual Cancer for College golf tournament dinner at Temecula Creek Inn.

The opening bid for the movie appearance is $5,000.

In October, the winner will join Ferrell on set of his new movie, Step Brothers, and appear in a scene.

"What a perfect Christmas present for your son or daughter," Ferrell said. "It is the surefire way to win the parent of the year award. Support this amazing cause, by buying them me."

Pollard, a two-time survivor of Hodgkin's disease, started Cancer for College to provide college scholarships to current and former cancer patients. The charity has awarded $200,000 to 50 cancer survivors since 1993.

*LIVESTRONG my friends*
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Remember your first car?
(I do. It was a yellow piece of junk!)
But Ali has waited a long time for this...now that she lives off campus she needs to get to and from school.




Here she is with her brother and previous owner of the car.
LIVESTRONG my friends!
------------------------------

Monday, 2 September, 2007
Ali returned from her backpacking trip in one piece. While she was hiking around beautiful Mono Pass and the surrounding area, I was working on getting her stuff ready to move down to SLO...AND we finally found a car for her! We will pick it up tomorrow after my work...and she will drive it home!

Here are a few photos from Ali's trip:










There will be more of her as soon as she gets them from her roommate Corinne.
LIVESTRONG!
____________________________________
Sunday, 26 August, 2007

*Today marks 5 years from dx*
*1,827 days since we heard the "C" word.
*931 days of daily treatment ended March 28, 2005.
*2 1/2 more years to make the 5 year mark.

Below is a superimposed photo of Ali- the one that used to be at the top of this page...and a recent photo. This accompanied an English essay on transformations.

For more on today you can check out my blog by clicking here

*LIVESTRONG*SEIZE THE DAY*
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Tuesday, 21 August, 2007 9:21
Please visit my cousin Gary's site and add some words of hope to his guestbook for his family's comfort.

He passed away about 30 minutes ago-
Gary
*LIVESTRONG*

10:00 a.m.
Ali is off to Yosemite for an 8 day backpacking trip! Hopefully when she returns we will have purchased one of the cars she was interested in.

We dropped Lex off to college this weekend and Nolan returns to school on Thursday...it is that time of year again...but I have until next week :)

*LIVESTRONG MY FRIENDS...
_______________________________________


Tuesday, 7 August, 2007

My kids asked why I continue to keep up with this site. First it is habit- second, it is to help those who are just beginning this journey. I save all of the info I gathered during our family's journey and just a few days ago retrieved info to help Little Lucas's Mom with billing errors from LPCH.

I also have a connection with those I have met over the years here on caringbridge. Just yesterday I met Danny's Mom who is receiving radiation treatment for lymphoma at Stanford. I met her at LPCH- and left her in my car in the turn around while I ran upstairs and dropped off a Relay t-shirt for our new friend Mickey who will be going to transplant soon.- Fortunately it wasn't ,my old van I left her in...but my Element...and then I quickly ran downstairs and we hurried off to Half Moon Bay where we met up with Scotty's family.



Kim, Kris, Scotty and I enjoy the view and wonderful trail around the Ritz Calrton!


Tomorrow Nolan and I will be meeting the infamous Post Card Cindy....for 2 days in Bodega Bay! We will be sure to post updates and photos especially on my blog.

LIVESTRONG my friends- please keep our dear Sweet Alexia and her family in your hearts as her damn cancer has relapsed. Please keep Angel Harrison, Angel Matthew and Angel Parker in your hearts as they recently became angels and their families are grieving.

Friday, 3 August, 2007

I interrupt the vacation tales to snap back to reality...that cancer sucks and innocent kids die. While I was enjoying Costa Rica without a care in the world, 3 children that I follow on caringbridge passed away... 3 little boys whose ages add up to 15....and one little 3 year old girl relapsed for her 3rd time and does not have much time left here in her earthly body.

Today, Big Foot, who will drive me anywhere I am needing to go, drove me to Matthew's viewing. Matthew, who I only knew through caringbridge, who was dx with leukemia and treated at the same hospital as my daughter #1- only for Matthew relapse and was given a bone marrow transplant- marrow from his older sister who was a perfect match. Only something, somehow did not go right...his aggressive cancer once again came back. His parents, who would go to the end of the earth for him, researched all the possibilities and chose Duke for a cord blood transplant. He was doing well- about 9 months out of transplant when he relapsed again. How I hate cancer....how unfair it takes the lives of little children, of young mothers, daddies and parents and grandparents....it SUCKS and there are only swear words more fitting for it.

So as Big Foot and I knelt in prayer, for a child we had never met, his grandmother broke down in front of his closed casket and there wasn't a dry eye in the chapel. It was a bright, sunny, beautiful day outside and here we were with a group of people mourning a little boy who was just starting what should have been along, beautiful life. It's not right.


His grandfather came up and shook our hands and introduced himself. I told him I had a gift for his mom and sister. I had only met his mother online, through our little neighbor Noah, another 2 year old who is 9 months out of a cord blood transplant at Duke. In December, I had a fundrasier for Noah and another baby with cancer who has since passed. Matthew stole my heart and $100 from the fundrasier went to him. Families away from home to treat their children suffer financially as well as emotionally. His family was so thankful.

Today, I hugged Matthew's mother and gave her a locket with 4 compartments and 4 photos I took from Matthew's website. Post Card Cindy and I purchased it and 3 little lockets for Matthew's sister that said, "Best, Friends, Forever." And that is exactly what Matthew and his big sister were. What can you say- what can you do? nothing can heal the family who loses a little child to cancer.
Afterwards Big Foot and I went to Wal-mart. Here we were, teary eyed and thrown back into the real world...everyone was going about their daily routines, while a family right down the road grieves the loss of a child. It is surreal. I remember gong to the grocery store after being held hostage in a hospital room for a month...what were these people doing out rushing around? Didn't they know people were sick? How could they rush about, some happily picking food for dinner, and the worst- some scolding their children in front of me...for God's sakes....hug that kid! He could be ill tomorrow!
So today sucks...cancer sucks...and I question any God that supposedly loves us so...why do you take our little children and make them suffer?
*LIVESTRONG MY FRIENDS*
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Thursday, 2 August , 2007

Our sweet little friend Princess Warrior Alexia has relapsed after her second transplant. She is our 4th little friend to pass in less than 2 weeks. The total age of these children was 18...4 babies! Please stop by her site and express your sympathies. Alexia and her family traveled from Argentina to Duke for her first transplant after she relapsed. She enjoyed being home for only a short time when she relapsed and once again returned to Duke for a second chance. She has the most wonderful, caring family any child could ask for.

Ali is leaving for MA tonight. Tomorrow I will attend Matthew's viewing. On a lighter note, I will meet with Scotty's family and Danny's Mom on Monday.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*GIVE AN EXTRA HUG TO YOUR KIDS TONIGHT*

Sunday, 29 July, 2007

We returned safely from our vacation...it was grand.
I will post some photos and stories after I go through mountains of laundry and get the house in order.

Please stop by and sent your condolences to two sweet boys families. Matthew and Harrison who both became angels during our vacation. They were both beautiful boys whose lives were cut short from cancer. Their families have been through years of treatment and are devastated at their loss.

Please take a moment to visit my cousin Gary who is in hospice and was given 3-8 months.

*LIVESTRONG*FIGHT CANCER*

20 July, 2007

Please send your condolences to Harrison´s family caringbridge.org/visit/harrisonleonardo ...he passed away today after a lengthy battle with leukmeia and transplant. His family was by his side for well into a year trying to cure their son.

Greetings from Costa Rica where we are enjoying a wonderful vacation.
*LIVESTRONG my friends....
************************************

Sunday, 15 July, 2007 *RELAY*

(I have just spent well over 2 hours trying to update this site...I know I am tired but this is ridiculus! Each time I load a photo another disappears. I give up- check out more photos when I return :)



It's hard to believe another Relay is over...5 years ago I never would have dreamed I would be so active in volunteer cancer work.

This Relay was special in many ways- very sad, very joyous and more tears shed than ever.

The photo above is a very poor crop of the field this morning- most of the tents were down. It seems very year something happens with my camera. I would love to not be responsible and just take photos...(or perhaps be in a few photos,)to really capture what the Relay is like.

Here are just a few of the beautiful luminaria that lined the field. For those of you who had us make a special luminaria, I will send photos when I return. Ali's PTA Reflections Project that was sent to the Washington D.C. PTA conference in 2004 has been at each of our events since. Alexis, Hunter, Jack, Keegan and Josh are so young in the photos. Some kids in the photos have gone OT, some relapsed and some have become angels.

First, it was bitter-sweet. I will never forget Ali pulling out little friend Ben around the track in a wagon for the Opening Ceremony Survivor Lap. He was not a morning person but showed the spirit he had in being a real trooper. Ben would have turned 8 on the 4th of July. His mom and dad and younger brother Mike showed up yesterday. I know how extremely had this was. Mike made a luminaria for Ben- a big red circle with a "D" in the middle and a diaginal line going through the "D."- No more dying.

My good friend Kathy, who was an aide in my classroom, and a 2 time lymphoma survivor showed up to help man the Survivor Booth in the morning. I had to twist her arm to get her to come, but she did....with the same smile she had every school day last year.

My niece Dawn and her family came to spend their first vacation day participating in the Relay!

Sweet Marielle and her family came once again this year and her mom Marie gave a wonderful speech. Marielle hammed it up, waving to daddy and her little brother Rico on the benches...and her new friends, Callie and Matt, Dawn's children.

Noah's Mom Anne came at dinner time and picked up his shirt and visited with us.

Susan, my wonderful neighbor who helped so much with Ali's diabetes, was there as a very recent Survivor. She is above with Dawn in the Survivor Lap with the kids.

Cynthia once again helped man the Survivor Booth and diligently did all the little jobs that need to been done but get overlooked.

Ali spoke at the evening Luminaria Ceremony. Nolan hung out with old friends and walked a few laps. Lex showed up to help a bit after her 2 classes that she needs to finish her A.A> degree. Russell showed up for the evening ceremony and dinner...and most importantly, to take down and clean up in the morning.

Dylan, a former student came in the late afternoon and spent the night...he is going into 3rd grade and compassionate about the Relay. He donated his allowance that he had saved up and earned his T-shirt.

There were some new teams- unfortunately one for a young lady named China, whose life was cut short at 23 from ovarian cancer. Her team was composed of "CHINA'S CHEER CREW" and they carried a gnome around the track so they knew someone was walking the entire time...he was always on the track. Her mother gave a wonderful tribute to her daughter during the evening ceremony...more tears. Here is their great t-shirt design-

Miles, a former student and his brother and parents entertained us with their band for over an hour!


It was a beautiful day...about 80 degrees with a light breeze and a cloudless sky. The lunch prepared by a family of volunteers- deep fried turkeys- and the dinner prepared by the Lions Club of San Carlos, was equally wonderful. And the Survivor cake- which I always fail to get a photo of- which had "SURVIVORS WE SALUTE YOU!" on the white frosting, was good too! The 3 Survivor dinner tables we decorated by Ali, Nolan and I on Friday night- no photos there either.

Now I am going to get a GOOD night's sleep and pack for.....COSTA RICA!!!! We leave tomorrow night!! I am usually very leery about advertising our vacations here...but this time we have people staying at our house 24 hours a day while we are away...so the dog, rat, fish and all the cats will be well cared for and the plants and t.v. and pool table :)

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RELAY FOR LIFE*VACATION!*

Wednesday, 11 July, 2007

2 Days until Relay!!

I pick Ali up from the airport tonight...late...don't know how that flight got booked...but I know I will be sleepy!
She's had a great time and will be returning to MA soon.

I have been busy preparing all the stuff for Relay. I have to make the Survivor's table coverings today...last year they were extra special and will be no less this year. I have everyone's t-shirt rolled up and rubberbanded, labeled with their name and tied with their medal. I am ready. The unfortunate thing is...whoever ordered shirts DID NOT take my advice from last year and sent in the SAME ORDER!! So if you show up and did not register you either need to be REALLLLLY SKINNNNY or REALLLLLY BIG. I have size S and size XXXXL left. I am trying to get Survivor shirts left from local Relays...and it better pan out or I am going to be one unliked person on Saturday!

Marielle's mom is speaking, Noah is coming and my niece Dawn will be there. I am so much more prepared this time I will have time to enjoy the Relay. Last year Cynthia and her kids Jenny and Nick helped me out emensely....this year I will have the Survivors staple their chains and chose a luminaria that I have pre-decorated. And did I mention I am organized :)

I will post photos hopefully before I leave on vacation! I have made a habit of never posting when we will be gone...but this year we have someone staying at our house the entire time we are gone...so I feel safer.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY,
*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RELAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS*

7/7/07

7 days to Relay! I have much to do and then we leave the country!! Ali will return from Massachusetts in time for Relay this year and then about 36 hours later we will be flying to San Jose in Central America!

Ali and I were busy refinishing furniture before she left. Then yesterday I took a break and drove out to Half Moon Bay to meet Scotty and his parents. They were enjoying a reprieve from the 105 degree weather were they live and enjoying the coast. Also, Scotty has a treatment every Thursday at LPCH and a short drive from Half Moon Bay to LPCH surely beats the long drive they usually have.

We had a nice visit and it is fun to meet caringbridge friends in person. Scotty is a very happy boy who is very lucky to have such caring parents. If more parents were like his the world would be a much more caring place.



Nolan returns from Camp Okizu tomorrow. This is his 5th year as a sibling...perhaps next year he will be a junior counselor like Lex was last year.

*Happy Summer*LIVESTRONG*RELAY!
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Friday Night, 29 June, 2007

My first week of summer has come and gone. Ali and I watched little Hanna Banana and shopped for a backpack and sleeping bag for her backpacking trip to Yosemite...after she returns from Massachusetts and Costa Rica!

Thursday was her clinic day...we went to 2N before clinic and met Mickey and his mom, Cathy. We brought him some Froot By the Foot per request and a can of Silly String that he is about to shoot at his mom in the photo below:



Nolan, Ali and Mick got to visit a little. Mick is quite the athlete so you can only imagine how awful it is to be in the hospital bombarded with chemo.



Ali is doing well and the best news is that she got the reslults of her titers and she does not need to be re-immunized! She needed a Hep A vaccine for Costa Rica but that was it.

Please visit our friends who are in need of prayers and well wishes at this time.

14 More Days to the Relay!! Come walk with us if you can.
*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RELAY WITH US*
***************************************
Sunday,24 June, 2007

I have completed all the luminaria that were ordered and you should have received the photos in the mail...let me know if you haven't.

Yesterday Ali went paddling with a cancer Survivor crew team. She had a great time and was the youngest paddler.

19 days until our Relay!

*LIVESTRONG*RELAY*COMMIT A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS TODAY*
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Saturday, 26 May, 2007




Why do I Relay?



For Angel Ben. For my beautiful daugher Ali. For my niece Dawn. For my cousin Gary. For Aiden, Nate, Spencer, Marielle, and Noah. For Matthew, Mitchell, Sarah, Rachel, Jack, Hayley, Danny, Lucas, Jack and Harrison. For Jackson, Victor, Kendrie, William, Joshua and Keegan. For Noelle, Ashley, Ben and Jonathon. For Logan, Mark, Victor, Serena, Baby D, Mike, Parker, Kevin, Karina, Kendrie and Kayla....and so many more children that I have met in the past 5 years...more than should ever have even thought of the likes of cancer.

That is why I Relay. Although it is known that the American Cancer Society only sets aside a small amount of money for childhood cancer research, that is changing. In CA, scholarships are given to students who are cancer Survivors. Ali received one of those...and so did 30 other students who were all majoring in areas where they would be working with cancers...researchers, doctors, nurses and biologists. These students are the future. The ACS also assists families with education and support during cancer dx and treatment. Also, by people like me challanging the ACS to further childhood cancer research we can change this!

The Belmont/San Carlos Relay for Life is July 14 and 15. If you would like to join the 5th annual "Ali's Team," you can CLICK HERE

If you would like to purchase a custom made luminaria




for a $10 donation to our team, email me at kteachermom@hotmail.com and I will design a luminaria for you. I will also send you a photo by email AND I will send you a photo from the evening ceremony with your luminaria aglow. You can also add more than one name to the bag...like the one below with the name of EVERY child from the ALL-KIDS leukemia website:


*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*FIGHT HARDER* LAUGH THE MOST*SUPPORT YOUR FELLOW MAN*

Late Monday Night, 21 May, 2007

WELCOME HOME NOAH! After many moons in N.C. at Duke, his family is finally home. If you have a chnace, stop by and give a Welcome Home to Noah.

I have passed on all the messages to Melissa....keep them coming if you'd like and I will continue to pass them along.

Ali's Relay was last weekend...and I have yet to talk with her because as soon as it was over she headed to her first dive training to receive her diving certification...and I am sure doing that after not sleeping for 24 hours was enough for her to want to sleep all day today...but she had a mid-term and a paper due today...so I will call her tomorrow :)

Only 52 more days until the Belmont/San Carlos Relay for Life. If you would like to join us: CLICK HERE I will also have our wonderful luminarias up next week.

For a laugh or photos check my blog...I think the link is in one of the entries below...I am having trouble loading the photos I wanted to add here...for some reason my computer will not accept my camera cable or memory stick...and I need some sleep before it is time to get up :)
LIVESTRONG my friends!
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Thursday, 10 de Mayo, 2007
Once again I must say I have met the most wonderful people through caringbridge and ALL-KIDS, an online group for parents with children with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia.) I have had the opportunity to meet many in person and others I feel like I have met and others I plan to meet in person someday. As I have said many times before, "I AM LUCKY." I have been blessed with the online friendship of many and Ali has so many people still caring for her 2 years after ending her treatment. But yesterday I was brought to tears when I spoke to Melissa, Baby D's mom. I posted Baby Donovan's site here many times and asked for you to leave messages in his guestbook or to purchase plates for the fundraiser I held last year for Baby D's family and Noah, a neighbor at Duke. I went to Baby D's site and could not sign in because I needed a password and username. So I called Melissa...she was in ER with injuries from training. She ran a marathon for TNT and is training for Tahoe. She is a young mother grieving the loss of her 2 year old who fought leukemia his entire life...he had 2 cord blood transplants and fought cancer with an innocent smile. Unfortunately people were leaving messages in Baby D's guestbook that were totally inappropriate. I have never met Melissa in person. It is not my position to judge her nor anyone else. All I know is she is doing her best each day to overcome a crappy hand life dealt her. If you would like to leave a message for Melissa, you can email it to me and I will post it on his site. I just want everyne to know that participating in a TNT event is no vacation. I rode Tahoe twice- I drove up at my expense, paid for my children to go to the dinners and for their hotel-rode my bike 100 miles around the lake, went to the hotel and slept and got up at 5:00 a.m the next morning to drive home and get my kids to school the next day. Was it worth it? YES! So the bottom line of this long entry is- BE NICE. It is very difficult to have a child with a life threatening disease- and if you are one of the unfortunate parents to have a child, (and some families two children,) with cancer, you have no idea what you go through each day.

and now-

More sad news we can possibly turn around:
Below is what I learned from our little friend Karina's site. Her mom gave me permission to copy the info here.


There is going to be a 6ut in federal funding for pediatric research to COG (Children’s Oncology Group) next year. There was 10 percent cut in pediatric funding this year. This means they are going to have to cut back on how many cancer protocols/ trials they can offer as well as cut back on the number of pediatric oncology patients they allow into the trials. Certain testing within the trials, such as minimal residual disease will also be decreased. It will affect all pediatric cancer research, especially those who have the very rare cancers. Inevitably it affects all cancers (adults and children) because as I mentioned in my previous post the benefits gained from pediatric research often helps the adult cancers. The federal money COG initially gets is through a grant from the NCI (National Cancer Institute). I believe the NCI gets the money through the NIH (National Institutes of Health) through a bill that was passed in 2002/2003. Back in 2003 COG was approved a 5 year grant through NCI for what was suppose to be 55 million dollars a year. However they have never received that amount of money. They initially received 29 million dollars a year but this year they received even 10ess than this and next year another 6 percent less. So if you haven’t yet done so, please send an e-mail letter to your US House of Representative and US Senators asking them to sign on to cosponsor The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act 2007 – Bills HR-1553 and S-911. It is so easy to do. I swear it takes less than 10 minutes. Just follow the instructions on Part 3 of Karina's previous journal entry. There are so many bills that pass through Congress so if we can draw attention to these and get them passed then we know the money will be appropriated to pediatric cancer research and the researchers and oncologist can continue to do what they are doing – helping and saving children’s lives. Since I last wrote another 5 US House of Representatives have signed on to cosponsor the bill. Thank you so much to all of you who have sent an email to your representatives!
*LIVESTRONG*IF YOU CAN'T ENTER SOMETHING NICE IN THE GUESTBOOK, CLICK THE BACK ARROW!*LOVE*LAUGH*LIVE*
__________________________________

Tuesday, 8 May, 2007



Here we are in Utah...a short trip filled with plenty! Great Grandma the Queen (Mc Queen,) is 93 1/2- she has lived on the same land that her parents purchased in 1904, her entire life! She has lived through both World Wars, Korea, Nam and Desert Storm and the current Iraq situation...the Great Depression, autos, airplanes and TV. She is a devout Mormon and one of Ali's biggest supporters during treatment. We cherished our visit and heard more stories that we had not heard before.

Of course no trip to the ranch is complete w/o leaving coins on the rail road tracks...no matter how old you are...it is our tradition.



There are more pics on my blog and more pics to follow here. It ws snowing when we arrived, and 80 degrees when we flew back into Oakland on Sunday. There was a 60 degree difference! And a BIG difference in gas prices too!

Ali returned home to more midterms- she is doing well in chemistry...her 5th chem class and is not enjoying physics but doing well in there too. Housing is very difficult at Cal Poly and she is fortunate enough to have a roommate whose parents purchased a house which the girls will live in next year. Since the dorms are limited to freshman/RA's and the campus apartments are a 1 year, generally sophomore living situation they were really in a bind. So the girls are taken care of for the next 3 years.

Ali is going to take a course to receive her Scuba Diving Certification this month! Amazing to us each milestone she reaches- and she continues to reach farther than her dear old mom ever dreamed of!

*LIVESTRONG* LIVE HARD* LAUGH HARDER* LOVE STRONGER*

1 May, 2007* MAY DAY!*

*May Day* PAINT OUR TOWN PURPLE*
Give flowers, make someone aware of childhood cancers...or all cancers for that matter...have a great May Day...my class and I will ...and Cathy who put a comment in my blog....I was happy to see others continue the tradition of May Day.
LIVESTRONG!
**********************************
29 April, 2007
Somedays it make some wonder....why?!
Somedays it just makes me cry-

Today I learned that 10 year old Ashley relapsed. She was dx in 2000, had 2 1/2 years of treatment and then relapsed. She was off treatment for a little more than a year this time and relapsed on Wednesdsay. To make matters even worse, after her first relapse her little brother was dx with the same thing. This poor family has been through it! Please offer your support and prayers to the entire family- there are also 2 older girls who are equally affected by this ugly disease.

On a lighter note, I now do my non-cancer, fun or perhaps even entertaining writing on my blog- come on over and enjoy the Beatles' Birthday music- that I finally learned how to add. Elementl-p
*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER* RELAY FOR LIFE*
************************************
Monday, 23 April, 2007
I have followed Kendrie's Mom, Kristie's lead and have begun a blog...I too have found myself going beyond the cancer and fundraiser updates...so meet me at L,M,N,O,P...or at Elementl-p for other-than-cancer and fundraising talk.
But don't skip the new info and photos below :)
***********************************
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Ali's Relay at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a little less than a month away. If you are in the area, email me about walking with her team. To get to her team page Click Here

I am starting to feel the stress...my Relay work is in full swing, I have Jump Rope for Heart coming up at school and I need to do my Kindergarten "Fun"draiser for two families and Relay. I also have 2 plate orders that were placed after Christmas that I have put off long enough. So things are the same here as usual...hurry, hurry, rush-rush!

Ali just finished 2 mid-terms in Physics and Organic Chem. She is happy to have them out of the way. Lex is busy writing scholarship applicatons and today Nolan is participating in a Badminton fundraiser at school- he is playing badminton from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.!

I also have something kind of funny to clarify...if you have seen Lex around town with little Hanna Banana, she is NOT my grandchild and Lex is NOT a 17 year old mother! So many people have asked me if my daughter had a baby! Yikes! When Lex brought cute Hanna to class the students loved her and then went home and told their parents that their teacher's daughter brought "HER" baby to class! They did not hear, "Hanna Banana is a working mommy's baby and Lex is the nanny 3 days a week!" I have a few more years off to become a grandmother I hope, and although Hanna Banana is a darling baby...at least get out of college and get married!

I will be posting Relay for Life info for Belmont/San Carlos and "Ali's Team," sign ups soon. PAINT YOUR TOWN PURPLE is coming to San Carlos May 1st. Look for us downtown at the little park on Laurel Street at noon and at 7-8 for a Luminaria set up.

*LIVESTRONG my friends*
***************************************
Saturday, April 14, 2007

PLEASE go to Logan's site and leave a message for Sweet Logan who finished 2 1/2 years of treatment this past March 17th, only to relapse on Thursday. He was not quite 4 years old when he began treatment and pretty much just knows chemo and pokes his whole short life. Please pray for Logan's quick remission and isolation of the relapse to his CNS (central nervous system) and not his bone marrow.

April, Logan's mom and I became on line friends through ALL-KIDS for parents of children w/ALL a few years back. About the same time I became friends w/ Victor and Keegan's moms...both boys relapsed and are doing well! They will be good examples for Logan who is a strong little guy himself.

If you have a chance check on Lucas another local boy who could use your prayers, Harrison who is a few days into transplant and Alexia who returned to Duke from South America and is a few days into her 2nd transplant. These are just a few kids fighting cancers...we need to find a CURE!

*Relay, Ride, Run for fundraisers for a CURE!
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Easter Sunday, 4/7/07

The new homepage photo was taken today, Easter morning, before Ali returned to school.
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Friday, 6 April, 2007

Ali's First Easter taken 4/19/87



Ali will be home tomorrow to celebrate her 21st Easter :)
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Sunday, 1 April, 2007

The Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Relay for Life is May 19-20. Ali's team is once again "Martha's for Life," after a speech given with a group of students who are walking the Relay together. Ali also earns service hours for towards an American Cancer Society Scholarship she received.
Click Here to get to Ali's team page

If you are able to walk in San luis that weekend, please send Ali an email she would love for you to join. If you are able, please donate $1 or more to here walk for a CURE.

*Happy Sunday*LIVESTRONG!*
*************************************
Friday, 30 March, 2007

Yesterday was Ali's 2 year OT clinic visit. Her appointments were supposed to be every 2 months but since she is away at school they are more like 5 to 6 months apart. As long as Ali is feeling fine we are okay with this as it is so hard to break away from studying to travel here for a clinic visit and miss some school. Now Ali's visits will be quarterly...which probably means bi-annually LOL!

As usual clinic was behind schedule. We waited and watched some cute little children make bunny bags with a retired kindergarten teacher volunteer. I gave the children the extra bunny and chick cut outs I was writing my class names on for my April bulletin board and that made the little girls happy. We waited some more and we heard the nurse call, "Spencer." Hmmm, Ali thought, could it be our Spencer? Then the nurse went out to the lobby, by the famous LPCH train and brought in Spencer Rocket! WoW! We didn't even plan the visits together like usual and here we were on the same day at the same time! It was a short, nice visit and Spencer is looking fantastic!

We waited to see which N.P. was going to see Ali. Since OT we have not seen the same N.P. once! Thank goodness Dr. D. did not take his new position unitl Ali went OT and we had him consistently throughout treatment. We were very lucky! We were still waiting when Spencer left so Kerri suggested we see Dr. L. He asked my permission to draw Ali's blood for research. Hmmm, I think the study is great but Ali is now an adult and she must give consent! Funny how the Dr's are not used to treating "adults." Sooooo, back to August 27, 2002- the Dr's in 2N asked us if we would consider allowing them to take an extra vial of Ali's bone marrow when they did the BMA. "If" Ali had ALL they would freeze her sample and use it for later research. After watching the first pull of bone marrow, Russell and I did not even think they would get one vial of bone marrow, let alone 2. Her marrow was like Jello...a tiny bit would suck into the syringe and jiggle right back into Ali. At that point we were wondering if we made the right decision....we had no idea what normal bone marrow looked like. On day 8 the process was repeated an Ali's marrow sucked right out. What a difference chemo and steroids made in 8 days!

Now fast forward to March 29, 2007. A sample of Ali's blood was taken and will be matched up with a sample of her frozen marrow. Dr's will try to see if there is a link between the genetics of her cancer then and her healthy blood now. They will look for any markers that are consistent across all ethnic, male/female, etc barriers, to see if they can predict in the future which infants will get ALL. That tiny bit of blood taken from newborn's heel at birth may in 10-20 years predict future disease and stop it before it is dx. WoW!

When Ali heard how the slides of the frozen marrow were made she was very interested. Dr. L said that Dr. S would surely let her visit the research lab and show her! She was excited with that offer and will email Dr. S to see if she can come in this summer. So back to August 27, 2002- Yes, we did make the right decision to donate that extra vile of marrow. That just goes along with our goal of helping to find a CURE for childhood cancers...and all cancers for that matter.

After asking more questions about Ali's treatment and new data on POG 9905, we found out that now newly dx patinets do not move down in risk. Ali was dx high risk due to her age. The high risk induction she received took its toll on all her organs, making her diabetic and at the time led the Dr's to think she may need her spleen removed. She got pancreatitis from an l'asparaginase allergy and could not tolerate vincristine and received blood and platelets more times than we could count. Fortunately because of favorable 4 and 10 translocation and being an early responder on day 8 she was reclassified to standard risk. Dr. L said she could have even been low risk yet patients could not move more than one level on POG 9905. Newly dx patients now do not move at all once they are classified- over age 10 is high risk- that is where they stay for the duration of treatment. Once again we feel fortunate...and as Dr. D said, "You chose an easy one." Although in the thick of treatment, it was not easy...but compared to some of our friends, it was a cake walk.

As we were leaving clinic, Dr. D came down to visit us. He was so happy to see Ali- he sees Lex all the time as she babysits his son. Then we went up to 2N to see Juliet and find out about the annual bake sale for Camp Okizu. Unfortunately it will not be held this year due to the construction on the hospital. That is really unfortunate as it brings in about $1,000 for the camp. Nolan's classmate Mitchell had been moved that morning to Santa Clara Valley Rehab- I had hoped to see one of his parents. If you have a chance, please leave words of encouragement for Mitchell.

Thanks for checking in- I will be posting our Relay info soon,
*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*FIGHT LIKE OUR KIDS*

****24 March, 2007****

WoW! It doesn't seem like 20 years ago I was covering morning recess duty for a co-worker and my water was leaking! Good thing it didn't break out on the playground!! I was told by everyone that first babies are always late...so I wasn't expecting Ali about 2 weeks early! I called the Dr. and she said to come in at lunch...so I taught the morning and left for the Dr....I called Russell and he said to call him and let him know what the Dr. said to do next. I arrived at the Dr. to be sat in the back hallway since no rooms were available...and then I heard Russell at the front desk....seems his co-workers made him leave work and come meet me. I was not in labor but sure enough I was leaking amniotic fluid. So I was to go next door to the hospital and check in. Here we were with 2 cars, no packed bag and no relatives to help us out. We didn't know where to check in so we asked...adn the volunteer at the desk said, "Check in for what?" I really did not look that pregnant but we WERE going to have a baby! And that we did! Alison Ruth Marey showed up at 11:27 that night....7.1 pounds and 20" long. We didn't stick around for our champagne dinner- we split that hospital as soon as we could before noon the following morning with little Ali only 10 hours old. The first stop was to the library to return the over-due books from my classroom and then to get food...hosptial food was yucky even way back then!

Today Ali and Nolan are going to Great America for a special day for Lockheed employees. It is a nice day out and they shoud have great time!

Thanks for checking in on Ali on her 20th! and for leaving so many woderful birthday messages in her guestbook!

Please check in on our caringbridge friends:
Princess Warrior Alexia who is at Duke getting ready for her 2nd transplant,

Matthew who will be having his gallbladder out in a few days and has recently had his second transplant!

Hunter who just got out of ICU,
and
Rachel who is need of lots of prayers right now.


*LIVESRTONG*LAUGH HARDER*LOVE STRONGER* CELEBRATE*
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Sunday, 18 March, 2007
Ali will be home on Friday! Her 20th Birthday is Saturday so please leave her a BIRTHDAY message in her guestbook!

This month is full of celebrations! Ali's dad's BIRTHDAY is on Thursday and "Ali"fornia Day is on March 28th! The 3rd ANNUAL "Ali"-fornia Day! Ali will be 2 years off treatment! While we are thankful for Ali doing so well we do remember our friends in treatment,those who have recently been diagnosed and those who are angels. We cannot stop remembering until we have a CURE!

So.....we Relay, Walk, Ride and Run with the best of 'em.....

Ali's Relay for Life is coming up in May. While she is home we will post her site. The Belmont/San Carlos Relay for Life is July 14 and 15. After the mtg on Wednesday I should have our site up and running for those of you who would like to walk with us.

Pennies for Patients was a success again this year! I do not have the grand totals yet but I will later tonight. I hope to have $1,500!

Below is the link to the eBay items we are selling to raise funds for our Relay.
CLICK HERE

*LIVESTRONG*DONATE BLOOD AND PLATELETS*LOVE*LAUGH*CELEBRATE!*

Friday, 9 March, 2007

Tonight as I was frantically counting coins at the Coin Star machine in a local grocery store- watching the clock and trying to count all 15 classroom's worth of coins and not be late for the basketball awards banquet- I met the manager of the store. He was trying to help figure out why so many coins were being sent down the shoot where foreign, bent and dirty coins are returned. We began talking about the coins and why I was collecting them...PENNIES FOR PATIENTS. My daughter had leukemia and this fundraiser through the Leukemia & Lyphoma Society provides research, family help, etc. Not only is my daughter a survivor, and my wonderful classroom aide a 2X lymphoma survivor, and caringbridge children that I follow, but a way to help once I have stepped into the "parent of a survivor" role. The manager got quiet and told me his daughter was just dx with a "bone cancer." I looked into his eyes and saw a very scared dad. I asked, "Osteo-sarcoma?"

"Yes." He had not told his co-workers and said he spends nights searching the internet. His daughter is 12 years old...a middle school student and tossed into the cancer world after going to the E.R. for an injury to her leg. It turns out she had not fractured her leg falling- that was the good news- but the Dr. wanted to do further checking into something "mysterious" he saw on the X-ray...and they found out by accident.

I didn't get all the coins counted. I did not make it on time to the awards banquet either...the lasagna was still cooking...but we got there before the pot luck line began. Nolan received the "Most Promising Player" trophy. I did not get to see if his last name was spelled correctly...Lex's name was mis-spelled on her trophy her freshman year!



Below is yet another Project Cali Ali Valentine Photo of
Alex and his sweet little sister.



There are more photos to scan and post...I will eventually get to them all.

Ali's 20th BIRTHDAY is the 24th of this month! Be sure to check back in and leave a BIRTHDAY message for her. On the 28th it is the 2nd annual "CALI"fornia Day declared by the Gov himself with the help of Julianna's Dad and all of my ALL-KIDS family.

Keep checking back for Relay for Life info which will be coming soon. Also check out Angel Donovan's Site to support his mom Melissa in her TNT marathons and bike ride! She will be in AMAZING shape after running and riding all those miles to find a cure! GO MEL!



CLICK HERE to view eBay items for Relay for Life and my mom's dolls we are selling to eventually move her out.

LIVESTRONG my friends :)

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Hi Friends of Ali,

It has been a long week. On Saturday I drove to L.A. to help out my 88 year old mother who lives alone. She has the stength of an ox, the stubbornness of a bull and unfortunately she does not have the memory of an elephant. There are many tales of the 5 days I was there but I will save that for the blog. But I will add this note that I came home and wrote to my children:



On Thursday morning while waiting for L.A. traffic to clear, I met my high school friend Emily for breakfast. We have not seen each other in years and have not been too good about keeping in touch. When we were around 16 we did buy a birthday card to send back and forth so we could set the Guinness Book of World Records...I think it lasted about 4 or 5 years...not much of a record and I'm not really sure what happened to the card. BUT the point I am not doing too well at getting at is, the kindness that sometimes we don't find out about but it is there.- I met Emily my freshman year of high school. I was too skinny, too tall and too shy...my dad had passed away before the school year began and I was a lost soul. Emily was outgoing, pretty and so friendly that you couldn't help but feel good when she looked at you. She walked right into class and said, "HI!" to me. The other thing about Emily that was so cool was her beautiful, long, silky natuarally highlighted hair. And unbeknownst to me, when Ali was dx Emily cut that long, beautiful hair off and donated it to Locks of Love! And I never would have known if I hadn't had breakfast with her last week. Somewhere there is a girl with a beautiful wig smiling at others and spreading the love full circle.

And while I am on a roll...here is an email from Lisa who signed Ali's guestbook and gave permission for me to post her email here:
>>>>I was connected to caringbridge about four years ago through a friend. Since then I have followed and prayed for hundreds of kids. Ali's story was one of those that touched my heart initially because her story was similar to mine in regards to her age at diagnosis. Like you said, not too many teens are diagnosed with ALL. ALL is so hard in itself but being a teen with ALL brings a lot of emotional stresses. I am 43 and still suffer (emotionally) from the experience. Don't get me wrong, looking back I can honestly say that I feel blessed to have gone through it. God used this tragedy to get my attention and pull me closer to Him. God's fingerprints are all over my life and I am very thankful He allowed me to experience His love, comfort and strength through this hardship. Nevertheless, I feel I do have emotionally scars, memories and fears that find a way to creep into my thoughts from time to time. Again, I was blessed with an awesome husband and friends that carry me through these times of fear and doubt.

I am so happy that Ali is in college and living a "normal" life. She seems so well adjusted and positive. It is very apparent that you and your family are such an inspiration and source of love and support to Ali. That is key. In addition, I am so impressed by your heart. You have done so much to help families who are suffering and in need. On behalf of those suffering, THANK YOU! To provide a little ray of sunshine through the darkness is so big. This side of heaven you may never know the impact you have had on others because of your generosity but will be revealed one day. I will continue to follow and pray for Ali. I look forward to seeing all the wonderful things God has in store for Ali. I would love to chat with you and/or Ali any time. Please feel free to call me at home<<<<

...again more kindness than I would ever have known....

Project Cali Ali Valentine went well this year. I only made one error that I know of, sending dear Keegan a gift beyond his years. I will take care of that tomorrow when I return to work! Another Valentine photo below is Sarah whose site I was given through Post Card Cindy-


The American Cancer Society's Belmont/San Carlos Relay for Life is this July 14 and 15 at the Carlmont track. Please come walk with "TEAM ALI" for our 5th consecutive year! Marielle will be there to lead our SURVIVOR'S Lap and hopefully many others again Aiden, Nate, Noah our neighbor who is at Duke and will hopefully be far enough out of transplant to make an appearance, Matthew Noah's transplant buddy, my niece Dawn? and any SURVIVOR who will be in town then please email me and walk the SURVIVOR Lap with us- (I am once again the SURVIVOR Chair for the Realy- can you tell? LOL!)I would like to have the BIGGEST SURVIVOR'S Lap this side of the bay! I will soon post info on joining TEAM ALI and post photos of the Luminaria bags for the fundraiser.

This is the thrid time I have posted this l-o-n-g journal entry...after an hour of creating caringbridge "ate" the entry...the next time I only did half and this time I entered one paragraph at a time! Whew! If you made it to this point, congratulations!

I have some itmes on ebay for the Relay that I am linking to...there are also some items from my mom's that I brought back to auction. Here's the link if you are interested in plates, dolls or books....or very BIG shoes :) I will be adding things for the next few weeks.

CLICK HERE

*LIVESTRONG*LIVESTRONG*LIVESTRONG*LIVESTRONG*LIVESTRONG*LIVESTRONG*

Friday, 9 February, 2007

>>>>>>>>>>>>>ARE YOU THE 200,000TH VISITOR?? CHECK THE BOTTOM COUNTER AND LET US KNOW IN THE GUESTBOOK IF YOU ARE!!<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

One of the reasons I continue to update this site is to give HOPE. Ali is a survivor- not many teens are dx w/ALL- the average age is around 5 years old- and I hope to pass her story onto other teens who are also fighting ALL.

The other reason is to GIVE. To honor Ali, I began Project Cali Ali Valentine last year. My kindergartners and I sent out about 25 Valentines and small gifts last year- This year we sent out over 50! The first Valentines arrived yesterday...the final ones were sent out today.

Here is our sweet friend Marielle who we had the pleasure of meeting in person. Unfortunately she is inpatient right now, but the Valentine brought much cheer!


She was ever so pleased to find gum in the center of her Blow Pop!


Here is little Karina with her Valentines...



And to answer Karina's mom's question about my class photo- each Valentine came with the class photo and the sender circled their face...unfortunately I cannot post the photo of my class on the internet...back to the question..."What is on your shoulder and is it alive?" It is the class mascot, Sponge Bob the rat! All my ALL-KIDS friends know that from the end of posting messages: "Mom to Ali, OT 3/28/05, also Mom to Lex, 17 and Nolan 15- wife to Russ 24 years- 1 dog, 4 cats, 1 rat and 20 of the coolest kindergartners!"

I will post more pictures and emails as I receive them.

Please visit Gary my cousin who is battling cancer and diabetes and Nolan's classmate, recently dx w/a tumor on his spine, Mitchell . Check Mitchell's journal for an essay that he wrote about "The value of Life," the night before his emergency surgery...WoW! Let them know you came from Ali's site.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*FIGHT LIKE ALI*

Wednesday, February 7. 2007

We are rapidly approaching visitor # 200,000!! Please check to see if you are close...and let us know in the guestbook!

Monday night after a long day at work, Lex called on my cell to let me know she had been in an accident. The first thing a parent wants to know, "Everyone is okay," and the next thing every parent wants to hear, "It wasn't my fault." I heard both. After visiting the site before the sheriff arrived, it could have been a lot worse. In a 50 MPH zome, a guy who was in a hurry to get to the ariport, assumed she had a stop sign and turned in front of her. They were all lucky this time!

Ali will be home this weekend. Finally I have a weekend that is not filled to the brim with commitments- yahoo!

Please visit Mitchell, a local twin who is in Nolan's class and recently underwent surgery for a tumor on his spine. He is battling pnuemonia and the malignant tumor. Let him know you came from Ali's site and are praying for his recovery. Childhood cancer sucks!

LIVESTRONG my friends!
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Friday, 2 February, 2007

Please visit Alexia who was almost 1 year post cord blood transplant and had returned home to Argentina from Duke and has now relapsed. I cannot imagine how her fmaily must feel.She will now get into remission and return to Duke...let's pray Dr. K can do her miracle work on Princess Alexia a second time!

For those faithful Baby D fans. ROOT FOR THE COLTS this Sunday! Look for his Melissa in the stands with a poster of Baby D! GO COLTS!

Poor Ali had a headache this afternoon after a really rough week of mid-terms...one right after another and it totally exhausted her. I hope hse can rest this weekend and relax a little.

LOCAL Relay walkers and SURVIVORS! The San Carlos/Belmont Relay for Life is set for July 14 and 15 at the Carlmont track...see you there! And I will post when it is time to sign up for Ali's Team!

LIVESTRONG my friends
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Thursday, 25 January, 2007
It seems like there is always a shortage of blood...and it is a simple, easy, FREE way to help many people. At Blood Centers of the Pacific where Lex and I donate, there is this beautiful poem that reminds us of why we donate.

When you give blood
you give another birthday
another anniversary
another day at the beach
another night under the stars
another talk with a friend
another laugh
another hug
another chance :)

Unless you cannot donate, I encourage you to DONATE now. There is critical need for blood in CA right now...and from reading other caringbridge sites, a need for blood and platelets is nationwide.

*LIVESTRONG my friends*
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Wednesday, 24 January, 2007
I have come to the conclusion that I was finally forgetting what a pain in the neck cancer brought to our family. It hasn't been smacking me in the face everyday and I was feeling a little, well, "normal." Then when we bought our new car, the salesman ran our credit report so we could finance it. Russell came out a little higher than me...hmmmmmm? Well, it turns out, I signed all the medical papers and the admittance to the hospital paperwork....and now *I* am in collections! I don't owe any money- I paid all the bills our insurance wouldn't cover and I made every co-pay at the clinic AT THE TIME OF VISIT. Then a few months ago I got a bill which was way past due for a thousand or so dollars. Turns out the hospital billed our old insurance...and they apparently sent the referral to our primary care Dr who approved the visits to the hem/onc clinic...so now they want me to pay. Not my mistake, I gave all the insurance change info to everyone 3 years ago. After calling a social worker- since we never actually HAD one assigned to us- I stupidly did all the leg work all by myself for the first 4 1/2 years- she put me in touch with someone to take care of this. The nice woman called billing, the insurance and the Dr and straightened the whole thing out. The bills were paid January 12. So bright and early Sunday morning I was awakened by a phone call from collections- AGAIN- one of those computerized calls...so I listened, punched "6" to speak to someone...and I got a "BEEEEP" signaling me to leave a message. I HAVE HAD IT!!! I have been out of this loop for too long and I do not want to fight collectons, billing, insurance, schools that won't follow IEP's or anyone anymore. cancer cost us enough NOW GO AWAY! (Julianna's dad said to never capiatlize the "c" in cancer so I am following his rules)...(sorry Mr. Cole my sophomore English teacher)- At any rate, I left a message for the collections agency to NEVER call me again. The first time they called I told the lady sarcastically to "come get me!" cancer has made me mean!!

*LIVESTRONG*

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Sunday, 21 January, 2007
Both Baby Donovan and Catie are cancer free and in Heaven as of last night and the night before. Barely 2 and 4 years old they both fought cancer just about their entire lives here on earth. Please drop in and leave a note in their guestbooks.

It is a nice sunny day here in northern CA. The nights are no longer in the 20's and that is nice. Scraping ice off my windshield for the first time since living in Utah was rather funny...at first!

My Cali Ali Valentine Project has begun. It is not too late to add a child to my list though...I will add until the mailing begins. If you know of a child/teen/young adult in treatment who would love to receive a Valentine/small gift from my kindergartners, please email me:
*Name
*Address
*Age
*dx
*caringbridge or carepage site address

Also...the fundraising never ends...please check out my items on eBay right now...just cut and paste

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&viewitem=&item=140077361282&rd=1&rd=1


this should take you to one item...then you can click VIEW SELLER'S OTHER ITEMS at the top of the page. I cannot advertise that the proceeds are going to cancer families unless the charity is listed with ebay....so I can only tell the buyers afterwards and advertise here on Ali's site.

Speaking of Ali...she is doing well...she got an A on her first chem test...as much as she despises chemistry she seems to be doing well in her 4th of 5 chem classes. She called with request that I send her earplugs. Seems the construction on campus begins BEFORE dawn. After calling the Building Department in SLO, where business construction may not begin until 7 a.m., we she was told that on campus those regulations are not enforced because it is state land...therefore they can begin and end whenever they please. Hopefully the earplugs willwork but hopefully she will still hear her alarm clock!

Nolan is doing well in basketball. They played a tough game Friday night and lost 44-41. Nolan had 17 of the points and countless rebounds...he was on a roll! Unfortulantely 2 boys are on academic probation and cannot play...a real bummer as they were really needed on Friday.

Lex is happy to be out of high school and completing her last units for her AA this semester. She will start as a nanny M-W-F for a little girl next week.

Thanks for checking on Ali...from the number counter I know this site has had over 200 hits and only 2 guestbook entries...hmmm, let us know when you've been here :)

*LIVESTRONG*

Thursday, 18 January, 2007-Scroll down for Valentine info-

Feeling there was nothing I could do to help, I went to the Blood Centers of the Pacific to donate blood so I could feel like I did something to help someone. In the midst of happiness over Jenna's new kidney from an unrelated *living* donor and my niece Dawn receiving her last round of chemo a week ago, I can't help but feel so trerribly sad that my little friend Baby D may not make it through the weekend, Catie is on vent and Elizabeth my 6 year old who I was a Christmas Angel for is in hospice. I remember when Ali was first dx I would be in the "outside" world where people were laughing, rushing about and oblivious that others- especially children- were incredibly ill. That is how these families must feel right now...and I can't do anything but say a prayer, send them a card and raise some money for them. It just isn't fair...little kids, so sick.
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Tuesday, 16 January, 2007
Dear Readers,
Please send prayers and kind words to Baby Donovan who will become an angel soon. Two years to the day of his dx his parents were told he may not make it through the weekend. This young, wonderful family needs all the love and support we can give them.
*LIVESTRONG*HOLD YOUR LOVED ONES TIGHT*
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Sunday, 14 January, 2007
I spent the weekend at the Kindergarten Conference in Santa Clara. It was a great learning opportunity and fun to spend time with co-workers away from work.

One of my favorite aurthor and illustrators, Ashley Wolff was there again this year. I went to her workshop which was inspiring as always. Her Christmas book was unfortunately way past deadline- it turns out the author passed away from a blood cancer...earlier in the day I had her sign a book I purchased for a caringbridge child who recently completed treatment...when I told her what to write in the book, she asked how the child was doing...I had no idea she had lost her friend. After the workshop my colleagues and I walked through the silent auction and there was one of her books, the Ms. Bindergarten dog and a "Tea Time" with Ashley! Another teacher and I were caught in a bidding war in the final minute of the auction. ...we looked each other in the eye and when I told her the plans I had for the book and visit she said, "Your cause is greater than mine," and then wanted to make a donation. I wanted the book to use as part of the fundraiser for Pennies for Patients at my school and have Ashley sign the book to the winner. I was hoping tea could be a visit to my school to kick-off Pennies for Patients in honor of her friend. The other teacher and I decided we could "share" the "Tea" time and I would keep the book- and she insisted she would make a donation to the fundraiser...cancer had hit her close to home too it turns out. I took the her email address...then I had to run off becuase I was late to the workshop AND I was the greeter...YIKES! after collecting tickets and getting organized in the workshop, I slipped out and paid for the bid. I brought the receipt to Julie at the seller's boothes and it turns out the "Tea" was arranged for right after the conference....YIKES!!! again. I carpooled and had a schedule to keep...and how was I going to get a hold of the other teacher who I had just met??? After Julie heard our story she gave me one more book and doll for the other teacher and said she would cancel the "Tea" since the time was not stipulated in the auction. It turns out Julie's son died of cancer and she was touched by what we wanted to do.....now I just need to get a hold of Ashley and work this all out....WoW! another instance of people meant to meet. There are so many kind people out there it sort of makes up for the thefts of last week.

Don't forget to email me if you have a someone in need of a Valentine...we will begin working on our project next week :)
Happy Sunday, LIVESTRONG!
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2 Jan. 2007
Happy New Year Friends!!
It's that time of year again....time for Project Cali Ali Valentine!


Here's what to do-
If you have a child/teen/young adult in treatment and would like to receive a Valentine, letter and small gift(s) from the students in my class, please do the following:

Email me:
*NAME
*ADDRESS
*AGE
*DX
Email to kteachermom@hotmail.com with "VALENTINE" in the subject heading.

This is my second year of honoring Ali going off treatment. It was a very rewarding experience for me and my class last year and I hope to continue as long as I teach.

LIVESTRONG!

Thursday, 11 January , 2007

A LIST OF THOSE WHO DONATED TO DONOVAN AND NOAH'S PLATE FUNDRAISER:




More plate photos to come :)

Brayden, Kellen and Kendrie with their plate.

One of my students and his sweet little sister!

Jackson and his cute little sister Faith.

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Thursday, 11 January , 2007

Man today sucks! There's no other way to put it...poor Nolan....first his iPod, now the cheap cell phone....some thug stole it from his P.E. locker- cut the lock clean off for a $15 Wal-Mart phone! And took his student ID card....why someone would want an ID card is beyond me...and why someone would steal a cheap cell phone is beyond me. It is hard not to be prejudiced after hearing the "A**hole" that answered the phone when I called it. Clearly obvious who he was. So after reporting it to the office and then going to the police department to report it, my afternoon is gone. Nolan has practice in 25 minutes and I have to get dinner and finish work for school that would have been done during that time. Yes, it could be worse...we could be sitting in the hospital, waiting for blood, waiting in clinic, etc. Yes, I am thankful but cut the poor kid a break.

On the other hand, Ali is doing well. She is 4 days into the new quarter and 4 days closer to the end of her 4th chemistry class :)

Lex begins school next week. She is out of high school and in her last semester of community college. She will get her AA one week after turning 18!

If you know any child/teen/young adult who could use a Valentine from my class please email me the info.
*LIVESTRONG*
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Tuesday, 2 January, 2007

1/2/7
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Here's the new car!!
THIS IS FOR GRANDMA RUTH WHO CANNOT RECEIVE EMAIL BUT CAN GET TO ALI'S SITE :)


YES IT'S A BOX AND IT'S CUTE IN MY EYES! BEST OF ALL MY BIKE FITS IN THE CAR W/O TAKING THE WHEEL OFF :) LIFE IS GOOD :) (YES, THE VAN DIED!)

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Thursday, 28 December, 2006
DRUMROLL.........................



$2,658.89! A check to Baby D's family for $1.327.45 went out today with a sign. I wanted it to reach the Rasmussen family by New Year's Eve...which I hope it does as I sent it in a Priority Mail envelope with extra postage. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the sign as it had to get into the mail before 3 p.m. today.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who donated to the fundraiser! Over 200 plates were made and shipped. I met so many wonderful people...thank you to all for your support.

Tomorrow a check will fly to Noah and his mom, carried by his Grandmother who is flying back to help out. AND a small $100 check to Matthew and Family who are also at Duke. Matthew is also a LPCH patient w/the same leuekmia as Ali, only he relapsed, had a BMT one year ago and relapsed again and is now at Duke a few weeks from his cord blood transplant. I cannot begin to understand what these families have been through let alone the financial setbacks. I was hoping to raise enough money to pay one month's rent for Noah and Baby D's family but I had no idea rent in Durham was as high as the Bay Area! $1700!! YIKES!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STONGER*LAUGH HARDER*FIGHT LIKE NOAH, BABY D AND MATTHEW*

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Tuesday, 26 December, 2006
Wishing a HAPPY, HEALTHY New Year 2007 to all!
Yesterday, Christmas Day, I meet up with Cole's Family at LPCH.

Every year they prepare a wonderful dinner- and sometimes even gifts- for the families and staff in 2N and the rest of the hosptial. Cole spent almost all of his short life in 2N. Now they have sweet Emma, who turned 2 on the 24th and Andrew
who is just shy of 3 months...so this dinner and traveling from their new home in Vallejo is no easy task. Ali, Nolan and I brought 2 sour cream apple pies and 4 dozen candy cane reindeer as our small contribution. I got to hold baby Andrew, feed him and cuddle him and then home for our own Christmas dinner. I think it is so wonderful of Cole's family to continue to think of other families who are unfortunately at the hospital on Christmas Day.


I got a new camera for Christmas so I can stop borrowing Lex's ! We had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a great 2007!

Noah's dad Charles will hopefully be joining Noah and his mom at Duke later this week. I will take a picture of the signs and checks when we finish up. Believe it or not I received more orders for plates today! I have to get over to the store for more plates and add more $$ to the total. It is such a good feeling to help Baby Donovan and Noah's families.

The Belmont-San Carlos Relay for Life is July 14-15th! For all you locals, please plan to walk with Ali's Team!

*LIVESTORNG*WISHING YOU THE HAPPIEST, HEALTHIEST NEW YEAR 2007*
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

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25 December, 2006

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
May the love of the season be upon you :)
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

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FRIDAY!! December 22, 2006
A much better day all around!
I painted a plate, Lex drove Ali and I to Lucile Packard to drop off a donation of beanies and slippers to 2N, deliver a plate, drive through In and Out Burger (Thanks Nancy for the gift certificates!!) Then to deliver plates to the children that the girls babysit for....then home to take Nolan to practice. Then Ali and I took my van- running a tad bit better and no engine light on- to the bank, to clinic to get her blood drawn for labs, went past my school to get paper for signs for Noah and Donovan, rented a video for tonight, picked up dinner (which is cooking as I type,) and then picked up Nolan from practice. No pitfalls today :)

Tonight I am totalling up shipping and I am hoping for a the last few checks to arrive tomorrow. Then check this site for the grand total! PLEASE let me know if I do not have your name on the list...I keep finding a few that are not on and then adding them...so PLEASE don't let me forget you!

*LIVESTRONG* And when life gives you lemons find someone with sugar so you can make lemonade-

2 More Days!!
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Thursday, 21 December, 2006
Today stunk...it was one of those days where I just had to stop and think, "WELL, WE ARE HEALTHY, NOT IN THE HOSPITAL, CANCER IS NOT STARING US IN THE FACE, AND WE HAVE KNOWN A LOT WORSE!" Then take a deep breath and enjoy the day....even when NOTHING is going right!

My sinuses are still yucky and I didn't sleep well....my van's engine light came on when I was driving back from work...it barely made it up the hill. Then I picked up Nolan from school with it "putt-putting home. Nolan's ipod was stolen from his backpack at school- now I don't buy expensive things for my kids...the girls will tell you they were the last kids in CA w/o cell phones and we do not own Nintendo or Play Station or any of that...but last year an ipod was what Lex and Nolan wanted...and I was holding out. Then Ben's mom called me late on the night of Dec. 16th to let me know that Ben had passed away in her arms earlier that evening...I cried and thought of my healthy kids, Ali's first Christmas OT and perhaps I should give in and buy them something they really wanted...after all, I DO have some pretty good kids. So Nolan and Lex got the ipods they wanted. It was a big deal here since they NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS would have thought their cheap mom would buy them ipods. AND today some ***t kid stole my son's! Then come to find out his is the 3rd this week taken from a backpack! Another life lesson learned the hard way. So on with the crappy day...I didn't get to meet up with Kerri and Spencer who were in town and I was supposed to meet Cathy Charon, Angel Markie's grandmother and faithful follower and guestbook signer of caringbridge kiddos. She was giving blood in Los Altos and I was going to meet her at 2. Well my van ran a little smoother and the engine light went off when I took Nolan back to school to fill out a report on the ipod. So Ali and I decided to zoom out and meet Cathy....well the directions I got on mapquest were wrong...we drove aimlessly for 30 minutes, while Cathy waited patiently for us...she ended up not being able to donate blood because her pulse was to high...but she waited for us to come and deliver the plates she had ordered. Finally we arrived, shared hugs and took her picture w/Ali.

Then Ali and I tried to get home quickly as Nolan had to be to school at 3:15 for his basketball game. But it was raining, traffic was a mess and I couldn't take Highway 280 because I wasn't sure the van could make it up the hills. Fortunately Russell got home in time to take Nolan and then pick Ali and I up for the game. There were a series of other incidents but I would rather end now, have a drink and go to bed!

On the upside, Nolan played well...they WON! I got one last plate order from a mom at the game and I can sleep in tomorrow! I'll take a box of knitted hats and slippers to donate to 2N at LPCH and deliver the plate.

Tomorrow HAS to be better!
*LIVESTRONG*HAPPY HOLIDAYS*

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Wednesday, 20 December, 2006
*LAST CHANCE TO ADD TO THE FUND* I just happened to be in Costco when they opened 1 palat of PS3's...yes, Play Station 3's. I bought one with hopes of re-selling it and making a few more bucks for Donovan and Noah's families. If you are interested, email me now. I am also listing it on Craig's List.- Also anyone wishing to make a last minute cash donation, or purchase a plate for next year please email me now. I will have a grand total when I receive the final checks in the mail. 'Tis the Season of giving!
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19 December, 2006 Tuesday


CELEBRATING mailing the LAST plates to Plano, TX! I received the order in yesterday's mail...our mail does not get to our house until after 6 p.m.! So I painted, dried and packed the plates in record time with hopes that it will arrive before Saint Nick! (My nose is as red as a cherry, just like his though after this icky sinus infection!)



It's done! I do not have a final plate count yet but it is over 200! I do not have a total as there are some outstanding checks in the mail...but I do know there is more money than I thought I would bring in! Thank you to everyone! If you do not see your name, or your caringbridge site mentioned above please email me ASAP and I will add it to the list! And if you send your child's photo with the plate I will post it here with the others.

This project has truly put me in touch with some of the kindest people in cyber space. Kind words, offers to help paint, donations...I can't tell you the love I have felt. The late nights, lines at the post office and the dreams of sending the wrong plates were well worth helping two families who have endured far more than I can imagine.

May the spirit of Christmas touch everyone the way I have been touched by this!
Livestrong my friends-

Marielle and Rico



Here is Ali's boyfriend Jack with his plate from last year.


Here is sweet Stephen all ready for Christmas Eve! Thanks for sharing the picture Melissa!
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16 December, 2006

One year ago today our sweet litle friend Ben became an angel. Please leave a messge in his guestbook for his parents who miss him terribly.
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FRIDAY!! 15 December, 2006


After picking up Ali from Union City, we drove to Marielle's house to drop off her Christmas Eve plate. Marielle had never met Ali before and was interested to know if Ali had a Broviac when she was in treatment. Marielle, Rico and Ali are in the photo...I don't know why I didn't ask them to hold the plate up! Marielle was "Queen" of our Relay for LIfe and led the Opening Ceremony and Survivor's Lap with Aiden who was dx just 2 weeks after Ali. It is amazing to see how resilient these kids are. It is an honor to know them.

I am hoping to have a final plate count and total by next weekend. If you Paypal me the $$ I can still have plates sent to arrive before Christmas. I have 10 local plates to be picked up tomorrow and sold 7 at work yesterday. Then it will be time to focus on the holidays...perhaps finish trimming the tree and buying a few presents to put under it! BUT I am off work until Jan. 2 and my house WILL get cleaned!

It is good to have Ali home. She looks great and is ready to relax after a tough finals week.

Lex GRADUATED high school tday!! She's 17 and a fwe units shy of her A.A. degree which she will receive in May. Congratulations Lex!

Nolan has a basketball game tomorrow...so much for sleeping in or getting stuff done. But all is good in the Richins' household now that school is over...except for Nolan...he has finals Tues-Thurs next week.

LIVESTRONG my friends-
----------------------------------------

Marielle and Rico




Here is Ali's boyfriend Jack with his plate from last year. If you would like to send me a photo of your child and their plate I will gladly post it!


Here is sweet Stephen all ready for Christmas Eve! Thanks for sharing the picture Melissa!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, 10 December, 2006!
Thank you to everyone who has emailed me to let me know that the plates have arrived. As I told Isabella's mom, I have nightmares that I have shipped the wrong plates, painted the words out of order or simply forgot an order! So to hear, "THE PLATES ARRIVED!" reassures me I have not *yet* messed up!

There is still time if you get me your orders now. I have finally found PRIORITY shipping boxes that I can get for FREE at the post office. It was taking me over an hour to pack the plates as I was making my own boxes out of carbboard. Thanks to a volunteer high school student Maddie, and my one-to-one classroom aide Kathy for their help packing and saving me tons of time. A BIG cyber THANKS to both of them :)

Nolan...yes my newly turned 15 year old! and Lex get a BIG THANKS for painting too. I was a little leary about letting Nolan paint but he has done a marvelous job. Ali will be home on SATURDAY!! She has been helping me on the art side for years and is much more creative than I. I can't wait to have her home...and celebrate her 2nd Christmas OT and with a REAL LIVE tree!!!!

Now for what we have all been waiting for:HOW MUCH HAVE I COLLECTED?
...........somewhere in the neighborhood of $2000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is beyond what I was anticipating. I still have to total shiping costs and plate costs but I have local orders yet to paint and some from my work. It is unbelieveable the outpouring of Love from the caringbridge world. THANKS to everyone who helped spread the word and put the info on their sites. I will list you later....and send a list to the families.

Right now I am nursing a sinus cold...I have one boy in particular in my class who CANNOT for the life of him cover his mouth when he coughs. Finally I threatened to send him home...and now me, my aide and intern all have the same cough and sinus issues. This is particularly difficult for me as I have severe sinus issues that involved surgery a few years back and I have to flush my sinuses with a special attachment to the water pic...so when I am affected with this I am miserable.
Love from rainy CA, LIVESTRONG! Marey and all :)
TO ORDER PLATES EMAIL ME AT kteachermom@hotmail.com
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Wednesday, 6 December, 2006
THE SHIPMENT HAS ARRIVED!!!!
Panicked with a capital P- yes! But the plates arrived on my porch and the plates from Post Card Cindy are here also! Now to kick into high gear and get painting! I have high hopes of getting all plates ordered to you by Christmas but I cannot control the weather for shipping across country, postal service and other factors. Please know that I will try my hardest with all my heart and in the end it is not about the plate but the support for the two families.

LIVESTRONG! Marey
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Saturday, December 2, 2006

SCROLL DOWN FOR PLATE ORDER INFO:

Early Friday morning...before going to bed (it was 1 a.m.) I was sitting at the computer taking plate orders, feeling blue over Baby D, feeling over-all sorry for myself and I opened an email from Postcard Cindy. She was offering to buy 3 dozen plates towards the fundraiser for Noah and Donaovan. WOW! that means the entire $15 of each plate ordered goes directly to the families!! Talk about cyber hugs! And from someone I did not know and have now only met through email a night ago! Imagine that!!...I keep trying to teach my kindergartners to think about others over themselves...me me me me me....(they even wanted to eat the Gum and Tic Tacs we were sending to Scott and his comrades in Iraq for the holidays!)....and I want these kids to know how good it feels to give. I get wrapped up in that and now, WOW!!! How good it feels to receive!

So I now have a lot more plates to make- I should be receiving them shortly...and a lot more $$ to be made. So order up!!

I have books on eBay right now at
CLICK HERE
and
CLICKE HERE

and some items on Craig's List. I sold a turtle bowl that Lex had for her turtle...I asked $5 and when the grown man who came to get it found out where the money was going he gave $20! And the Christmas dishes I had up are going to a mission project for low income families- so selling the dishes for $20 is making a happy table setting for a family in need. All around good cheer! Inching our way to a good sum for these 2 families!

Off to paint plates- anyone who can print neatly and paint dots is needed to help!

LIVESTRONG! Marey
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Wednesday Night, November 29, 2006
It is with great sadness that I just read on Baby Donovan's site that he has relapsed a 4th time. His latest transplant did not take and his cancer once again proves to be as aggressive as ever. I am very committed to sending his family a fat check from this fundraiser. As of this afternoon I have 36 plate requests! Lex and I wil lbe busy painting all weekend.- Please keep Donovan and his family in your hearts.
LIVESTRONG------------

Early Wednesday, 29 November, 2006
YAHOO! A productive day here on eBay- I sold a big book for $16.50 and headsets for $52.50! AND a 2 more plates! AND on Craig's List I sold some Xmas lights for $5....so I am inching along to my goal of handing a fat check to Noah and Donovan's families- hopefully enough to pay a month's rent. Then I can cool it on the fundraising until Pennies For Patients comes along. Read below for info on ordering plates :)

**AND Ali got a B plus on the dreaded chemistry midterm!! 3 cheers for Ali!
LIVESTRONG!



Saturday, 25 November, 2006

Happy Holidays! I am thankful for Ali feeling well and for our second year of having a live Christmas tree in the house. Here we are yesterday bringing the tree home from the lot!

This year was a year of fundraising burn out for me. I was spread so thin and felt I was not doing a good job at work, home and with my kids. I rode TNT Tahoe- 100 miles for the LLS. Fundraisnig for my husband and I and training took up much time. Although I will miss the great friends with TNT I will not be participating this year. Something had to go! I was the Chairperson for the Survivorship Committee for our local Relay for Life, in charge of Pennies for Patients, recycling for charity and Jump Rope for Heart at my school and did Project Cali Ali Valentine with my class. Nolan played on a traveling basketball team after CY soccer ended and I never had a weekend without training or traveling. My class was the toughest class since my first year of teaching- (and that was 7/8th high risk kids! I am still committed to spreading the awareness of childhood cancers and making my small dent in helping others....and that is what brings me to this:



For Christmas, I would like to help out two young fmailies in the middle of a leukemia nightmare. Noah and Baby Donovan. I am doing several fundraisers to hopefully raise enough money to pay a month's rent for each of these families. If you have read Ali's site before, you know that Noah is a neighbor who just turned 2 and has the same leukemia as Ali except with a rare genetic twist. His PH positive leukemia is not curable and he is on Day plus 3 of a cord blood transplant at Duke. Baby Donovan has battled leukemia since he was 4 weeks old and has had 3 relapses. Both young families have had to travel across country to save their little boys. Hopefully none of us will have to experience this and one can only imagine the difficulty both emotionally and financially. Unfortunatley I know too many families in this position right now. SO to start my fundraising, my girls and I are making Christmas Eve plates for kids to leave out for Santa. Last year we made 4 dozen as a fundrasier for TNT...this year it will be for Noah and Donovan's families. The plates are sturdy plastic and are purely ornamental. They can be wiped clean and stored away for the next Christmas Eve.

HERE'S HOW TO ORDER:
Email me the names you would like to appear on the plate. (kteachermom@hotmail.com) Let me know your zipcode so I can let you know the shipping costs. I charge the post office rates and do not charge for packing or handling. Each plate is $15 and $12 will go directly to the families. (The plates cost me $3)
You can also pay me by Paypal. I do have a few 6" plates for $10 right now...there is room for one child's name or for 2 short names.

I also have the plates on eBay along with several teacher's items. Those proceeds also go to the families :)
To view CLICK HERE From that page you can click "View Sellers Other Items" to see the other stuff up for auction.

I am fortuante this year to have a wonderful kindergarten class with 3 inclusion students and a wonderful teacher's aide. This has made my life much easier and made me able to do this and the other events at work. My weekends will be freed up but I will still need to ride to stay in shape.

Happy Holidays* LIVESTRONG*
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

Wednesday, 22 November, 2006

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!
Yesterday our dear little recently 2 year old friend Noah received his cord blood transplant at Duke. Today is day 1 for him. Please visit his site and give him and his family words of encouragement.

Also, I have a few items on eBay for a fundraiser for his family and Baby Donovan . I will also be selling the Christmas Eve plates from this site starting tomorrow night. Between the plates and a Kindergarten "Fun"draising Night I hope to bring in enough money to pay a month's rent for each of these families.

Fundraiser items, click here!

Ali arrived home last night :) We are all set for a wonderful THANKSGIVING with much to be THANKFUL for!

LIVESSTRONG, Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan
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*19 November, 2006*
This entry is for you Nolan. The little brother who since 10 years old lost out on a lot of birthday celebrations, sleepovers and fun at our house because Ali was in treatment. So today I write this entry for you.

You are 15 today. 6 foot 4 inches tall with an equally big heart. The kid who could throw a baseball faster than anyone could hit. The kid who could kick a soccer ball farther than any other kid on the team and the kid who can be counted on to make his free throws and then steal the ball back to win the game in the last 12.8 seconds. HERE'S TO YOU LITTLE BROTHER!

The kid who let his big sisters dress him up as a girl and paint his toe nails...and went right along with it. The kid whose big sisters NEVER thought he would grow taller than them even when I warned them to be nice because one day you would be bigger!

The kid who missed out on having 3 birthday parties and never complained. The kid who shaved his head when his sister did. The kid who has had 5 broken arms and one broken toe. The kid who missed out on some cool shoes because his feet were too big. The kid who still hugged his teachers good bye after school and whose teachers counted on to hang the students' work from the ceilings before Open House.

Happy Birthday to the kid who wrote an awesome graduation speech about being a sibling of a sister with cancer. To the kid who ran a double marathon at Relay for Life to honor his sister. Happy Birthday to the kid who is the best son a mother could ask for...and the best little brother two sisters could ask for! - And who Auntie Dawn said can eat more watermelon than anyone else she's ever known-and that was when you were 8!

Wishing you everything you could ask for and more...

LIVESTRONG NOLAN!
XXOO, Mom, Dad, Ali and Lex

Monday, November 13, 2006

Monday, November 13, 2006

So did you see it? Extreme Home Makeover? It was beautiful...and that's a lot coming from me, the one who NEVER watches TV!

Today I got the following text message from Ali as I was getting ready to dismiss my class:

"I got an A on my bio n econ midterms n an A on my chem quiz"

Now that is totally cool! As any of you who follow along know that Ali is struggling in the 3 chem classes that she has taken and at one point was thinking of changing her major so she wouldn't have to take chem. Also, all the studying she did for chem was taking away from study time for her "easier" classes...like calculus and bio. So to get that text was truly exciting :)

Last Saturday night Russell and I were guests of honor (since Ali could not make it,) to the Lucile Packard Foundation's Gala Ball. I was asked to "say a few words," but I never got a response back when I asked what they wanted to hear and how long of a speech. I did print out a nice little speech but didn't really practice...and I expected to speak after dinner not before...so when I was asked to come up I was dumbfounded (is that how you speel that?) and I although I was told it went well I really didn't think so...but dinner was good and we met a lot of really nice people and had a great time.

Yesterday my friend Susan, who is really our across the street neighbor, except that it is up hill and the back of her house faces us...(yes hard to get used to not having across the street neighbors whose house does not face you,) anyways, I found out she had surgery for breast cancer today. She did email me from the hospital and will be home tomorrow but if you could say a prayer for her tonight that would be awesome. And while you are at it, please check in on our transplant friends and all the little ones mentioned in the past entries. Just another reason to Relay and find a CURE!

*LIVESTRONG*

P.S. If you try to leave a message in Ali's guestbook you will find that you have to type in a "code" before submitting. This is to stop the spam (porn and casino links) that were being left in her guestbook by ???? Sorry for the inconvenience but please don't let it stop you from signing in :)

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Monday, 6 November, 2006

See below for Extreme Makeover info from the ACS website :)

****Sunday, Sunday Sunday!!! November 12th @ 8 p.m. PST the Extreme Home Makeover show is airing a show where they makeover a cancer survivors home and the staff of the show even had a mini Relay. Heartwarming and indeed a show to watch...(and I NEVER watch TV!) of course unless it is the World's Series, the Shark's or football! Perhaps those of you who have not had the opportunity to RELAY with us or on a team in your area might get the itch to join. The Belmont/San Carlos Relay for Life is July 14 and 15, 2007! I am not sure when the Cal Poly Relay for Life event will be held but Ali will be the team captain of a team there for you SLO folks.

Ali is happy to have completed her mid-term in Bio this afternoon. I picked up Nolan from school and went to the DMV to renew his CA ID card...he cannot drive for another year and a month but no one believes that he is 14 when he checks in for a flight or asks for a student discount, etc. Now he is off to basketball tryouts and then home for homework. I am happy to be home from work early since I left at 2:30.- It will give me time to work on a speech for a dinner this weekend for hte Packard Foundation fundraiser Gala Ball. Russell and I are guests of honor since Ali could not make it- and I will be giving a short speech.

Please check in on our friends Noah and Matt ,two little guys who are at Duke awaiting cord blood transplants and my niece Dawn who was to start chemo today.

*LIVESTRONG*
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Relay For Life Volunteer's Story Will Be Told Nationwide
on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition


Tune in to ABC on Sunday, November 12th at 8 pm ET/7 p.m. CT to see what happened when the cast and crew of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition arrived in St. Meinrad, Indiana to rebuild the home of a very special Relay For Life volunteer. At the heart of all the action was one woman, a cancer survivor named Shawna Farina. Now Shawna's story and the story of a community that rallied around her will be told nationwide during the November 12 broadcast of the popular reality series.

Inspired by the positive attitude and determination of her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when Shawna was a young child, Shawna joined the American Cancer Society Relay For Life ®, a yearly, overnight event held in more than 4,700 communities to celebrate cancer survivorship. A year and a half ago Shawna herself was diagnosed with breast cancer; just three weeks shy of her 26th birthday. To hear more about Shawna's story, visit www.cancer.org/extrememakeover.

Because the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life have been major forces in Shawna's life, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition asked the American Cancer Society for help in telling her story. Over the course of a week-long home build, Society volunteers from 18 different Relay For Life events across southern Indiana conducted five consecutive 24-hour-long Relays, collectively called "Extreme Relay For Life in Spencer County." More than 5,000 people took part in the event, including the cast and crew of the show who walked laps between building projects. You, too, can make a difference by forming a Relay team in your community. Click on www.cancer.org/extrememakeover to learn more.

To find out more about the upcoming episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Watch Party information, as well as to learn more about how you can get involved with the American Cancer Society, visit www.cancer.org/extrememakeover.

2 November, 2006

P.M. Update- This morning in the guestbook there was a very nice note from George, Noelle's Dad regarding their visit here last week. I just got home from work to load some photos onto Ali's site and someone once again has hacked into Ali's guestbook and changed George's enrty. I do not know why someone would take pleasure in doing this but it is like graffiti...just a blight to deal with. I am just grateful this did not happen during treatment- just like a few weeks ago when someone changed Ali's guestbook to the FBI page. Why? I do not have the time to add photos now- perhaps tonight after basketball.
LIVESTRONG- Don't sweat the little stuff*

--------A.M. entry
Let's see, we survived two non-stop weekends in a row...and hopefully this one will only be filled with soccer! I am feeling so behind on everything...yesterday when I zoomed to Nolan's school to drop off forms he needed for clearance for basketball tryouts I had to stop and wonder....HOW DID I EVER DO ALL OF THIS AND MORE WHEN I HAD 3 KIDS UNDER 5? I guess it was training to be a cancer mom!

Now it is off to work...and an update and photos tonight :)
LIVESTRONG and if you have a moment, send gustbook messages to our friend Catie whose cancer doesn't want to leave her alone, and to my niece Dawn who will begin chemo soon.
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Tuesday, 24 October, 2006
If you are not offended by the "F" word...and you really want a glimpse of a cancer mom/child's life visit Finn's page
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Sunday 22 October, 2006



WoW! Meet (left to right,) Noelle's Dad, Noelle's Mom who ran the ENTIRE marathon, Tiffany, Jackson's Mom who ran the 1/2 marathon BUT was a mentor so she ran back and forth after finishing to encourage the TNT runners to the finish line and me. George and I were spectators- and as Clair was approaching the finish, George and I hoisted Noelle over the barriers and she ran with her mom across the finish line. WOW! What a site to see, Clair running for Noelle who's just a mere 3 months off treatment!


You can see the walkers wondering what Noelle is up to and Clair does not yet see her! What a great day for a marathon...overcast but not cold or windy. Last year's S.F. Nike Marathon was too sunny!

Ali did well enough on her chemistry mid-term. She has only one more chemistry class left to take and then she must pass a test covering what was learned in the 4 chemistry classes combined. She made it through calculus so after the next chemistry class hopefully the toughest classes are over!

Ali will be a vampire for Halloween...FINALLY after 4 years she will have a Halloween- last year she was suffering side effects from a meningitis vaccine and was down for four days with back spasms...and that was off treatment! So here's for a fun Halloween '06!

*Happy Sunday*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RUN LIKE CLAIR AND TIFFANY*


Ali and Will Ferrell

Tuesday, 17 October, 2006 *17th Anniversary of the 1989 Earthquake*

Ali was just 2 years old and Lex was 5 months old when the earth shook the Bay Area. I had taken the kids to the park down the street to enjoy a little sunshine before the World's Series began. I was throwing a tennis ball for Wally, our old black lab, Ali was romping in the grass and Lex was on the grass being entertained by the 7/8 year olds at soccer practice when!!! the earth shook!!! And it rolled for a L-O-N-G time...I looked up and saw the flag pole bending back and forth and I grabbed Lex by her overall straps and Ali by arm and ran from the pole as fast as I could. The kids practicing soccer were screaming "EARTHQUAKE!" and jumping with the rolling earth. Being a California native I'd already had several earthquakes under my belt, but I had always been indoors when they hit and the sound was what I remember most. This did not sound like a big earthquake- apparently because I was outside- but soon sirens were in the distance and parents were rushing to pick up their children from soccer practice and I overheard a mom say, "It was a big one! There's lots of damage!" I decided to head home-so I wouldn't miss the start of the baseball game- and my neighbor was out front trying to shut off the power to her house. We did have electricity but no phone service...right about then a big after-shock hit and I decided I didn't want to be home alone...the baseball game had been canceled when parts of Candlestick Park crumbled and the fans were shaken up. It was about then that news of Interstate collapse and the Oakland Bay Bridge upper section had fallen reached us. I didn't want to be home with two small children so I went next door. I waited for what seemed like forever for Russell to get home and we watched TV with our neighbors until it was time to put the kids to sleep. I made their beds on our bedroom floor and the earth shook through the night. We were without power for a while the next day but it wasn't until then that we realized how lucky we were to live on a hill formed of solid rock. In our little downtown, all the businesses' store front windows were cracked. Our friends who live in the flatlands downtown had damage...speakers falling from shelves, cupboards opening and spilling the contents everywhere, hutches falling over...and the only mishap we had was a photograph in the bathroom falling off a shelf...and dropping into the toilet! That was it! Ali only remembers the stories we tell and Lex is an earthquake baby being born in 1989.- I can't imagine what it was like being inpatient then!!

On a happier note:
The following photo was taken at the Young Cancer Survivor Scholarship luncheon this past Saturday. I left the program in Russell's car so I will have to wait until tomorrow to post the group photo from last year.


This is Ali and our friend Gaye from the ACS.


Here is Will Ferrell and Ali on September 22.


Please keep our friends Little Noah who travels to Duke for a cordblood transplant tomorrow aboard Corporate Angels, Baby D who is on day 35 of his 2nd cord blood transplant and waiting patiently for his new cells to GROW! And my niece Dawn who is awaiting chemo and radiation after her surgery for breast cancer last week. And all the others mentioned in the last journal entry.

LIVESTRONG my friends,
Marey
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Monday, 16 October 2006

Ali's guestbook is fixed!
The Young Survivor Scholarship luncheon was wonderful! Amazing to see 61 cancer surviving young men and women receiving awards. Sadly one of last year's recipients passed away so the luncheon was in her memory. I will post photos soon...it was a busy weekend with Ali coming, the luncheon and my district's Save the Music Festival on Sunday...now my school's Halloween Festival on Saturday and Halloween on the horizon....never a dull moment!
*LIVESTRONG*
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Satuday, October 14, 2006
Someone has thought it entertaining to change Ali's guestbook to the FBI site. Until caringbrdige can resolve this on Monday, please leave guestbook entries for Ali at Messages for Ali

We are off to the American Cancer Society's Scholarship Awards in Oakland. It is very uplifting to see 60 teenaged cancer survivors on stage! Pictures to follow!
LIVESTRONG!
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Saturday, 7 October, 2006
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Please send prayers and good thoughts to Samantha who is sturggling after a heart transplant. She is my co-worker's niece and just barely 19 and in need of much hope to carry on.
She has a carepage like Jonathan, Ari and Aaron- go to
www.carepages.com and her page name is samanathasmiracle
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**Tuesday, October 3, 2006 UPDATE on my niece...GOOD NEWS on her site****
Monday, October 2, 2006
Dollar Tree Stores are selling dishes that have a sticker that reads, "THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS CHEMICALS KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER, BIRTH DEFECTS AND REPRODUCTIVE HARM." This sticker is required in the state of California, but not in other states with less restrictive laws. If you purchase a dish without a sticker, or if you fail to read the warning, you will be consuming food from a dish that could give you or your loved ones cancer. If you think this is alarming, let Dollar Tree know by sending them an email by clicking here:
Click Here

Also Gibson, the manufacturer of the plates can be contacted by Clicking here Click "consumer" at the top of the page and then "contact us" on the left of the page. Ask them what cancer causing chemicals are in the plates they manufactured and sold to Dollar Tree Stores...if we bombard these companies with emails perhaps they will stop selling dishes that most likely have lead glazes. If I get a response from either company I will post it here. Wouldn't it be a crime if our little kids-or us- got cancer from something like this that should have been prevented?!

ALi is doing well 1 week into classes. Chemistry is hard for her but she is enjoying biology very much...and she is glad to be done with calculus! Her on campus apartment is nice and her room mates are very nice...they are so kind to Ali and I know they will have a great year!

Please send prayers and good thoughts to Nolan's teammate Cody. In the first tournament game this weekend- with about 20 seconds left in the game, Cody broke his jaw in 2 places as he was diving for the ball and hit the knee of a boy attempting to score. There was no foul- it was a clean play and a very unfortunate accident. And to Nolan's dismay, he is the default goalie so the remaining games of the tournament Nolan was goalie...he did a great job but was not too happy- especially after scoring the first goal in the first game. Cody's birthday is Wednesday and the team is going to bring him Jamba Juice and balloons..his jaw is wired and he is having surgery on Friday.

My niece Dawn will find out what type of breast cancer she has tomorrow. Keep good thoughts for her on this new journey of hers.

*LIVESTRONG*
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Tuesday, September 26, 2006- See update below this entry
FINALLY! the photos from the scholarship award in So. Cal. Ali is the first girl on the right and had just received her giant check from Will Ferrell. Yes, he is funny- and also was Sean Kent, who has appeared on Improv and a cancer survivor who also had a BMT in the early days when it was "experimental." Ali and I drove the red convertible Mustang to L.A. on Friday and visited my mom in Whittier. Then we drove in the traffic of O.C. to Temecula where the golf tournament and dinner was held. Greg, who started the non-profit as a senior project at UCLA 13 years ago, is a lymphoma SURVIVOR!! Not only that he has SURVIVED another cancer AND not only that, but this past January, just two months after his wife gave birth to a little girl, he came down with a blood infection and lost both his legs from the knee down. STILL he and his wife managed to plan and follow through with the tournament and dinner and Greg played golf!

Will Ferrell, who was one of Greg's fraternity brothers, donated all his proceeds from his new Sprint commercials to the scholarship foundation, presented the checks and did some comedy...it was a wonderful evening.

Unfortunately I came home to some bad news. My 37 year old niece Dawn was diagnosed with breast cancer. She will go into the hospital at 11 a.m. tomorrow for surgery. Please send prayers and good thoughts her way.

I will post more photos later when I have more time and energy- I have some excellent photos on the fires along I-5, some fun pics of my sister, great niece and I, and Ali and I in the Mustang.

LIVESTRONG my friends,
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

9/27/06 update--- Please visit my niece's site and leave a kind word in her guestbook- click here for Dawn's site She came out of surgery tonight and is in a lot of pain. Please let her know you are rooting for her!
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Sunday night late- September 24, 2006
Ali and I left early Friday morning in our rented red MUSTANG convertible...we drove 1,001.7 miles in 36 hours, slept 5 1/2 hours and Ali got a scholarship check (YEP! One of those BIG styrofoam checks that Reader's Digest give out,) and the person who handed it to her was none other than Ricky Bobby, (Will Ferrell,) star of the upcoming movie Talladega Nights. I hope to have photos up tomorrow but right now I am going to s-l-e-e-p!
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Saturday, 16 September, 2006
Here is a picture of Ali and Nate the Great at his OT party on the 26th of August. (Which was the 4 year anniversary of Ali's Dx day.) Nate was so proud and he received his final trophy- he actually requested a trophy that was as tall as he is but they settled on one "almost" as tall. He received a trophy from his parents at each step of treatment. Three cheers to Nate!



Today was a whirl-wind day. Lex and I cleaned the garage, took a load to Goodwill, and listed items on Craig's List. Then Nolan and I drove to Union City to pick up Ali from her roommate's house and then I drove to my classroom to drop off a bunch of balls and items my kids have outgrown that will be useful in kindergarten. Then I drove Nolan to his pre-game practice and then home to pack all of Ali's belongings into the van for our trip tomorrow. Then off to the game. As we came down the hill to the park I didn't see Nolan in the game and then Ali said, "there he is in the goal!" Sure enough, Cody the goalie was sick and Nolan filled in. A good thing too as he has a terrible cough and congestion that would have made it hard to run at halfback. Nolan's team won 4-0 and we headed home for dinner.

Now to bed for Lex, Ali and I as we will head to SLO at 5:30 a.m. so we can be ready for a 9 a.m. check in...along with 100's of other students moving in!

*LIVESRTONG*

Don't forget to check on Baby Donovan who is a few days into his 2nd cord blood transplant- after his 4th relapse!

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September 15, 2006

My sister would have been 58 yesterday...she died in a car accident when she was 29. I never really knew my sister as she was 11 years older than me and married and moved out when she was 18 and I was 6 1/2. Russell's big brother, and Ali's Uncle Layne turned 49...the same birthday as my sister.

Tonight is the school-wide picnic. Ali and I are off to see the families in my class and visit with former families of my students. Then I will drive her to her new roommate's house for the night. Sunday is the BIG move into the new apartment!!!!

Below is a link to the items I have on eBay. The balance will go to Camp Okizu, the oncology camp my children have attended over the past 3 summers. Teachers take a look! More items will go up this weekend :)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&item=140027979145&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1

Happy FRIDAY alas! LIVESTRONG!
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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Just returned from clinic...thank goodness it is only once every two months now or I really don't think I could take it much longer! First we walked in, right on time, and saw our good buddy Nate who is 2 months off treatment. It is so nice to meet under these circumstances! Both kids OT and doing well. Nate has a rash which they will try to get under control with antihistamines but otherwise he is looking great!! Then we proceeded to wait....and wait...and wait. Good thing I rushed out of work to wait here. And it is 100' outside and my air conditioner needs recharging...so my clothes are sticking to me and I look pathetic enough as it is. Then Ali gets called to get weighed and measured....and we are informed her NP is in a proceedure and we can wait in a room or in the lobby. Hmmm, how about if you give us a beeper and we take a walk instead? Nope...they gave us a room and we end up waiting. So we wait, and wait and in walks a new NP. "Hi, I am your new NP _____." Gee, I am glad this did not happen on treatment because we have had 4 new NP's since Ali ended treatment a year and 1/2 ago. Then the attending onc was not available unless we waited some more so we just came home. Good thing Ali is doing well or we would never know who to call with a problem!

Ali had a tooth filled today. The second cavity in her permanent teeth. They are watching some "holes" and this one became larger. All the vomiting took its toll on her teeth. Fortunately she takes very good care brushing and flossing all the time.

It has cooled off a bit and our downstairs is a nice temperature. We are enjoying our days as a family of 5 until Ali goes off to school.

*LIVESTRONG*
Marey and all :)
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Sunday, 10 September, 2006
Tomorrow morning rings in my ears like dx day. I woke up the kids to watch TV as the first Tower fell. 4 years ago Ali was in the hospital newly diagnosed. I bought a giant flag to hang from her window in 2N and little flags to fly from every patient's IV pole in 2N. 3 years ago Ali was waiting for a spinal to see if the "suspicious cells" from the previous spial tap were leukemia cells- we later received the "all clear," the terroroist leukemia was losing its battle in her body. 2 years ago Ali was playing soccer and her ANC was the highest it had been without the aid of steroids. 1 year ago Ali was, cancer free and on a backpacking trip for incoming freshman at Cal Poly. And today, 5 years later, Ali is preparing to leave for her second year of college. I will miss her around the house, but she is ready to get back to her friends and the independence she has grown to enjoy. She and 2 good friends are sharing an apartment on campus with one other girl they have yet to meet. We have had a great time gathering the items needed as this is so different from the dorms....buying a blender on Craig's List for smoothies in the mornings, finding shelves that will fit the storeage closet, finding a coupon for a water purifier for the kitchen faucet, making photo collages for her living room and bedroom- all the things teens should be doing and we are so happy she IS doing now!

There is some "talk" going on at Kendrie's site about the uses of Caringbridge. Her mom Kristie, who is the funniest writer this side of Erma Bombeck, has a way of making us laugh through this cancer journey we have all found ourselves on...but someone complained that there was an entry just about Krisitie and Caringbridge is for "sick kids." I too have thought that since Ali has "finished" treatment, perhaps I need to end this site. BUT I have vowed to help parents, children, adults, families throughout cancer treatment and the way to continue the message for a CURE and to further awareness of CHILDHOOD cancer is too carry on. Also, just because one takes the final chemo pill, push, injection, spinal, does not mean the journey is over. Ali had an ultrasound on Thursday just to see what damage was done from her Hickman Line surgeries. Long term damage is an effect of chemo no matter what the doseages. ALSO to keep Ali's site up is to keep HOPE for other teens who are diagnosed. Ali is a success and that is what we want for all newly diagnosed PEOPLE....to have hope. So I will continue to update- and for Heaven's Sakes I hope Krisite continues so I have a site to go to for a good LAUGH after crying at other sites. AND...although Caringbridge is "free" to families in need, I know Kristie plugs for Caringbridge donations along with the rest of us. AND she inspires us to continue to HOPE for a CURE.

*LIVESTRONG my friends*LIVE for a CURE* LIVE without judging others without walking a minute in their shoes*LAUGH*LOVE*LIVE*

Saturday, 26 August, 2006- DX update after newest update :)

3 September, 2006
Our sweet neighbor Clarie gave Ali a massage and her back is doing much better. My car is pluggin' along...just a mark on the "new" bumper and paint off the trailer hitch...it should last another year!
Happy Sunday,
-LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-CHECK ON OUR LITTLE FRIENDS to let their families know you are out there.

Cam a 14 year old who became an angel last night and
Little Noah who continues to do well with big decisions ahead.

***SUNDAY, 27 August***Ali was on her way to babysit in my 17 year old van and was rear-ended at a stoplight. She says she is okay but very shaken- she doesn't like to drive as it is and I don't want to become more afraid to drive. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers that she does not hurt in the morning or have any more unessesary anxiety....(and that the van, which is about to turn 200,000 miles will make it another year!)*****

4 years ago today:

"We know that it is cancer."

BLOW #1

"Her spleen and liver are 5 times the normal size."

UPPER CUT TO CHIN

"We are going to x-ray her hip before admitting her because a piece of bone is missing."

SLAM ME INTO THE ROPES AND PUNCH ME IN THE GUTT

THEN THE FINAL KNOCK OUT BLOW

"There are spots on her lungs."

There I was, TKO'ed and reeling to pick myself up. The Dr. was not phased. Ali was wheeled into the x-ray room and as I waited outside a nurse asked if I had talked to Dr. "So and So"...all I could answer is, "I don't know who I talked to... I haven't eaten since noon yesterday." It was now 3 a.m. I left Ali in 2 North to drive home to get Russell- I had been given a death sentence for my daughter...tumors in her organs, bone and lungs? The next morning we were told Ali most likely had leukemia and tests would be run to tell us which type. I read all afternoon from the book "Childhood Leukemia" and by the time we knew the results I knew enough to feel she was dx with the better of the leukemias.

3 years ago today:

I was waiting for a return call from Ali's onc on my co-worker's cell phone. We were again at the first day of school in-service, just as I was the year before.


Dr. D: "The good news is that her marrow is clear."


Me: "Great!!"

DR. D: "The bad news is that there were suspicious cells in her spinal fluid."

Me: "You've got to be kidding?"

DR. D: "It is probably from the methotrexate. But to be sure we will do a re-check in 4 weeks."

Me: "Can't we do it tomorrow?"

And so the story goes...a parent of a child with cancer will never be the same. Ali's terminal outlook given in ER was "just" leukmeia, not osteosarcoma, lung cancer or tumors in her organs like the Dr. left me with the fear of. The suspicious cells were just that- and the retest revealed that her spinal fluid was clear.

The subsequent August 26ths were uneventful and I do believe I was the only one who remembered...and probably always will.

We are very fortunate to have Ali, 1 year and 4 months off treatment and doing well. 3 years and 8 months to go to reach the five year mark.

Please look in on our little friends who are not as fortunate as we are. Little Trey, 22 months old is in hospice. Little Noah our neighbor, is not quite 2 himself and undergoing intense chemo and heading toward transplant or indefinate chemo for ALL PH positive.

*LIVESTRONG*FIGHT*LOVE*LIVE*LAUGH**DONATE*


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Thursday, August 24, 2006
Today my baby went to high school! My 6' 4" tall son is a freshman- his first day of school photo is at the top of the page along with Ali. Ali is happy because she is going to drop him off for school and go with me to set up my classroom and she does not have to return to school yet!

I cannot believe it is almost 4 years to the day that Ali was diagnosed. Please continue to check in on our dear friends who are still fighting the fight- Baby Donovan who has just relapsed for the 4th time and is not yet 2 years old- Katie and Hunter who completed treatment only to relapse and Little Noah our neighbor who is not yet 2 years old and in need of a transplant.

LIVESTRONG-THINK CURE!
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Friday, 18 August, 2006
Today was spent w/Ali in my classroom preparing for the start of school. Yesterday Nolan, Ali and I went to the fair and then watched 3 horse races at the track. Then off to an end of season party for Nolan's basketball team and then to the wrap up party for the Relay last July. I have been without a computer for a few days and finally tonight was able to check on our caringbridge friends....it is with great sadness to type that Baby Donovan has relapsed agan. Please sign his guestbook to help his family through this incredibly tough time. This tough little guy has been fighting cancer since he was 4 weeks old.

LIVESTRONG and hold your children tight tonight.

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Day 503 OT! Friday, 11 August, 2006

Wednesday night Ali's friends Cheryl and Sean spent the night so I could take them to the airport to catch a 6:45 a.m. flight to visit Corrine in San Diego. Each early flight Ali has taken this summer I have gotten her to the airport later and later so she did not have to wait as long. We planned to get them to the airport at 6 a.m.- 45 minutes early should work right?

Then at 3 a.m. I got up to use the bathroom- I layed back in bed and looked at the almost full moon in the sky and decided to lay there for a while and look at the gorgeous night sky. I pu in my headphones and listened to the radio only to hear about the terrorists arrested in England and how all airport security was on red alert! Shoot...there went sleeping in! I got the kids up early and got them to San Jose Airport early...and good thing I did! The outside line was only about 25 people deep- and when Ali called me right before I got off the freeway to my work they were just getting to the front of the line and the end of the line now stretched into the parking lot! The inside line was even longer- their flight was held 15 ninutes and they barely made it on! Whew! they arrived in San Diego and went to the zoo and then to lunch. today they are off to the beach. Cheryl, Corrine and Ali will be room mates this coming school year...but it's time to enjoy summer for them- they do not return to school until September 24!

Next month Ali will be receiving a scholarship from Cancer for College ! This great organization is hosting a golf tournament on September 22, at the Temecula Creek Inn outside of San Deigo. Afterwards they will award the scholarships. We are all very thankful for organizations such as this that we have met along this journey.

LIVESTRONG my friends, Marey
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Day 498 OT! Monday, 7 August, 2006
Aloha! We survived a week in Hawaii...we climbed Diamond Head, snorkeled, visited the Arizona Memorial and relaxed! Last time we were in Hawaii was for Ali's make-A-Wish trip 3 summers ago. What a difference to be OT! There were many families on Make-A-Wish trips at our hotel last week.

Ali managed to hook up to the Cal Poly site and register for classes.

The wireless internet is only available in the lobby, the bar or at the poolside. The bar was filled with smoke (ehhh!) and there is no place to plug in at the pool...so were were in the lobby using the telephone phone table as there were too many guests waiting for the shuttle at another outlet. We got asked to leave the phone table mid-way through Ali registering...I nicely told the man if he could find us a smoke free place we would gladly move...the funny thing is that only one person came to use the phone while we were there...he waited and waited for the front desk to answer...and finally had to walk over to the front desk to get helped!







Ali is doing well except for back pain. I think the vincristine took its toll on her back after all those episodes of back spasms. Sleeping on the airplane in those small seats isn't conducive to sore backs either. We left at 11 p.m. and arrived in S.F. at 7 a.m.

Please take time to check on our caringbridge friends Little Noah who is inpatient right now. Also our friends newly OT, Noelle and Karl

LIVESTONG and SMILE

Saturday, 29, July, 2006

We returned safe and sound from Las Vegas to find it had been over 100 degrees here...but it was 117 degrees in Las Vegas...I love the dry heat but everyone else did not.

Fortunately all the gyms were air conditioned so the boys did not play in the heat. Nolan played well but overall the team did not do so well. It was a great experience- now onto high school ball.

The Las Vegas Museum of Natural History was a highlight of our trip, along with the amusement park at Circus Circus. Due to the late night games we did not get to do as much tourist stuff as we wanted but it was a fun time. Russell's parents came in and we had a 50th anniversary dinner at a nice restaurant with them.

Did you know you could take an elevator to Africa? You can at the Museum!



The countdown for school begins for Lex- August 10th, Nolan- August 23 is his orientation and Ali gets to go to San Diego and visit college friends because she does not go back until September 20th! I return on the 27th of August-that is if we are not on strike!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STONGER*RIDE THE WAVES*

Sunday, July 23, 2006

RIDE LIKE FLOYD!
When Lance retired after winning the Tour last year, it was thought that the U.S. reign was over. We were rooting for George and Floyd and today Floyd took the 2006 tour and the U.S. has dominates again! Floyd, who rode the entrie way with a painful hip that will be replaced, managed to come from behind after losing 8 minutes in the Alps and WIN! So following Lance, who came back from cancer to win again and again, Floyd overcame pain to win! A hero in our book, along with all the caringbridge heroes out there!

LIVESTRONG and RIDE like the winners!

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Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Ali's echo-cardiogram came back with no changes! Ali's labs look great and her ANC is 2800!

As we were leaving LPCH we saw Nate, his Mom, Dad and little brother pulling in...today is his LAST BMA and spinal! Way to go Nate! Tomorrow is his last oral chemo!! When we returned for Ali's check we saw Nate again...we "thought" he was finished since his appointment was at 12 nooon and it was now approaching 1:30....wrong! They were still waiting for a bed. Congratulations are in order for Nate!

Noelle is also approaching her end of treatment also! I met these great families along the way and it is so good to celebrate the end of treatment! The unfortunate thing is that along the way there are too many newly diagnosed. At our Relay I learned of Noah who was just diagnosed w/ALL PH . Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Today in clinic Pat told me of a little girl with as many bracelets as I have on my wrist, around her ankle. I didn't see her in clinic but when we were leaving I met Elana and her mother while waiting for our cars to be brought up. I now have my 18th bracelet with her name to wear in her honor. If I were thinking, I would have given her one of Ali's beaded bracelets but I was instead in awe of how lively this little, bald and beautiful girl was on such a hot day! Her mom said she aside from not having hair you would not know what shape she was really in...she had been to Raging Waters and was enjoying life to the fullest.

We have a lot to learn from these cancer warriors!

LIVESTRONG!

P.S. On the tossing and cleaning end of my "charity" these 2 weeks: if I were to have guests over I would have to take them into my laundry room which is the only thoroughly cleaned room in the house. So if you drop by, you can pull up the step stool and enjoy the clean!

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Saturday, 15 July, 2006

Nate's dad sent me some of his photos of the Relay. My favorite is above...there is nothing like walking the track lined with luminarias lighting the night. Ali's homepage photo is of both Survivor laps- The morning led by the Prince and Princess of the Day, Marielle and Nate, and the evening led by Aiden, Marielle and Nate.- The other Relay and TNT photos are in the "Read Journal History" link at the top and bottom of this site. Just click to view.

I have spent the week tossing, cleaning and organizing, with a bit of basketball in between! Ali and I took our kitchen table for estimates to get it refinished...$1,900 and $1,500 estimates brought us to Home Depot for stripper and sandpaper and so far we have 2 chairs sanded....4 to go and the table itself. I think the table and chairs were $50 when my parents bought them used in 1962!

There was a great article in the San Mateo Daily News about our Relay. I will download it to Ali's site when I get a chance.

The weather is beautiful and we are enjoying some summer. Lex is at Camp Okizu as a Jr. Counselor this week and on Tuesday Ali has a 2 month check up (only 2 months overdue) and echo-cardioram...and labs done on Monday. Busy week ahead!

*LIVESTRONG*RIDE LIKE FLOYD*

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

I am on a ROLL! I thought I would get to sleep in today...BUT after Russell got up an shut the door so the cats don't come in and MeOw! at me to feed them, the phone rang at 5:50...it was Ali. She was letting me know she was in Connecticut at the airport and would let me know if she got on the flight. So much for sleeping in...and my day began...more cleaning, more organizing and more tossing At 10:45 some people came by to see the aquarium and they want to buy it! YAHOO! Then off to drop of the kitchen table for estimates to get refinished...one estimate was $1,790! HA! I could get a REALLY nice table brand new for that....then onto LPCH to see Spencer. Nolan helped him put together a little car we brought and Kerri and I talked. Then I went downstairs to make Ali's appointments and then Nolan and Spencer went to the playroom. Kerri and I got lunch and then it was time to head to the airport to get Ali!

Her layover in Atlanta was eventful...she did not think she was going to make the flight and I panicked with visions of her being stuck there...so I phoned Camp Jack and left a message for them to see if she could stay there. Well at the last second...literally, Ali was able to board the plane and fly home. I got a call from Steph asking where to get Ali! Ali disappointed she made the flight because she would have loved to see Jack and family again. Nolan and I picked up Ali and got groceries for dinner and dined w/our good friend Kevin. I AM going to sleep in tomorrow moring...I may even look through the magazine I bought with good intentions of sitting down in the sun to read. My house is getting together slowly...but there's a ton left to go.

The BEST news of the day is that Spencer is NOT going to have surgery and was released tonight. His ear is responding to the antibiotics and looking much better. Thank goodness as he has been through more than anyone should ever go through.

...no phone calls before 8 a.m.- this selfish one is sleeping in!
LIVESTRONG! RIDE LIKE FLOYD AND GEORGE!
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Monday, 10 July, 2006
Just a quick note to send well wishes to Spencer Rocket who just checked into LPCH for some tests and possibly surgery. I will know more when I visit tomorrow.
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Sunday, 9 July, 2006
I borrowed Ali's Staff t-shirt from her event at Cal Poly in May...our shirts just said, "EVENT STAFF" on the back...I think this is much more appropriate for all nighters!



WoW!! I just returned from our Relay for Life....what a great event! This is our 4th Belmont/San Carlos Relay and my first as the Survivorship Chairperson. We raised $103, 000! We had 28 teams in the 90 degree heat and consumed over 10 cases of water! Thanks to the Lyons Club for dinner last night and the fantastic lunch of 15 deep fried turkeys cooked by our volunteers.


a href="http://tinypic.com">

The highlight of the event was that Nate, Aiden, and Marielle of ALL-KIDS and Meghana all were there! Marielle and Nate lead the morning Survivor Lap in a Prince and Princess crown and carried jeweled septors. In the evening, Jennifer, Aiden's mom gave a beautiful speech and then all three children lead the SURVIVOR LAP. They carried a 458 link purple paper chain which represented 1 link for each year of survivorship of all ouor survivors- counting from diagnosis! Unfortunately I was using Lex's camera to take those photos and apparently all were lost when I tried to zoom in...I will have to get photos to post from our staff photographer and post them later.



Our tent diplay was attached to the fence at the Survivor Registration booth where I spent the entire day. People cried reading about our kids...I feel the awareness of childhood cancers really made an impact this year. Ali's gold ribbon with photos from 2 years ago still hangs at our Relays and comparing photos from this year the kids have changed so much!





Whew...now I am going to shower and watch some soccer! I have declared the remainder of July the "Me" charity. I am selfishly going to make my bed, fold the laundry when it comes out of the dryer, cook dinner and CLEAN this house! I am going to get a hair cut and wash the dog. I am going to clean the garage and take out my sewing machine and enjoy some time sewing....maybe even go for an early morning bike ride. I am not volunteering for ANYTHING....that is after I make the 2 loads to the Recyclery to bring the tons of plastics and aluminum from the Relay and send the check off to the ACS....I am not going to open the envelope from Make-A-Wish that I received yesterday, until the end of the month! Since January I have volunteered, coordinated and participated in: Pennnies for Patients, TNT World's Most Beautiful Bike Ride, Cali Ali's Valentine Project, Jump Rope for Heart, School District Read-A-Thon, 8th grade dance set up/take down, PTA, Kindergarten "Fun"draiser....there's probably a few things I have forgotten...but that's about $20,000 raised in 6 months. Time to put my feet up :)
LIVESTRONG MY FRIENDS,
Marey

7 July, 2006 6:45 a.m.

It is an emotional morning. I am printing photos of little ones who have passed away from cancer...the sun is shining outside and I feel so sad. The 4th of July was hard as it would have been Ben's 7th birthday...last year we had a little band go to his house and play Patriotic Songs for him. He also walked with Ali at the Relay for Life July 18th..

Yesterday Karen and I took all the photos and blurbs about kids that parents have sent or given me permission to copy and made posters...the Angels are on a cloud, the patients and Survivors are on a sun banner and the kids who will be at the Relay are on another banner. I have the pot of gold marked "CURE" that Ali made and I will paint a rainbow today that will go in between them. I have so much to do that I had to make a list...we set up for the Relay tonight a 4:00. I keep having dreams that I have forgetten stuff...like the giant giraffe poster that I was supposed to paint...hmmm? What giant giraffe poster...and why would I need one? This morning I opened my email to find note from Nicholas Mom. Sweet Nicholas passed away at the end of May, at a mere 6 years old. Her note did make me feel like my work has made a little difference in the world-

"Hello Marey,

I saw in the photo of your chain Nicholas' link...thank you so much for riding for him. He unfortunately became an angel on May 25th at LPCH in the PICU. We flew air ambulance back from Denver Childrens Hospital where he became critical with an infection. Anyhow, his site is www.caringbridge.org/ca/nicholascolbygilbert , if there's not a photo there that is usable, let me know and I could probably email you one or we have links to his photo album at the bottom of the caringbridge home page for ofoto. Thank you for ALL that you do to help make the difference for everyone's babies with this dreadful disease. God bless you.

Fondly,
Sheila Gilbert"

The bright spot of today is that I have another new great niece born last night: baby Cody...her last name, since my niece and her husband have not decided on a name for their 3rd baby girl.

If you are planning to stop by the Relay- especially those who do not know me- I will be at the Survivor Registration all day tomorrow.

LIVESTRONG- LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-RIDE LIKE GEORGE!
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Friday, 30 June, 2006
Survivors and parents of survivors- our Relay tent display is on childhood cancer survivor/patient/angels. If you would like to send me an email giving me permission to use your/your child's photo on our tent, please email me at kteachermom@hotmail.com w/your child's caringbridge/carepage site- if you do not have a site, please email me a photo, first name and dx. THANKS! I will post photos after the Relay....(and I promise bracelet photos to you all too!) Now basketball rules the day....Nolan's team won all 3 games yesterday!



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If I sent you to this site to register you can CLICK HERE to register.
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Yesterday I got up at 4:30 and took Ali to SFO to fly to Connecticut...her Uncle Ryan who works for Delta gave her a pass...by she has to go "stand by." At first the flight looked great...but due to all the nasty weather on the east coast many flights were canceled and she got bumped....she missed getting on by 1! She waited for the 7:30 flight but no luck...waited for the 8:30....no luck. She kept asking about alternatives but the man at the counter wouldn't help. So I called from home and spoke to a supervisor at Delta and she looked into many alternatives, the best being to fly to JFK in New York at 1:10. So Lex and I picked Ali up, went shopping and then took Ali back to SFO. She made that flight easily, had an aisle seat and her friend drove the 3 hours to pick her up and then drive back to Massachusetts. When she got to SFO the first time, the man at the baggage check outside accidentally checked her bags to the gentleman behind her in line...so the entire day it was a mystery where her bag was. I had pulled off the old airline's tag and she had not put on a new tag...so she had no ID on her bag. Upon landing in N.Y. she inquired about her bag- she was asked to describe it and sure enough her bag was in Connecticut! She picked it up this morning.

I was able to get the van smog checked yesterday and it PASSED! Good for another 2 years! I was very worried because it has 198,000 miles that it would not pass and there are no cars out there that I really like...so it's the van until it becomes scrap metal I think!

Our Relay is next weekend. I am really busy now since I was working until last Friday. Unfortunately Ali will not be here to walk the Survivor Laps with the wonderful Survivors that I have recruited, but fortunatley she is well enough to be enjoying her summer vacation! She was the luminaria chair for her Relay at Cal Poly last month so she has done more than her share of hours this year.

Nolan plays in his 2nd to the last basketball tournament of the season this weekend and then he leaves for Camp Okizu on Monday. What a blessing Camp Okizu has been for my children since Ali's dx. The following week Lex will leave to Camp Okizu to be a Jr. Counselor.

Have a safe and FUN 4th of July,
LIVESTRONG!
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan
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Wednesday, 28 June, 2006
Well I finally have had a chance to get the photos developed...I really need a new camera...So here is the TNT America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride in pictures. The names of 100 angels/patients/survivors were carried on our bikes- 1 mile for each.



Here is our journey:




Parker was an honoree and a very special one at that. He had his own TNT jersey, cheered on his teammates at his very own Parker's Pals rest stop and rode the last mile with his dad! Then he rode back in again with his teammates. Our LLS chapter would not even allow Nolan ride near our team because he was not 16 years old and would not let Ali be an honoree because she could not come to all the events since she was away at college...but Parker's chapter gave him a special child's size jersey and honored his presence. Hats off to the Central California LLS chapter!

Jackson is another honoree...in fact while climbing Emerald Bay someone said, "GO MOM!" It was a TNT rider from No. Cal...on the back of her bike she had a small photo and I asked who she was riding for...she said her mother, and for Jackson! I said, "WoW! I met Jackson yesterday!" Although I have "known" Jackson's mom from the online support group ALL-KIDS I had never met her in person. It was nice to meet these two young boys and their families who have been through so much.

It took way too long to make a simple collage...the Print Shop program would not cooperate this morning...it took about 2 hours to complete what should have taken 20 minutes. The ride was wonderful- no wind and full of sun and fun. I will be sending bracelet photos w/individual names as promised...but it will take a few more hours worth of time but will happen eventually.

Now the focus is our Relay for Life coming up July 8-9. I am the Survivorship Chair so if you are local- and a SURVIVOR we want YOU! Anyone else is welcome to walk with our team also...just send me an email. From ALL-KIDS we should have Marielle, Aiden and hopefully Nate.

-LIVESTRONG-RIDE LIKE A PURPLE HIPPO!

24 June, 2006

The past week has been a whirl-wind with Ali, Lex and I teaching a class and Nolan in DC. It is now time to put my energy towards our RELAY...I am the survivor chairperson and I need to get moving on it! If I sent you to this site to register you can CLICK HERE or above to register. Remember, I am not seeking your fundraising I just want you to come join the walk and be honored. I also want family to come...so please join the fun if you are close enough to walk with us!

I am off to bike to my kindergarten picnic for next year's students and then I hope to post the TNT photos of Tahoe...and then send the bracelet chain photos to all those I honored on the ride.

LIVESTRONG MY FRIENDS, Marey
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13 June, 2006

Today Nolan graduated 8th grade. I most certainly still need our TNT update but I still do not have photos back. But I would like to share Nolan's speech that he gave at graduation tonight:

Nolan
Period 4
5/28/06
Graduation Speech

On my first day of 5th grade I was 5 foot 3 inches tall and my sister was diagnosed with cancer.

On this last day of 8th grade I am 6 foot 3 inches tall and my sister is in remission. 4 years older and wiser and 12 inches taller I have many at Central to thank.

On August 27, 2002, I was instantly made responsible for myself- finding rides home from school, coming home to an empty house, fixing dinner and passing time in the hospital rooms. My parents were spread thin and life was a mess.

Thanks to Ms Duetscher and Mr. Megan my life was made more typical. Ms Duetscher made sure I kept up with my school work and Mr. Megan encouraged me to change from saxophone to trombone. His humor made each day fun and I looked forward to escaping for a while. While other kids brought friends home from school and had birthday parties at their homes I could do neither since my sister’s immune system was compromised.

In 6th grade Mrs. Amos took over for Ms. Duetscher making sure I turned everything in. Mrs. Sebben let us play games after our work was done and allowed me to forget about troubles for a while. That summer I met Ms. Dresser at the Relay for Life. She was walking around the track in the middle of the night and we started talking. I hoped she would be one of my 7th grade teachers and sure enough she was. That year is filled with memories of Yosemite and Coaches Nick and Fred taking our basketball team to the playoffs.

8th grade would be the best of all. My sister completed her protocol and life became more normal. Mr. Foletta taught me so much algebra I tested into high school geometry, Mrs. Purcell made art the highlight of each day and Ms. Dresser was also there for support. Coaches Nick and Fred took the basketball team to the playoffs and Coaches Jody and Barry coached a great soccer season. It is hard to believe we are headed into high school in the fall.

Each of us graduates has a middle school story of our own. Some more trying, some more exciting, but all stories of success. And for Riley, whose story was cut short, we salute you- may your family see you in all of our future success and may you live on in our hearts. Thank you Central teachers and staff for a successful 4 years and to our parents, thank you for putting up with us! Congratulations to my classmates of 2006.

-After the first paragraph, the audience sighed. After the second paragraph the audience started to clap and took Nolan by surprise. He had to stop speaking to wait for quiet. It was touching to have Ali sitting in the audience with us.- Riley, who Nolan mentions in his speech just passed away 2 weeks ago of a brain tumor....what a terrible time for her parents...she should have been picking out a hairstyle and wondering who she would dance with at the dance after graduation. It makes me so sad.-

Nolan certainly deserves applause- surviving as a sibling of a cancer patient is tough enough, but doing it while earning a 3.5 and playing 3 sports is effort beyond what was expected. Hats off to you my son!

The new homepage photo is of Ali and Nolan after Sunday's final game in which his AAU team took 2nd place. Ali and I drove back from SLO the night before and made it to both of Sunday's games. Summer is almost here...but first I have to finish this week with my class.

LIVESTRONG! Marey

- It is with great sadness that I type that Amazing Jacob passed away. Although he was given 9 months to live 28! months ago that little triplet did amazing things in his time here on earth.
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11 June, 2006
Yesterday I drove to SLO and picked up Ali...we loaded the van and headed home....7 hours in the car! I have photos to post and stories to tell but it has been such a rush the past 6 weeks I have not had time to think! I am off to Nolan's playoff basketball game and will try to post photos tonight-

I am asking everyone to please keep Amazing Jacob in your thoughts and prayers tonight. he is the triplet whose site I asked you to visit last September when his brothers were off to kindergarten and he was inpatient. Once again please visit his site and leave encouraging words for him and his family.

LIVESTRONG!
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5 June, 2006

It is finals week and Ali is sick. On Saturday night she was feeling so badly that a friend drove her to ER. She had a fever but fortunatley did not have pneumonia or strep. Hopefully she does not have mono that one of her girlfriends just came down with. She was given fluids, a chest x-ray and blood work was done. She is on antibiotics and took her calculus final today. I will update as I know more.


We returned from the TNT America's Finest Bike Ride today. The ride was absolutely awesome- no wind like last year- in fact the weather was so nice that before climbing Emerald Bay I took off my fingered gloves and windbreaker and did not wear them again! I will post more when I can and put up photos of the chain, Jackson and Parker I met in person for the first time!

Thanks for checking- Send good thoughts to Ali and a California woman who crashed on the ride and was life-flighted to the trauma center w/serious head injuries.

LIVESTRONG!
Marey, Russ, Ali Lex and Nolan

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Ali is doing well and anxiously awaiting the end of the quarter. Today in calculus as she was trying to concentrate there was an anti-abortion rally going on outside. It was so loud the professor could barely be heard and it made it extra difficult for Ali to grasp the information. Apparently it does not matter if they distract students right before finals...very frustrating for eveyone.

We will see Ali this weekend! It is also mine and Russell's 24th wedding anniversary....May 29,1982...where has the time gone?

Friday I got a call at work that Nolan was sick...he had a temperature of 99 and was in the office. I got someone to cover my class nad zoomed to pick him up. After he got home he threw up and got a bloody nose. His nose bled on and off through early Monday morning. I took him to Urgent Care where we were told his nose could not be cauterized since the entire nostril was bleeding. He used Afrin and Vaseline to to keep it moist and stopped using decongestants...he had been using saline but this seemed to do the trick. Nose bleeds are scarry since it is a symptom of leukemia. He seems a lot better today and was able to go to an entire day of school aside from zero period P.E. Yesterday he went to the last 2 periods of school so he could turn work in- also he has not missed a day of school this year.- Lex is well on her way of breaking Cal Ripkin's record...she has not missed a day of school EVER! if she continues, she will break Cal's record of never missing a game when she is 1/2 way through her sophomore year of college!

Ali's Realy for Life was this past weekend. She made luminarias for our caringbridge friends but didn't get photos because it rained. She did get to walk the Survivor Lap with Spencer Rocket who is 2 years post transplant and doing well! The Cal Poly SLO Relay made $63,000!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER* LAUGH HARDER* RIDE LIKE TEAM RICHINS*

15th of May, 2006

HERE IS A REASON TO RELAY:

I copied this story with permission from Danny's site, a fellow survivor and athlete who was just recently married.




Fresno State softball player Rachael Donaldson.
By Matt James / The Fresno Bee

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Saturday was a good day for accomplishments.

Fresno State coach Margie Wright's softball team won two games. When it comes to winning, her teams have done that exactly 1,200 times at the college level.

Fresno State shortstop Christina Clark hit a home run. She has done that 60 times at the college level. (Her dad has kept all 60 of the balls.) And Rachael Donaldson lived. She has done that for 21 years and 47 days now.

At the college level. At the highest level. At what seemed like the lowest level, except there was another level lower.

At whatever level cancer lets her live, which is the most agonizing part of it all.

You probably know her story by now. Rachael Donaldson was a catcher and outfielder for the Fresno State softball team for two years.

Last season, as a sophomore, she started every game. She was tall and athletic. She hit .281, which translates to about .350 on a baseball field. She hit five home runs and was conference player of the week once in March.

After the season, they found cancer behind her left knee, of all places. They called it level 4 and said it was spreading.

Donaldson started chemotherapy and lost all of her long blonde hair and had to leave school for the fall semester. She told a reporter she wanted to play for the Bulldogs again, that she planned to start up school again in the spring. There was hope, she said.

But in January she found out she would need surgery.

Actually, she'd known she would need surgery for some time, but in January she found out "it wasn't the minor surgery I thought it was going to be," she says.

A month and a half ago, they did an entire knee replacement, which doesn't even begin to explain the surgery. Every bone from the middle of her left thigh to the bottom of her left shin is now metal.

Only her knee cap is original.

"Bionic," Coach Wright calls her, affectionately.

Donaldson came to Saturday's home doubleheader against Hawaii. She is, technically, on the team this season, listed as a medical redshirt, though she didn't come back to school this spring and lives in Southern California with her mother, Sandra Baker.

When the Bulldogs made their February trip to UCLA and their March trip to Fullerton, her mom took her to the games.

Saturday was senior day. Her mother couldn't miss any more work, so Donaldson caught a ride this weekend to Fresno with Christina Clark's parents, Thomas and Kathleen, who live in Santa Ana. She was introduced before the game along with the other players, and she stood with them on the third-base line in her team warm-up suit and black bandana as "The Star-Spangled Banner" played.

The team swept the doubleheader against the second-best team in the WAC, all but guaranteeing the regular-season WAC title, and she sat in the dugout through both games, her bionic leg resting along the bench in full cast.

At Fresno State softball games, they play music between innings, but on Saturday music played through every out. In a parking lot across the street, Relay-for-Life was going on. A cancer walk, of all things. Live bands played on stage as cancer survivors and friends of cancer survivors walked in circles.

It should have been bothersome, but it wasn't. It was just the right volume, a little background music for a Saturday afternoon doubleheader.

Part of Rachael Donaldson still dreams about playing for the Bulldogs, but there is no realistic chance. Her college softball career is finished. Doctors say she will someday run and do most everything she did before, but honestly, it will never be the same. How could it? Softball is a nice distraction, though, a little unrealistic goal in all the frustration. She has another round of chemo in a week, and then a bone marrow transplant in a month.

At a banquet after the game, Coach Wright introduced her along with the other juniors and gave her the "Most Inspirational" award. "If you haven't met her," Wright said to the Bulldogs fans eating barbeque outside the North Gym, "you need to meet her today."

Coach e-mails her every day. She talks to her teammates on the phone constantly. She says it means so much to still be a part of the Fresno State softball team, a part of something, not just the girl with cancer.

"She's going to be up and running the bases again, we all know that," Wright told the crowd.

And softly, in the background, the music played.

......so when you feel that you're down, remember the kids like Rachael and the reason to Relay...donate if you can, walk if you can...LIVESTRONG because you can!

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*Mother's Day* 14 May, 2006

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all Moms out there...especially those caring for ill children. For Mother's Day I rode my bike 80 miles to honor Ali and those in treatment, survivors and angels. Only three more weeks until our 100 mile ride!

Please check in on Baby Donovan who is 6 months out from transplant but continually bombarded with complications and then testicular relapse. His mom is alone with him at Duke this Mother's Day since her husband must continue to work at home in Indiana. A note of cheer in the guestbook would be thoughful on this day.

If you would like to join our RELAY TEAM CLICK HERE I have paid the team fee so there is no charge to join. Don't worry about collecting donations- the most important thing is to come and WALK with us! And I need to get as many SURVIVORS as possible since I am the Survivorsihp Chair....so please join our team and walk with us....even if you can only come by for an hour during the 24 hour period we would LOVE to have you!!

*LIVESTRONG*HUG YOUR MOTHER*
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Thursday, May 11

SATURDAY-SATURDAY-SATURDAY!
Nesbit School's Rummage Sale, BBQ and 5th grade carwash!! Come one- come all!!

500 Biddulph Way
Belmont

X streets Hiller and Ralston!
Lex and her friend Phoebe will be selling our rummage at the site w/the cancer posters....(all proceeds to Camp Okizu, the AMS and the LLS!) Russ and I will be riding 80 miles along the coast...our last big training ride!

LIVESTRONG!
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HAPPY MAY DAY 2006
On Saturday, my birthday, we rode 71 miles...this is me at the end....(along with Russell's hand in the left corner,)

...dig that birthday hat? It wasn't too wind resistant but the bells made a whistling sound every time I went over 30 mph! It was a fun ride through the countryside...BUT on the 68th mile we took a "short-cut" UP a big hill...all but one person chose to go home the short-cut and the rest of us fools did the hill...I did stop a few times...I mean, that hill was straight up...so steep that I could barely get my foot clipped in and the pedals going around to get re-started...but I made it! I got a lot of, "Hey, cool hat," from cars along the way and it made for a nice day. AND THE SUN WAS SHINING for the first entire week since last November!

Sunday was our 4th annual rummage sale for charity. I did not ask for help since I do believe I have exhausted my friends. Despite that, Allison, Alison and Kathy from my work showed up and helped set up. Allison, 5 months pregnant weathered the heat with us for a few hours and helped when it was busy. Then Lex and I did the last hours on our own...the heat got into the 90's and there was no shade. We lathered up w/sunscreen...but I missed the back of my calves and ....well if you're going to get sunburned that is a pretty safe place to have it! Saturday is a much better day to do a rummage sale but I couldn't miss the ride...we did not make as much money as we could have but the $500 we brought in does make a difference. Lex and I did all the packing up on our own- we only had one car since Lex's was in the shop and Russell took Nolan to his basketball game...we made a load for donation and several loads for Lex to bring to my school rummage sale. The only time I remember being this exhausted was after running the San Diego Heart Marathon...but that was way back when I was 19. I put my feet up, nursed my sunburnt calves and drank 3 glasses of Gatorade...then after eating a few slices of garlic bread w/artichoke dip I felt like a person again...well enough to watch Nolan's last game of the day. I slept well last night!

Please keep our caringbridge friends Baby Donovan and PrincessWarrior Alexia in your thoughts as they add count each day post transplant.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR RELAY TEAM or to make a donation for luminaria.

Today was May Day at my school. The students made baskets filled with flowers and delivered them to the neighbors surrounding the school. We had a few extra baskets and we delievered them to the Firehouse and the Post Office...then one student suggested we save one for Ali...she is so special to these little kids of mine and she has brought awareness of childhood cancer to this whole generation of students.

*LIVESTRONG*GIVE STRONG*

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Click below to sign up to walk with Ali's Team in the Belmont/San Carlos Relay for Life, July 7th and 8th. The team registration fees have already been paid...just sign up to walk with us! We's love to have all of you locals!

CLICK HERE TO Sign Up To Walk With Ali's Team

The days just fly by since Ali went OT! It is a pace that I do not remember since the kids were 1,3 and 5 and I was working full time and juggling everything everyday! But I would take that over cancer anyday!

The RUMMAGE SALE looks as though it is FINALLY going to happen! This SUNDAY, APRIL 30 from 9-3 at the Arundel turn-a-round at 2000 San Carlos Ave. San Carlos. If you have RUMMAGE that you have been saving up for us, give me a call. My living room is still the set of Sanford & Son and I cannot wait to get it back!

Saturday is my birthday!! For my birthday I get to ride 60 miles :) Then Sunday is the sale...I will miss Nolan's Santa Cruz basketball tournament but he since he is playing school soccer, basketball and baseball I couldn't possibly see it all.

It does not look like Ali will be in for Mother's Day...she was going to come if she was asked to volunteer for Courageous Kids Day- a ACS event at great America- but they have not called back. She has to fullfill hours of service with the ACS for a scholarship she received but she has about double the necessary hours at this point. She will be home for our **24th** Wedding Anniversary in May! Then back to school for finals and then home for summer!

Please visit Baby Donovan who had relapsed, received a cord blood transplant and has now had a testicular relapse all in his short 14 month life! They have a $5 fundraiser on his page if you are able- if not, encouraging words left in his guestbook would be uplifting.

As soon as I get our team for the Relay registered i will post the info to join online- Survivors and all others.
Happy Tuesday- LIVESTRONG!

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Wednesday, 19 APRIL, 2006
Survivors! That includes patients too...please come walk with our Relays...it does not cost you anything but your time...and brings awareness to the cause. Cal Poly's Relay is May 20-21st. Everyone in the area is welcome...Ali is in charge of the luminaria ceremony so if you live nearby, please email and I will fill you in. The BELMONT/SAN CARLOS Relay is July 7-8th...I need all local survivors- especially children- to walk in the SURVIVOR morning and/or evening ceremonies. Send me an email and you can walk w/Ali...I am the Survivorship chairperson and I would really like to have a BIG group of children walking...nothing is more inspiring than a group of SURVIVORS!

Ali is doing well and counting down the number of days until school ends. She is ready for her 2nd summer OT!

Happy Wednesday Night- LIVESTRONG!
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HAPPY EASTER 2006- APRIL 15
Happy Rainy easter from rainy No. Cal!

Ali had a re-check on Friday and all seems to be well. The damage to her brachial nerve is apparently what caused the pain and tingling in her arm- that and probably vincristine.

The Camp Okizu bake sale went well on Friday. Angel Ben's mom made 2 scrubs, my sister made 5 and I made 1. We sold 4 and I have just listed one on eBay- you will find the link below. A Jeff gordon scrub top....we have Scooby Doo, tractor, Pikachu and skateboarder scrubs left. I will see how this auction goes before adding the others.

Our eBay listed items for Camp Okizu

Yesterday was our 56 mile bike ride....Russell is sick and Nolan had baseball so it was just me and our team. It was cold w/a threat of rain and just like the past 37 of 45 days it RAINED on us...as soon as we got into Niles Canyon- Calavaras Road with no way out except forward or back- the rain came down and a headwind blew! But we made it in 4 hours and a few minutes of riding time. I was never so happy to get into the warm car and turn the heater on!

My living room is still impassable due to the rummage. I cannot plan a sale date with al lthis rain...and basketball. I will add a few more items to sell on eBay and Craig's List. We have a ton of good stuff...and we are almost to our minimum amount!! Thanks to our Family Practice Dr. who gave us $1000!!! and Ali's grandparents who donated $250!

Happy Easter and enjoy the sun where it is shining!!

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Wednesday, 12 April , 2006
We are home from Anaheim! The sun was shining and both Nolan and I were sad to have to board the plane that would fly us back to the land of rain and gloom. As Nolan went to hold a place in the boarding line, Ali text messaged me. "My heart hurts and my arm is tingly." UH! We would be boarding the plane in a few minutes and I would have to turn my phone off! YIKES!! I quickly tried to call her but she was in class. I texted her back but did not hear back from her. I frantically called Lex and had her try to get a hold of Ali. I told her to call the onc and then go to Health Services. The entire flight I was anxious over Ali and depressed about flying back in to the rain clouds. When we landed I called clinic and got cut off and then got the answering machine. By now were were on the shuttle to our car- in the biggest downpour of the storm- I called 2 North to get an onc. Nolan kept texting Ali who was now at Health Services but she could not use her phone inside the building. The Dr listened to her heart, took her blood pressure and ordered an EKG and CBC's. All appeared normal...this is probably just damage to her brachial nerve from her Hickman Line surgeries but it has not presented itself this way before. Poor Ali! She will go back to get a re-check on Friday but it is reassuring to know something is not dangerously wrong at this point.

Ali asked me to put the information about the Relay for Life that she is helping with at Cal Poly. Here it is:

Ali's Relay Page Every little bit counts...if you can pledge $1.00 it would be $1.00 more adding to fight all cancers!

Anaheim was fun! Below is a picture of Nolan holding his cousin Paige who watched the first game, and Spencer holding his little neice Lula- both girls are 3 years old and had fun playing in the bleachers and cheering!


Below is a picture of my 87 year old mom and Nolan...he certainly did not get his height from her side of the family!!



While we were in Anaheim we got to see my sister and my cousin too- Thanks Brian for coming to the game!

This Friday is the Camp Okizu bake sale at LPCH. I will be baking and also, with the help of Angel Ben's mom and my sister, we have 7 scrub tops to sell! I will try to get a photo of the wonderful scrubs for ped/onc nurses that we created! If you will be at LPCH on Friday come by and say hello- we are right outside the cafeteria downstairs on the LPCH side of Stanford hospital.

In my last entry I mentioned Baby Donovan This little fighter was diagnosed at 4 weeks old with the same type of leukemia as Ali- only in infants the survival rate is not as good. Baby Donovan relapsed and is at Duke after a cord blood transplant last November. His mother Melissa stays with him day and night and his dad and big brother are in Indiana holding down the fort...(working) while trying to visit when they can and trying to make ends meet. Unfortunately Baby Donovan has most likely relapsed in his testicle and itwill have it removed this week. This means Donovan's family will be away from home even longer than first predicted. This is a struggle for such a young family. On Donovan's site a fundraiser has been set up to help the family. For $5 you can fill in a square on a photo. If you are able, please make a donation to this young family through the photo fundraiser.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LIVE LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW*HELP OTHERS WHO ARE NOT AS FORTUNATE*GIVE ALL THAT YOU CAN*

1 April, 2006- WHO'S FOOLING?

The month of March- 31 days...and the new record, breaking the 1904 record of...(drum roll)...25 days of rain out of 31 for San Francisco! So when I went to bed last night, I was sure there would be no TNT bike ride and no baseball game for Nolan. But when 6 a.m. came, the sky was blue and a little sun was shining through a few clouds...although yesterday was the same, at noon the sky opened up and WHAM! Down came the rain! We had planned to leave at 6:45...we loaded the bikes, got the pump and tools... could only find one bike glove...I saw my sunglasses and now where are they?... Where is my florescent green windbreaker?...I guess I can wear Nolan's....do you have the water bottles and by 7:30 we were ready to leave...only the keys were inside the van and it was running- doors locked and the heater on! AHHHHHHHHHHH! Get the spare key from the neighbor, wake up Lex to get her car keys to open the van...now we should be on our way except....we need to be in Los Gatos and the low fuel light is on! Open the garage, get the gas can for the lawn mower and dump it in....whew...but don't leave yet...google the directions to Los Gatos High School....now we can go! BUT, the google directions said to turn right when exiting the freeway but in actuality we needed to turn left. We drove around, and around and finally stopped for gas. Then we found the high school but our team had left. We checked in and started to ride fast...at the first rest stop we were 25 minutes behind our team. At the next rest stop we were 10 minutes behind...if we hadn't made 3 WRONG turns in our haste we may have caught them....THEN about 40 miles in to the ride we came to MOUNT EDEN...1 mile of hill. This is the point that I was happy to have the triple crank because I am not in that good of shape to climb that....we made it to the "top of the world" as it is called, without stopping. Then it was down a very steep, wet, gravel covered road to the bottom....as I was going down my cell phone rang...at the bottom of the hill I called home and it was Nolan...his baseball game was a go! He wasn't very happy with me because I did not warn him that he might play. Lex drove him to his game and now Russ and I needed to ride even faster so we could get to his game. There was a headwind and it was just the 2 of us...this is when a paceline comes in handy! We pushed ourselves and completed the 50 mile ride, met our coaches at the end and rushed to Nolan's game. 1/2 way through the ride I realized it was April Fools Day...we had enough of being fooled! Tomorrow is the final game of Nolan's basketball tournament to determine which bracket the team will play in in Anaheim. Go mighty REDWOODS!

Please visit our caringbridge friends listed in the last entry. Baby Donovan who is one year old and has battling leukemia since he was 4 weeks old is having a "Reveal the Photo" fundraiser. His family lives in Indiana but is living in NC at Duke while he recovers from a crod blood transplant. Visit his site and check it out!

Ali began her 3rd quarter of college this week. Soon she will be home for summer vacation! Time fies OT!

LIVESTRONG- Thank Goodness April Fools comes only once a year!

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27 March, 2006
Tonight we went to a TNT party and picked up our sweatshirts! Russell got registered as a bone marrow donor along with about 50 others from TNT.

It is easy to become a donor...they just take a little blood....it is equally as easy to donate blood...become a donor...save LIVES!!

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26 March, 2006
11:00 A.M Ali and "Adam Morrison"


Okay...well not exactly thee Adam Morrison, but Ali's little brother Nolan.....He looks like the real Adam but he is 4" shorter than the real Adam, and 60 pounds lighter, but he plays like him!

This morning Ali got to see game 3 of the NJB playoff games. After the *win* we took Ali across the bay to her friend's house and they drove back to college. It was a short break but we enjoyed Ali's time at home.

Game 4 is tonight! Check back for an update!!

-LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-PLAY LIKE NOLAN-

8:00 P.M. UPDATE!!
"Nolan, your Redwood NJB team has just won 4 consecutive games to put you in the National NJB finals! Where are you going to go?"

"TO DISNEYLAND!!!!"

That's right! The boys are headed to Anaheim for the NJB championships! We couldn't be prouder! 4 weeks ago Nolan broke his arm after crashing on a bike ride with me...tonight he played hard and the team *clinched* a spot in Anahiem...right across the street from Disneyland! GO REDWOOD!

Nolan made the All Star team last year, as the only 7th grader on the team and broke his arm and could not play! The year before Nolan's team made it to Anaheim. Ali was almost a year into treatment and needing a wheelchair. We made our way to the games and even shopping for her prom dress at the mall after a game. We got to visit with my mom, sister niece adn great niece but had to rush back for school. This year spring break falls right after the tournament so we will be going to Disneyland!

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24 March, 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALI!

First Birthday off chemo in 4 years!
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Tuesday, 21 March, 2006
The photo below was taken at the turn-around in front of Lucile Packard Tuesday before Ali's final spinal. When Ali was first admitted to Lucile Packard these animals were mostly wire. As she progressed through treatment the lion, elephant and giraffe slowly filled out and less wire showed. When Ali was first admitted construction workers were driving the pilings for the building behind her in the photo. YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY!


EVENING UPDATE: We FINALLY returned from clinic. Ali is on the couch recovering and I am waiting until Russell gets home so I can get to work and make plans for tomorrow...Ali has one more Dr. appointment. Clinic was a fiasco. The entire floor is under construction and we were sent to admitting by mistake- then to clinic E by being re-routed completely around the lower level. We waited 2 hours before we Ali was seen. The waiting room was so crowded there were not enough chairs. Finally Ali was called to get her IV inserted. We waited longer and amused ourselves with numbing spray and latex gloves! Oddly enough Ali had her first ever- in 3 1/2 years- visit from a Child Life Specialist. (Where was she when we needed her years ago?) We let her know to be sure to see the teen patients in clinic and thanked her for her offer. When Ali was finally brought to a room there was another child recovering from a spinal- you need to lay flat for a half hour- and she had a Dr. Do-Little DVD playing VERY LOUDLY. My normal kindergarten teacher patience was wearing VERY THIN at this point. We had not eaten, since Ali has to go w/o food or water for 6 hours before the procedure- suddenly the room began to smell very good....apparently the mom and her child were eating....Lex and I were salivating and I know Ali's tummy must have been craving a bite at that point. When Ali was hydrated and ready to leave the nurse offered Ali something from the teen Treasure Box- ironic because Ali and I have stocked the teen Treasure Box for a over year now and she has never been offered before. Hopefully things are changing there. I think since we have not been to clinic since December that we have lost touch of the pains of going. THANK GOODNESS this was the last spinal of her protocol. From now on it is labs and check ups every 2 months. Ali will get her results next week when the oncs return from a conference. So now it is time for celebration!!

Unfortunately we add to our list of children we ask you to visit due to relapse. Sadly little Hunter relapsed after finishing treatment January 17th and having her port removed yesterday. Please visit her site and leave her warm thoughts- Sweet Hunter

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MORNING UPDATE:
Today is Ali's final spinal! In a way it is the end of treatment- the last time spinal fluid will be drawn from her spine and analyzed. On March 27th she will be 1 year out from treatment...the day she took her last chemo. In 4 years she will be considered "cured." After today's
visit she will have blood draws and scheduled appointments every 2 months...much easier on her being away at school. Last quarter was tough and she did not come home once.

Tomorrow is Ali's dad's birthday and on Friday it is Ali's birthday...19 years since she came into the world and made us a family :) We will celebrate with her being home for spring break, some college friends coming to visit and of course we will have ice cream cake!

Thursday Nolan's arm is re-x-rayed and also his spine. His arm feels pretty good so hopefully he will have the okay to get back to basketball, baseball and school soccer...and training rides for TNT. Last weekend we had a great 45 mile bike ride in the sun...and yesterday the skies opened up with more rain an dhail that continues into today and supposedly tomorrow...and even the weekend. We really need to be out on the road riding...Tahoe is just 3 months away! To get to our TNT site CLICK HERE . I should have more photos from last weekend's rde up soon...Lex drove SAG for TNT and got some pretty good photos.

Please wish Ali a HAPPY BIRTHDAY in her guestbook. Please visit our transplant friends and teen friends who could use some encouraging words:
Princess Alexia, Baby Donovan, Keegan, Victor and Ben

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RIDE LIKE LANCE*CELEBRATE LIKE TEAM RICHINS*

Saturday 11 March, 2006

Ali has made it through her 2nd quarter of classes and has finals this week. THEN on Friday she will ride home with a friend and celebrate a BIG week! Spring break consists of her dad's birthday, her 19th birthday, her last spinal of treatment and her official 1 YEAR OFF TREATMENT!!! One down and 4 to go! I am having trouble scheduling her last spinal- she generally feels lousy for a day or two afterwards and there is no one in clinic to do her spinal on Monday- they wnat her to come in on Thursday- but that is the day before her birthday- and also the day of my class field trip, the day Nolan gets his arm and back x-rayed and most importantly she doesn't want to feel yucky on her birthday. I guess we will wait and see when we can reschdeule it.

The excitement this week was THUNDER, LIGHTNING and best of all HAIL or RAIN PELLETS! Below is a phone photo of handful from the playground at recess yesterday...the whole playground was white for just a few minutes....the kids had a blast!


We did not go on the buddy ride today. It was a 40 mile ride through the hills once again and since we did pass snow on the road last week I am certain there is ice on the roads this morning...I am not chancing falling...so we will all ride the wind trainers today. To see updates on our TNT training and fundraising CLICK HERE Yesterday after school, Cameron, a fourth grader whose sister was in my kinder class 2 years ago, came knocking on my classroom door. He held out his hand with $3.25 and said, "This is for the leukemia kids." It turns out he sold his bithday cupcakes that were leftover and wanted to donate the money to our ride! Now doesn't warm your heart on this cold day?

Nolan's NJB basketball team won their first playoff game last weekend. Nolan was on the bench with his broken arm, just like last year....only this year they WON! For the past 2 years they have lost the first game and were out...so this was a fun time for the coaches and kids. Tonight is game 2, and if they win, game 3 is tomorrow.

Please check on our little friends Baby Donovan and Princess Alexia who are at Duke recovering from cord blood transplants. They had the same type of leukemia as Ali, but are battling greater odds since they were diagnosed as infants. Also our friend Ben who is a high school senior battling t-cell leukemia. If you have time, please leave encouraging words in their guestbooks.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER* RIDE LIKE LANCE* SMILE LIKE ALI*

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

About a year into this cancer journey I met two mother's of 4 year olds boys who became cyber friends of mine. We emailed a little and vented a lot. Unfortunately our buddy Victor relapsed and I directed you to his site to leave encouraging words. Then in January, while nearing the end of treatment our buddy Keegan relapsed. Again the sadness of ALL hit home. These two moms have become a tremendous support to each other dispite living many states away from each other. Victor's Mom Apryle won an ipod through fundraising for TNT last season. She is raffling it off as a fundraiser for Keegan's family to help with the expenses that come with such a long, intesive treatment. If you are interested, the information is below:

You can e-mail Apryle @ vicnick@alltel.net if you are interested in buying a raffle ticket for Keegan the Crusader, or go to either boys' site by clicking on their highlighted names above.

Victor is jazzed because he will be pulling the winnning ticket!!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RIDE LIKE HINCAPIE, NOT NOLAN!*
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Wednesday, March 1, 2006

One year and 5 days ago Nolan broke his arm. Right before basketball playoffs, which his team lost in round one- 2 key players on the bench with broken arms....then this Friday, the last day of mid-winter break off school, Nolan and I got ready for a bike ride. Down the big hill and then CRASH! Nolan slid, skidded, jumped the curb and broke his arm....just like that. My car was getting body work done since I was hit taking Nolan to school weeks before. I called Debbie my neighbor and she came and picked up Nolan and I walked the bikes home- swearing all the way accompained by tears. Debbie let me take her car, her mother-in-laws 1988 Cadillac, to take Nolan to Urgent Care. The place creeps me out since that is where I first took Ali the night of dx before being sent to Stanford's ER....and where Nolan has had 4 of his broken arms and broken toe set. Once in the car I realized I was still wearing my helmet, riding gloves and of course riding shoes that are impossible to drive in. Nolan had ice on his arm but was in a lot of pain. Flashing before me was the playoff game he was again going to miss and the All Star tournament which he also missed last year- winners play in Anaheim right across from Disneyland! I didn't realize what a fool I was until yesterday, when I read the newspaper- a Bellarmine Prep student was skiing with his mother- she decided to take the easy run down to lunch and the son a tougher run. She waited at the bottom and her son never arrived....he had somehow skiied through a mesh fence on a bridge, landed face down in a creek and died. How petty of me to cry over a broken arm, when this mother lost her son in a freak accident. So last night while we rode the wind trainers together I felt happy for having "just" a broken arm to contend with. Please pray for peace for this young man's mother and his family.

If anyone reading this can top 5 broken arms/wrists and broken toe and 14 years old please leave message in the guestbook letting me know I am not the only one with a son who breaks bones often.

Happy Wednesday,
*LIVESTONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER* DON'T RIDE LIKE NOLAN*
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Wednesday, 22 February , 2006 - Valentine photos of caringbridge friends are in the last journal entry :)

GEORGE HINCAPIE at the finish line of today's Amgen Tour- 17 Mile Time Trial-Stage 3


Here is the winner, Floyd Landis who led by 25 seconds!


WoW! Today Nolan and I took a break and headed to San Jose to see the 3rd stage of the Amgen Tour. This was the first professional cycling event we have ever been to and boy did we have fun. Not only did we get to see George Hincapie- who was Lance's main man in all his tours- but we got to have a little fun too. There were many booths, one especially fun that had 2 bikes on wind trainers with video screens attached. You could "race" someone in a 1/4 mile race. Nolan and I rode like crazy...he beat me by 1 second BUT I had the lowest time for a woman all day! Nolan tried again and got 2 seconds lower, the lowest time for a kid all day. The man running it had a hard time believing that this 6' 2 1/2" tall kid was only 14 years old!

This is a giant banner that you could sign in honor or memory of those who have/had cancer. It was almost full except for this big part on the pole in the corner at the bottom...so we added a message for Ali.

Tomorrow stage 3 goes from Monterey to San Luis Obispo! Unfortunately Ali is in school all day on Thursday w/o a break so she will not be able to see the tour go by. It does begin again on Friday from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara so perhaps she will be able to see the start.

I scheduled Ali's FINAL SPINAL appointment for the first day of her spring break...then I sadly realized that my spring break falls at Easter and Ali's falls when spring begins...so I will have to take time off work for her appointments and her birthday!

I still have not set a date for our rummage sale. If you have rummage for us just let me know and I will pick it up. Also we are still accepting donations so
CLICK HERE to donate or mail checks made out to the Leuekmia & Lymphoma Society to
"Team Richins"
2033 Ralston Ave.
Belmont, CA 94002

Tuesday Lex and I purchased the bracelets to make our chain for the ride. If you have not sent me the name of a someone you would like to honor, please email me at kteachermom@hotmail.com and I will add the name to our chain. I will also send you a photo of the name on the chain after the ride. Please don't feel obligated to donate if you ask me to add a name- many of you who have gone through this journey are financially tapped- believe me I understand so please send me the name of patients/angels/survivors you would like honored. You can see a photo of the chain in the journal pages or at our donation site.

LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRNGER*LAUGH HARDER* RIDE LIKE GEORGE*

Monday, 20 February, 2006

Happy Monday! It continues to be cold here...like I said last week, cold is relative, and biking w/bare fingertips is not fun in weather in the 30's! We survived Saturday's ride w/no flat tires (although we saw plenty of others w/flats,) and only one fall. Our fundraising is coming along one dollar at a time :)

I have more Cali Ali Valentine Project photos to share...below find two more happy kids and their Valentine's. I will post others that were sent by snail mail later.


Jack


Katie Rose

Yesterday I went to the driving range w/Angel Ben's mom Jody. We hit a bucket of balls and laughed and my golfing skill. She wants to get me out on the course...now that is a dangerous undertaking!

Tomorrow I hope to see some of the Amgen Tour that passes through San Jose. There is one category 1 hilll climb that is 3.5 miles long w/an average 10 percent grade. WoW! Those riders are in awesome shape! Spencer will also be in town for clinic so we hope to visit him at LPCH.

Our wonderful neighbors are moving...yesterday they held a garage sale and they donated everything that was left to our TNT rummage sale. Now my living room is packed full. I have to set a date...but with the rain here I am not sure how I will be able to plan for one. The cats are soooo happy hiding in all the boxes and sneaking around to attack one another.

Ali had Friday off school but does not have today off. She spent the day studying and hanging out with friends. I cannot wait to have her back home for her birthday next month! 19 years old and 1 year off treatment! Now that calls for a celebration! 3 of her college friends will come to help us celebrate since her birthday falls during spring break.

Check back for more Cali Ali Valentine photos
*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RIDE LIKE LANCE*
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Thursday, 17 February, 2006
Okay so it was REALLLLLLLLLY cold when Nolan and I left the house on our bikes this morning. I know some folks in the midwest or back east will laugh when I say it was 37 degrees, but my poor fingers were chilled to the bone. At the last stoplight I had to rub them on the inside of my florescent green windbreaker to keep them from stinging! I know it could be worse, Josh's Mom said it was 40 degrees below zero in North Dakota today...but in that case I wouldn't be out on a bike but indoors riding a wind trainer or something!

I am looking forward to this coming week off of work. Nolan and I can ride a few mornings but Lex and Ali are both in college. I may try to visit Ali but for sure we are going to catch a day of the Amgen Bike Tour that is a 7 day, 600 mile pro cycling event from Sonoma to Redondo Beach....a mini Tour de France right here in our own backyard!

Ali is doing well- her labs last week got the approval but this is month 2 that Ali has skipped her check up at clinic. She cannot afford to come home for clinic and miss classes....she will fall too far behind. The doctor at Health Services on campus does not like to see her for these checks and wants to refer her to an onc in town...BUT that would mean changing her primary doctor and then she would no longer be treated at Lucile Packard at Stanford. So it is a dilemma....but after her March "FINAL SPINAL" she will only have labs and appointments every other month and that will make it a lot easier. I cannot wait to have her home for Spring Break and her 19th BIRTHDAY!!!!

*LIVESTRONG*LAUGH HARD*LOVE STRONGER* DONATE TO OUR RUMMAGE SALE (LOL!)
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12 February, 2006
Cali Ali's First Annual Valentine mailing has been a success. There are many things parents have done to honor their patient/survivor/angel children and I wanted to do something to honor Ali and her fight against ALL. Angel Folden's family has a foundation to help patients families and has been successful. Angel Mike's family has a scholarship for college to honor him and camp Jack did Jack's Jammies at Christmas time. I could go on and on about wonderful things being done in our children's names, but what I wanted to make a small contribution. I did not want to ask for donations (since I already ask for TNT, Relay for Life, Make-A-Wish, etc, etc!!!) so I decided to do a Valentine mailing to caringbridge children. I coupled this with the "Pennies for Patients" fundraiser that I am chairing at my school. My kindergarten class watched the video, "Why Charlie Brown, Why" and learned about leukemia. I asked my ALL-KIDS online support ring to send me their children's addresses. I had 37 children and one clinic address sent to me. I went to the Dollar Tree and purchased $40 worth of goodies to send along with the Valentines. Then I told each kindergartner about their recipient and they chose a few age appropriate goodies to include in the envelope and a message for me to write on the card. It was touching to see how much these little kids cared. Then the magic of this all came together. I brought my class and home recycling that we have collected over the past month to the Recyclery....and the total amount was $40.22! Just what I has spent on the goodies! Then when I went to the Post Office to send the first 9 envelopes I found a $20 bill in the street! That helped cover about 1/3 of the total mailing costs! What LUCK! Thursday Night I received the first email that a Valentine had been received...a little girl named Alexis received a pony tail holder doll and her mom pulled her hair into her first pony tail since she lost her hair!! We have heard from Spencer, Marielle, Joshua, Kayla in Scotland, Aiden, Bella, and Baby Donovan. Other friends are inpatient right now and we hope we have brightened their day too.

<
Alexis!


Joshua!

Marielle!

My next surprise was receiving $540.01 from one of my kindergarten student's sisters! Thursday morning she brought in a bag containing coins, cash and a check that she collected for our TNT ride!! She went to the religion classes at Notre Dame High School and told about our TNT event and Ali. Then almost 2 weeks later she presented me with a bag of money! What an honor to know such a wonderful girl and her family!

Here are the girls and the bags of money!

Now our TNT update! Yesterday we did our time trial ride. Yes, I am a masher and always will be....a masher is someone (according to Lance,) who rides all out unti lthey run out of steam. I climb hills that way....then behind me was Russell- perfect cadance and form....but I was at the top first (isn't that what matters?) No according to my coaches from last year...and probably this year too...but that is how I ride. I am looking forward to President's Week off school so Nolan and I can train in the mornings. I also am excited about the Amgen Tour coming through the bay area that week. I hope to see the time trail stage! To read updates or to donate on line go to: CLICK HERE


Now about Ali! She is just finishing mid-terms and this is a tough quarter. She has made many good friends and is ready to apply for the on campus apartments for next year along with 2 other girlfriends. She is talking about going to Italy this summer with her best friend Kristina from North Carolina (YIKES!) and so many other things! It is great to hear her with so much energy. She has a ride home for Spring Break so I will not have to drive down to get her or have her take the train or bus! Yahoo!!

*LIVESTRONG*LAUGH HARDER*LOVE STRONGER*RIDE LIKE LANCE*

4 February, 2006

Here we are at 7 a.m. for our first training ride! One flat tire and one fall later we finished and are in one piece!

Last night's Kindergarten "Fun"draiser Night was a success. I had 25 kindergartners and Ben's little brother for spaghetti dinner, P.E. games, computer lab and free play in the classroom! I don't have the exact totals yet but I made approximately $900 for the ride! Man was I tired- I was with 20 five/six year olds from 8:45 a.m. to 9 p.m. yesterday! A few parents asked if I was going to do it again since the kids enjoyed themselves ...well, maybe next year!

Ali is doing well and enjoying SLO. She has a tough class load and is taking a chem class above her level...she will take it over next quarter but she is toughing it out for now. Her last spinal will be over spring break...yahoo!

My first annual "Cal Ali Kindergarten Valentine's" will be sent out next week. My class made Valentine's for caringbridge/ALL-KIDS (on line site for parent of children with leukemia) kids for Valentine's Day. We watched the LLS video, "Why, Charlie Brown, Why? and made cards and stuffed the envelopes with little toys. 35 children will receive our Valentines in the U.S., Scotland, Argentina and Canada. If it is a success I hope to carry it on for many years to come.

Please visit our caringbridge friends who are in need of prayers right now. Their sites are in the last entry.

To check out our TNT site CLICK HERE

LIVESTRONG our friends,
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan
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Wednesday, 1st of February, 2006
Happy February!
Today Lex cut off her hair and is donating it to Locks of Love! Here she is below donating blood on Christmas Eve...you can see how long and thick her hair is....someone is going to get a beautiful wig of thick wavy hair!

AND THE NEW DO.....AND HAIR TO GO!


WoW! What cancer can do for your family...I never thought I would be giving up my free time riding my bike for miles and miles, making 35 Valentines with my class to send to sick children, fundraising, donating blood every 56 days and even watching my kid donate blood! Now a hair cut so that some child on chemo can have a wig! Can't say we're glad Ali had cancer but we have made some positive changes in how we do things around here!

Friday Night is our BIG Kindergarten Fun Night...24 kids and lots of fun....a good "FUN"draiser too!

Please check out our donation information below.
LIVESTRONG,
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

Please visit our caringbridge friends who are having a rough time:

Keegan who has just relapsed-

Shreya who is waiting for a miracle-

Baby Alexia who just arrived at Duke from Argentina and is just days from a cord blood transplant.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2006
PLEASE, IF YOU LIVE IN THE BAY AREA, PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING BLOOD. THERE IS SHORT OF A ONE DAY SUPPLY. MANY CANCER PATIENTS NEED BLOOD DAILY...ALI NEVER HAD TO WAIT FOR BLOOD AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR THOSE WHO DONATED. PLEASE CALL BLOOD CENTERS OF THE PACIFIC, OR THE STANFORD BLOOD BANK- BOTH CAN BE FOUND ON LINE AND IN THE PHONE BOOK.
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FRIDAY!!! January 20, 2006
The new homepage photo is of Ali donating 128 videos to the Family Rescource center at Lucile Packard, Stanford. This was part of her Gold Award project that she received last month. While inpatient we quickly learned that there were about 10 videos geared for teens....after that it was all G...Bob the Builder, Barney, Disney, etc. So Ali collected G, PG and PG13 videos so that teens would have something to check out from the center.

"Get on your bikes and RIDE!"
The photos below are from the TNT America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride in Tahoe last June. Lex and I rode 100 miles carrying the 100 link bracelet chain with the names of leukemia and lymphoma survivor/patient/angels on it. When I looked back at these photos I read the names of children recently off treatment in the past few months...I also read the names of kids coming close to the end of treatment...and sadly I read the names of those who became angels since our last ride...and of angels that I learned about before our last ride. If you know of someone you would like us to add to our chain please email me. I will send you a photo of the name on the chain after our ride.



This weekend is our Kick Off for the ride and the following weekend is our first training ride. Our first fundraiser is a KINDERGARTEN "FUN"DRAISING NIGHT at my school. For a minimum $15 donation the kindergartners will come to school from 5-9 on a Friday night, eat dinner, play P.E. games, work on the computers in the new tech lab, make a craft and end the night with a little free play and a movie! How's that for fun??

Our second fundraiser is our 3rd annual RUMMAGE SALE! If you have items to donate, email me and I will arrange pick up or drop off. (I know I always say that I won't do this again, but it brings in a good sum of donation money.)

And if you are able,

TEAM RICHINS will take you to our online donation site. There is no charge for donating on line. Just click on "Team Richins" above.

You can also send a check made out to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to :
TEAM RICHINS- MAREY, RUSS AND NOLAN
2033 Ralston Ave.
Belmont, CA 94002

Thanks for checking in on Ali and Team Richins!
*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RIDE LIKE LANCE*

Friday the 13th of January, 2006

"Get on your bikes and RIDE!"

TEAM RICHINS TNT Fundraising site is now up and running. This year Russ, Ali's "little" brother Nolan and I are riding TNT "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride" on June 4th. We will be fundraising to meet our goal and most importantly to find a CURE! I know the majority of you visiting this site have children in treatment and medical bills piling up- I just want to put the word out to those who are able to give. Once again, we will be collecting names of leukemia, lymphoma and other related blood cancer patient/survivor/angels to add to our chain. There is a picture of our chain from last year on our TNT site. If you would like me to ride a mile in honor of someone special, please send me the name to my email address below. I will email you a photo of the link once the chain is made.

Now about Ali...she is studying, studying, studying! The Disability Rescource Center lost her request for a note-taker for her bio and bio-chem classes. She "thought" she would be getting notes from the first 2 weeks but was disappointed to find out she would not be getting any. Fortunately her caseworker got on the ball and Ali began getting notes as of today. She was very happy to have a 3 day weekend to catch up on sleep and reading. Thank goodness this is a short quarter!

Ali is feeling good- except for lack of sleep from studying, but she sounded happy otherwise. We'll see how her labs look next week.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*RIDE LIKE LANCE*

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Saturday, 7 January, 2006
Today Russ, Nolan and I got up and went to the TNT informational meeting. We got there just as it was starting and there was only one spot left where 3 chairs in a row were available. We sat down and listened to the inspirational speaker- a leukemia survivior- and watched a video. If you know me, (and my ADHD,) I cannot sit through a meeting w/o multi-tasking, so there I sat mending Ali's sweatshirt so I could put it in the mail. I also had a headache...so when Courtney from TNT said to check under your chair because someone had a free registration coupon under their chair I couldn't do it with a throbbing head and a needle in hand. Nolan checked under his chair, checked Russ'chair and then said, "Hey, It's under Mom's!" What a lucky surprise! I had begun fundraising last month to pay our $300 registration fee...I made $251 selling Christmas Eve plates. With the lucky coupon we now have $51 towards our $7,200 minimum! GO TEAM!!!

I called Ali today and while it is raining here, she is wearing shorts! She began her 2nd quarter on Tuesday. She's studying hard already as she has a tough class load- 2nd bio class, bio-chem and calculus plus study group for chem and math. She does have a billiards class for fun. Both Russ and I worry about her having too much stress...as long as she has 12 units to cover her insurance is our only concern.

*LIVESTRONG* PLAY HARD* GO TEAM!*
Happy First Weekend of the Year,
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

****NEW YEAR'S EVE 2005****
WISHING YOU A HAPPY HEALTHY 2006!

FIRST! A chemo free New Year! Since 2002, Ali has gone into the New Year with barf buckets and methotrexate hangovers, back spasms and vincristine pain...but this year...NO CHEMO!! In fact, after her last spinal next month, her clinic visits and blood draws will be every 2 months instead of once a month!

2005 brought us more firsts:

* Nolan was the only 7th grader to make the NJB All Star
team -January

* Ali met her prom date Jack -March

* Lex bought a car -March 21

* Ali turned 18 -March 24

* Ali is accepted to all 7 colleges she applied to! -March

*Ali receives a beautiful Love Quilt of stars and angels, put together by Trudy Johnson with squares made by women all over the world, just in time to take to college with her! -April (You can see 2 picutres on the borders of this page!

* Ali's Off Treatment Party- May 1

* Lex turned 16 -May 19

* Lex and I completed the 100 mile TNT
America's Most
Beautiful Bike Ride and raised
$6,000 for the Leukemia
and Lymphoma Society -June 4

* Lex got her driver's license-
June 7

* Ali graduated high school -June 17

* Lex's donates blood- (16 w/parents
permission)

* Ali's Team raised $1,225 walking
Relay for Life for the
American Cancer Society -July 17/18

* Lex (should be a junior in high
school) began college! -August 4

* Ali left for college -August 30

* Nolan's CY soccer team wins 3
tournaments- 12 undefeated games
with several games shut out!
August/September/December

* Nolan needs a size 14 baskeball
shoe -October

* Nolan turns 14- November 19

* Nolan exceeds 6'2" and exceeds his
dad's height! November

* Ali received her GOLD AWARD, the
highest award in Girl Scouting -
December 18

* ALI'S CHRISTMAS WITHOUT CHEMO!

* ALI'S NEW YEAR'S EVE WITHOUT CHEMO!


2005 brought us LASTS:

* March 21- Ali's last Bone Marrow
Aspirate, clear results!!

* March 21- Ali's last visit w/Dr.
Dvorak, her onc who was hired
to work in the oncology transplant
department

* March 21- Ali's last oral
methotrexate!

* March 28- ALI'S LAST CHEMO!

* March 28- Ali's last night of not
eating ice cream before bed!

* June 10- Last day of high school!

2005 brought us angels:
Ben
Clare
Ethan

Looking forward to more firsts....only good lasts...and the happiest and Healthiest of New Years-

LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-LIVE EACH DAY LIKE IT'S YOUR LAST- Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

And I end with the words to the song that Ali wanted on her site but I never was able to master music on the site-

I'm gonna wake up, yes and no
I'm gonna kiss some part of
I'm gonna keep this secret
I'm gonna close my body now

I guess, die another day
I guess, die another day
I guess, die another day
I guess, die another day

I guess I'll die another day
(Another day)
I guess I'll die another day
(Another day)
I guess I'll die another day
(Another day)
I guess I'll die another day

Sigmund Freud
Analyze this
Analyze this
Analyze this

I'm gonna break the cycle
I'm gonna shake up the system
I'm gonna destroy my ego
I'm gonna close my body now

Uh, uh

I think I'll find another way
There's so much more to know
I guess I'll die another day
It's not my time to go

For every sin, I'll have to pay
I've come to work, I've come to play
I think I'll find another way
It's not my time to go

I'm gonna avoid the cliche
I'm gonna suspend my senses
I'm gonna delay my pleasure
I'm gonna close my body now

I guess, die another day
I guess I'll die another day
I guess, die another day
I guess I'll die another day

I think I'll find another way
There's so much more to know
I guess I'll die another day
It's not my time to go

Uh, uh

[Laugh]

I guess, die another day
I guess I'll die another day
I guess, die another day
I guess I'll die another day

24th of December, 2005- CHRISTMAS EVE!

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

TODAY WE ARE CELEBRATING THE FIRST CHRISTMAS EVE IN 3 YEARS THAT ALI HAS FELT GREAT!

In 2002, Ali was so ill on Christmas eve we barely took our drive to see the Christmas lights. On Christmas her back was in spasm and Lex and I drove to the hospital to get a prescription of Vicodin for her. Today we rejoice that Ali has completed chemo and is feeling great! We are thankful for all we have :)

Speaking of thankful- it is not what we have but what we can give...from the tiniest of gifts like sending baby Emma a bear sized LIVESTRONG bracelet to wear in memory of the big brother Baby Cole that she never knew here on earth, to sending Jack's Family money to make his "Jack's Jammie's" come true. Ali also completed her Gold Award by delivering the last 68 videos (out of 200 ) to the Lucile Packard Family Resource Center for teen inpatients to view and also received the award last Sunday. We are so honored to have her receive the highest award in scouting...(Yes, fewer than 1,000 girls have received this award in the greater Bay Area since 1980!) And I will share a secret...Aiden's mom Jennifer received her Gold Award in 1991!

We also made a delivery of gifts to 2 N at Packard for volunteer Joe to deliver to patients and siblings on Christmas Day. Because of all of Nolan's soccer and basketball tournaments games we did not get to make cookies to deliver to the hospital...perhaps we will have a chance after Christmas.

And last but not least, we are thankful that 3 members of our family will be riding for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's TNT 100 mile Tahoe World's Most Beautiful Bike Ride in June....last year I promised Nolan, who was not old enough to ride, that I would ride with him in '06....and we will also be joined by Russ! This will be a BIG fundraising effort for us so I have already begun by making Christmas Eve plates! Ali and I painted over 20 and collected $180!! Below is a photo of our little friend Jack, (you may remember him as Ali's prom date,) showing off his plate.


Wishing you all the Merriest of Christmases and the HEALTHIEST of New Year's!!
LIVESTRONG,
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

Added 3:00 pm Christmas Eve:
Lex and I went to donate since it had been 56 days since my last blood donation...well, this time my iron was too low...by one point...so only Lex was able to donate. Here is Lex below...but to our suprise, SANTA! came in to donate! Santa "Dan" has given me permission to post his photo on this site so you will find it below Lex's. Thanks Santa!!



**********************************

17 December, 2005
It is with great sadness in which I post that Ben became an angel last night. He was the strongest 6 year old I have ever met and his parents the most determined fighters for him. Today I hate cancer more than ever.

Angel Ben



Ben and Ali walking the Survivor's Lap at the Relay for Life last July.

12 December, 2005!

Ali arrived home by train Friday night after taking her last final! Lex picked her up at the train station since the rest of us were on our way to Fresno for Nolan's team's soccer tournament. It was great to have her home when we arrived late last night!

Please take a moment to visit our friend Ben who is having a rough time in ICU right now. He stopped breathing and gave everyone quite a scare. Ben is at St. Jude after receiving his mother's stem cells in a clinical trial. His family has been through so much and with the holidays approaching a friendly note of encouragement in his guestbook bring some smiles.

On a brighter note, our GA friend Kendrie is appraoching a countdown of 3,2,1 days until OT! Nothing quite like ending treatment with a bang!

Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season and a healthy, happy New Year,
LIVESTRONG*LOVE STRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LIVE*LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW*
Tis the Season,
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

***CONGRATULATIONS San Carlos Blast, Boys U14 CYSA Champions of the Fresno Chuck Powers Tournament!! The Blast has placed 1st in all 3 tournaments this season!! They have won 12 straight games- no ties, no losses in tournament play!! Go Nolan!!****
-----------------------------------
27 November, 2005
We have had a great time having our whole family together this Thanksgiving weekend! Ali will take the bus back home today, right after a shopping trip to buy her a skillet to make quesedillas and a pie tin to make cheese cake in for her dorm. She loves to bake and the campus food isn't the tastiest!

Yesterday we went out in search of our Christmas tree. This was a real treat since we had an artificail tree for the past 3 years while Ali was in treatment. Live trees hold too many molds and germs and we couldn't chance a fungal infection...which in the cancer world are deadly. So the wole family, inclucing the dog, went out to search for a tree. After 3 lots we found one we all agreed upon. Here we are with our tree just before loading it up!

Happy Sunday Friends, LIVESTRONG!!
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan- (who just turned 14 last week and is taller than his Dad 6'2"...but "shhhh," we aren't mentioning that!)
-------------------------------
23 November, 2005
ALI IS HOME!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!
Yesterday I drove to SLO after work to pick up Ali. 220 miles...I arrived on campus right as Ali was getting out of her last class at 7 p.m.- We got her luggage from her dorm and headed home...220 more miles- we stopped at In and Out Burger and made it home at 11:05. Then both of us up again to leave for my work at 7 a.m. I had a conference and Ali went to the store to get turkey for our class Thanksgiving Feast. The kindergartners were so happy to see Ali again...they just love her since she spent the first 3 days of kindergarten working with them.

Right after school we left for the hospital for Ali's last 2nd of 3 off treatment spinals. Before we went to clinic we zoomed upstairs to see a brand new baby sister of one of our kindergartners. Katherine was born early this moring and is a beautiful baby with a full head of hair. It was so nice to see the babies but unfortunately we had to go downstairs for Ali's appointment. Ali has had an unsatiable thirst lately but blood and urine tests ruled out diabetes. Lets hope it is just the dry. warm SLO weather.

Please visit our neighbor Ben who is 66 days into his experimental transplant at St. Jude and sweet Baby Donovan who is a few weeks into his transplant and will be celebrating his first birthday in a few weeks- all he has known in his short life is chemo, treatments and now transplant. Please visit our friends and leave messages of encouragemnt.

Last year on this site Ali had a list of things she was Thankful for- tonight I won't bother her to ask, I will make a list of things our family is Thankful for:

*The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society*The American Cancer Society*Chemotherapy*Doctors*Nurses*Volunteers* Teachers*Our Family*The sun in our faces the wind at our backs*Pasta*Friends*The good old USA*Pets*Caringbridge and our caringbridge family*Baseball*Mom's apple pie*Health*School*Life*

LIVESTRONG our friends,
Marey, Russ, Ali, Lex and Nolan

7 November, 2005

Today is one of those days when I just wish I had stayed in bed. News of a little friend, with just 8 months left of treatment, has a CNS (central nervous system) relapse. He will undergo a BMA (bone marrow aspirate) this week to see if it is an isolated relapse or if it is in his marrow also. Please pray for Keegan that it is an isolated relapse. You may remember the photos of our TNT bike ride and the 100 chain with names draped over Lex's helmet...Keegan's name was right on top. Please also send prayers and well wishes to Jacob who was doing so well and has had yet another emergency surgery...and of course, our dear friend and neighbor Ben who is at St. Judes.

We have also learned that a friend of Russ' through work has a son who will undergo surgery for a brain tumor this Friday at LPCH. Cancer is such a terrible disease but it hurts so much more when it effects our children.

Just think- CURE-CURE-CURE!
------------------------------------
3 November, 2005

WoW! Imagine my surprise gettng this letter in the mail today! Thanks to the Girl Scout Council, Ali was able to do her project this summer after she was OT and after graduation, when she was able to concentrate on the Gold Award. Amazing what can be accomplished with a little understanding. Ali's project was to improve teen hospital stays at LPCH. She collected videos for the Family Resource Center...128 to be exact. Over Ali's inpatient stays we watched all 8 of hte PG/PG13 videos that were available to check out...then it was Bob the Builder, Barney and other kids stuff. So with the help of local church groups and friends, Ali was abl eto collect and purchase videos for teens. She also spent her remaining money in her account to purchase items for the treasure boxes for teens after proceedures- socks, skateboard stickers, jewelry, fingernail polish, make-up, sports decals, and other teen fun things. We left them with the nurses so these thing would go to teens and not younger patients who have more things to choose from.

Congrats Ali!
LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-CLIMB THE ROCK WALL WITH GUSTO!

-----------------------------------
Halloween 2005
Can it really be 4 Halloweens that Ali has now missed due to cancer and side effects? This totally stinks! Ali has been in her bed all day. Fortunately the DRC (Disability Resource Center) on campus is more helpful than anything at her high school. Her advisor will contact her teachers and allow make ups on her exams and work. She will not fail her bowling class because she cannot do what the other girls can do. We are very lucky that Cal Poly choses to follow the law.

Please continue to send prayers and good thoughts to Ali for the back spasms to cease and let her get on with her freshman year.

Last Thursday Lex and I went to donate blood. My RBC was right at the cut off to donate....Lex's iron was one point too low to donate. Funny that when I got Ali's labs today her RBC was higher than mine! I have given close to a gallon of blood since Ali's dx. I would like to share a poem to encourage those of you healthy enough to donate:

When you give blood
you give another birthday
another anniversary
another day at the beach
another night under the stars
another talk with a friend
another laugh
another hug
another chance :)

LIVESTRONG-DONATE-GIVE ANOTHER LIFE

------------------------------
30 Ocotober, 2005
We had a wonderful weekend with Ali visiting! The luncheon for the scholarship was truly amazing...60 scholarships were given to the cancer survivors! To think all 60 of those college students have overcome cancer and have accomplished so many wonderful things. Hats off to the American Cancer Society for believing in these young men and women- with hopes that some of these students will go on to help find a cure.

Ali and I went to my class on Friday and then to LPCH for an appointment. I had forgotten how big a part of lives clinic was and it is a little hard to go back and wait there. Ali had a flu shot on Monday and had a menengitis immunization on Friday- she was given the old vaccine since there have been a few isolated cases of paralysis from the new vaccine...but it has me wondering- since Ali returned back to school tonight her back has been in spasm...just like the first days of vincristine...not completely there but getting close. It is hard to be so far away now. Please send prayers and good thoughts to ALi tonight.

After clinic Ali and I got dinner from her favorite Italian restaurant. After a quick family dinner Ali and I went to the mall to get her some pants...she has worn through the few pairs that she has so fortunatley she was able to get 3 pair of jeans that she liked. Saturday we went to the luncheon at the oakland Airport hilton- we were too far back to get photos but I will post the one that they are sending to us of the entire group. Saturday night we watched Batman and then got up early today so Ali could complete the paperwork for her Gold Award and have her troop leader sign her off. The paperwork will be in the next day mail tomorrow as it is due Nov. 1!!

After running a few errands to get things Ali needed at school we got her packed to head back. Because the plane to SLO only seats 35 she had to take a tram from SFO out to the far runway to take the little commuter plane...it was a treat to get to board and exit the plane using the stairs just like the old times!

Ali had a lot of homework to do and is now just lying on her bed. I am hoping she just strained her back when taking the luggage off the luggage rack at the airport..she said her back began hurting in the taxi on the way back to school. It could be a reaction to the the immunizations but it is so worrisome.

Below are photos of the "P" on the mountain that Ali hiked up to above campus. Russell got our computer a new brain and all the programs are changed...I cannot work anything! I have marathon photos to post from last weekend but cannot get them downloaded and made smaller. I will try to get someone to figure it out tomorrow- I will update on how Ali is feeling then too.





LIVESTRONG
----------------------------------
27 October, 2005- Ali comes HOME!

Yahoo! Ali comes home tonight for the first time since she left with Spencer on September 1! I also have to post photos from the SF marathon last Sunday...but we have a new computer and I all the programs are different and it is so frustrating to spend hours doing what it used to take 5 minutes to do just because I have to learn the new programs.

Below is an essay that Nolan wrote for his English class. The assignment was a "Memoir." I am sure you will find it as touching as I have-



Nolan Richins
Period 4
Language Arts
Lives at Camp
Stepping off the bus for the first time I realize the importance of this place. I just had this sensation running through my body, I could feel the excitement pulsing. The chorus to the song the counselors were singing, the smell of the fresh pine forest, the lustrous gleam in the eyes of returning campers, I was consumed with joy and knew this week would change my life.
The camp was completely filled to the brim with campers, as if camp was the world after the ice caps melt. The campers were friendly and could all relate to each other on at least one basis, one of their siblings was undergoing or had completed treatment for cancer.
The camp was enjoyable and as it came to an end none of the campers wanted to leave. The week was filled with memories that would last forever: the ropes course, the activities, and the reflections on our lives. The last day always brings tears to everyone’s eyes due to the reflection of their lives and on the week. This ceremony is always touching. Campers can go up and speak, share their experiences, and everyone would learn from each others experiences.
Inspiration is the name of the small ceremony that is both depressing and relieving at the same time. I remember feeling the sorrow the crowd expressed but I couldn’t understand why this event was so important to all the campers. Then this one boy walked up, his footsteps were the only noise. It was almost scary, but nonetheless his story came deeper from his heart than most people could understand. He had encountered a great loss. The crowd was completely silent, and the tears were rolling down there faces. The silence of nothing was painful. I could tell this boy was in an emotional train wreck that would just take time to heal. His eyes were red from crying and he looked terrible.
He was one of the few that I had not seen this week, and there was something different, I couldn’t tell what it was but I knew somehow the atmosphere had changed.
His words have stuck with me to this very day. With a deep breathe he made an attempt to talk. The silence was broken with his sloppy tone and you could barely make out the words he was saying through the sobs. “Take with you what you can for nothing is forever.” He had lost his brother the year before and I’m sure everyone understood. I was deeply touched by what other campers said. Then I realized that I have been enjoying the pleasure of having two great sisters. Knowing I have kept so much others have lost, and that I have been blessed by not losing my sister to this dreadful disease.
The vivid details of other campers, weeping about their sibling and the happy moments they shared with family members, feel like they were glued to my skin for I will never forget them. I will always remember that a great gift, the friends I have made, the sorrow I have shared, and the people I have touched. Camp Okizu is the place that I have learned to live life to the fullest.

The End

I will post photos soon....until then, check on our dear little friends who need encouraging words in their guestbooks: Ben, Jacob , and Baby Donovan
LIVESTRONG-LOVE STONGER-LAUGH HARDER-LIVE LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW-

21 October, 2005

I am sooooo excited about the TNT marathon in S.F. this weekend! I cannot wait to meet everyone running in honor of all those battling leukemia and lymphoma!

The next exciting thing is that my niece in So. Cal is the finalist in a contest through a local newspaper. She needs your vote to win $15,000 worth of household appliances! If you have just a second, could you please go the the Orange COunty Register's site and vote for Jennifer?

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR JEN

If it doesn't work cut and paste the following:
http://www.ocregister.com/mktgpromos/15k_homefacelift/

Thanks!!

I talked to Ali yesterday. She is deciding on courses for next quarter and is getting her flu shot today. She is coming home next weekend!!! What a treat!!

Happy Friday to all-LIVESTRONG!
--------------------------------------
18 October, 2005
This weekend is the Nike Women's Marathon in S.F! I cannot wait to meet Noelle's mom Claire and Noelle! Victoria, who ran the Hawaii Maraton in honor of Ali 2 years ago is running and also friends from Kentucky, Keri an ALL survivor and her mom are running. Also Jackson's Mom is running. It should be fun. Ali will be home Thursday night. She has an appointment at LPCH on Friday and on Saturday she is receiving a scholarship from the American Cancer Society! They are flying her in to receive the award along with several other recipients. What an honor! She will have to do 25 hours of service to the ACS- for the Relay for Life this past July she has already served over 30 hours and her team collected $1,225! Go Girl!

Please pray for Jacob who is recovering from surgery on Monday. This is the triplet who was not supposed to survive the weekend a few months ago and since has started kindergarten along with his brothers!! Please also visit our good buddy Spencer who while on his 18 month post transplant check at Duke had his house ransacked, car stolen and his own piggy bank busted and $$ stolen! And lasty, please leave a message for our little neighbor Ben who is on day 33 of his experimental haplo transplant of his mom's stem cells at St. Judes in TN.

LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-CLIMB LIKE ALI-LIVE LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW-

-------------------------------------
8 October, 2005
Here is the photo that ran in yesterday's Palo Alto Daily:
It came in PDF format so I could not copy or use Tinypic.com so I had to print, scan and download...so the photo quality isn't the best...ALi does not have purple vertical stripes on her body!

**************************************
Wednesday, October 5, 2005
WoW! How time flies when you are OT!
Ali called yesterday with news that the Disability Resource Center approved her for pre-registration! That will make planning to come home for appointments easier...especially since she has 2 spinals left.

Nolan's soccer team won the District Cup Tournament last weekend. They went undefeated and not one goal was scored against them! Ali was disappointed that she was not able to see the games but I text messaged her each time a goal was scored! And Nolan did score once and had several assists! She called to congratulate him :)

The SF Nike TNT marathon is coming soon! I look forward to meeting Noelle her mom who is running. Last year her dad George took a taxi from the end of the marathon to Nolan's soccer game in The City. This year I will get to meet Clair and Noelle and our other caringbridge friends Teri Ashley and her daughter and Victoria who is running her 2nd TNT marathon in honor of Ali. Such exciting times!

LIVESTRONG FRIENDS-
**************************************
Saturday, 1 October, 2005
Here is a photo I just received from Ali's trip to Bear Valley:

Ali is over her cold and is feeling much better. She has been very busy and seems to be enjoying college very much.She is almost out of water and is not happy that I made her get the small box of Goldfish instead of the jumbo size...so I bought a large size to mail to her tomorrow. Now she just needs to get a ride to a store to buy more distilled drinking water. She was very happy when I called her today to tell her Nolan's soccer team won both games of the District Cup Tournament today 2-0 and will play for the cup tomorrow! Ali always went to Nolan's games when she was well enough. Go Nolan! Go Blast!!

Below is a photo of Ben and Ali at the Relay for Life in July. Ben is doing well after his Haplo transplant at St. Jude's almost 2 weeks ago.



The saddest news is that our friend Clare became an angel on the 29th. Her lungs could no longer support her little body. Please take a minute to leave some words for her family in her guestbook.

On the brighter side, Amazing Jacob, the triplet who was not gonig to make it through the weekend a month ago, is again amazing everyone! Just to prove that you never know what tomorrow will bring- as Julianna's Dad Terry pointed out from the Shawshank Redemption, "YOU CAN GET BUSY LIVING OR YOU CAN GET BUSY DYING," 'cause you never know what tomorrow will bring.

LIVESTONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-RIDE LIKE LANCE-CLIMB LIKE ALI-
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
2 whole weeks since an update! This is Ali's second week of classes and she is busy non-stop. She and her roommate get along very well- it is the girls next door who are driving everyone crazy! For two nights in a row they have been running through the halls, screaming, laughing, slamming the doors and enjoying themselves from midnight to four or five in the morning. Ali's had it!

So far Ali is enjoying all of her classes except for speech...and I did predict that, but it will be a good course for her in the long run.

Ali has joined the bio-technology club and went rock climbing last weekend. It thrills her to climb the tough climbs that the boys ahead of her could not do! She went after 2 guys who made it 1/2 way up and she scaled right up...they could not believe she made it and they did not...so they tried again but couldn't make it. She does not appear that strong nor does she look like a climber so I am sure she surprised the heck out of them. I guess it may also be the fact that she barely weighs anything at all that she can scale the walls with ease.

Ali will do labs at the health services this week and have a Dr check her vitals and report to her onc. She will see her onc in October when she returns home to receive a scholarship from the American Cancer Society!!!! Then she will return again in November for her second OT spinal and check up.

Thanks for checking in on Ali,
LIVESTRONG-LAUGH HARDER-LOVE STRONGER-CLIMB THE WALL WITH GUSTO-

Please find the time to check in on our friend and neighbor Ben who is at St. Judes and on day 12 of his peripheral stem cell transplant from his mother! So far, so good! Ben is the little guy Ali pulled in the wagon on at the Relay for Life in July. Please leave words of encouragement for Ben :)

Please also pray for Clare who is in PICU on day 71 of her transplant and ?? days in PICU. Please pray for Clare's lungs to heal and for her parents who are taking shifts caring for Clare...this is a tough journey for her family.

------------------------------
Tuesday, 13 September , 2005
Saturday morning we hit the road with all of Ali's "stuff" and headed to Cal Poly. We picked up Ali from the parking lot and took her to check into her dorm. She was happy, tired and dirty! After a week of not showering she was ready to get cleaned up. We unloaded her boxes and refrigerator into her room and began unpacking. Nolan played Gameboy while Lex hung up Ali's clothes and organized her dresser and closet. Russell hooked up the computer and got it going and I unpacked boxes and got the bed made. Ali's room mate Shannon and her parents had already set up her half of the room and went to lunch. We spent a long time setting up and made a list of things to purchase the next day. THEN it was time to hit the hotel and swimming pool!! We had a great time together. Then Kerri, Brian and Spencer Rocket met us at the hotel and we went for dinner. We ahd a great visit and then went back to swim some more! Spencer is quite the fish :) Then I took Ali and Lex back to the dorm for the ice cream social and Lex spent the night w/Ali and her room mate. Lex made a lot of friends and had the interest of quite a few boys...but then Ali or Shannon would come up and say, "Hey! You don't go to school here!" Sunday morning we went to breakfast and hit Wal-Mart for all of the things we had forgotten or never thought of bringing but needed. We bought purple polka-dotted fabric to cover the large, ugly bulletin board and everything else that wasn't bought by the students and parents ahead of us...(the store was picked over thoroughly!) Then it was time to leave...we had such a great time- I haven't been so happy for Ali in such a long time- we even seemed like a "normal" family and it really didn't hit me until Ali reached up to hug and kiss her dad good bye when I saw her bone marrow scars peeking out from above her jeans- The constant reminder that cancer will always be haunting us when we least expect it.

Here is a collage of the weekend:

Ali called today to say that she had been to the "Gum Wall." For those of you who know the Gum Wall...it is still there :)

I will sign off with ALi and Spencer's good bye photo from last week-

-LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-RIDE LIKE LANCE-DONATE BLOOD AND MARROW-

Sunday, September 4, 2005

Tonight's usual BBQ dinner was just not the same without Ali. The conversation went: "Gee, I wonder what Ali is having for dinner?" "Hmm, I'll bet she is tired." "I wonder how cold it is there?"

Then after dinner it was a real shock to Lex and Nolan to actually have to help clean up...Ali, since she has been feeling better OT, resumed her old ways of helping me clean up after dinner while Lex and Nolan went to feed the animals or whatever other excuse they could think of.

Ali we miss you! But we are happy that you are well and off to see the world :)

LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-RIDE LIKE LANCE-BELIEVE!

Friday, September 2, 2005

There goes Cal Poly Ali off to college. Now this isn't how I ever imagined sending my first born off to college....just off treatment for cancer- traveling 3 hours away with a fellow cancer buddy and parents- off to enjoy a backpacking adventure along with 39 other freshman- and then moving into the dorms on the 10th of September! Spencer Rocket and ALi had fun spending time together today...they will drop her off at Cal Poly tomorrow-THANKS KERRI AND BRIAN!


Here is Ali inhaling her last pentamadine! She certainly won't miss that awful tasting once a month treatment!

Here is Ali with our favorite respiratory therapist Bob. He's one of our favorites at LPCH! THANKS BOB!

Go Ali!
LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-RIDE LIKE LANCE-NEVER GIVE UP!

3 YEARS AND COUNTING - 8/26/05

Three years ago today I took Ali to Urgent Care...and the rest is history. Ali is now 6 months off treatment and 4 1/2 years out from what experts consider to be free of cancer.

She will be leaving to San Luis Obispo with Spencer and Kerri after clinic on September 1. She will stay overnight with them and visit, then they will drive her to the Cal Poly campus on Saturday morning. There she will meet the bus and 39 other incoming freshman to leave on a 7 day trip to Bear Valley for: 2 days of rock climbing, 2 days of kayacking and 2 days of backpacking! Last summer Ali barely left the couch and this summer she is attempting this trip! We are forever thankful! Ali will return on the follwoing Saturday and we will meet her in the parking lot with all her belongings and move her into her dorm! What an exciting time for all of us!

The extra treat was that Nolan's soccer team had a bye that weekend so we will go down as a family to move Ali.

For those of you in treatment, this is so bittersweet- this seemed so far from becoming reality just a few months ago and yet here we are.

-LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-FIGHT LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW-DONATE BLOOD- RIDE LIKE LANCE-

Please visit:
Our neighbor Ben who left for Tennessee today for a lifesaving new treatment just approved by St. Judes. Please visit his site and wish him and his family well.

Jacob who is a triplet and his brothers just began kindergarten. Jacob will attend kindergarten in Heaven in a short while. Please send prayers to Jacob's triplet brothers and older brother.

Clare who is in PICU and on day 35 after her transplant. She just found out she will be in a wonderful teacher's class this year AND she has a lose tooth!

25 August, 2005

Please leave a message in Jacob's guestbook. He is a triplet whose brothers just started kindergarten- Jacob's cancer has spread and his family was just told there is no more that can be done....Jacob will be going to kindergarten in Heaven. Jacob
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24 August, 2005

One good thing about this cancer journey is the friends you make along the way. I often feel "lucky" compared to what our friends are going through. Here is a story of a friend we met along the way- Click here to read Meghan's story that is in the newspapaer today:
Meghan's Article

We have had the pleasure of meeting Meghan and she is indeed a remarkable young woman!

Below is an article from the Mercury News about another remarkable young woman who is role model for many, including my girls. She mentions Ali in the "highlights of the year":

Tina Doss

CARLMONT HIGH SCHOOL, BELMONT


Years of service: Five

Background: Doss, 28, grew up in San Mateo and attended Sunnybrae Elementary, Borel Middle and Aragon High schools. She received her bachelor's degree and teaching credential from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont and is working on her master's degree in education in technology. At Carlmont, the only school where she has taught, Doss leads the science department, teaches advanced-placement biology and co-teaches a three-year biotechnology program. She is also Site Council chair and coaches the girl's junior varsity soccer team.

Extracurricular Activities: ``I play lots of soccer, both indoor and outdoor, both women's league and coed, and a sport called Gaelic football -- which is kind of a cross between soccer and basketball,'' she said. ``I also run with my iPod as often as I can.''

Hobbies: ``I love everything about Disney and go to Disneyland and Disney World as often as possible,'' Doss said. ``I have a season pass, that's how often I go. I even got married at Disney World.''

Book on nightstand: ``Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit'' by Daniel Quinn, ``Digital Fortress'' by Dan Brown or anything by Laurrel K. Hamilton

Biggest challenge: ``Keeping students engaged at all times,'' Doss said. ``I like to use every minute I have with my students.''

Secret to getting kids to listen: ``Do not speak down to them,'' she said. ``As a teacher, you are an entertainer, giving five shows a day. Students want a teacher that will honestly listen and try to help, someone that doesn't make them feel inferior or stupid.''

Why biology? ``I love science and I want everyone to enjoy it or at least understand,'' she said.

Memorable moments ``Earlier this year, one of my students was, and had been for over a year, battling leukemia,'' Doss recalled. ``She had to have a spinal tap that hospitalized her. Mom told us she was in a lot of pain. It was at the same time my Biotech 3 students were about to learn iMovie and make `how to' videos. We made a movie that served as a get well. We added music and glitzed it up. Students really got into it since it was to lift a peer up, and it turned out great.''


LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-DONATE BLOOD!
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Sunday, August 21, 2005
Lex and I giving Pint 4 Pint yesterday! Give one pint of blood, get one pint of Baskins Robbins ice cream! Ali came along with us and the nice folks at the blood mobile gave her a certificate for ice cream too...since she will never be able to be a donor.
The photos were taken with the phone camera so they are not the best- but hey, better than no photos :)


LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-BE A DONOR!
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Thursday, August 18, 2005
In 8 days it will be 3 years since Ali's diagnosis. These long, last days of summer bring back painfull memories of school beginning without Ali. Thank goodness for new beginnings!

While Ali is feeling well and recovering her strength others are at the beginning of their cancer journeys. At 6 weeks old, Baby Donovan was diagnosed with the same nasty cancer as Ali. A few days ago, at 8 months old, Baby Donovan relapsed. He will be taking the same new chemo that put our friend Ben back into remission. Then he will have a cord blood transplant at either Duke or the University of Minnesota. The odds for infants are not as great as the odds for older children. Please visit Baby Donovan and leave a kind word for him and his family. The good news for our friend Ben is that he is still 100 percent donor cells and the likes of going to Tennessee for a new St. Jude's protocol awaiting final approval is looking good. Please stop in and wish Ben good luck :)

I am back to work this M-TH for tech training. Ali and Nolan have been a big help setting up my classroom since our classrooms were the last in the school to get cleaned...due to construction last year the carpets were not cleaned in 2 years! Now that is GROSS for kindergarten!!

-LIVESTRONG-LOVER STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-RIDE LIKE LANCE-

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12 August, 2005
Please see the notice below the homepage photo about donating blood.
Below is the photo of Ali, Lucy and Mary at the San Carlos/Belmont Optimist Club dinner Monday night. Each student received $500 a semester plus a $500 bonus if their GPA is 3.75 or above! Thanks Optimists!


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8 AUGUST, 2005
Ali's clinic visit went well today- she had her 2nd to the last inhaled pentamadine and had some good counts:
WBC 4.7
RBC 4.39
Hemoglobin 14.0
Platelets 152
ANC 2632!

Last night our family had dinner at the Vans Restaurant courtesy of the San Carlos/Belmont Optimist Club. This was to recognize the students who were awarded scholarships from their club. I will hopefully post photos tomorrow.

Today, Lex began college. We never would have thought that Ali's younger sister would start college before Ali but she did. Lex will be taking courses at Canada College and College of San Mateo over the next two years which would be her junior and senior years of high school. She will be receiving college and high school credit and when she graduates in 2 years she will have a high school diploma and her AA degree! She is taking 13 college credits and 10 high school units this semester- Spanish, Pre Calculus, Astronomy and English for college and Junior English and World History for high school. Growing up with an ill sister gave her extra responsibilities and I believe has led her to the middle college over high school. She and Ali could conceivably graduate college at the same time!

Ali enrolled in her courses on line yesterday. She will be taking 16 quarter units- Spanish, Calculus, Speech, Biology/Diversity and history of life plus the lab and Bowling! She does not know who her dorm-mate is yet but we have been having fun buying what she needs to take: a new comforter and extra long sheets, a refrigerator with a separate freezer and under the bed storage containers. Sure a heck of a lot different than when I moved out. I loaded my twin bed and dresser into a U-Haul and drove to San Diego to find an apartment all on my own.

The week before Welcome Week Ali is signed up to go rock climbing, kayaking and backpacking with a group of freshman students. I sure hope she has the strength to tackle the fun- she says she will be in the back of the group with any other out of shape kids!

Please continue to visit our caringbridge friends: Ben that he is accepted into the St. Judes test in Tennessee, Clare as she recovers in PICU and Catie who is doing well after brain surgery.

LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-RIDE THE TOUR DE PENINSULA WITH LEX AND I-
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6 AUGUST, 2005
Ali hasn't been feeling well for the last few days. Her stomach aches and she had a bit of a temp on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is the first time she has actually not been feeling better since she stopped chemo. Hopefully she will feel better today and get out to finish shopping for her dorm room and for her trip to Bear Valley with the college the week before Welcome Week at SLO.

-LIVESTRONG-LAUGH HARDER-LOVE LONGER-RIDE LIKE LANCE-

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Above is a photo taken in Day Hospital with my phone camera. From left to right:
Ali's 4 1/2 year old boyfriend Spencer who was getting IVIG in Day Hospital, Ali, Ali's 6 year old boyfriend Ben who had a clinic visit and Aiden who just had is first OT (off treatment) spinal that morning. A true group of heroes!! The only sweetheart missing was Ali's Georgia Beau Jack!

WEDNESDAY, AUGYST 3, 2005

This is a day of sadness-a day when we curse cancer and all that it takes from families- our little friend Ethan became an angel this morning.
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TUESDAY, 2 AUGUST, 2005
PLEASE, PLEASE if you are in California and able to donate blood please do so!! There is a BIG shortage- for some reason, in CA and especially the Bay Area, people are just "too busy" to donate. But right now there is only a one day supply with O- and O being the most critical. Lex and I are going to donate today...it only takes a few minutes so if you are healthy PLEASE donate! There are cancer patients who need blood daily and rely on US healthy folks for blood.



Above is a photo taken in Day Hospital with my phone camera yesterday. From left to right:
Ali's 4 1/2 year old boyfriend Spencer who was getting IVIG in Day Hospital, Ali, Ali's 6 year old boyfriend Ben who had a clinic visit and Aiden who just had is first OT (off treatment) spinal that morning. A true group of heroes!! The only sweetheart missing was Ali's Georgia Beau Jack!


Please take time to visit Little Ethan whose valiant battle with cancer is coming to end. Kind words in the guestbook to him, his parents and big brother and sister would be fitting for this little warrior.
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FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2005

Go Mustang 'ali! The new homepage photo was taken on our trip home from Cal Poly. We returned from our trip to Oceanside, San Diego, Tijuana, Julian and 6 Flags Magic Mountain. We visited with our college friends who were great support during Ali's long leukemia journey; Chip and Doreen, Carol and Steve, Mark and Gorete and then we hit 6 Flags! Russ, Lex and Nolan dropped Ali and I off in San Luis Obispo and continued home. On Tuesday Ali and I visited with Spencer and Kerri. They took us on a tour of San Luie, to lunch and to the park. Then Ali and I returned to the hotel and hot tubbed. Wednesday I got up early and took a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car. I had requested and economy car- afterall it was just Ali and I on the way home and no passengers to worry about cramping up in the back seat. When I arrived at the Hertz counter a woman had just jumped in front of me in line...I wasn't in a hurry so I just smiled. Unfortunately the car washer was not in yet so the woman behind the counter asked me if I would mind a *Convertible Mustang* for no extra charge! (Would I mind winning the lottery?) So I couldn't help but chuckle as I pulled out of the parking lot behind the line cutter in a Ford Escort :) Boy does the Mustang have power!

Ali and I spent Wednesday at college workshops for parents and students receiving more info than either of us were ready for! It made me long for those carefree college days! Ali met with a woman from the Disability Resource Center at the end of the day in order for her to get the support that she will need in college. We had a long hike to the top parking lot which Ali was dreading. I told Ali I would get the car and come pick her up, which would take a while, but the DRC woman said a van was available and we got a ride up the hill. The van will be available to Ali on campus on days she is not up for long hikes around campus.

Ali and I drove home with the top down and the sun in our faces. Although one must be 25 to legally drive a Hertz rental car, Ali did back the car up in the In and Out parking lot so I could take the homepage photos. I dropped off the rental car Thursday morning and am back to driving the 16 year old van with water bottles and candy wrappers littering the floor- and doggie nose prints on the windows :)

Please continue to check in our neighbor Ben who is awaiting the next step of treatment and our friend Little Ethan who is fighting relapsed Wilm's Tumor and looking for a miracle.

RELAY FOR LIFE photos are in the last journal entry for those of you who missed them- click on "read journal history."

-LIVESTRONG-LAUGH HARDER-LOVE STRONGER-RIDE LIKE LANCE-

JULY 17, 2005

WoW! The Belmont-San Carlos Relay for Life collected $100,300.91!! Amazing!
Below are photos from the Opening Ceremonies yesterday:

Here are photos of the luminarias and "Ali's Team" display:

If you look closely you can see the bracelet chain from our TNT ride draped from the Ali's Team poster...the Rainbow of Hope has caringbridge kids in the gold ribbon and the other end of the rainbow has a pot of gold marked "cure." Ali and I painted these on Thursday.

Lex and I spoke at the evening ceremonies, right after "Amazing Grace," which always makes me cry. Thanks to Kendrie 's mom Kristie, for the use of her Thanksgiving story for part of my speach:

For the past 2 years I have stood up here and spoken about what it is like to be a mother of a child in treatment for cancer. Today, I stand here as a parent of an adult who successfully completed 2 and ½ years, that is 913 days of chemotherapy. On Easter Sunday, Ali took her last chemotherapy.

What is it like? It is awesome to see her regained energy. It is awesome to look ahead to her freshman year of college and her future. What was it like? My Erma Bombeck friend Kristie sums up what childhood leukemia is like in her Thanksgiving story that I will share with you:

Imagine every year for Thanksgiving that you and your family go to a wonderful all-you-can-eat restaurant. The food is always great and you look forward to getting the same delicious meal, year after year. So this year, you give your standard order to the waitress: an appetizer of “love”, a “caring” salad, the side dishes, “thoughtfulness” “compassion” and “laughter” and a big, juicy entrée of “good health and happiness for everyone”. The waitress brings you everything you asked for but the entrée. Instead, in front of you on the table, she places a big, fat crap sandwich.

“Excuse me, I didn’t order this crap sandwich”

(Change voice) “house special. You got it without asking”

”But I don’t want a crap sandwich. I want good health and happiness for everyone.”

“well, you got a crap sandwich.”

“Well take it back and give me what I asked for instead!”

The waitress points to a sign that says “Absolutely NO substitutions”

”There is positively no way I am going to be able to choke down this crap sandwich and I think it’s really unfair for you to expect me to!”

“Hey, look honey, you’ve still got love, caring, thoughtfulness, compassion and laughter, so try to appreciate those. Oh, I almost forgot, here’s your condiment tray for the crap sandwich. You also get big overflowing bowl of fear, worry, anger, guilt and resentment. Bon Appetit!”

And so you’re looking around the restaurant, feeling really grumpy about your crap sandwich, and you realize that there are a lot more people with crap sandwiches than you ever thought possible. And from the looks on their faces, none of them ordered them, either. Then you see a couple of tables with really, really big, Dagwood-sized crap sandwiches and you summon the waitress again. “Excuse me, why are their crap sandwiches so big?” And she explains that those people are facing situations even worse than yours. Their kids haven’t responded well to treatment, have had cancer relapses, or worse yet, died. And you start to think maybe your crap sandwich isn’t so bad after all. Maybe you should keep your big mouth shut, choke it down, and be glad when it’s all gone and everyone is well again. And then, right then, your waitress reminds you of one last thing: “Management reserves the right to serve you another, bigger crap sandwich, anytime they want.”

So what has childhood leukemia has taught me?…be happy and seize the day…enjoy the buffet while you can AND most of all make a difference- don’t complain, act… when the treasure chest is empty in the clinic, fill it, when something needs to be done, volunteer, when it’s time to Relay, form a team and walk off that crap sandwich.

And to quote Mother Teresa

LIFE is a challenge, meet it.
LIFE is a game, play it.
LIFE is sorrow, overcome it.
LIFE is a song, sing it.
LIFE is a struggle, accept it.
LIFE is tragedy, confront it.
LIFE is an adventure, dare it.
LIFE is luck, make it.
LIFE is life, fight for it.

I also spoke of regaining our identities since for hte past 3 years we have been known as Ali's mom, Ali's sister, Ali's brother, Ali's dad...it's time to be Marey, Lex, Nolan and Russ again.

The past 3 Relays Nolan has tried to be the person who logged the most laps. He completed a "double marathon" with 56 miles, or 210 laps this weekend. Here is a photo of Nolan this morning:


Here is a photo of Nolan receiving his certificate from Liz:


THANKS!! to everyone who came out and walked with us- MR. AND ALI AND LEX'S TEACHERS MRS. URQUART, MRS. GARVEY AND MS. DOSS (MS. DOSS' HUSBAND TOO!) WENDY, GENEVIEVE, JULIE, JON AND NEIL, NANCY, ALLISON W, ALLISON AND TOM, CYNTHIA, NAT, JENNY, KIM AND NICK AND KAREN WHO STAYED THE ENTIRE RELAY! THANKS to those we met on the track and walked laps with- it was a pleasure!

LIVESTRONG-LOVESTRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-VOLUNTEER!

12 JULY, 2005

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The photo above is Ali, volunteer Joe and one of the 2N nurses with a wagonload of toys for restocking the Treasure Chest in the treatment room. Ben's mom told us it was empty so we made a run to Target...now it is filled with Hot Wheel cars, Playdough, tattoos, Bratz pins, Lego people, wild colored rubber thongs, animal kits, finger nail polish goodie bags, pens, markers and tablets.
Here it is all full!
Here is Ali's first donation to the video library at LPCH- 29 videos for teens! When Ali was inpatient for a month we watched every PG and PG13 video in the library...I think there were 8....now there are 29 more. This is part of Ali's Gold Award Project for Girl Scouts.

Here is Ali and her best friend Kristina with the LPCH T-shirts that were being given away yesterday.

...and here Kristina and I are photographed by Ali as she does her inhaled pentamadine treatment! Only 2 more to go!!
<




Ali had her first OT spinal today. She is asleep now and her back is sore. Her best friend is leaving tomorrow and poor Ali is out :( I must confess it has been so nice to forget about treatments for 4 months! Although Ali did not receive chemo just a procedure brings anxiety.

Ali met her new NP who seems very nice. She will see Ali one more time and then will be out on maternity leave...then Ali will be away at college and who knows who she will see for her next spinal?

Please visit Ben, Ethan and Catie who could use your kind words and prayers at this time, and for Julianna whose counts are too low to be out and about like a kid wants to be in summer.

Join us Saturday for our 24 Relay at the Carlmont High School track-

-LIVESTRONG, LAUGH HARDER, LOVESTRONGER, AND RIDE YOUR BIKE!-

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JULY 11, 2005
I got up very early to get a million things done before Ali's first OT spinal, (off treatemnt.)I had to record Lex's summer school TV program, run to Target to buy toys for the Treasure Chests for 2N and clinic since Ben's mom Jody told me that they were empty!! Then go with Lex to drop off her car to get the window seal replaced and then drop her off to babysit all before leaving at 9:45 to take Ali. WELLLLLLLLLLLllllllllllllllllllllll, I just double checked the appointment paper and the appointment is TOMORROW! Ali's clinic day has been Monday for the past 2 years and now it is Tuesday since Dr. D is no longer Ali's onc. At least I found it BEFORE we went all the way down there with Ali NPO (no food or drink,) and found out the hard way!

I guess I give up trying to journal like Julianna's dad Terry...too many people asked me, "Why was Woody on Ali's page? I couldn't figure it out?" I thought I was rather clever! THE DOOR!! (Didn't I say that in the text?)By the way the estimate for repair is $480 for the bottom 2 panels...ZOWIE!

We are gearing up for our Relay for Life this weekend. As usual I will be writing my speech around 1 or 2 a.m. - hopefully Noelle's dad George will be up to answer my questions again this year!
Anyone wishing to join us in our walk please let us know. Any luminaria donations can be sent to us at home or at ALI'S TEAM
2033 Ralston Ave
Belmont, CA 94002
To see a few of last year's luminaria take a look at the July 6 journal entry and the one for Ali below Woody's photo
on this page.

Happy Monday- Wish Ali luck on her spinal tomorrow-
-LIVESTRONG-LOVE STRONGER-LAUGH HARDER-NEVER GIVE UP-

Please check on Ethan and Catie who could use your kind words in their guestbooks.