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Friday, November 30, 2007 4:31 PM CST

Hello to everyone,

We just arrived home from the University after seeing Dr. Clohisy...her femur bone looks great...it is healing up..she will need NO further surgeries, and can do more activities now!! Thank-you Jesus! and thank-you for all your prayers for Tori... we are truly blessed with this news for her...

By the way, she made the lead role for the one act play for school, and she is on Student Council. She is having a fun time with all of her school friends!

We will be updating you along the way..Merry Christmas and Blessings to all of you during this Holiday Season...

Check out the new picture of tori on view photos! will add more when we can..

love, Dawn & Tori xoxo

Friday, November 16, 2007 1:09 PM CST

Hello to everyone,

GREAT NEWS! Tori's biopsy just came back,it is scar tissue that was removed from her lung..it was from a prior removal of a tumor site. We are thank-ful to Jesus Christ for this great news! Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, well wishes and prayers! Now she has been clear for four years..and scans will be redone in six months....We are all so relieved and happy with this news!
She is in a lot of pain for this recovery time, and having some allergic reactions to the tape...so please continue to pray for a total healing and then she can return back to school and her normal routine in life..she can get back to her smiling fun self.......thanks..I will be in touch again soon.

Love and Blessings,
Dawn & Tori xoxo

P.S. Tori is having a difficult time for recovery this time, she is having an allergic reaction to the adhesive tapes. and is breaking out with blisters on her face, and swelling up from all of the pain medications. She is in soooo much pain from the surgery site, and its going slow..also please pray for her leg, we are having scans on November 30th, to see if her fractured femur is totally healed, so she won't have to forego additional bone surgeries...thanks! Dawn..

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 3:47 PM CST

Hello to everyone,

Thanks for praying for Tori today...my friend Jenice even requested listeners on KTIS 98.5 radio station to pray for her! IV's were difficult for her....Dr. Saltzman was able to remove the section of concern to her lung.......and they will find out the final biopsy result on Friday...he did a little freeze section of it today..and it might not be a tumor..but possibly a lung infection..pnuemanitis sp?....we have to wait for the final biopsy though...to tell everyone for sure what it is....we could take a breath today...hoping it will be only an infection........will let you know on that day!

she had three girlfriends in today, Hallie, Logan, and Sarah, and her Dad and Brittany....

Let's hope and pray for a quick healing and recovery and good results on the biopsy...

thanks for all of those of you who prayed for her today..will be in touch...soon..love, dawn and tori xoxo

P.S. They are trying to regulate Tori's pain and epidural...she had many friends come see her last night...thanks for all of your love and support..she is touched by your love...dawn

Thursday, November 1, 2007 2:37 PM CDT

Hello to everyone,

We were just at the University with Dr. Neglia for Tori's four year check up..and I am sorry to say..that there is something in Tori's right lung...I will know more by tommorow..surgery is planned for November 14, Wednesday...I am waiting to hear from Dr. Dan Saltzman, and the radiologists....will let you know then...

This is disapointing news, and we are in shock, after being clear for four years.....very emotional...for all of us...please keep tori in your prayers..thank-you...we are hoping it will be only one tumor, and it is in a spot that can be removed easily....

It will be surgery 15, for Tori...and it is sad news...
We will continue to hope in Christ...and not give up through all of these hard times...

thank-you for checking in ..Blessings to all of you..love, Dawn & Tori xoxoox

P.S. I have talked to Dr. Saltzman, and he said, there is only one area that something is there that they will be removing, it is operable. Surgery is set for Wednesday November 14th, at 10:00 a.m. I will let you know what the biopsy is, when we know further details...please pray for a total healing, lung surgeries are the worse pain for Tori, they will be doing an epideral to block the chest, her usual recovery time is 5 days in the hospital, and 5 days at home..hopefully this one will be a quicker recovery time with her being older...thank-you for your support...Dawn

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 4:18 AM CDT

Hello to everyone,

We went down for xrays and a check-up with Dr. Clohisy concerning Tori's femur bone. Some good news, her bone is trying to heal, she has two more months in order for it to heal completely. A bone generally is given 6 months to make a complete healing, Tori is at her 4 month reviewal time. Please pray for a completed healing....if it does not heal, she will be looking at additional surgeries, donor bone to put around it, to see if it will adhere to her bone...she is still limited to walking only...but is walking fairly well....

She is enjoying school again, I can't believe how many friends tori has, out of all her siblings, she outbeats them all!

Thanks for checking in with her...we will be going in for her 4 year cancer recheck in a month. I will update you again then.
love and blessings to you all!

Dawn & Tori xoxo

Friday, August 24, 2007 11:17 AM CDT

Hello to everyone,

Tori is doing well, the doctor said she can start walking but nothing else because her femur bone is not healed. He hopes that walking will stimulate cells and bring healing to the bone. She has done a lot of swimming to strengthen her muscles, and is doing quite well with walking. We are trying natural vitamins to promote healing to the bone. We will see Dr. Clohisy in two months for xrays.

Tori was able to go swim in the ocean in San Diego, and see sunny California! She just recieved her first job at McDonalds, we will see how her leg does, if she has too much pain in standing, she will have to quit.

She is doing well at piano and voice lessons, and is so excited to return to school! We will update more later...thanks for checking up on her...love and blessings, dawn and tori xoxo

Sunday, July 22, 2007 7:25 AM CDT

Hello to everyone,

We went down to see Dr. Clohisy and do xrays of tori's femur bone...we didn't see much healing of the broken bone, tori is tired of being in a wheelchair..and he is going to start home therapy to get her walking again, hopefully this will stimulate some cells to bring growth and healing to the bone..we will see Dr. Clohisy in two months for another recheck on her leg. We were disappointed as we were hoping for healing to occur, but tori is happy to start walking again...her leg is weak and needs to restrengthened...if anyone has any advice on how to make bones strong or what to take..please let us know..its been a long process for tori....continue to pray for her....
We will be in touch with you..love, dawn & tori

Tuesday, July 3, 2007 1:52 PM CDT

Hello to everyone,

Tori is doing well...I try and get her out daily to enjoy the outdoors...we went and saw Dr. Clohisy for a 3 week check-up, and xray...the radiologists said the alignment of the rod looked good, but they could not tell if the broken femur was healing yet...he has added on a couple more weeks for wheelchair and crutch use. So total time will be 8 weeks of non-weight bearing.. she is getting quite quick and speedy on controlling her wheelchair..and is very quick on the crutches..she will resume physical therapy with home visits when she is allowed to put some weight down. We were able to see the xrays of the rod they put in her..and it was astounding to see how close the rod is to the bones surrounding it..they couldn't make it all the way to the knee because the rod is too thick...it is quite heavy as it is not titanium but solid steel. She forgot one time when she got out of the shower to not use her leg..and she couldn't support herself, because she hasn't used her leg for awhile she will need to relearn how to walk and strengthen whatever muscles she has left in her leg. remember she has no quadreceps in place there. It is great having a handi-cap parking sticker when we go places.:-)

We had to cancel all of her plans for camp, and vacations, which bummed her out...but we are making the most of her time. She loves hanging out with her friends, going to movies, reading books, and is now taking piano and voice lessons.

We went to a couple of revival meetings and the minister had the gift of healing..and tori recieved some prayer for a healing of her bones. Dr. Clohisy said if her bone heals..this rod will last a lifetime and that is what she needs..Also pray for adaptability to the rod, Clohisy said she should return to how she walked before she fractured it the first time..she carried her leg with a limp but was able to get around well...

I will update again..near the end of July when we go in to see Dr. Clohisy again.. Thanks again for checking on Tori and sending your love and messages of support..you mean so much to us.
love to you all!
Dawn and Tori xoxoxo

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 10:20 AM CDT

Hello to everyone,

I have some sad news to share with you... It was Memorial week-end.

Tori was having fun with some friends at a cabin, and she accidently slipped on some mud, and landed on her fractured femur bone which caused it to break..We are presently at the University, she has had surgery, where Dr. Clohisy was able to put in a rod, through the center of the femur bone, the whole length of the femur to the hip joint. It has been quite painful, the break, and now recovery time, she is saddened because it puts a hold on a lot of things she wanted to do this summer.

She hates missing school, the last 8 days that are left and her close friends mean so much to her.


We would appreciate your prayers for healing of her bone and adapting to the rod in her leg. We expect crutches and wheelchair for six weeks.....I will let you know when I know more information..
Thanks for your prayers!

Dawn & Tori xoxo

Saturday, May 5, 2007 6:59 AM CDT

Hello to everyone,
I'm sorry I haven't updated Tori's site for awhile..busy, busy.

We were at the University this past week and I have good and bad news...The good news Tori is cancer free all of her scans looked good, and she will not need bone-lengthening procedures! We thank Jesus for this good news!

The bad news is her right leg that was radiated, has a fracture near the top of the hip bone, and another fracture down on the femur bone. Tori was complaining of severe pain for a week, she finally told me, and we had to wait for Dr. Clohisy to get back into town. We couldn't pin point any injuries, and he was guessing it might be osteonecrosis, he wants to consult his colleagues and have a meeting with us on May 15th to discuss what options we have. Please pray for Tori, and for wisdom for the Doctors in what they can do for her. We need a healing miracle for her! I will write when I have more information.

Tori just completed her spring play, a comedy "Romeo you Idiot" and she is doing wonderful in school, she has sooooo many friends, I can't keep track of all of them.

Amy Mareck's book is finally here.."A Fight for my Life", you can get it from Childrens Cancer Research Fund or the bookstores. All of the money is donated to the childrens cancer research fund. She was one of our friends who we met at the university, her book is an inspiration of her daily journal writings...Get it if you can!

Again, Please pray for another miracle for Tori, we need another healing for her leg! Thanks so much!
Dawn & Tori xoxo
P.S. we went to see Dr. Clohisy today.May 15th...he said the radiologists read her MRI and said there was one large fracture on her upper femur bone (stress factor) due to radiation and lack of quadreceps to supply blood to her bone...She will be using her crutches another four weeks and see him again..he is hoping it will get better, if she has extreme pain we will rush down there to see him...if the bone breaks. good news he does not believe it is osteonecrosis!! We are relieved with this news today and as we are putting off any surgery...and will pray for a healing for her.....please say a prayer for Tori..thanks so much! By the WAY HAPPY 14th Birthday Tori May 17th!!!! :-)

Friday, February 23, 2007 4:11 PM CST

Hello to everyone,

We have had very sad news this past week, as our dear friend Laura Jahnke has passed away. She fought her osteosarcoma cancer for five and a half years. We met her at the University when Tori was diagnosed in Sept. of 2001. She was a very special girl who touched everyone she met, her site is www.caringbridge.org/page/laurajahnke.
We will miss her tremendously. We had made ten friends at the University, nine have passed away, it affects us when another friend passes away. We know Laura had her faith in Jesus Christ and is in heaven along with all of our other friends. Please pray for her family during this time...
We have one friend who is doing well....Jill Zeman....

Tori is in the top twelve singing competition for Metcalf Idol. All the money raised for this event will go to The Childrens Cancer Research Fund coming up for the annual radiothon of KS95 kids cancer radiothon with Gregg and Cheryl. Listen in to the stories of the children who have been touched by cancer.It will be on the air the first week-end of March. If you get a chance listen in, and you can hear a lot of our friends stories on the air.

Life is always busy at our home, I will update again another day...Tori will have her recheck scans in May.
love and God bless you all,
Dawn & Tori xoxo

Tuesday, November 28, 2006 5:48 PM CST

Hello to everyone,

Tori and I were at the hospital all day, for two physicals, chest CT, MRI of her leg and hip, bone scanograms, and age bone scans...We saw Dr. Neglia, and Dr.Clohisy,and the preliminary reports are all clear..the radiologists need to read everything and confirm yet..we will wait for the call but usually the Doctors can tell a lot too!! We thank Jesus Christ for this good news...
Dr. Clohisy had us meet another family who was from Burnsville, they had a six year old girl who is looking at having the same kind of leg surgery as tori, where they remove the tumor along with the quadrecep muscles...we met the parents and shared our experiences together, tori is a miracle to be able to walk. Clohisy said because of a nerve cut from tori's leg she should not be able to walk, when adults have this nerve cut, they can't walk, so they can't figure out why tori is doing what she can...
Tori is enjoying basketball, and waiting to see what part she will get in a one act production....They have moved her scans to six months now, because she has been clear for three years now....!!
There were a lot of new nurses and kids on 5B, some of our favorites are still there though. Dr. Neglia informed us of a new childrens hospital being built across the river, should be completed in a year and a half.
I will keep on updating on our family news, every month...thanks for checking on us, and for praying for tori...we are so blessed and thankful with this news..
Please stay in touch and pray for Laura and her family, our hearts go out to them as they have been through a difficult journey battling her cancer.........www.caringbridge.org/page/laurajahnke

Our love to you all, have a wonderful christmas and a happy new year!!
Dawn & Tori xoxox

Thursday, August 17, 2006 1:16 PM CDT

Hello to everyone,


Great News for Tori!!!! She has clear scans of her lungs, and her scar tissue is looking better. We were at the University this week, and she will be having her recheck in November....she will have an MRI, scanograms, and a CT, physical at that time...if all is clear in November they will move her scans to six month check ups. She grew another inch, and is doing well. We thank you for your prayers and thoughts....and we are so thankful to God for this good news!!! She has had a fun summer, and is looking forward to basketball this fall and school. She wants to join student council, yearbook staff, and singing groups. She is considering plays again.

Our heart goes out to Laura Jahnke and her family..please continue to pray for her....www.caringbridge.org/page/laurajahnke. She is one special young woman, we met her and became friends with their family when they lived in Mn....

I will write often to let you know how her year is going...
God's Blessings and Love to all of you!!!

Dawn & Tori MacDonald xoxox

Wednesday, June 14, 2006 10:24 AM CDT

Hello to everyone,
Sorry I haven't updated sooner! Tori is doing wonderful, she turned 13 and will be entering 8th grade this fall. She has enjoyed basketball, acting and singing in productions. She is going to go to church camp and is involved in youth group and will spend a lot of time playing with her friends this summer. She will be having her recheck physical and scans coming up this August, I will let you know how that goes.
Brittany is having her graduation party, and will be attending Normandale college this fall. She has been able to record 9 of her songs on a CD and is selling them for five dollars to raise money to go to Nationals in Florida. She will be competing in the individual songwriting competition. She sang 3 different songs for her graduation ceremony at Burnsville High, Cedar Valley Church ceremony, and the Senior Banquet. The Lord has truly gifted her in music. She is also working towards going to Amsterdam to go on a missions trip, its for musicians, and they will be ministering in coffeehouses.
Jacqueline has auditioned for the director of opera at the University of Mn. for a summer program, she has been accepted along with 11 other students from around the twin cities. They will have individual coaches working with her on singing, acting, and dancing.
Micah is leaving for Costa Rica for a missions trip along with 30 others from our church. He has a heart for missions and church.
I have been busy plugging away at college courses and being involved with the kids activities.
We have had sad news, Grandpa Don MacDonald passed away this past week, and my father doesn't have long to live with his pancreatic cancer.
God has been so good to us, we are so happy with Tori's clear scans and being able to enjoy her every day. Cherish Life. xoxo Dawn & Tori p.s. her recheck is coming up in August...I will let you know how that goes.....

Sunday, April 23, 2006 2:44 PM CDT

Hello to everyone,

Tori is doing wonderful, she is presently in her third production, in junior high. She is playing an amatuer sleuth detective which takes place at a wedding. It's a pretty big role for her..
Also Jacqueline has the lead in "Phantom" Christine, her third lead in her third production. It is very professional and a wonderful production. Its at the Burnsville High School and there are 2 week-ends left. April 27, 28, and May 4,5,6,.If you get a chance to go,please do you will enjoy it. Jacque also won the audition for the prom song.

Brittany has just won Districts for the fine arts festival for individual songwriting, and now can compete in nationals. Tori helped with the song by singing harmony.
Since she recieved the top score she was able to perform for everyone, and she recieved a standing ovation....She keeps writing music and we hope to get a demo CD done so she can get a producer....

We always have so much news happening here, I recieved an award at Normandale college for my grade point average, and I can't wait for my stage debut... :-)
Just wanted to share a little news with you!
I will write again soon,

Love & God Bless,
Dawn & Tori xoxo

Please continue to check on Laura Jahnke and pray for her as she continues her journey of treatments...www.caringbridge.org/page/laurajahnke

Tuesday, March 28, 2006 3:45 PM CST

Hello to everyone!!

Great news for Tori, she took quite a few scans today and according to Dr. Neglia they all look good, we will still await for the radiologists call to confirm!! Overall it looks like great news!! Thank-you to everyone for saying a prayer for Tori! God is so good to us! They measured her legs with scanograms...and she is almost 1/2 inch off with her radiated leg, they will keep a watch on her growth, she is now 5'0 tall now and is almost 13 years old..they are predicting she will be 5'3", so her growth is doing great! They want to keep her at four month scan rechecks until she hits the 3 year mark which will be this Nov. Her next set of scans will be in August!! We were happy to run into Alice (her nurse) and Harriet(her social worker) up on 5B...and we saw Dr. Saltzman, her lung surgeon, Dr.Clohisy orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Mulrooney, and Dr. Paul. Everyone likes to come visit Tori when she is down there. They can't believe how she has grown up into a beautiful young lady!! :-)

Dr. Clohisy mentioned that he wants to come see her perform in her next play. She was able to get into a bigger part for the spring production!!

I will stay in touch with you soon, we are so happy with this news!!!!!!!!!
Love and Blessings to All,
Dawn & Tori xoxoxoxoxo hopefully I can update new pictures on the scanner, haven't had time to figure it out yet!!

Sunday, March 19, 2006 7:48 AM CST

Hello to everyone!

Tori is doing wonderful, she is making straight A's in school and is trying out for another play this week. She has a recheck coming up at the end of March, please say a prayer for her of continued clear scans...she has been clear for two years now and we have been blessed with this!
Tori enjoyed doing the radiothon, the director of KS95 told me he wants to use Tori yearly to help with the radiothon.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to it, to help find more cures for cancer, and to help the Gillette kids out.

The other kids are doing great, Brittany is having opportunites to sing her songs that she has written, and do a little bit of recording to send to producers. Jacqueline has tried out for three theatre productions and has recieved the leads for them. Micah loves church and youth work. I am still plugging away at college, and work, and getting the kids to all of their committments...busy, busy...
Please continue to pray for Laura Jahnke and her family as she is battling a reoccurrence of her cancer.

I will write again soon...God's Blessings to all of you!
Dawn & Tori

Friday, March 3, 2006 10:57 PM CST

Hello to everyone! Just a quick short note, please tune in to KS95 radiothon this weekend. 94.5 F.M.......tori was able to share her story, along with Laura, Amy, Jill, Mitchie, its a time of mixed emotions because of all the friends we have lost to cancer.....they continue to do medical research to bring about more cures for cancer. The money helps the Childrens Cancer Research Fund, and Gillette Childrens Hospital.

Hey this is Tori speaking now!!! WOW!!! that is all i have to say, i am soooooo thankful for all of you guys who supported me in my journey and were there by my side. All of you people have blessed my life in every single way possible i can't thank you enough!! so i ask you guys now to p;ease please contribute to KS95 Radiothon! You guys have to realize that you save lives with every dollar that you give. i also want to thank you guys for always checkin' in on me! i really appreciate your caringness.

I love you guys soooooo much!

LOve,
Tori MacDonald

*God Bless*

Monday, January 16, 2006 5:38 PM CST

Hello to everyone,

Tori has been doing wonderful, she has made the one act play, taking after her sisters acting careers. Jacqueline recieved another lead in a school musical! So we have been busy with rehearsals, and Brittany continues to write and sing her music..everyone wants her CD, when she can accomplish one.

We had some sad news these past couple of weeks, my father has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and doesn't have much time left, and our friend Laura has had a setback with four tumors returning to her body..please check her website at www.caringbridge.org/page/laurajahnke. Laura is a wonderful inspirational girl to everyone who meets her. Please send her a note of encouragement as they pursue different avenues of treatment. And pray for her and her family.

We have been spending some precious time with my Dad and grandpa, we love him so dearly and he has been a wonderful father, husband, and grandfather to the family......He knows he is going to heaven, so he is ready to go....though we would love to have him around longer, we will miss him tremendously!
So this has been hard news for our family.:-(


I will write again soon to let you know how Tori is doing, her tests are set for March for a recheck...Love to all,
Dawn and Tori xoxo

Thursday, November 24, 2005 8:00 AM CST

Hello to everyone,

Great news, clear scans, which will make Tori clear for two years now!! We are still waiting for the radiologists to call and verify the results. The Doctors said they looked good to them. This is great Thanksgiving news, We are so thankful to Jesus for His Love and tender mercies. We are so happy with this news! Thanks to all of you who have prayed for her and encouraged her along the way.

We went up to see 5B and they have done a wonderful job of remodeling and updating the floor with bright beautiful colors. It was very busy as many kids are battling their cancers. We saw Amy's logo and design in the entry way of the doors of "Never Give Up". Some of Tori's favorite nurses are not there anymore, they have a lot of new staff. We remember all of our friends who have passed away and their families.

We recieved a call from the SilverLining Ranch they asked Tori to be an Ambassador for them and to deliver 50 star beanie babies to the kids at Fairview Hospital.

Tori's story along with many other kids will be aired for KS95 radiothon in February to help raise money for the childrens cancer research fund. Listen in if you can.

Tori has been busy with basketball and singing for the Metcalf singers. She wants to audition for a school play.
We will continue to update and let you know whats new with tori and whats hopping around here.

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND A MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Gods love and blessings to all of you!
Dawn and Tori xoxox

New pictures soon as we figure out the scanner. :-)

Saturday, October 15, 2005 3:10 PM CDT

Hello to everyone,

Tori has started her basketball season and she plays guard and forward positions..we were sad that they broke up her sixth grade team..they were champs last year...now in junior high she is with 8th and 9th graders.....everyone is on different teams,she is having fun with it though!!! Her knee has been doing good so far too.

Tori will be doing an interview for a new website to help other kids who have been diagnosed with cancer and how they can handle the cancer journey..

She loves junior high and is making all A's, she is also singing on the Metcalf singers, a smaller singing group, both her sisters were in that...the director commented, "Oh, a MacDonald sister being passed down" when he called her name off.

Tori will be having her recheck coming up in November, I will let you know when that comes.. Our friend Laura Jahnke had wonderful news of clear scans and is back in college, we will miss her family as they move back to Ohio..

We are all busy with our school and work schedules, I will write again soon...God's Blessings to all, He has been so good to us!! love, Dawn and Torixoxox
I hope to put some new pictures up when someone shows me how to use the scanner.... :-)

Thursday, August 25, 2005 6:36 AM CDT

Hello to everyone.

We have had a busy summer!! Tori has had some fun opportunities, she was able to attend the Glamorama modeling show and go on a boat excursion to help raise money for the Childrens Cancer Research Fund. She also gets to be a model for a runway model show along with Jackie to raise money for another event!
She is excited to be starting Junior High and she will continue with girl scouts and electric guitar lessons. She also will start her basketball season soon. She will have her recheck physical and scans in November. I will let you know how that goes. Overall we have had a wonderful summer!

Brittany will be a Senior this year, Jacqueline a Junior, they have been nannying a lot this summer, and involved with youth group. Brittany went to Nationals for individual songwriting and recieved a superior rating. She has a goal to record her music on a cd. Jacqueline is excited to sing in Freestyle, the top singing group in school, and she is planning on going to Africa for a missions trip. Micah is working hard and going to school fulltime. I am continuing my education as well, and working for the school district. I will update more later...thanks for checking in on tori. love to all, God Bless, Dawn and Tori xoxo

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 11:10 PM CDT

Hello to everyone!! We met with Dr. Neglia today and Tori's chest scan looked the same, there is a small spot there on one lung, but it doesn't look any bigger or changed. He said to wait for two days to hear the official news from the radiologists, since he couldn't give the right diagnosis. So overall we think its good news, I will let you know when the radiologists call.

We wanted to let you know that our friend Laura Jahnke was in the hospital having lung surgery, four spots were removed out of one of her lungs and they are awaiting the news of her biopsies. She is still planning on going back to college this August. Please pray for her and her family, as this was sad news when Laura has been clear for so long.... her site is wwww.caringbridge.org/page/laurajahnke.

Tori also was able to do her interview with KS95 Greg and Cheryl..her story will be played along with other kids who have battled cancer. It will be played in February during their annual radiothon to raise money for the childrens cancer research fund. Tori did an awesome job for the interview.

I will write more soon, thanks for your prayers for Tori! God is so Good! love, Dawn and Tori xoxo P.S..RECIEVED AWESOME NEWS, CLEAR SCANS, THE RADIOLOGISTS COULD NOT FIND THE SPOT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JULY 27TH, 2005 WE THANK JESUS FOR THIS GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, July 18, 2005 5:27 PM CDT

Hello to everyone, it's been a busy summer for all of us!!

Tori's knee is feeling a lot better and has been mobile so we are trying to put surgery off until it becomes too painful and immobile to do her activities. She has been working out, swimming, jumping on a trampoline,and is doing great! We'll see what the doctors say. She has her scans on July 26th for her lungs to recheck the one spot. We moved the date because she wanted to be a leader for Bible school.

She had a wonderful time in Colorado and made new friends from around the country. She even caught three fish in front of Kevin Costners house! They want her to return to be a counselor some day!

We went to the Survivor picnic and saw Laura and her family and a lot of the staff, we met some new families.

Tori will be doing an interview for KS95 radiothon for next year. She also met a lady who is finishing up Amy Marecks book and she said Tori meant a lot to Amy and she wrote about her in the book and will send us a copy when it is ready. Tori will also be interviewed for a cancer webpage for kids who have been diagnosed with cancer and how they deal with the pain factors. We also will attend the Rein-in-Sarcoma picnic and be reunited with our friends before Laura goes back to college.

We all went to the Sonshine Festival in Willmar, over 100 christian bands...and 25,000 people, many were passing out with heat exhaustion.....We Survived......the heat in a tent....unbelievable......the kids had a lot of fun!!


I will write soon and let you know how her scans go!~! Please say a prayer for tori...thanks.... Love to all, Dawn and Torixoxoxox

Saturday, June 11, 2005 10:44 AM CDT

Hello to everyone!

Tori has graduated from the sixth grade class and will be entering junior high this fall~! This is quite a big deal, she was awarded at school with the presidential education award, patrol, care club, rahn tv.anchor news, and spelling bee awards for this past year. They had a fun year end party with their class!

She is really excited to be going back to the SilverLining Ranch up in the Aspen Mountains! The staf invited tori back, another child from another state could not make it, so they had an extra seat on the twin cities flight out. This trip was the highlight of her life and she is so thrilled to be going again! She will be with 20 kids, 8 from Mpls. who are 12 & 13 years old. They will go river rafting, swimming, shopping, and fishing in front of Kevin Costners house. Last time Katie Costner was one of the counselors with them. Last time tori went was with Amy, Olivia, and Jill...

Tori's knee surgery is set for July 22, she wants to get her knee to recover so she can play basketball in Oct. We will have to get in lots of swimming ahead of time because she won't be able to do to much until 8-10 weeks of physical therapy are completed. She will be having her scans redone on July 19th to check the one spot on one of her lungs.

I will write again soon, when I have time...love, Dawn and Torixoxo

Thursday, May 26, 2005 8:38 PM CDT

Hello to everyone,

Thanks for checking in on Tori! We were at the hospital and clinics all day long. Her scans unofficially were declared clear, but today I recieved a call saying there is one spot on her lung, so they have changed her scans to two months to recheck her lung to see what that is, if it is a tumor it will grow and they can determine that next time. Also Tori will be having knee surgery this summer for her torn meniscus knee. Her leg is becoming more immobile and she is still having a lot of pain so it is best to do surgery at this point. She was having lung pain when she over exerts herself physically, so they did extra tests echocardiogram and an ekg test. They have to look at her heart because of one of the chemos she received. I haven't heard on those tests but I think those came out great!! Her bone growth in her legs were checked and they off by one millemeter, so she is doing great in that area!
I have to run, so I will update more later, love to all!! God Bless, Dawn and Torixoxo

Friday, May 20, 2005 9:17 AM CDT

Hello to everyone,
Tori turned 12 on May 17th, she had ten of her girlfriends from school spend the night for her party. She wanted a new color for her bedroom, so I painted a mango bright orange for her teen years coming up!! We had a busy house but everyone had a blast!

She was able to tour Kare-11 news this week, and watch a news broadcast with her newscrew from Rahn Elementary which was fun!

She is having a day of scans coming up next week at the Fairview University Hospital and Riverside for her torn meniscus knee problem.
I will let you know the results of her tests, please say a prayer for her, we have been so blessed to have had a year and a half of clear scans!!

We love American Idol, Tori is hoping for Kerry to win the contest, I loved Vansell!

I will write soon to give you an update! God Bless, love, Dawn and Torixoxo

Saturday, April 16, 2005 8:14 PM CDT

Hello to everyone, and a Happy Spring to you!! We are enjoying the warmth of the sun and seeing everything turn to green!!

Tori is enjoying playing basketball in our driveway along with the other kids. Her knee is still in a lot of pain, but this won't keep her back from enjoying the sport.:-)
We will be seeing her doctors around May 20th, along with Riverside clinic to do her scans and physicals. I will keep you updated on her tests.
She went with girlscouts to the Guthrie to get a tour and see a musical production!

Tori is enjoying her newsanchor position at Rahn, and she will be transitioning to Junior High soon. She is the last of the four kids to finish up elementary so this is a big change for our family. She is making all A's for her report cards!!:-)

Brittany auditioned for a christian musical festival and made it with a superior rating to move on to nationals. She played and sang one of her original songs, she has written around 25 songs now. We are all so very proud of her writing and singing abilities. She is now learning guitar.

I am completing a technical writing course and will move on to a theatre course.
Micah is working hard and going to college fulltime, Jackie is singing for youthgroup.

God has been so good to us, thanks for checking in on us. I will write again soon!! love, Dawn and Tori xoxo

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 6:52 PM CST

Hello to everyone, we went down to the Riverside University clinic and saw Dr. Elizabeth Arndt. She took additional xrays of tori's legs...and said the diagnosis is, a torn meniscus.sp? not sure how to spell it. It's the padding inbetween the bones in the knee. She said it cannot heal on its own, but the pain level can go to sleep for awhile..tori is at a level 5 for pain right now, so it has gone down considerably, we will revisit her in a couple of months to recheck her pain level, and compare more xrays. If surgery were performed to remove part of the meniscus, it would be permanantly gone, and could face arthritic pain at the age of 30. So they want to hold off for awhile and see what happens to it.

We still can't figure out when she injured her knee, sometimes her legs give out on her, and she collapses, this could have caused direct pain and injury to her knee...
So she will slow down with any overt activity, or running.

She has finally recovered from the flu, and is looking forward to spring break...... we will be in touch, she has another recheck coming up in May. God Bless you all,
Love, Dawn and Torixoxo

Sunday, March 13, 2005 8:03 AM CST

Hello to everyone, We made it over to the KS95 radiothon with Cheryl and Greg. It was nice visiting with all of the cancer friends and families. Over 1 million was raised for the Childrens Cancer Research fund! We missed Amy, Mitchie, Sarah, and all of our cancer friends who have passed away, so there is a sad spot in our hearts for these kids and their families.

Tori has been battling the flu back and forth, and we will be seeing a surgeon this week to confer about her knee pain.. We will let you know what they decide to do for it.

She did a wonderful job singing her solo and she enjoyed being in the all district choir.
I will let you know how the doctor apt. goes. God Bless! love, Dawn and Torixoxo

Sunday, February 20, 2005 4:59 PM CST

Hello to everyone, Well we finally heard from Dr. Clohisy, he said the radiologists read her MRI scans and they see no tumors in her knee area, but they do see torn cartilage. He will get back to us on a medical plan. and then the next day she learned how to ski on a field trip, she said she can monitor her own pain level. Of course she wanted to try a new adventure with skiing! :-) So this is wonderful great news for her!

She loves being a newsanchor at school, and YES, she made it for the "Joyful, Joyful" solo!! She can hit those high and low notes really well.
Her next set of scans will be in May, so I will write before then to let you know whats new and hopping around here! God Bless, love, Dawn and Torixoxo

Friday, February 4, 2005 8:11 PM CST

Hi to Everyone,
We were down at the University today and Tori met with Dr. Clohisy. He did not feel any more tumors around the knee area, he can't figure out why the leg won't straighten out, we are going back down next Friday, the 11th of Feb. to have an MRI done of the upper thigh and lower leg. She is in pain with her knee so she is taking Advil, and he thought it might be a ligament that was injured somehow. She still wants to attempt her sports, and use her judgement on her pain level. Iwill let you know the MRI results next week.
She is enjoying being an anchorgirl, news reporter for Rahn Elementary. They have a new TV studio, where every class gets the Rahn morning news on their own television sets. They have three crews and she represents one of them.
She is in all district choir, and tried out for her first solo, "Joyful, Joyful" from Sister Act 2 movie. I will let you know if she made it.:-)
Brittany made it for a solo at a high school performance, she has written several pieces on the piano. The directors at the High School, were impressed with her voice and song she wrote.
Jacqueline made it for Freestyle Singers at the High School, which is a small top singers group. She is thrilled with this news!
We all love the American Idol show and are right on top of it!!
Micah is doing great! I thought I would let you know how the other kids in the family are doing too. I will let you know Tori's update soon, as soon as I hear the results! Thanks for your prayers and thoughts!
Dawn and Torixoxo

Monday, January 31, 2005 6:34 PM CST

Hi to everyone,
Just a quick update, we will be heading back down to the University to see Dr. Clohisy, the orthopedic surgeon. She is having pain, in her right knee, so much so that she is having a hard time walking, and straightening out her leg. She commented that the pain feels like the cancer pain that was in her hip. When they have done her MRI tests its usually just her hip area not down to the knee or bottom of her leg. Please remember to Pray for tori, I will let you know the results When we return home.
Thanks so much, love, Dawn and Tori

Tuesday, January 18, 2005 6:51 PM CST

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Tori's scans are clear today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We give thanks to Jesus Christ for this wonderful news, and we give all the glory to Him!! We are so happy, they have now moved her scans from every three months to every four months! We saw Dr. Neglia, Dr. Dan Mulrooney, and Dr. Clohisy. Dr. Clohisy was beaming from ear to ear, and he said," I told tori that she would never walk or run again, and look at her!!" What a miracle!! Thanks to everyone for remembering her in your prayers today!! We will be in touch soon!! Blessings and Love, Dawn and Tori :-)

Thursday, January 13, 2005 5:21 PM CST

Hello to everyone, We miss Amy very much and think about her often! Tori has her tests this Tuesday, January 18th, and a physical with Dr. Neglia and Dr. Clohisy. We have been so blessed to have had clear scans for a year now, please include tori in your prayers for this coming week,also Laura Jahnke will be having her scans too!!
Tori auditioned for the all district Honor Choir for sixth graders and she made it, she loves singing, and some of her friends from school are in it too!!
Jacqueline was spectacular in the play!! Thanks Jill, Margaret, and Berta for coming down to support her.Brittany and Jacqueline are both singing on worship youth teams at church!
Micah is super busy with college and work, and helping out with the youth group.
Have you seen tori yet on the commercial with Don Shelby and Lindsey Whalen?? we hope it raises a lot of money for the childrens cancer research center.
I am busy with the kids activities,work, and college!! I will write as soon as we find out tori's tests results.

God's Love and Blessings to you all!!

Dawn and Tori MacDonald

Friday, December 10, 2004 1:44 PM CST

Hello to everyone, We have had a super busy time lately. We were able to go to Amy's wake up in Albany. We saw several of our cancer friends and families, Mike and Bonnie, Olivia's mom came from Colorado, 15 hours of driving, Laura, Kate, and Mimi flew in, Jill and her family, and Melissa. Staff from the Hospital came and a few Minnesota Viking players, Sharon, and Jodi flew in, who is editing Amy's book. There were hundreds of people from Albany who came. Amy was loved by many! We miss her so much! Amy's book will be coming out in March, we will let you know the details.

Tori was able to do a commercial with Don Shelby and Lindsey Whalen from the Minnesota Gopher basketball team. They played one on one with her. It will be a 30 second commercial that will help raise money for the Childrens Cancer Research Fund. There were two other kids who will be in it too, be watching for it on channel four.

Tori is competing for the spelling contest for all district. Tori's basketball team won the division and now she has playoffs to try and win the number one trophy.

Jacqueline is playing one of the leads in the "Importance of Being Earnest!" for the Burnsville High school. She and the entire class are doing a wonderful job acting in it. It's a British comedy, it's Dec.9th,10,11th, and Dec.16th,17th,and 18th. Come see her if you can!

Tori will be doing an interview in January for a book, the editors are from New York. Her cancer friends will be interviewed too.

We are blessed, and thankful for each day of life, Have a Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year!! Love to all, Dawn and Tori xoxo

Wednesday, December 1, 2004 10:36 PM CST

We are very saddened with the news of our friend Amy Mareck passing away this week, she was a wonderful girl who touched so many hundreds, thousands of peoples hearts and lives thru her website. And her encouraging words to Tori and other kids who were battling cancer around the world, To Never Give Up!!!!!! She was always giving and reaching out to others though she went through so much herself. WE Love you Amy and will always remember you, and will miss you greatly!! Dawn and Tori xoxo please pray for Amy's family and encourage them. Clink on her link...AMY'S FIGHT