Relay for Life Central Davis 2010.mp4

We were sent a link to this post on Youtube. Pretty cool job done by the people who put the Relay for Life together. You will see some familiar faces on there as well.

RELAY FOR LIFE 2010

Amanda participated in Relay For Life. Words cannot describe how much she enjoyed herself. She ran around for hours laughing and playing. She proudly walked the survivors lap while people cheered. I choked back tears watching as she radiated happiness and life. She has come so far in one year. We are so grateful to be able to celebrate her life!

We are in awe at the amount of support we have received financially. It has far exceeded our expectations. We are still getting donations and will post a final tally. It's because of donations like these that Leukemia ALL has such a high cure rate (95% for Amanda). Thank you so much for helping fund research, cancer cures, and support for families battling this disease.

We especially need to thank Rick for walking over 50 miles. Yes, that's right, 50 miles!!! He started at the beginning and went all night until it ended - no sleep and very few breaks. You always leave us in awe!

Many other thanks are in order.

Scott, thanks for having the desire to do this and for taking what little time you have to organize our team.

Thanks Dad for the great pictures, helping with all the hauling of stuff, and proving to me that you really are quite handy in the kitchen.

Scott's parents - for the many long hours with Will, always being around to help whenever needed, and for adding a lot of hours on the track.

Mom and Carol - for herding cats (my children)

Jenny & Robert - thanks for sticking out a very long night and raising such awesome teenagers.

Dayan, Yassah, and friends - for being such awesome teenagers! I'm amazed at what great kids you are. You were more than willing to help and you guys put in some serious track time!

Deanna - for taking my request for a few items to feed the crew and turning it into a table full of delectable delights.

Dan, Teri, and kids - thanks for being great friends that are always there for us. Hope you can walk tomorrow Dan. You are seriously going to be feeling those amazing 16 miles.
To Erin - for taking one for the team and being the only person to actually sleep.

Craig, Jean, Kids - for helping out with the food sales (learned a few tricks for sweet talking the Health Department) and for continuing to support us though far away.

Ed, Viki, John - thanks for being willing to do whatever was needed. We appreciated you sweating it out during the super hot hours.

Matt, Mary Ann and Mikey - 7 months Pregnant, in that heat? Enough said!!!

Donna - for the great ice cream making tips.

Thank you to all our friends and family that stopped by, wanted to come and couldn't, and those that passed on well wishes. We appreciate all of the support!

Relay

I've had a request for a quick link to Amanda's team page for Relay for Life.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=21760&team_id=755882

We'd love to see as many friends and family there to cheer her and others on. There will be fundraising activities there to keep the young ones entertained. Thank you so much for the support we have received! We are always in awe with how many people are thinking of her.

EUREKA!!!

For many months Amanda has endured the wrath of miserable lumbar punctures. She had clinic today and for the first time dreaded it. Not because of needles or all the usual anxieties. She feared it because of the headache she'd get from the LP. After a lot of family prayer (thank you Scott for the beautiful blessing), persistence, and incredible support from her doctor's I am so happy to report that we FINALLY are having a recovery free of a screaming headaches, pain, and vomiting. All of her doctors agree that she is very sensitive to the procedure itself, not so much the medication they are using. They are administering the chemo much more carefully now. And something as simple as letting her rest and not moving her for a good three hours post-recovery made a huge difference. She's one of those "special" patients that needs a little extra care. All of her staff at Primary's went above and beyond today to accommodate her. We are so grateful for them. She's still on IV fluids for a few days, and the beloved IV Benadryl and Zofran are prepared for attack if needed. So far she is eating, drinking, and happily watching Phineas and Ferb while taking care of her virtual pets online. It is such a wonderful change to have her recovering comfortably!

Amanda is looking forward to Relay for Life at the end of the month. Thanks to so many of you for your generous donations! If the cash flow is a bit tight a great way to still show support is in letting Amanda know that you are cheering her on - it really brightens her day. When I told her that survivors circle a lap with everyone cheering for them, her face lit up!!! She is really looking forward to it.

Join in the Relay for Life

This is a call to all friends, family members, and any other followers of this blog to join us in our first fund raiser for the American Cancer Society. We are getting a group together to walk in the Relay for Life event on July 30th and 31st. This event will be at Barnes Park in Kaysville and will be a 24 hour walk to raise funds for the ACS. Since Amanda's diagnosis early last year we have been on the receiving end of many gifts and charity. We always wished there was some way to pay it forward and be able to do something for others going through similar situations.

Though we can't possibly do all we would love to be able to do to make life better for those going through different stages of cancer, we can make an effort no matter how small. It all adds up to greater things for someone whom you may never know or meet. We hope you will join us either as a team member walking, or as a donor to help the great cause. If you are interested, please click on the link to learn more, donate, or join our team.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=21760

The name of our team will be Supporters of Amanda. Whether we have several on our team or just a couple of us, we will be trading off as we walk for 24 hours. It should be a good time. We will provide more details as often as we can.

McCravings and McMedicines

A couple of years ago, while we let the kids play in the play area at the local McDonald's, Mary Ann and I were coming up with all new McDonald's terms. I'm pretty sure it was during one of the McRib phases. Like, "this McRib sandwich is making me McSick." Or, "the smell from all the kids socks in the play area is McStinky."

I've had to add another to the long list we were coming up with back then. The McCravings or McMedicine. Amanda's chemo has given her many side effects. Very high mood swings and overall orneriness are among them. This weekend was no different. On Saturday there was plenty of whaling and lamenting about having to have the chemo and how "its the worstest day ever." We do what we can to try to accommodate the moods but have found there is very difficult line to define between where we need to be the parent and live by the rules that were set, and where and when to give in to a child that is going through very difficult times and is heavily drugged. Sometimes it is very tough to know what side to lean towards.

When Amanda gets cravings for something it can be a tough battle with her until she either gets what she is looking for, or gets distracted enough with something else. Since early morning Saturday, Amanda had the craving for a McDonald's hamburger. She was asking for one before 10:00 am. We tried to hold her off as long as possible but paid the price for waiting so long. We didn't get out until maybe 5-6 hours later. She spent a lot of the day crying, screaming, getting her massive headaches from the crying, and overall having one of her "very bad days." When we finally hit that drive through it was like flipping the switch. She downed the hamburger and no more crying, she started talking normally, she perked up, and became more like herself. I don't know if I'd every call something from McD's medicine, but it sure cured what was ailing her yesterday.

On a side note, after the burger she had enough left in her to go to Hobby Lobby to go find some more projects to keep her busy. While wandering through the store, Erin pointed this out to me. She said, "Dad, Dad, look. I'm on the crayon box." I think Amanda pointed it out to Erin but Erin was pretty excited how much it looked like her. You decide.
After Hobby Lobby we hit the snow cone shack for a quick cool down. Everyone downed their snow cone pretty quickly except Amanda. She only ate about half of hers. We try several different ways to keep her hydrated and drinking during chemo because it helps with the migraines. But sometimes no matter what we try she just doesn't seem to be able to drink as much as she should. We didn't push our luck because right after the snow cone and we hoped in the car and we heard, "I'm getting a headache." That means head home quick and stay on top of it before it becomes unbearable. We still dream of when we can get out further away from home as a family but it seems we don't get too far from home lately. You have to take enjoyment in the little moments whenever you can.

Summer Break

"School's out for summer!!!" - Alice Cooper

Thanks Miss Moulton. There's a reason you are Teacher of the Year many times over.

Amanda made it through third grade. Perhaps barely. Her teacher pointed out that it was because Amanda picks up on everything so quickly. My comment was "you should see her when she doesn't have cancer." I am so grateful to her teacher. She was absolutely fabulous to work with. We appreciated the patience and kindness shown from her and the class.


Keeping Amanda busy this summer is turning into an interesting problem. She thinks she is better than she really is. She wears out so easily. Fortunately she has scaled back her lofty aspirations from summer's past and is still content with small activities. She's also been a bit more emotional and clingy lately. Scott's entire family went on a cruise. We stayed behind. It's hard getting left behind and I think she's keenly aware of it. She doesn't mind what she's missing as much as she misses the people. Most of my family is gone on a trip this week. I think having everybody gone was a a scary reminder of her fear of being alone. Amanda can be hugging me till I turn blue and she will still say "I want you." She's always been this way. Cancer's just made it worse. I suppose some emotional fear comes with the territory. I'll work on dishing out some extra attention.

I have to admit that my thoughts are a bit jumbled. On one hand, I've had this strong desire to start living again, to make my time on earth a bit more meaningful, to be more grateful, to love my family even more. On the other hand, I am painfully aware of so many people that have lost or are losing their life to cancer. I do no understand why Amanda is still here and they are not. She has something to offer all of us, and I have the responsibility to build her up so she can can accomplish it. I do no fully understand what it is, but I know that her life is a gift and that she is meant to be here. My heart aches for those that cannot have what I do. I am so fortunate to have my children. I suppose being grateful starts with living happily. I'm finding a lot more joy in my children and am trying to accomplish as much as I can within my means. We are starting small; Amanda and I are working on a garden. It is a great start together and I am tickled with how excited she gets about it. I am so grateful to still have her.