Monday, October 1, 2007 12:47 pm

It has been so long since I updated…….I never know what to write since I am trying to keep this as Katelyn’s page.
I wanted to post pictures of Katelyn’s memorial garden but my laptop crashed and I lost a lot the pictures……..I guess I better take more before winter approaches.
We are fortunate that until now people continued to visit the page and sign the guestbook. It took over 2 years for us but unfortunately for many CB families following the loss of a child the visitors quickly dwindle. It also makes it harder and harder for us to update the webpage. We are forever grateful to many people who followed Katelyn’s life and helped us through the most difficult time in our lives.

Regardless of the old cliche “It will get better over time” it really doesn’t. I have lost both a father, daughter, grandparents, close friends…. I can personally tell you that it IS different….it is not something that gets better…..it is a part of you that is missing, like an arm or a leg…..and as I read from many CB parents, when your child is sick and you don’t have respite other than a wonderful sister taking a day off work every week for almost 2 months to spend time with us, and you spend every single minute of the day with your child doing your own blood draws, giving meds through a picc line with perfection, performing complete sterile procedures in order to keep them safe so they don’t have to be hospitalized unnecessarily for dangerous infections, I believe you create an even more special bond that can never be replaced….it is like forgetting to eat throughout the day.

Everyone goes through difficult moments differently so I cannot speak for all but I would imagine everyone has a person, another child, an animal or something that helps them get past their moment. Unfortunately we don’t have another child but we sure have some wonderful animals that we wake up to whom bring a smile to our faces!! Yes, people think we are crazy to have our own little zoo….

Regardless of what some ‘think’ we should feel now we continue to struggle with this in our own way everyday but with the help of the people who are determined NEVER to FORGET Katelyn and spend the time talking about her we get through each day.

Having said that, I want to share what my sister wrote in the guestbook for everyone to see. I was there this day but missed the part where the 2nd balloon was let go. It still brought tears to my eyes. Moments like this are the ones that help us…..
So, if you are unsure if you should bring up Katelyn to us……don’t be…..
OR if you know someone who lost a loved one and you are scared to bring up their name….think twice before you decide NOT to….you just might bring the biggest smile to their face that they haven’t had in a long time!!

FIRST though I ask everyone to please keep our friend Kirkland and his family in your prayers as our tough little friend continues to fight....


BONNIE’S GUESTBOOK ENTRY……………….

I just have to share this story with all you Katelyn fans that still read this website:
As you all know, Debbie and Brian have done a wonderful job of keeping Katelyn's memory alive. Every year, the family gets together to let off balloons for Katelyn's birthday, and my grand-daughter that is 3 yrs old thinks nothing of letting off balloons to angels.

On the weekend we took my grand-daughter, Makyla to a parade and someone gave her a balloon, of course she let go of the balloon and she started to cry.......I told her it was ok because Katelyn will have the balloon to play with now.
That story was not much comfort to a 3 year old and she kept crying until we found her another one.
We tied the next one to her arm tight enough that it would not come off and after 15 minutes of having the balloon
She says " Grandma, I don't want this balloon"
Of course I was upset after all the tears but then she replies
"Grandma, I want Katelyn to have my balloon"
With tears in our eyes we untied the balloon and it flew away to Heaven to Makyla's very special cousin.

Wow , am I a proud Grandma!
Debbie and Brian, thanks for keeping our special little girl so close to our hearts.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007 8:16 AM

Happy
4th
Birthday
Katelyn



We hope that you are enjoying your time in Heaven with your special family and friends. We know they will all be there with you celebrating and eating cake and ice cream, all the things you were not able to eat here during your too short stay with us. We are sending you balloons and fireworks tonight, I hope you catch them so you can play with them. Of course you will probably have to fight Grandpa Newman for them! lol

We miss you so much and not a day goes by that we don’t think of you and wish we could have even one more moment with you. We long to hold you and kiss those big old cheeks, watch you do the jig while I sing to you…..lol

We can feel your presence while we are in your garden, thanks for all the butterflies!!

We Love You LOADS,
Dad and Mom

Wednesday, August 1, 2007 8:16 AM

Happy

4th

Birthday

Katelyn



We hope that you are enjoying your time in Heaven with your special family and friends. We know they will all be there with you celebrating and eating cake and ice cream, all the things you were not able to eat here during your too short stay with us. We are sending you balloons and fireworks tonight, I hope you catch them so you can play with them. Of course you will probably have to fight Grandpa Newman for them! lol

We miss you so much and not a day goes by that we don’t think of you and wish we could have even one more moment with you. We long to hold you and kiss those big old cheeks, watch you do the jig while I sing to you…..lol

We can feel your presence while we are in your garden, thanks for all the butterflies!!

We Love You LOADS,
Dad and Mom

Wednesday, August 1, 2007 8:16 AM

Happy


4th


Birthday


Katelyn



We hope that you are enjoying your time in Heaven with your special family and friends. We know they will all be there with you celebrating and eating cake and ice cream, all the things you were not able to eat here during your too short stay with us. We are sending you balloons and fireworks tonight, I hope you catch them so you can play with them. Of course you will probably have to fight Grandpa Newman for them! lol

We miss you so much and not a day goes by that we don’t think of you and wish we could have even one more moment with you. We long to hold you and kiss those big old cheeks, watch you do the jig while I sing to you…..lol

We can feel your presence while we are in your garden, thanks for all the butterflies!!

We Love You LOADS,
Dad and Mom

Friday, July 13, 2007 11:50 AM

Hi everyone….sorry for such a long delay.
I was about ready to give up and quit the page but here I am again! If you are here reading the update, PLEASE sign the guestbook to let us know you still visit the page.
I know I talk with many on MSN or now we have the facebook for myself and for Katelyn but it is still nice to be able to read the guestbook, to know that Katelyn is not forgotten.
Thank you to those who continue to visit the page, you mean so much to us.

Obviously a lot is new but I am going to stick with the medium reading. Grab a coffee…

Oh...we seen our first PAIR of purple butterflies this week!

There is one little request….please send some prayers and good wishes for my oldest cat, she had surgery this week and we are waiting to find out if she has cancer…
********************************


This is the short-handed version of the medium reading in April of 2007 that my sister Bonnie surprised me and took me to, I have written it while listening to the DVD…I asked if Bonnie could come into the room with me and she was able to….So there is a bit of information in there regarding her (your ok Bonnie, I left some out!!)


-I need to watch out for issues with heart, chest, breast, lungs,
-my dad was in the room with us, he is happy, had a black dog with him
-grandma newman was with us, she is babysitting Katelyn (which I asked her to help Katelyn
when she first became sick)
-the 1st card I picked jumped out at me, of course it was purple, it read “your children in heaven
and earth are happy and well cared for by God and your Angels”…how ironic!
-children chose their parents when they come to earth

Hand reading-kind generous hand, would give the shirt off my back, need to be
open spaces, I was a tomboy, always doing things I shouldn’t have been doing..

-I am an old soul, I have lost children in the past, I had lots of them, 15 of them!
-she see’s me being a great teacher, maybe I will go back for training
-I was a good but busy kid, did everything I was told NOT to do
-there has been travel in my life, with work maybe, ) which I did do when I was training)
Something is changing with KFC, corporate, style, etc, could be part of my training,
I could be done working with KFC???
-she knew that I have a husband, knew I was married just once, will be the only time I am
Married , thank God!!!
-he is sweet, sensitive, a big kid, my dad loves him like he was a son, he loves outdoors, honest
man in every way, our marriage has gotten stronger since Katelyn’s passing, he will do
everything he can for us, smart, does things with his hands, knew he was a trades person,
should have his own business,

-my dad is very proud of us girls
-dad spoke his truth, not is a nasty way, he tries to keep everybody together,

-Katelyn was and still is something else, I will know it’s her when I go to the other side, she will
be there to pull me over,
she had a lot of willpower and was very vocal! (anyone that knew her will laugh at this..)
-knew she had an illness, liver, she has fair hair, beautiful eyelashes, being taken care of by
Grandma Newman,


-I am in the crossroads in my life, re write my resume, knew I hurt my lower back,
This is my healing time, I was not ready to go back to work when I did,
I will be gone from KFC when it is the right time,
-will not have surgery in my back,
-I should try homeopath, like massage, chiro worked too quickly on my back
-my intuition is right on the money
-my mom is a strong lady-worry about issues in her shoulders and arms
-dad is with my mom a lot, playing jokes on her, putzing around, trying to get her to lighten up
-she knew she was still in her homestead, she will be able to stay there for quite awhile, she is very
Independent, stubborn and pretty sharp
-watch her with rugs in the kitchen, etc, get rid of them, she may trip
-I am a fabulous mother, like to have people for dinners etc, (LOL)
-Brian likes to tinker outside, inventor like my dad..(oh no!!!)
-I will only be happy in open spaces for vacations, ( I want to go to the Tennessee mountains
Again so she is right on there)
-She knew I had another sister, said Connie is sensitive to everything, a good person
-I will never be short on money, know what I am doing
-about 47 yrs old, something will happen, heart ???
-sees another dog in my life (Just what I need, another animal)
-I have a native connection, pay attention to white feathers (haha Toby sent me one on my birthday)
-she could smell my dads farm,

-Doves, cardinals, white doves are a sign- means peace
(I have one cardinal who comes around daily and chirps at
me for quite awhile before flying away.)
-Bonnie asked if I will be happy, yes I will be,
-I should create my own business at home to accommodate my back problem
-there is someone who causes us grief, we need to watch out for this person because they say things without
thinking, they are who they are and will not change, we should take it all with a grain of salt

--2nd card reading
-she picked the goddess cards
-a card was upside down- I put it back in the pile and it ended up being the first card I picked which read ‘what appears to be a loss is the start of a happy new phase”

(the recorder ran out of tape………..)
Take care everyone,
Deb

Saturday, May 12, 2007 12:15AM

I know, I said I would update about the visit with the medium and I will but I wanted to wish all the the mothers a very Happy Mothers Day Sunday.

Oh, I couldn't decide which one to post so here are 2!
Deb

Thursday, May 3, 2007 11:44 pm

Just wanted to give you a quick update about a few things:

First and most important, our buddy Brandon is back in the hospital after his checkup. I don't want to mess up the details so his it is in short, his numbers were down so they did a lung biopsy and broncoscopy and his right lung collapsed. He does not have an infection but they have him on the rejection meds. Please keep him in your thoughts, prayers or anything else you think will help him get back home.
Also, if you have time and would like to leave him a note in his guestbook, he would love to hear from you.
CLICK HERE


The next thing, the story that was in the paper made it to main page (it is linked from there) of the CDG Family Network Website. I had sent it out on the CDG listserve I am on and they asked me if they could post it! That is so cool that although she is not with us here she was able to continue to bring awareness to others.
Most of the kids who help bring awareness or to really touch someone's lives are the ones who can talk to others about their life, the ones who go to school and have many friends, the ones who have sibling(s) in schools, the ones who get out to meet many people and the ones who are able to help their causes.
The MOST exciting part of this, it is such an honor that a special child like Katelyn can still touch someones heart after she has left, especially considering the circumstances that she didn't have a head start while she was with us.
Katelyn spent most of her life far from home at the hospital so she really didn't get to meet many our friends at home, most of her friends were from Sick Kids. Somehow she continues touch peoples lives through our family. Many of the people in our area who have been touched by Katelyn are people that have not seen her but only her pictures or have heard a family member or friend brag about her. lol they are all so good at it ........
I am so proud of Katelyn, I know that she must still helping from up above. When people read her story and then they look at her pictures and they see she always had a smile, many of them comment about her willpower to live at its fullest...........wow, I sure was blessed with quite the girl! She is still making a difference in this world on her own, very little of it is our doing.

Anyway, if you would like to see that page click on: CDG Family Network Website . It will take you to the the page I wanted to post on here but was unable to do. It should be printable like the newspaper article itself.

Oh, I have joined a group with a friend of mine who also lost their daughter, she is taking over the site. It is called Caring Angels, we will be signing at least one guestbook a day for any of the Angel pages on caring bridge. If you are interested in joining, please check it out and join. So many of the Angel pages are left untouched which is sometimes very difficult for the families. There are many of you who might already sign the angel pages so it might be worth joining.
If you like to visit the cb pages already, you really can make a difference.
Here is the link: Caring Angels site, click HERE.

I will be back to update again in a few days, I want to post about the physic adventure...........

Please, be sure to leave a message in the guestbook, I am so bored being home........I really do look forward to them

Sorry about the long journal.... did I say quick update??? lol
HUGS
Deb

Tuesday, April 24, 2007 8:13 PM CDT

Well, I have been unsuccessful trying to attach the link to the pdf file to my page, it only wants to work half the time....grrrhh

Thanks to Bonnie's suggestion I am going to copy and paste it directly on here so you can read it at least. If you read the last update you can see what it looked like in the paper anyway.

Oh, the next update....don't miss my episode with a phsyic medium, a surprise from Bonnie......very interesting.



Wednesday, April 11, 2007 •
BY ANDY COMBER


Katelyn Laforet never reached her second birthday, yet her spirit is inspiring others to donate blood and in turn give the gift of life to so many others.

"Children think we are their strength, the truth is they are ours," said Katelyn's parents, Debbie Newman and Brian Laforet, speaking at a blood donor clinic held in memory of their daughter at the Portuguese Club in Leamington, April 4.

"We were extra blessed," they said, speaking of what they call "Katelyn's Golden Journey." Katelyn was born August 1, 2003, a healthy size of 8 pounds, but within a month she became very lethargic - the first sign of serious trouble.

After six days in a Windsor hospital, doctors found disturbing blood levels and transferred Katelyn to a London children's hospital. There she would spend six weeks, receiving tests, blood transfusions and other extensive investigations.

Transferred to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, Katelyn was six months old when doctors confirmed that she was suffering from a rare metabolic disorder, Congenital Disorder of Glycosolation (CDG). Katelyn's tiny body could not transfer the sugars needed to absorb protein, causing varying degrees of disabilities.

"During our time in Toronto, Brian would drive for four to five hours after a full day of work every Friday to spend time with us before heading back out Sunday nights," said Debbie, speaking about what would become the family routine for much of Katelyn's life.


"Katelyn didn't know any difference ... that was her life. She remained happy through it all ... it was her laughter and smiles that kept
us going," said Debbie, "Katelyn could wrap anyone she met around her finger in an instant with those big puffy cheeks."
After spending 14 months of her 20 months of life in hospitals, Katelyn surrendered to the ravages of CDG, passing away March 28, 2005.

"You might think that life was unfair, or have pity for us, but we are extremely fortunate people," said Debbie, "We were able to have the privilege of caring for and raising one of Life's Little Miracles."

In her short life, Katelyn received 103 blood transfusions, "gifts" which prolonged her life for as much as 18 months. "We would have lost her in the first five weeks if it were not for that miracle," said Brian. "We are extremely grateful to so many who donate blood." Through Katelyn's life journey with them, Debbie and Brian said they have learned to appreciate life and understand the importance and value of giving blood.

"Katelyn changed many lives and accomplished more in her short life than most people do in a lifetime."

Debbie said over 150 people came to the blood clinic in Leamington, the third held in memory of Katelyn, adding to hundreds of donations made in her honour here and around the world. "Anyone can donate blood from anywhere, anytime and fill out a card to have their blood donated in honour of our Angel," said Debbie and Brian, who maintain a website called "Angel Katelyn" found online at www.caringbridge.org/ca/katelyn/. Canadian Blood Services will hold their next blood clinic in Essex April 17 at the Legion Hall beginning at 2 p.m. For information, or to learn how you can donate, call 1-888-2-DONATE (1- 888-236-6283).

Monday, April 16, 2007 11:33PM

Wow, it has been quite awhile since I updated. I cannot believe that time is passing so quickly when I am spending somuch time at home resting. I am still going to physio therapy 3 times a week but now I only have a limited amount of exercises I can do. Many of them were causing more damage to my back so he has cut them out of my daily routine. He told me to start using a cane to help me walk straight and relieve some pressure on my disc. Along with that, I have to get another back brace for some support. It has been 3 months since my family dr called the neurologist and they still haven't even called back to book an appointment for me. Southern Ontario is so short of medical professionals it is crazy.

Enough of all that boring crap. Here is the article that was in the newspaper about the blood donor clinic. It is just a teaser, I tried to enlarge it and it wouldn't work, the words were not clear at all. Yeh, worse than it is now......sorry


They were kind enough to put it in a pdf file so it appears exactly like the clipping but I have to be sure I can attach the link. I am also going to send it to the Metabolic team in London and the CDG Family Network if they approve it. Anyway, if it is approved I will add it on later this week.

Many of you CB families probably know Logan..........well after finishing 2.5 yrs of chemo, he relapsed 3 weeks later. Please, keep him in your prayers. I don't want to attach the link without Aprils permission but if you know them and have the time they would love to hear from you.

We are still getting donor cards in the mail, this is so cool. Thank you so much everyone!!

Brian and Deb

Thursday, April 5, 2007 4:07pm

The Blood Donor Clinic went very well. It was at a new location for the first time and since they are now holding monthly clinics in Leamington a decline from last year was expected. Another factor from last years clinic was we did not do a radio interview this year and it did not run through the caringbridge community like it did last year throughout March.
All in all we had 137 units of blood donated, 15 less than last year so we are very pleased. The flyers advertising throughout Wheatley and Leamington made a difference and brought out some new donors as well as some repeat donors.

The hall it was held at was quite large and it was nice to be able mingle with the donors. Because of the new location there was some confusion and the normal volunteers were not canceled as planned. That allowed for the family volunteers to be Ambassador's
and assist and talk to others while donating. Of course they utilized the time to brag about Katelyn, the endless laughs and smiles, the many memories she has left them with and how the transfusions affected her life. They did such a wonderful job and their efforts were paid off with some very wonderful comments from the nurses and donors.

A VERY special thank you to Brian's Aunt Marg, my sister Connie, to her husband Bill who even stopped by and helped at the door, my sister Bonnie, my friend Christine who helps annually at the clinics, my friend Nichole who volunteered but was unable to attend because of illness (whom also donates and sends us cards regularly) and of lastly to my mom who not only volunteered her time but also insisted that she be pay for the engraved pens and pencils we purchased to distribute to the donors. To all of you, your time is greatly appreciated by Brian and I, you always take the time to ensure that Katelyn is not forgotten and to help us during our difficult times. You are the best and we love you guys so much.

Another special thanks to the local business' who posted flyers, to Zippy print for helping us get the pens done quickly, the people who posted the flyer on their webpages and to the people who donated at the clinic as well as donating and sending us donor cards. I am going to send you out a pen and pencil set in the mail, make sure you let us know you donated in Memory of Katelyn.

The gifts went over very well, we also had personalized pads of paper to hand out with the gold engraved pens/pencils. There were so many comments from people about having their magnets up still from last year.
One of the newspapers came to do a story about the clinic and took some pics. OMG I even had my pic taken which I always refuse to do....only for my Boo..... I will try to scan the write up and post it on here next week. I am also hoping to be able to update the blood clinic webpage soon.

Well, we I wish everyone a Happy Easter week end!

Brian and Deb

P.S. I didn't take many pics this year but here are a few. Connie, you off the hook, your picture was too dark to post! haha
Oh, notice the 'Katelyn's Dad' t-shirt on Brian???? so cool...

Saturday, March 31, 2007 3:06 PM

Sunday Update:
I had to share this with you. This morning we woke up to a dove sitting on our bedroom window sill cooing away like crazy!
Thank you Boo!
************************************
Hi everyone,

Thank you so much to everyone who left us encouraging and heartfelt guest book entries, the emails from those of you who don't get on the page often, the cards we received brought smiles to our faces and the newspaper memorials were so meaningful.

I know that some of you were hesitant to call, write etc because you were unsure of what to say or write and worried about saying the wrong thing. I tell you, none of it was the wrong this to say or write because we appreciated every effort that was made, especially knowing you put your own difficult moment with the situation aside to let us know you care.
It is family and friends like you who helped us get through yet another difficult year and a very difficult day.

During the day we went to the cemetery and let 5 balloons go, 3 purple, one for each of us and then 2 red, one for each year Katelyn has been loving us from Heaven. Brian got himself some Katelyn food at Tim Horton's, of course his Saturday and Sunday morning breakfast he always had while at Sick Kid's.
After that we went to Swiss Chalet for some more Katelyn food. The short story behind that is that we used to get passes to take Boo from the hospital and would often walk downtown and stop at Swiss Chalet. We even took Brandon with us once and had alot of fun. We have some great memories of those visits. The day Katelyn passed away we stopped at the one in Aliston I think it was, we heard a Katelyn song and I had to leave. Then another time we went to one and they had music outside and heard one of her favorite songs!

My sister Bonnie asked us to stop in on our way home. She surprised us with some beautiful purple gifts, one of which I looked at earlier in the day and decided I wasn't artistic enough to do anything special with it. The funny thing is, she didn't know I liked it and she has it decorated perfectly.
When Bonnie came home from work she went right outside and found one purple crocus growing in her flower beds. She was so excited to show us when we got there and we were just as excited to see it! Of course when I got home I had to check and sure enough we had 2 bunches of them that came out which were not flowered the day before. I guess that was one bunch for each year??
I guess Kirk and the gang also got a visit from Katelyn as you may have already seen in the guest book.



I have one more thing to share with you and I hope I get this all correct.
Bonnie works with a lady who's husband just passed away not long ago. Her name is Nina, a wonderful and happy person who helped with the benefit. Well, her mom has been sick lately and while they were at the Sherk Complex they came across a Blood Donor Clinic flyer with Katelyn's picture on it. When Nina told her mom who she was her mom said she wanted all the donations to her funeral to go to help sick kids like her!!
That was on Monday and she passed away on Saturday. All the donations are going to the Children's Wish Foundation.
Now how special is that???? Even if we don't get many NEW donors to the clinic, look at what happened because of our Princess Puffy Cheeks, how many other kids will be helped from all she endured. That really made me feel so good and talk about perfect timing!!

Thats all, sorry for the long update. I am off to update OUR own webpage now. Check it out if you get a chance, I have some things to share on there, yuck!

Deb

Sunday, March 25, 2007 10

I guess I have neglected the journal. I am not sure where to start since the last update. Not much is new with us but we have few people that could use some prayers right now.

Brian's dad is waiting to have some tests done and could use some prayers right now. We are hoping for some good reslts.

My Uncle Murry, the one who "got rid of me" the day Brian and I got married, got his hand pinned in a press at work last week. He broke 4 bones and the pressure split his hand open. He had surgery the following day, they put pins in it and so far he is doing ok.

KIRKLAND continues to have pain in spite of the efforts to control it with some morphine. It is very sad but also difficult for his family to watch him in pain. They could really use some support if you have time to drop by their page for a visit.



Tayler has been hospitalized and was released after a few days. He apparently asperated and it caused some problems. I don't have any details but do know that Shannon had to take him back in on Saturday.

Our friend Christopher has relapsed after a 7 year fight. He may have to start another round of chemo the poor guy. They sure could use some prayers too as they are running out of options....

You wouldn't believe this but today we went to the cemetery to pick up the grave blankets and guess who we THINK we seen there??? Yep, the lady who almost drove on Boo's grave that day. We are not 100ure though because this lady was in a different vehicle but it sure looked like her. Just wait til this summer when I go visit her and sit there for a few hrs..........maybe our paths will cross again.

This other lady came over to talk to me when she seen us at Katelyn's site. She told me she lost her mother the same day we lost Katelyn. She wanted to me tell be how bad she felt, she was sad that someone so young had to lose their life. I guess for every idiot I think there is one super nice person that some how makes up for them.

It is hard to believe that this week it will be 2 years since Katelyn left. Boy we miss her so much, I don't know how we survived without her. I don't think Wednesday will be much different than any other day though, I doubt we can miss her any more than we do any other day.

I am going to sign off. If you pray, our friends sure could use one, please, say one for them.

Remember, DONATE BLOOD~~DONATE BLOOD~~DONATE BLOOD~~DONATE BLOOD~~

Thanks so much,
Deb

Monday, March 12, 2007 1:22 pm

Hi everyone,
We have been searching for thank you gift’s to handout at this year’s Blood Donor Clinic. We have narrowed it down to a few items but it is really tough to pick something. We want something practical that people will not throw out, something that can actually be used and at the same time remind them of the need to donate blood. We are running short on time so hopefully we will get them ordered soon.

Some great news, Brandon and Kirk are both home from the hospital. Brandon is doing well but Kirk is still suffering from pain. Please keep him in your prayers.
Between your prayers and the loving family he has surrounding him and caring for him he celebrated his 6th birthday.

After being at my niece’s birthday party on Sunday we went for a drive to the cemetery. While we were there we decided to walk through the area around dad and Katelyn’s plots looking for some of my relatives. There was nobody else there at the time so our vehicle was left near Katelyn. There are a bunch of curving drives so normally if someone were to come along they would take another route to get to their destination. All of a sudden this little old lady goes driving between the van and Katelyn’s grave barely missing her blanket and she was cruising right along too. We couldn’t believe that someone would be so ignorant and do that, we stood staring at this lady like she was an alien. I thought that a grown adult would be a little more respectful.

We were torn between being severely angry and having our hearts torn out. Not that I would really do it but I seriously wanted to drive up to the lady and drive over the plot she was visiting, see how it made her feel. Then I wanted to scream at her for what she did but I decided to just drive away as if nothing happened. With tears in my eyes I drove away and went to get coffee feeling like I just left someone walk all over my girl without saying anything. What an awful feeling that is when she is not actually ‘here’ with us. The thing that stopped me was knowing that she is watching over me and I didn’t think she would be very proud of her mom, something I always keep in mind.

After getting the coffee we decided to drive back again, not to yell at her but just to make her aware of what she did. That we seen what she did and how disrespectful it was. She was already gone so we were left feeling like we let her disrespect Katelyn.

The good side is that Katelyn will help us get past this just like she does everything else.

One last thing, I did send the link out to our own webpage to those of you who asked. I guess a few people didn’t get it….if you are one of them just let me know and I will send it again, I wasn’t ignoring you but I'm am unsure what happened to it.

Take care everyone,
Deb

Sunday, March 4, 2007 11:33 pm

Hi everyone,

I can’t believe it has already been a 5 days since I last updated.

We just finished watching Brandon on Music is my Life tonight. What a great job him and his mom Mur did, I am so very proud of my friends.

I have had this Betta fish for past 1.5 yrs. I used to have him in a bowl and this one time after I cleaned the bowl and filled it back up too full he swam out of the top. The next morning I found him on the counter and thought he was dead. I picked him up and he started flopping, scared the crap out of me. Well, I put him back in the bowl and he did great. This fish will eat out of my hand which is pretty amazing since they are fighting fish. If you didn’t think I was crazy enough already………….he even let me scratch his back. Yes it is true, I have a few fish that let me do that along with the babies I raised that will stay in my hands inside the aquarium. Yep, I can make a pet out of anything.

Sadly, my fish died on Saturday. It was a sad day around the house. The odd thing is that you get used to feeding all these animals 2x everyday (not to mention scratching their backs!). You get in such a routine with animals and when they are not there it breaks your routine. I realized today, it brought back the same feelings I had after Katelyn passed away although obviously not as intense. I remembered I wanted to hook Brian up to an IV just to get me through the day.

This is a week of much happiness as well as sadness.

Monday is my niece Meegin’s 6th birthday.

Tuesday in Kirklands 6th birthday. If you want to stop by his page and wish him a Happy Birthday, click HERE

Wednesday will be 2 years since Caillin earned her wings. If you wish to leave a message for her family, click HERE . The page I made them last year is still up.

Also, my brother in laws cousin was murdered on Saturday. The family was also a good friend of my dad’s. It is not something that you expect to hear around our area often and it is very sad.
My sincere condolences to the Wiper family.

Take care everyone,
Deb

Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:57 PM CST

I just read an update on Brandon’s page and he will be on the show “Music is My Life” which will be aired on much music at 8:30pm on March 4. Isn’t that great news, don’t forget to watch it! We seen part of it when we went to visit him at the hospital and it was pretty cool. Anyone out there able to tape it for us?????

Not much else new to report here. I am loving our own webpage. Don’t forget if you want the link to leave me a message in the guestbook or email me.

Brian is working a lot of overtime. I am still going to physio 2-3X a week. I still haven’t heard from the neurosurgeon yet and it has been almost 4 weeks now.

Thanks for the birthday wishes for Brian! He really enjoyed getting on here and reading them. But………no old age jokes? What was with that! See I could request them because I am 3 years older than him…..lol

One of Katelyn's nurses just had a baby girl, they name her Mya. She is so cute and Carolyn will be such a wonderful mom. She was so awesome with Katelyn. After all she had done for Katelyn I am sure that Katelyn will be looking over her family now. Best wishes to you and your family Carolyn!

Thank you Nichole (and Happy Birthday!!) for posting the information about the blood donor clinic.
For anyone who missed it, it will be held in Leamington is on April 4th @ the Portuguese club. According to Nichole it is already pretty booked! I haven’t heard back from them yet relating to any posters or radio interviews for this year. I hope to get any information soon though, I need to get working
on a few things.
If you are interested in volunteering to serve juice, cookies etc let me know soon. I think we could use a few more people if we are going to rotate rounds.

Well, just a short update for now.
If you get a chance please sign the guestbook.

Deb

Saturday, February 19, 2007 12:51 am

UPDATE MONDAY

Today is the 2nd Angelversary for Angel Baby Bear Jacob. If you get a chance please stop by their page HERE and leave them a message, even a name to let them know you were there helps at a time like this.



*************************************
UPDATE SUNDAY NIGHT

Happy Birthday to Brian today. Don't forget to leave him some old age jokes in the guestbook! lol


Also, it is Baby Bear Jacob's 2nd Angelversary today too.
Scott, Angela and family's.....you are in our thoughts even more so today. I know how difficult today is for you and how you have been dreading it, I hope Jacob gives you one of those signs you love to get.

***********************************
I hope everyone enjoyed Valentines Day.

There's not alot new on the homestead but I thought I would try to write something at least. I have been busy working on a new webpage for Brian and I over the last week.
You will often find that many of the parents who have lost their children have a rather difficult time updating their childs caringbridge page. We too find it very difficult on many occasions. How do you keep your child's page interesting enough to keep people visiting when they are no longer with you? As it is for many of us, nothing will ever seem quite as important as it once did when our life revolved around our child. What is there to say that you would really want to hear anyway? Eventually after a child has moved on to their destination without us after a lengthty illness, people eventually find your page not quite as interesting as they did when reading about the trials of your sorrow and struggle. It is all a part life I guess, like it is when we lose a parent, aunt, uncle, grand parent. Having lost a few uncles, all grandparents, a father a daughter in the last few years I can tell you that each loss is different and nothing is quite like losing a young child you have cared for so intensely.

We really don't feel right talking about ourselves too often on Katelyn's webpage unless it concerns something that revolves around Katelyn or other child or person who needs some good thoughts.
Hence the new webpage.............. It is a place were we can talk freely about anything we feel the need to express. It will be a great way to keep in touch with the people that we have met all over the world since having Katelyn. We have a journal, a chat room, calendar, photo page, you can get your dialy horoscope (no, I am not the one writing them by the way...lol), check out today in history and a message forum open for any discussion and a GUESTBOOK.

If you are interested in being a regular on our page let me know and I can add you to our friends list and email the link to you.

MIRCLE MONTH is just around the corner, gather some friends and get ready to donate blood in March...

The blood donor clinic will be coming up soon.............I am not positve yet but I think April 4 or 5th possibly. If anyone is interested in being a volunteer to hand out cookies and juice etc for a few hours let me know soon, I have to organize a volunteer list.

Oh, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kirkland's mom KELLY!!!

AND, Brian's brithday is right around the corner, this Monday Brian will be the BIG 37******leave him a old age joke in the guestbook if you get a chance! lol

Take care,
HUGS, Brian and Deb

Tuesday, February 14, 2007 12:38 PM

Happy Valentine’s Day Boo!!

Boy do we miss you. I can tell that you, Caillin, Grandpa, Ally, Jacob and your other friends were having a blast last night. It was soooo windy and we got a whole bunch of snow. I stayed up until 5am watching you guys play! If I can do it, I am going to go out and make a snow Angel in your garden, it is packed with snow. Ok, even if I can’t back up I am going to do it!

All of this snow makes me think of all those times we drove in a snow storm just like this one to take you to the hospital. It never failed, if it snowed you were going in. I think that you did that just so you could have the wind and snow blowing in your face, you loved that! We never could keep you covered when we walked out the door, you always found a way to uncover yourself.

Thanks for taking care of all your friends down here. Kirk is doing well with his Angel Juice and Brandon has even been playing hockey! Please don’t forget about our friend Vicky, the neighbor who was so kind to us when you were in the hospital, she had surgery yesterday.

We love you Katelyn, we miss you and think about you everyday.
Love Dad and Mom,
(Chance, Chelsea, Buster, Furbal, Wiggles, Askem, Simon and Hope)

P.S. Your pony Hope is having a baby in March, if she has a girl she will be named after you………pray for a girl!
*******************************
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day!

Sunday, February 4, 2007 9:24 PM

Hi everyone,
Meagan is doing much better now. She came home from the hospital and she even made it to school!
Thanks to everyone who kept her in their thoughts and prayers. Mary and the family greatly appreciated them.

So, can everyone hear the music on the page???? I sure hope so, it took me a LONG time to link it so it would open in several different browsers. I have been trying to get this song on here for a very long time.

I want to thank those who left us kind messages in the guestbook. For the 2nd year of dad's passing our family gathered at my sister Connie's house for dinner on the Sunday. It sure helped to be together, we are so blessed to have each other and be able to take comfort in each others company.

This is the poem that us girls put in the newspaper this year. I guess I could say that Boo helped me write it one day...

We often sit and think of him
When we are all alone,
Of all the wonderful memories
That made our house a Home.

Most memories will make us laugh
And some just make us cry
Like looking at his empty chair
And then we wonder why.

We miss the smile on his face
The loving touch of his embrace,
The laugh well known we long to hear
Are some the memories that we hold dear.

Now he walks beside the Lord
On a road made out of gold
The one he longed to see one day
At least that’s what he told.

Our fathers touch,
Our daddy’s kiss
We love you Dad
You’re greatly missed.

{{{HUGS}}}
Brian and Deb

---

Saturday, January 27, 2007 5:28 PM

UPDATE at 8PM
I jsut got news, they transfered Meagan to ICU. They are unsure if they are actually seizures after all and her liver tests are very abonormal. This is really scary for them, please keep them in your thoughts.
Thank you everyone..

****************************
I have a friend who has emailed and asked me for some prayers and I'm hoping you can help me out. Many of the caring bridge family would know Caitlin Templeton and her mom Mary. They visit alot of CB pages and sign guestbook's. They were also on the Oprah show last year. Mary has 3 daughters, 2 with a type of Autism (Kristen and Caitlin )and now the youngest Meagan started having seizures at school, they took her to the hospital and she may have a brain bleed.

Here is the link to Caitlin's webpage if you would like to visit and leave them a message. Visit Caitlin's page here

Ok, on another note, Kelly just found out some interesting news about Kirk. I will not go into details, you can visit Kirk’s page ...CLICK HERE . I will tell you however that after 6 years of thinking he had a Mitochondrial disease they found out Friday that he has Niemann Pick Disease. What a blow this is to the family, I cannot even imagine. So, here they go again, starting from scratch and researching the disease. If anyone knows of any other CB children with this disorder, please let either Kelly or I know. It is always a great support to know other families.

All is ok around here. On Jan 29th is will be 2 years already since dad had been gone. I find it hard to believe that I am still going on in life without him and Katelyn. I would give anything to be able to visibly see them again, hold them but I do live in reality, unfortunately. I AM thankful for the signs that they are able to give us, I have to take what I can get and be grateful. I only wish the gratefulness would ease the longing to see them again right now.

I got the result back from the ct scan. It has been confirmed that I do have a pinched nerve. It also showed that another disc has some flattening to it that didn't show in the MRI that I had in 2000. My family dr had told me there was no possible way that my back problem had anything to do with spraining my ankle , he believes me now. I have had pain, tingling and numbness in my butt and right foot for the past few months, now I have this weird cramp in my butt, leg and calf. It is like getting a cramp in your foot except it is all over, it is pretty annoying like a tooth ache.
I started physio this week but he is going to focus on my back more then the ankle. He did the assessment and he is not sure if he can help me because of where the bulge is so he will start with some acupuncture. In the meantime, my dr is going to try to get me into the neurologist. With the lack of medical personnel in our area (the worst in Ontario), hopefully I can get in with a year. Oh well, if my pain can lessen the pain for some of my CB friends, I will gladly take it for them.

One more person, my brother in law recently lost one of his cousins in a house fire. He was always close to her, please keep him and his family in your thoughts. I am so sorry Rian and Bonnie....

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by and please some back again. The next while is going to be difficult for the family with the 2nd year of my dads passing approaching along with Katelyn's shortly after. The support really helps all of us.

{{{HUGS}}}
Brian & Deb

---

Thursday, January 18, 2007 5:37 PM

I guess its about time I update the page. I am sorry it took so long once again but there is not much to talk about so it seems pointless to ramble on about nothing. Nothing ever seems quite as important as it once did with Katelyn in our lives and I doubt it ever will.
So here are my ramblings anyway..............

Well, this part is exciting.......I got an email from Canadian Blood Services...........we are holding a family clinic in April of this year again in memory of Katelyn!
For this clinic family and friends can volunteer to to be the volunteers who hand out the juice & cookies, stamp the donor cards etc.
If anyone is interested please let us know soon. I am not sure yet how many people we will need but the volunteers will be spread out throughout the day in intervals around one hour long (just a guess). I cannot wait for this clinic, how exciting.

While I am rambling about that, it gives me the opportunity to thank everyone who continues to donate in memory of Katelyn throughout the year. I LOVE getting those cards in the mail.

I forgot to tell everyone on my last update but on January 1st it had been 5 years since I have quit smoking! My New Years resolution for 2007..........to not start smoking again! I quit for 5.5 yrs once before and then started again but not this time.

Last week I went for a ct scan for my back, I am going to the results shortly and hope they can figure out what is going on with it.

I went to physio for my ankle on Wednesday and the therapist is also going to help me out with my back. He asked me more questions about my back then he did the ankle. My ankle is doing much better now but he thinks one of the ligaments has turned to mush from being so badly damaged.

For those of you who don't follow their pages, Brandon is at home doing well with his dbl lung transplant.

KIRKLAND continues to fight and has his good days and bad days. If you get a chance, please stop by his page and leave a message of encouragement for his family. This is such a difficult time for them watching him go through the bad days that follow the good ones, wondering every minute what the next minute will bring. My heart goes out to my good friends and I pray that Kirk continues to give them plenty of wonderful memories to cherish forever. Visit KIRKLAND's page HERE.

A good friend of the family Vivkie just found out that she has cancer. She really means alot to our family. Her and her husband helped us during the holidays while we were in the hospital with Katelyn as well as during the benefit that was held. My mom lives in the country and they are her neighbors.We grew up with their kids and colided with our snowmobiles and dirt bikes while acting like maniacs. I broke her clothes line, ran home, thought everyone else could take the rap and she still LIKES me!! After my dad died, her and her husband have constantly checked in on my mom to see if they can do anything for her. Without them we would not have the peace on mind knowing she is ok there by herself.
I ask everyone to please keep her in your thoughts and prayers, it would mean alot to us.

Please, leave a message in the guestbook if you have time,

{{{HUGS}}} to you all
Brian and Deb

---

Sunday, December 31, 2006 6:34 PM CST

Hi everyone,
I am sorry for not updating again before the holiday, there is so much to write about and pictures I wanted to post. I will everything as short as possible to keep from a unavoidable lengthy update.

We went to the visitation for Alison on Friday Dec 15. On the hwy we stopped at a service center, after getting coffee I turned back and stopped to play one of those games where you try to clamp onto a stuffed animal, not really sure why I went back for THAT! Anyway, Brian ended up playing it for me and what did he win, a yellow duck!!
As difficult as it was it was to be there, it a beautiful tribute to Ally. Shortly after getting there we ran into Muriel (Brandon's mom), so long for the surprise visit to them... There were so many pictures of Ally and the first one I looked at was of Katelyn in Ally's lap at Sick Kids, that hit me.
Please continue to keep the family in your thoughts as prayers as they struggle through a difficult time combined with the holidays.

We spent the night downtown Toronto and in the morning we went to Sick Kids to see Kirk and Brandon. It was not as difficult to go there as it might have been had the two of them not been admitted. I guess we had to remember it wasn't about us, it was about them and their families. It also helped that we ran into Muriel outside and she walked upstairs with us(hugs to you Mur, thanks).
We went up to 7C Katelyn's old unit) first and unfortunately we only see one nursing we knew on that unit! We went across to 7D (her 2nd unit) to visit Kirk and ran into some people we knew there, what a wonderful surprise, it was so nice to see them!

We walked into KIRKLAND’S room and surprised Kelly, it was great! We had a good visit with Kirk and Kelly before they got to leave to go home later that day. Right now Kirk is home and the family had a good Christmas that created many happy memories with KIRKIE . As most of you are probably aware, KIRKLAND’S family was recently given the news that he approaching his final days on earth. I pray that Katelyn is waiting for him (which you have to know she is....her little man...) and that between the two of them along with the other Angels will help the family deal with the change of his life. For now, we can all pray for them and if you would like to visit KIRKLAND’S PAGE just click HERE, they could use all the support you are willing to give.

We then walked with Kelly down to the 6th floor to surprise Brandon who was totally clueless that we would be there. Funny, he was out walking around the hospital! We went on a search and it was great, he was nowhere to be found he was feeling so good. It was nice to roam the hospital again like old times, walk down to Tim Horton's and by the shops etc.
Finally, we went back to his room and he was there, what a surprise. We had a great visit with him and his parents. It was so odd not to hear Brandon cough now that he has NEW LUNGS!!!! We got to watch the video that will be aired on Much Music sometime soon.
FYI- Brandon got home on December 29th for good, just in time for his little sister Emily's birthday!


We ate at every restaurant that I have been craving the last 20 months. Once I got my fill we came home, along with side orders from Salad King! lol

Shortly after the visit we came home we made the grave blankets for Katelyn and dad this year with the help of my sister Bonnie. We are really happy with them, Katelyn's is full of toys and dad has a hard hat with a tractor on it, perfect, only Bonnie would have thought of that!

Bonnie found this for the blanket, how perfect...

Here are a few other things that were at the cemetery when we stopped by before Christmas . There has been more placed there since I took these pics, hopefully I can take pics and get them on here. Her Aunt Connie and Meegin hung snowflakes on the tree Gramma planted!





I wish I could post a video of our dog Chance opening his presents (along with all of ours). He is so hilarious, he rips tiny pcs of paper off at a time and drops them beside or behind him! He gets more excited than alot of kids do. I am going to work on a short clip of him to see if it will work.
After going to visit Boo and Dad at the cemetery we went to Brian's sister Michelle's for Christmas dinner.

My family got together on Boxing day at my sister Bonnie's.
Boo was spoiled rotten and still continues to get special gifts. My mom is getting about a one ton decorative rock engraved for Katelyns garden this year. We have always wanted to get one to mark the special garden so we can't wait.

Brian and I got some gifts for each other then after Christmas we went and picked up a gift we got together. We got 2 butterfly chairs with a table for Katelyn's garden, it is beautiful! They are cast aluminum and we can leave them out all year long.


If you look above at the slideshow you can see some of the outside that we decorated this year. We have some new additions including an 8 foot blow up Elmo for Katelyns garden, an 8 foot penguin and purple lights.

It is New Year's Eve today and we are just going to stay home and chill. This was always such a special time for us with Katelyn.Last year we got to spend it at the end of the hll at Sick Kids with Kirkie, Kelly, and all the nurses watching the fireworks downtown.

Like so many others this year, I bought lots of Christmas cards, hurt my foot, etc etc....and they are sitting pretty in the box still. Don't think that we have forgotten about anybody this year. We will never forget everyone and everything so many people have done to help us.

Sorry for a long update, I guess I will have to keep it on for awhile. I hope everyone else had a great Christmas. We wish you all the best in the new year.

Brian and Deb

---

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 11:31 PM

It is so sad for me to write this but our dear friend Alison DeSilva passed away on Sunday afternoon. According to her mom she had spent the last 3 weeks in critical care at the Toronto General Hospital and now she is with her Baby Duck (her name for Katelyn) in HEAVEN.

Alison and her family have been very special to us since our paths crossed at Sick Kids in 2004. Ally was so great with Katelyn, always making her special personal momento's to keep and making her smile. Many of you may have seen me write about her in the journal or visited the Christmas webpage we made for her last year. Ally was very well know at Sick Kids after battling an extremely rare disorder that left her in the CCU at Sick Kids for 12 months straight. She fought with determination like I've never seen before. Dr Wayne Dyer, a motivational speaker even wrote about her in his latest book called Inspiration after meeting her several years ago. She advocated for Sick Kids during a radiothon, which I had the pleasure of being with her mom during, making everyone stop in their tracks and cry, including the entire crew from all 3 radio station's. She had a special gift to speak for her beliefs. I recently spoke with her on MSN and she asked me for ideas for fundraising. She wanted to help Dr. Paul, the dr at Sick Kids who saved her life, reasearch a cure that might help her bowel disorder.

Ally was determined to get out of the hospital and have her trech out in time for her high school prom, and she did it! She proved that if you believe you dreams can come true. She even got to celebrate her 19th birthday this past summer. She once met Hillary Duff through Sick Kids, once again advocating on behalf of SK to thank her for a donation to the hospital. When Ally talked about her life and how much the donation was appreciated Hillary broke down in tears.

Ally will always be fondly remembered by anyone who was lucky enough to cross her path.
We love you Ally, we will miss you forever! You have left a mark on our hearts.

Please keep Ally's family and many friends in your prayers.

Brian and Deb
***************************************************
Alison & Katelyn~ 2004~after a Sick Kids fashion show

---

Saturday, December 9, 2006 12:43 AM

Hi everyone,

Brandon's mom, Mur has been able to update his webpage now and according to her, Brandon is doing great!
Other than a few stomach issues his lungs are fabulous. If you get a chance you can visit his page

Kirk is still at Sick Kids and having some issues.
Please continue to keep them both in your thoughts and prayers. Christmas is a time for miracles, lets ask for one for each of them!!!

OMG, for all our Canadian friends, have you seen the Leon's Furniture commercial? The one where Santa wakes up the little girl and she says 'Santa, is that really you'??? He wants to know where her parents got their furniture. Anyway, you have to see this commercial. The little girl bears an uncanning resemblance to Katelyn, she is adorable! She has the same dark brown eyes with the twinkle in them, beautiful cheeks, straight dark brown hair in pigtails and at the end she puts her hand on her face just like our BOO! The little girl looks just like I did when I was that age, and what we think Katelyn would definitely look like now. Wow, for anyone who actually knew Katelyn and see's this commercial, you might need a few kleenex!

SO, you have noticed that we have once again taken the password off the webpage. We'll, we have found that everytime the password is put on the visitors and guestbook entries decrease more and more each day. Christmas and New Years is a very difficult time for us, we have some very special memories of the holidays with Katelyn. We appreciate the visits and quite honestly we could still use the support. We have decided that we should not be the ones to suffer because of a few individuals that tend to judge us by our entries, our feelings, not to mention the thoughts of us still using this webpage. Most of the CB families or the people who are close to us know that any family going through what we have gone through also continue to use their page as a form of support or venting feelings when and however need be to get through the msot difficult moments.

Another reason to keep our page is because it is also a form of communication between many of the people we have met since our journey with Katelyn. We can also use our page to communicate about our other CB friends who can use extra support, like Kirk and Brandon or any other family.

We thank all of you who continued to visit our page regardless of the password.

I finally got to do something I have wanted to do for over a year now, I have added quick link bars to the old archived guestbook entries. You will notice it above the journal area.
I am hoping that I will be able to quick link the areas of the HISTORY to certain occasions, like Katelyn's birthday etc.

Hopefully I can get a few pictures on here of Katelyn's garden, it now has a 8 foot Elmo protecting it! lol
Thanks again everyone, we truly do appreciate every one of you!
(even if you are still laughing about my foot, of course I don't blame you one bit!!!)

Hugs
Brian & Deb (and a sweet little Angel with Puffy Cheeks)

---

Sunday, December 3, 2006 3:15 PM

I just spoke with Mur at 2:30 today and got some wonderful news!
Brandon is having an excellent day today. He is off the ventilator now and even gave his RT a smirk.
He is on 60

---

Saturday, November 25, 2006 3:55 PM CST

HI everyone

This is just a quick update.
I have to announce how proud I am of my sister. She took me on a
Christmas House Tour today, you know the ones where you go from house to
house and see them decorated.
Well, for those of you who don't know what she does, she makes arrangements
and stuff for Colosanti Tropical Gardens. People come from all over to buy her stuff.
Well, she decorated one of the houses and it was beautiful. I was so proud going into
that house with her today! Way to go Bonnie, you were like a local hero today!

Anyway...........
In case you didn't see this in Brandon's guestbook, I thought I would add
this little update that his dad Dave had written in his guestbook.

Thanks to everyone who is keeping Brandon and their family in their
thoughts and prayers. He sure can use ALL of them right now.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Dad/ Dave November 24th 2006
07:14:44 PM
Hi all,
Here's an update, the B-man is holding his own.
After a couple of up & down days, Friday was a
quiet day. No significant improvement,
but no downs today.
Deb, I'm trying to have Mur talk to you for a
more detail update, but I think she just wanted
to have the B-man show some improvement,
so I will make sure she contacts ASAP!!!!

---

Saturday, November 25, 2006 3:55 PM CST

HI everyone

This is just a quick update.
I have to announce how proud I am of my sister. She took me on a
Christmas House Tour today, you know the ones where you go from house to
house and see them decorated.
Well, for those of you who don't know what she does, she makes arrangements
and stuff for Colosanti Tropical Gardens. People come from all over to buy her stuff.
Well, she decorated one of the houses and it was beautiful. I was so proud going into
that house with her today! Way to go Bonnie, you were like a local hero today!

Anyway...........
In case you didn't see this in Brandon's guestbook, I thought I would add
this little update that his dad Dave had written in his guestbook.

Thanks to everyone who is keeping Brandon and their family in their
thoughts and prayers. He sure can use ALL of them right now.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Dad/ Dave November 24th 2006
07:14:44 PM
Hi all,
Here's an update, the B-man is holding his own.
After a couple of up & down days, Friday was a
quiet day. No significant improvement,
but no downs today.
Deb, I'm trying to have Mur talk to you for a
more detail update, but I think she just wanted
to have the B-man show some improvement,
so I will make sure she contacts ASAP!!!!

---

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 12:14 PM

UPDATE TUESDAY 3PM

Instead of writing it all over I copied part of the update I put on Brandon's page for Mur.

I just spoke with Mur (Tuesday 2:30pm) and Brandon is doing good and holding his own.
They took the breathing tube out and he is on by-pap like he normally is at night.
They might take one of the drainage tubes out today too.

Last night they put the hockey game on to listen to and when someone scored (alright, so I'm not a hockey fan...)
Brandon put the thumbs up!!! I just love that. What an amazing little man he is, I am so proud of him as I know all of you are.If anyone deserves a chance of living life to the fullest, it is the B-man. He has made such an impact on so many people in this world. Brandon didn't just sit back and wait for a set of lungs to come to him he went above and beyond, making people aware of the importance of donating, searching for someone to sign their card, publicly speaking on behalf of the many people in this world waiting for a second chance. He really worked for everything he believed in and was always thinking of others along the way. When you really think about it he must have saved so many other lives with his efforts, now and in the future because of the people who heard him and signed their card.

Brandon is not in the clear yet so PLEASE, send lots of prayers up for Bman and BELIEVE in them like you've never believed before!

And PLEASE don't forget about the family, they need some special thoughts as well. It has been a long awaited moment for them but this also feels so surreal to them. Of course his mom, dad and sisters love him so much, that goes without saying. He also has some wonderful grandparents, aunts, uncles and lots of family away in Montreal waiting minute by minute for any news everyday, it is not easy for them either.
This is such a special gift for all of them.
****************************************************

Hi everyone,

I am so excited to tell you that Brandon Gibson received a double lung transplant on Monday morning!!!

I don’t want to try and give you all the details I was given in case I mess them up. I was on my way to work when I found out and could hardly contain myself all morning. I am sure I would mess up the entire story….

Here are a few details I am sure about……….They got a call late Sunday night and headed out for the hospital. They played the usual waiting game, ‘it will be another hour’ it will be another 3 hrs’ but they were not sent home this time.
Finally by 6:30am he was in the operating room. They were told it could be up to 14 hours because they would do everything to ensure it was done right, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

By 11:40am Muriel called me at work, it was done and a perfect fit!!

I have not heard from anyone since but I take it no news is good news!
PLEASE, PLEASE, keep Brandon and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Pray that the lungs for work for him for many years (centuries) to come.

I know Brandon has some very special Angels looking out for him and doing everything they can for him. We had something pretty neat happen to us on Sunday, we didn’t think anything of it at the time but it has left us wondering if it was another message from Boo letting us know something special was about to happen and that everything would be ok!

As soon as I hear anything I will add a quick update to this. Please feel free to keep coming back to check.

Oh, if anyone wants to leave any messages for him feel free to use this guestbook
or email me at chicken@netrover.com and I will make sure he gets them. I bet he would love to know how many people are thinking about him.

Although I don’t think he uses it much, Brandon still has his webpage and I’m sure he would get any messages from there as well. Here is the link if your interested.
Brandon’ webpage

In case you haven’t seen it yet, you should check out the guestbook. My sister Bonnie decorated her house for Christmas and did something extra special in Katelyn’s garden at her house.
WOW Bonnie, that looks great! I can just picture her giggling with Dad…..

Take care everyone and thanks for visiting!
HUGS
Deb
Deb

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Saturday, November 4, 2006 12:23 PM

UPDATE: TUES 1:25 AM
I just wanted to thank everyone for the well wishes for my mom. She got home from the hospital Monday morning and seems to be doing quite well.

Also, if you look up above the journal entry you will notice a slideshow of pictures for the watergarden. YEH, it's for real, I finally loaded them!
I had them all set on a photopage and thought this would be nicer than having to go to another link. The bad part is I can only load 8 pictures on the album.

Thanks again everyone,
Deb

*********************************************
HI everyone,

I hope all the kids had fun on Halloween, I LOVE the pictures from everyone. Thanks for sharing them.

I thought I would add a quick update.

2 days after getting home from the hospital my mom had to go back to emergency because she had pain in the chest and leg that wouldn't go away. ( I have to tell you though, us 3 sisters kept her humoured while waiting in the emerge for 2 hours)! They ran a series of tests and found out she has a large clot in ther lung and and a smaller one in her leg. She is going to be in the hospital for another 7-10 days. She has lost so much weight since all of this and with all the pain, she is looking pretty rough right now.Please keep her in your thoughts.

I am working on a project to put the garden pictures right on the webpage. I hope it works, that way you won't have to go to another link to view them!
I am using my dial up still (yeh, I am torturing myself.. ) so it takes forever to load pics.

Take care everyone!
HUGS
Deb

---

Sunday, October 29, 2006 3:52 PM

Hi everyone,

I am amazed at the number of entries being posted in the guestbook. Thanks to every one of you, each and every entry means the world to us.
I hope everyone likes the Halloween page. I am glad my friends encouraged me to put it back on.

This is just a quick update to let you know how things are going.

After 7 long weeks, my mom finally had the hernia operation and her gall bladder removed on Oct 24th. Everything went well and she got home this morning., She is still in quite a bit of pain but at least she is home where she can relax more.

Aunt Marg also had an emergency operation a few weeks ago. She was having pain in the stomach and it became unbearable in the middle of the night and Uncle Dennis took her into the emergency. It was her appendix, they ended up bursting and within 30 mintues (I think it was) she was in surgery. Thankfully she was there when it happened. She is home now and getting better every day.

Please keep them both in your prayers.

In the last update I asked everyone to keep Brandon and Kirk in their prayers. It worked because they are both home from the hospital, thank you everyone!

Well, not much is new with Brian and myself, same old, same old…We haven’t been working on the water garden anymore as there is not much we can do until next year.
We had to bring the ornaments in for the winter, I always hate that, it is kind of depressing actually. We did put some floodlights around it to make it brighter at night so that helped some. I am looking forward to decorating it for the holidays this year.

Well, that’s all for now.
Thanks for stopping by, please take a minute to sign the guestbook!

((HUGS)))
Deb

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Sunday, October 22, 2006 136 PM

Hi everyone,

This isn’t much of an update, I just wanted to let you know that after a few requests I put last years Halloween page back up and added a few more graphics to it. I hope you enjoy it.

The picture (above) is of Katelyn’s Garden after we put the lit up pumpkin in it, it was Katelyn’s Halloween present from Grandma Newman this year.
The picture of the inflatable BOO is from Aunt Bonnie, she couldn't resist it because of the 'BOO'. They both look great in the garden. Thank you!

We decided to take the password off while the Halloween page is up, we will put it back on after October 31. We don’t really like not having free access to it but at least we can make any adjustments we want to make to it at any time before the password is off. When the next update notice is sent out you should get the password with it again.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this year. Ours was OK, we went to Brian’s parents for lunch, then to the cemetery for a visit with Katelyn and Dad then off to see my mom at night. Although we are thankful for everything and everyone we have in our lives but holidays will never be the same again, I guess we just look forward to the days passing by quickly.

I have been loading a few pics of the water garden on a brand new photo webpage. I will have the link on as soon as I am done.
I am also hoping to get the memorial webpages done too so I can get the link on here. I know I have been working on it forever but I want it completely done and perfect, always perfect for our Boo!!

Please keep Kirkie and Brandon in your prayers, they are both back in Sick Kids right now.


PLEASE, sign the guestbook and let us know you were here.
((HUGS)))
Deb

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Wednesday, September 27, 2006 10:38 PM

I came home from work on an early shift on Sept 27, completed a few tasks including mushing the animal kingdom we have acquired at the house, I proceeded to turn the TV on for some noise. Oprah was on the TV and interviewing Senator Edwards and his family who lost their 16 year old child to an accident. I didn’t quite hear all the story, I guess I heard what I needed to hear but since it caught my interest it lead me to the laptop to start writing this entry.

Mrs. Edwards is a very optimistic person who is determined NOT to let her son’s memory diminish. I felt like it was me sitting in the big O’s chair (wouldn’t happen in the real life) listening to this woman talk about her feelings and how she dealt with it. She did write a book which I plan to purchase as soon as possible.

Ok, to the point….it made me think about my life and how blessed I am that I have Brian in my life. The way she explained it was that her and her husband grieved very similar, that’s how they managed to get past the grief, together. Brian and I have our problems just like anyone else in the world but we were great friends for 10 years before dated, talking to each other about our problems in life, you know how the girlfriends or boyfriends drove us nuts back then! haha I honestly don’t know what I would do since losing Katelyn if I didn’t have him to share my life with (yeh, he still drives me nuts and is one of those ‘typical men, some things won’t ever change). LOL

Well, then I thought about all the people in life who don’t have someone to lean on like I do, let alone family like I have or so many wonderful friends that I have met during Katelyn’s trials in the hospital life as well as inside the caring bridge community. I am also grateful to each on of you who continue to think of Katelyn and our families, who take the time to visit the page, send an email.

I guess I am writing to encourage everyone to think about the people in their lives who bring them happiness. Let them know how much you care and how much you appreciate them being a part of their lives. Don’t wait until something goes terribly wrong in your life to learn how much you appreciate them. I don’t mean to sound like a preacher but I know how fortunate I am, if I wasn’t in the position that I am in with others right now I don’t know how I would deal with life some days. I am sharing this with YOU because I CARE about all of YOU, I appreciate your continued support and I would never want anyone to go through hard times in their life feeling alone. I feel that if I didn’t share this sappy update with you that I wouldn’t be a friend. I hope I could make at least one person think about the important people in their lives.

Someone told me last night....
'if I was to miss any one in this world the most .....it would be YOU'.

Yeh, it put a few too many tears in my eyes but I am so thankful to the person who said it (no , it wasn't a boyfriend either!). Then I came home today to see this on TV, coincidence????

Ok, now go HUG your kids and your spouses, after you give them all crap of course!!

Katelyn, thanks for teaching about life, I LOVE YOU!!

((HUGS)))
Deb

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Saturday, September 23, 2006 8:35 PM

NOTE: I can't believe I forgot to tell you how the kitty got her name .......WIGGLES, because that was Katelyn's most favourite show in the world!
No wonder Katelyn helped save her! lol
******************************************
Hi everyone,

I thought I better put a quick little update on here since it has been so long. Sometimes it is pretty difficult to write in the journal. What do we say now that will actually interest anyone??? Nothing seems quite as important anymore and I am guessing that it is never going to change. I try not to whine too much on the webpage but darn, life is carrying on way to quickly and I hate that the more it does the more her memory will fade. I know that some of you will never forget her but there will always be others who's take on it is 'get over it already', as if we should just forget. That's just the way life moves on.

Anyway,
I have high speed now but I am still trying to iron it all out between two computers. Now I can load pictures onto a new webshots page of the gardens. It will be a separate one from the other 2 Webshots sites we already have so that I can load lots and lots of pics and maybe even a video or two! I can't believe it but we found this perennial called 'Sweet Kate" and of course, it has purple flowers! It is so nice to sit on the swing and listen to the waterfall. Next update I should have the link ready for you.
Here is one peek at the stream for now (I feel bad because you have been waiting so long).


We are doing ok. I am back to work on light duty. Poor Brian has had to do all the heavy work in the water garden and now he has been visiting the chiropractor 3x a week too.
Thank you everyone for your well wishes for my mom. She is doing better but waiting for surgery, a 7 week wait!!! She will get her gall bladder and a hernia operated on.

I’m sure you all know now how much of a sucker I am for animals. My mom had this kitten at her house that had the same personality and look of my old cat. I brought her home to keep outside. Well, the poor thing got caught in a terrible storm and when I found her that morning she had almost died, I actually thought that she had until she made a loud noise crying for help. She was soaking wet, ice cold, stiff, had severe hypothermia and was anemic from fleas (she was a farm kitten). I took her to the vet to have her put down, I couldn’t stand watching her suffer. Although all of her functions were starting to shut down she still managed to look at me and give me a soft meow.

At the last minute I asked the vet if there was ANYTHING we could do for her. He showed me what to do, I brought her home on a hot water bottle, got her body temp back, put flea stuff on her, stuck a tube down her throat to feed her and cuddled her (IN THE HOUSE!) . All she needed was a little bit of love, later that day she ate on her own. Today, she runs around the house like she owns the place. She lays on the couch with Brian, cuddles right up to him it’s hilarious. Even Brian like her a lot, she provides a lot of humour for us. I am so grateful that I didn’t have her put down, I really didn’t think she would make it. Even the vet’s office was totally amazed at her health. Without getting into the minute details, I think Katelyn had a little something to do with helping her. I really couldn’t stand the though of telling my great-niece that ‘her kitty’ died.




Sorry about the super long update. Once I start I think I get on a roll.

If you get a chance, you should watch this movie if you haven’t seen it. It is on this link. I love it and it’s inspiring. The Dash Movie

Thank you for checking in on us, we really do appreciate each visit.

Please, sign the guestbook, we love reading the entries.

((((HUGS))))
Deb

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:01 AM

Hello everyone,

This is just going to be a short update.
I can't believe that summer is almost gone. I have so much to do before summer ends and still not able to do them. Have I ever told you that we can grow weeds as high as the garage?? Yep, some of them are higher than the sweet corn in the garden, yuck!

Oh well, other than my back I am healthy and must remember to be grateful. The good side is that I have been able to spend more time on the computer now that I can sit up and have made a few Katelyn t-shirts. The other ones have been abused and I guess the family is having withdrawals. I have also been able to stop by most CB pages over the last 2 weeks so that is another bonus.

There is not much new to report. Brian is still working hard on the water garden. I am going to wait to post more pictures though so you are really surprised when you see it! We will wait until next year to put most of the plants in so they have a better chance at thriving.

Please keep my mom in your thoughts. We had to take her to the emergency early Sunday morning because she had been having stomach pains for 2 weeks prior. They kept her in the hospital and she got out on Tuesday. She had an ulcer from Arthritis medicine which repaired itself, she has gall stones and a hernia as well. It seems everyone in my family has been sick and/or sore over the last few weeks. See, we have this crazy pattern going............lol
And now Brian's mom found out her sugar is a bit whacky too, never ending...

Well, that’s all for now.
I really wanted to drop in to thank everyone who continues to visit the webpage and offer your support. I can never thank you enough for the guestbook entries, they help us through the most difficult days.


((((HUGS))))
Deb

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Monday, August 21, 2006 10:45 PM

August 1 was even more difficult for us this year. Thankfully I was forewarned that this year might be harder than last so we aware ahead of time. How do you celebrate your child’s birthday without them here with you? I know she was with us in a different kind of way but it’s just not the same when you can’t kiss them, hug them and feel their touch. There are specific occasions that will always make the heart break and I think this will always be one of them.

Unfortunately I spent most of the morning angry over the happenings of last years Boo-day. Anyone can do anything to us but showing a lack of respect at our house on Katelyn’s special day will always be unforgivable to us. Because of it we decided not to have a gathering this year, we didn’t need anymore added stress. I felt like I let Katelyn down for not having a celebration.

We took that week off and Brian worked hard on the water garden which I cannot wait to show you by the way. A few of the family stopped by and my sister brought my niece over to put a smile on our faces and it really worked. She always seems to know when we need some extra mushing.

I also want to thank everyone who sent us cards, emails, phone calls and of course signing the guestbook. Your kindness continues to help us get through the difficult moments.

As of today, Brian has the pond liner down and the pond filled with water. I will post pics as soon as it gets closer to completion. I am so excited, Brian is doing an amazing job on it. The birds and doves are getting closer and closer to it everyday. I long for the day we can sit around the garden in the swing, listen to the waterfall drop, the water winding down the stream and watching the doves play in the water. (and the dogs trying to catch fish in the pond!!) Oh, and I can’t forget about the butterflies flying around the garden!

On Aug 4 we seen our first purple butterfly of the year and have continued to see them around the yard. Here is a pic of the first one, it even stayed around long enough for me to get the camera and take a hundred pics of it! I knew it would
come around sooner or later.


I have finally been able to stop by some CB pages over the last week. Unfortunately I hurt my back and have been laying around for a week so
computer time is a real treat for me. I guess that’s my payback from my body for working so many long days and so many hours every week. I do know I have to be thankful that this didn’t happen during the entire time Katelyn was ill. Life could always be worse.

Congratulations to Scot and Angela Mifflin (Angel Jacob’s mom) who were married on August 12. I wish them all the best. They are both wonderful people brought together by Angel Jacob, they truly deserve all the happiness in the world.

If you haven’t noticed there has been another picture of Katelyn added above. Thank you Susan for making such beautiful pictures for us and letting us share them with everyone. You do beautiful work and are truly a remarkable person!

The next update will include the password.

Take care everyone and thanks for continuing to visit our page and signing our guestbook. It means SOOOOO much to us.

((((HUGS))))
Deb

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Tuesday, August 1, 2006 9:49 AM

Heaven's Playground

When children go to Heaven
What do they do all day
Is there someone up there for them
To join with them in play?

Will there be someone to hold them
And cuddle them with love
Will they teach them how to fly
With the Angels up above?

I think I know the answer
And it fills my heart with joy
A place called Heaven's Playground
For every girl and boy.

Ther're Angels blowing bubbles
And music fills the air
Tiny pups to play with
I know they're happy there.

(Charlotte Anselmo)





Katelyn,
Knowing that you still know how much we love you.
Will help us get through the rough days.

Knowing that you are able to do all the things on your Birthday that you deserve, eating cake & steak, running and playing with Caillin, your other Angel friends and all your grandparents,
It might be difficult for us, but that is so minute knowing that
you are spending your birthday in a happy and safe place.

Loving and missing you always,
Dad & Mom



"You are now very sad. But later I will see you, and you will be so happy that no one will be able to change the way you feel."
John 16:22

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Sunday, July 23, 2006 11:43 AM

UPDATE: July 25 4:30pm

HI everyone,
Here is a small picture of the beginning of the waterfall. Brian’s dad came over and helped him haul dirt on Sunday so it is moving quicker! Thanks dad.


Oh, how could I forget, has anyone seen any of those little purple butterflies this year? I haven’t seen one yet but I think Boo is sending us lots of fireflies this year, it seems to be the “IN” thing this year.
*************************************************

Long time no update huh?
Once again I am long overdue. I just can’t seem to juggle working 65 plus hours a week and keeping things in order at home! Wonder why eh? lol
With Katelyn’s 3rd birthday approaching the days seem to be getting more difficult for us too. It is hard to imagine having her 3rd birthday without her and hate the thought.

My mom had a Crimson King Maple tree planted in Memory of Katelyn at the cemetery on July 18. We were very lucky to have it planted approximately 6 feet away from Katelyn’s headstone. It is a beautiful tree, about 12 feet high so it already has a good start. Of course I took some pictures of it being planted and love this one because of the sun in the background. Thanks mom, what a beautiful birthday present for Boo.


Brian has been working very hard on the waterfall. He has been moving wheel barrow after wheel barrow of dirt and tamping it down. It is a lot of hard work but he is so determined to try and get it done in time for Boo’s birthday, or at least close to it. I really need to find time to finish the Memorial page for Katelyn I started a long time ago. I also need to start a new photopage with all the pictures of the memorial garden.

Thanks to everyone for the nice messages left for Brian and his family. There will be a family funeral service held at the end of this month in London. Here is the picture of Granny that I wanted to post, you can really see the love she had for Katelyn in these pictures. Thanks Bonnie for scanning them for me.


Unfortunately we have decided that after Katelyn’s birthday we will be adding a password to the webpage. We have many wonderful people who continue to visit the page and leave us many encouraging messages in the guestbook, I cannot even begin to express how much they mean to us. Regardless of the lack of time I have right now to spend visiting my friends you are still here for us, we are SO grateful for every one of you. I do plan on continuing to visit the pages when I learn to juggle my time, probably once the memorial garden is in order.

I have kept track of the email addresses of the people who sign the guestbook and will email you the password once we add it to the page. I am sending an email out right now to everyone I have on the list so far to let you know I updated. If you are a guestbook signer and have not recieved the email you will know if your name is on the list. Also, if you want your name taken off please let me know.
You can email me at chicken@netrover.com to have your name added/deleted to the list if you are a guestbook signer. I hope to be able to send emails out whenever the page gets updated and when I introduce the memorial websites and photo pages as well. (I do promise they will get done!!)

We do hope that you will continue to visit the page and sign out guestbook regardless of the password. They mean so, so, so much to us and help us get through many difficult moments.

The password might just be a temporary decision and I can delete our history each time I update in case we take it off at a later date. Unfortunately with CB pages there are always people who have different opinions of journal entries so this is a decision we have been contemplating for quite some time.

That’s all, I have to get ready for work. I really am sorry for not updating as often as I would like to. I hope this gets better.

(((((HUGS)))))
Deb

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Thursday, July 6, 2006 11:25PM

Hi everyone,
Another long and busy few weeks again. A few weeks ago I ended up working some 16 hours days and nothing shorter than one 9hr day. I was pretty tired and mentally exhausted so I didn’t spend much time on the computer.
I was on vacation last week and got to visit a FEW cb pages but unfortunately not all of them.

This week has been pretty much the same and see it getting worse so I am only on to leave a short update.

I would like to ask everyone to say some extra prayers for some special people.
Our friend Alison is back in CCU again. Her lungs were badly damaged from
That bout of pneumonia and (if I got this right) her mom said that she will need a ventilator for the rest of her life.

Another prayer for our friend Brandon who is out of SickKids now but is on oxygen 24 hours a day. Please pray that a set of lungs will be available for him soon!

And one last prayer for Brian and all his family. Granny Raymond passed away this morning after having a heart attack last Saturday. Other complications arose and she went to be with Grandpa. Granny was one of the best grandma’s we could ask for. She even ranked up there with my Grandma Newman to me which was one of my favorite people in the world.
We are happy that she got her wish to be with Grandpa but we are going to miss her terribly. I wish everyone could have met her, you would have loved her.
I don’t have a scanner to post a picture of her with Katelyn on here but I will see if I can get one done elsewhere.

If you haven’t seen pics of the memorial garden they are on the HISTORY page.

Good night everyone,
HUGS to you all,
Deb

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Friday, June 16, 2006 12:01 AM CDT

Update………………..Sunday June 18 12:00AM

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all those special dad’s out there.

To the father’s who have special ANGELS they will be missing even more on Sunday, your SPECIAL ANGELS are out there looking over you free, healthy and loving you more than ever.

And to the people who are missing their dad’s this Father’s Day, watch for the special’s signs sent to you from Heaven.

Happy Father’s Day to dad Laforet!! We love ya.

To my dad, I miss you more and more everyday. We all love you and that special place in our hearts will always be empty without you. There’s not a day we don’t miss you.

Brian, I know you are missing Boo so much but you are still the most special person is Katelyn’s eyes, that will never change. You are the best dad EVER!!
I love you Brian.

To My Daddy, Brian

Before I was even a twinkle in your eye
God picked you to be my Daddy
He fashioned my body with a reason and a purpose
And HE knew I needed you to help me through this life.

He knew I’d need your strong arms to carry me when I couldn’t walk
He knew I would need your fun and laughter when I was sad
He knew you would sit with me for hours and cuddle me when I was sick
And he knew Mommy would need a strong shoulder to cry on to support her.

I was whole and perfect, beautiful and charming in your eyes
You didn’t care that I wasn’t like all the other little girls
That’s even why you loved me so much!
You taught me to be thankful for the little things in life,
You didn’t take my accomplishments and milestones for granted.

One thing is for sure
I had you wrapped around my little finger and I never let go
Thank you for loving me for who I am and guiding me towards Heaven
Where I can run, jump and even fly
Someday I will hold God’s Hand and your hand at the same time
And walk together into the sunrise forever…………

Love your BOO & mom

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

"Where there is great love, there are always miracles."
~ Willa Cather ~


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


I know, this is more than just LONG overdue. Of course it will probably be a long update, one to keep you busy reading for another week!

Since I have been back to work I spend any spare time I have outside working around the yard and in Katelyn's garden. We have got alot of work done that we have wanted to do in the last few years. They let me return to work slowly so that is why I am trying to get things dones in such a rush, before I get back into it full swing next week. We are slowing starting to plan to waterfall and pond but our ideas keep getting bigger and bigger. We could end up extending the back and it goes on and on.....lol

I took some pictures now I just have to find time to get them loaded onto Webshots. For now, here are a few pictures of the main areas.





I sure am missing all my Cb buddies, visiting the pages. Thank you so much to everyone who continues to visit our page and sign our guestbook. Once I get into a regular routine at work (hopefully soon) I promise to visit the pages. You all mean so much to us and I can't thank you enough for sticking by us.

Brian is officially on the Bone Marrow Donor list now!!! He had the neccessary bloodwork done so hopefully someday he will get a call to go help someone. Unfortunately I cannot be a donor but at least one of us can.

We did the Mito March for Kirkland here in Leamington on May 27 since we couldn't join the crew in Georgetown. Aunt Marg, Connie, Brian and myself walked together at the marina and we even walked an extra km or more. Togther we raised around $750 to send up to Kirkland's cause.


We recently got a phone call from our town hall asking us for permission to do a short write up about our wedding ceremony last year on Katelyn's b-day. It is for other municipalities and their employees.How funny is that, who would have thought that was big news! For those of you who knew us for the lst 20 years you must be laughing at the thought since it was a big joke about us getting married for 11 years before we even started dating!!

On May 28 we went to the memorial at the Ronald McDonald House. There were 4 other families there but the rest chose not to attend. I can't remember how many families they said there were in total but quite a few. It was very emotional but there were a some people who asked us if they could attend it so the support ended up being helpful to us. My sister took video of it and has put it on DVD for us so we will have it forever. (she is on a roll with her new equipment and is making the family DVD's of everything, even copying the old projector reel movies, way too cool. the best part is I will have all of Katelyn's VHS video's on CD now, to keep FOREVER!!!!)

Here is the memorial that we wrote and chose to have them read while we put an envelope in Hannah's mailbox. They asked us if they could use the end quote at the RMH, how cool.


Katelyn Laforet
Occasionally we are sent Angels to teach us and inspire us to be better people, encourage us to help others and not to judge or be critical of the unknown.

On August 1, 2003 we were blessed with our own special Angel to care for. Our beautiful daughter Katelyn Laforet was born with a rare Metabolic Disorder called CDG- Congenital Disorder of Glycosolation.

Our courageous girl was unable to eat, walk or crawl but appreciated the more important things that life has to offer. The kinds of things that we as adults can sometimes take for granted. Although she endured so much in her short 19 months of life, she always managed to smile and bring some cheer to anyone in need at the perfect time.

She not only inspired her parents, family and friends but managed to impact people all over the world. She has and continues to inspire people around the globe, bringing awareness for the need of things such as Blood Donation.

On March 28, 2005 Katelyn was given back her wings and flew to Heaven. She had already lived her life to the fullest and changed our world forever.

We will FOREVER be proud and grateful for the opportunity to have had our little “BOO” in our lives.

“Children think we are their strength, the truth is they are ours"

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Thursday, May 25, 2006 10:46 PM

Better late than never????
I know I get behind updating but this is ridiculous. Once again I owe an apology to our faithful visitors. This is going to be short but at least I am trying….

Work is work, getting by. There are always the good moments and the bad ones. Sometimes it is nice to be “out” and other times I miss being able to get in Katelyn’s garden and play whenever I want to. I really do miss visiting my CB pages but none of you are far from my thoughts. I am really far behind on my emails too, by about 175 of them. I will get there, please don’t think I am ignoring you.

Mother’s day was bearable, thankfully I didn’t have to work this year. As always there was something special missing about the day, just like everything else in our life.
I did get spoiled though, thanks to Brian and all our four legged animals. I got some beautiful gifts and there were some wonderful guestbook entries and emails from my friends. My mom gave all us wonderful (haha) kids a great gift this year as well. We were surprised with a cheque to do something special with. Brian and I are going to use ours to continue planning for the waterfall and pond in Katelyn’s garden! I am so geeked. We also got 2 skids of flagstone for walkways too. Thanks mom!
Brian’s Granny also gave us a gift certificate for our wedding. We can get a lot of plants and supplies at Cindy’s greenhouse. Thanks Granny!!
With that and the wedding gift from the family last year we should get a large portion of it done this year.

This Saturday we will be doing the walk for Kirkland’s Mito March. We will be doing the walk here in Leamington at the marina since the memorial at the Ronald McDonald House will be held on Sunday. We sure would hate to miss that since Katelyn’s name will be spoken.
We are all going to miss visiting with everyone we met at last years Mito March. We had alot of fun last year.

Well, I’m an early bird now so off to bed I go.
Hope all our CB friends are doing well. If anyone knows of anyone needing some extra prayers please keep me posted. Someday I hope to get in the hang of this “working for a living” thing again….

Love Deb

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Saturday, May 13, 2006 10:36 PM

Celeste shared this poem with me and I wanted to share it all with you for mother’s day. Thanks Celeste……you are always so kind hearted!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to al the mom's & gramma's
Love Deb


Before I Was A Mom

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.



I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin


I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.



Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.



Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.


I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

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Tuesday, May 9, 2006 9:18 PM CDT

Hi everyone,

Yeh, Yeh, Yeh............I know..UPDATE ALREADY!

I am so sorry for not updating. I am finding it harder and harder to update the page without talking about us? Ok, so maybe THAT doesn't make much sense..........I try to keep the page about the simple parts of our lives and there sure don't seem to be many of those parts.

We have done some work in Katelyn's Memorial Garden. We are putting more mulch in and arranging some of the ornaments. I have decided to take pics of the items people have given us for the garden, label them and put them on a webpage. I am not sure which page I will use yet but you will be the first to know! Heck, I can't even update on time, please don't be upset if it takes me forever!

We planted some trees on Katelyn's first birthday at the back of our lot but none of them lived. We had a maple tree that started growing in the walkway the year Katelyn was born too and last year it grew about 3-4 feet. We decided to have a professional come in and move it for us to give it the best chance of living. He came on Saturday so please keep your fingers crossed for it to keep growing. Of course it was planted close to the garden in a spot we can enjoy it.

Work is going ok. For those of you who spend alot of time in the hospital with your kids I'm sure you can relate to what I am going to write. I have had several discussions with mothers who felt the same but thought it was just them feeling 'weird'. It is very difficult and sort of odd to get back into the "real world", even after a few weeks in there. You feel out of the loop and communicating with others is not as easy as it once was. Yes, even for me who used to talk to anyone and everyone, so no comments please! lol Anyway, I'm sure it is going to be a struggle for awhile both mentally (again, no comments please) and physically because of my back, but somehow I hope it gets better and easier.

Simon the bird is doing good. He is actually quite humorous at times. Even Brian likes him! lol

I appologize immensely to my caring bridge friends for not visiting your pages. I still think about you and try to visit the pages when I see you have signed our guestbook. If I haven't yet I am really sorry, I plan to get there soon.

That's all for now.
Happy Mother's Day to everyone in case I don't update before then!

Love Deb

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Wednesday, April 26, 2006 5:35 PM

Hi everyone,

Yep, its an update already, don’t fall over!

Well, I made a separate webpage for Katelyn’s Blood Donor Clinic’s. It’s nothing fancy
but includes almost everything we wanted on it for now. I seem to be out of the “webpage groove”. I still have to work on Katelyn’s Memorial Page and get emailed to our visitors……………….someday.
To visit the Blood Donor webpage there is a permanent link above, just click on the picture.
For now, you can get to it by clicking on: KATELYN'S BLOOD DONOR PAGE

After 3 years I am returning to my manager position at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I won’t be doing the district training anymore as I think the position has been diminished. It is going to be a physical and mental challenge but I am going to give it a try, that’s all I can do. In one way it is scary to go back out there after spending so much time alone in the last 3 years, not to mention not using the brain………that’s another story…LOL. In another way maybe it will be nice to get out there again, time will tell. I believe if it is meant to be it will work out. They have been great about letting me return slowly. After 22 yrs there you would think it would be a cinch!
Wish me luck……….I just hope that I will still be able to spend time visiting our CB friends.

I got an early birthday present, his name is Simon (for now it is anyway). Yeh, we are almost considered a ZOO now….lol I won’t get into the whole story but here is a pic of him.
The other animals LOVE him, too much! One of our cats always has his tongue sticking out and Simon pecks at it when he gets close to the cage, hilarious.


We just got a letter from Ronald McDonald House in London. They are having a Memorial for all the children who lost their battle in 2005. It is on the same day as KIRKLAND’S MITO MARCH but we have a great idea. We will try to go to both if we can and if not at the very least, walk it here the day before if we have to. The Memorial will talk a bit about Katelyn and also hand a plaque to the parents. I am very excited to be able to attend this.

Well, that’s all there is to tell.
Thanks for stopping by. We appreciate the visit and the guestbook entries!!

Love Deb

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Friday, April 21, 2006 12:32 PM

I hope everyone had a good Easter Week end????
On Easter Sunday we went to the cemetery. Some of you may recall that last year Katelyn’s plot had purple flowers (weeds) growing around it, they are back this year. As we drove through the cemetery we could not find them anywhere else, same as last year!

We have been enjoying the beautiful weather and have been slowly bringing out our ornaments & fountains to the gardens. Katelyn’s memorial garden has flowers sprouting up so I am anxious to get started on it this year. There are already some new additions to it and after it is put together I will try to post some pics.

With the 1 yr of Katelyn’s passing and Easter Monday I have been thinking a lot about everyone at Sick Kids. The doctors, nurses, PSA, unit clerks, even the PSA on the main unit who came to play with Katelyn & Mary, the lady in the cafeteria who would run out to visit with Katelyn and I no matter how much work she had to do.
I find it kind of sad that the nurses were not allowed to get ‘too attached’ or keep in touch with the families. It seems rather ridiculous when one of the pediatricians told us that we should feel free to call anytime, that we spent so much time at the hospital that going home would be a challenge let alone without Katelyn. He knew how difficult it would be for us to begin a ‘new’ life outside of the life of living in a hospital when our major contacts were medically related.
It is so sad too the way the nurses were treated at the end of Katelyn’s life. Because of the VRE that spread through the hospital they were not allowed to visit of even walk near the hallway by our door. How can they be treated like that after watching Katelyn grow? Why are they expected to treat the family as ‘just another patient’? Don't get me wrong, Sick Kids is an amazing place.We love everyone there and will always be greatful for everything they have done, sometimes their rules just suck! Ok, I am not going to write a journal about all that again…..

For those of you who continue to visit the page but are unable to sign the guestbook because of those ‘hospital rules’ please know that you continue to be in our thoughts.

We got the medical records in the mail from Katelyn’s allergist who passed away. We went ahead to purchase the files because still wanted to know what caused the anaphylactic reaction she had in May 2004. It appears, from my understanding, that she was not allergic to coconut or milk like we thought. I guess we won’t ever know what happened that night.

We are still receiving donor cards in the mail!! Thanks again to all the Katelyn supporters out there, you mean the world to us.

OMG TOBY, I got the charm bracelet in the mail, don't you know that you are suppose to send a box of kleenex with something like that? Thank you, it is beautiful. I am going to call you....

PLEASE don’t forget to sign the guestbook. I have been tracking our consistent signers so I can email you the link to some new web pages I am working on!!!

Deb

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Thursday, April 13, 2006 12:53 PM

Did anyone see the guestbook??? I was the 70,000th visitor on Monday!! Yeh, just a little bit geeked about it!

oh boy, where do I start?

First I guess I should apologize for not updating. It has been a very busy few weeks around here.
First off I am grateful that I got to spend time with my grandpa before he left us. I was sad to see him go but watching his last breath and knowing that he will send that special message to Katelyn, Dad and Grandma for me left me with a very peaceful feeling.

Thank you very much for the condolences, cards, emails, kind words & gift’s. Once again we find ourselves overwhelmed with appreciation for your kindness.

I am thankful to my family who decided to to have the visitation and funeral after the Blood Donor Clinic on Wednesday so that we could focus on it. Because I wanted to spend time with my Grandpa I did not do picture boards or anything until the day before the clinic, last minute decision but I am grateful that I did.

The Clinic went very well, I don't even know where to start without making this another novel.
Lets see, to make a long story short.......their quota for the clinic is 144, we managed to get 181 people through the door!!!! They collected 153 units of blood after 28 people could not donate due to medical reasons, vacations, low iron etc. There were many first time donors as well as return donors.

There were more than 25 people who came out just for katelyn alone, including one of katelyn's nurses from Sick Kids! Imagine the looks on people’s faces when they heard that! lol There were many people we did not know who told us they heard about the clinic on the radio.

I have so many people to thank and I'm very worried about forgetting anyone (you all know how bad my memory is!). I will not go through all the names of the persons who helped, you know who you are and we appreciate all of you!
~~~thanks to Canadian Blood Services (CBS) for all the
support, making us feel so welcome there and organizing
the clinic in Honor of Katelyn
~~~CHYR radio for the telephone interview which aired on
Katelyn's 1 yr in Heaven
~~~our little town of Wheatley newspaper who put an
announcement in the paper we did not know about (funny
thing is, I don't normally buy the paper but something
told me to pick one up that day......possibly a certain
Angel?)
~~~thank you to Zippy Print for donating the copying of more
posters for us to post all over the county, the many
people who posted them for us. ~
~~~Much thanks to family & friends who donated, the ones who
surprised us and stopped by for the day & visited with
donors, thanking them and anwering questions about
Katelyn (oh, can't forget taking the day off work to
come) and those who could not donate but made a quick
visit to show your support.

~~~ A Special thank you to the Caring Bridge community and all our other friends who supported us by posting flyers on your web pages, writing about the awareness and for donating blood and sending us cards in the mail. There were about 20 people who donated so far throughout that awareness. Your support alone may have helped saved the lives of 60 children!! You should all be very proud of yourself for what you have done.

CBS wants to work with us to hold an entire FAMILY CLINIC next year, meaning the family and friends can be the volunteer's to work for that particular clinic!! That is so exciting and we are really looking forward to it. If anyone is interested let me know and I will contact you about it in December/January.

I am hoping to work on a webpage just for the clinic so I can post names etc on it. I'll see how much time I have. Heck I can't even update my page lately.

On Saturday my mom and Uncle had an Auction to sell my dad's collection of Antique tractors he collected and rebuilt. He had quite a few along with some antique pieces. Each of us girls got to keep something from the farm to remember dad. I ended up buying a second piece as well though. They also sold most of the farm tractors and equipment. It is really sad to see everything go but without the farm running and dad and grandpa gone nothing will ever be the same anyway.

I was suppose to go back to work this week after 3 years but it has been prolonged which turned out for the best. I have so much to do this week to catch up. Since my Grandma passed away Easter Sunday & Katelyn passed away on Easter Monday it is nice to have the holiday off this year, even though they are different dates.

Celeste, I got your package in the mail today!! The purple bear, the donor cards and the pressed purple flower keychain, wow!! Thank you so much, you are so thoughtful, luv ya!!

Ok, another novel because it took too long to update. Geesh, for those of you who consistently stop by you will be able to read a few paragraphs everyday! lol Well, now you know why I didn't get to update.

Take care everyone and Have a Happy Easter!!!
Deb

Oh, PLEASE don’t forget to sign the guestbook. I have been tracking our consistent signers so I can email you the link to some new web pages I am working on!!!


Our pet rabbit, the REAL Easter Bunney....

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Wednesday, April 5 10:39 AM

TODAY IS THE DAY!

Please keep your fingers crossed for a good turn out.
I am happy to report that as of yesterday the clinic was almost booked right up. Needless to say whomever called to book appointments made a mistake.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Today would have been Grandpa and Grandma Newmans 74th wedding anniversary!! I think Grandpa knew EXACTLY where he wanted to be today

Please, don’t forget to sign the guestbook while you’re here.
Deb

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Monday, April 3, 2006 12:01 PM

...We miss many occasions for serving because we lack sensitivity and spontaneity. Great opportunities to serve never last long. They pass quickly, sometimes never to return again. You may only get one chance to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment. "Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now." Proverbs 3:28 pg 259






Hi everyone,

I am sorry to say I read in the guestbook that they are really under booked for the Blood Donor Clinic on Wednesday. I sure hope they end up with a good turn out and that many people just haven’t booked an appointment.

Please, if you read this, consider donating blood. It is so important and so easy.

Well, we have had yet another loss in our family.
Today (Monday) we lost our wonderful Grandpa Newman. It is also exactly 4 years since my Grandma was buried. I guess he wanted to go be with her on a very special day. He had a stroke 2 weeks ago and started to get better but started having clusters and went downhill from there. He had a very rough week end but we are thankful that he did not have to suffer long and the family got to see him while he was still responsive. Grandpa meant the world to his grandkids and he will be sadly missed.

This is a pic of grandpa at our birthday party last year (his is the day after mine), he just turned 93 years old. The one pic is of him picking apples in an orchard.




“Good bye Grandpa……………until we meet again, I know you will be with us in spirit”

Please, don’t forget to sign the guestbook while you’re here.
Deb

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Wednesday, March 29, 2006 10:31 PM

Hi everyone,
Sorry I did not update, I just wasn’t in the mood to write anything. Now you have to deal with a storybook, sorry.

As some of you already know, we went on a little road trip to visit some friends on the week end. It was really nice to see our friends, some of them we haven’t seen in a year or more. Although we really wanted to stop off at Sick Kids to see so many people, it was just too close to the date to stop on this visit. Hopefully next time we will be able to.
First we went to Georgetown and stopped to see Kirkie and his family. He is just so lovable, you want to pick him up and squish him with hugs. Then we were off to another town nearby to visit another good friend. After that we went to Bowmanville to visit Shannon, Tayler and Karen for the rest of the evening and then to Whitby to stay for the night.
Sunday morning we woke up and went to see Brandon. Brian fixed up his old guitar and gave it to him. The look on his face was priceless when Brian walked in with it. After a few hours we went a few more miles to visit Alison and her family. That girl is just amazing, she is so strong willed and has pulled herself through so much. Dr Dwyer, a motivational speaker has met Alison and wrote about her in his new book that was recently released.
Thanks to all of you for the visits and spoiling us…………..you know we are coming back for sure now!

I’m sure you are all wondering how we are doing and I apologize for not updating like planned. I have to first thank everyone for all your support through some difficult days. I especially thank all our faithful friends who took the time to sign the guestbook. Many of you know how important it is to us to read them and you made sure you stopped by the page, we cannot thank you enough.
Thank you so much for the cards, the gifts, the flowers & the memorials in 3 of the local newspapers. It means so much to us that you have not forgotten about us or especially Katelyn. We received some very special gifts that will be treasured forever and mean so much to us. THANK YOU!!

It was a very difficult day for us but because of the love and support of family and friends we got through it.
We went to the cemetery and there were some beautiful flowers and other gifts left for Katelyn. We decided to go shop for a few keepsakes and came home with a dove for the memorial garden and a snowbaby called ‘Message From Heaven’. Of course it was perfect with puffy cheeks, wings and the hands under the chin!

I have to say a special thank you to my great niece Makyla. My niece stopped by with her to drop off a gift. She didn’t feel right stopping in that day but thankfully decided to call anyway and we told her to stop by. It ended up cheering us up so much. She was being so lovable and for the first time she went to Brian and kept hugging him and wanting to sit on his lap. Gee, I wonder what, I mean who had her do that????

On Monday I did a telephone interview with the local radio station. It aired on Tuesday morning of all days, what a nice surprise that was. Too bad I missed most of it….
I was told they are enthusiastic about helping with some publicity for the Blood Donor Clinic on April 5th. Before the guy doing the interview got off the phone he said he would see us there!!!

Today when I grabbed the paper I got another surprise, a story about the blood donor clinic! I wasn’t expecting that and I’m thankful for the support.

Katelyn’s soul may have gone to heaven but her memory is still here with us.
I feel that as a parent of a special child it is my responsibility to make people
aware of things that I was never aware of before she came into my life. I do not believe that Katelyn endured so much in her life for no reason at all.

I only wish that I would have been aware of the many sick children before
I did. I honestly do not think that Brian and I would have ignored the fact
that so many families need so much help and support.
I don’t think that we could have heard of any of these children and just ignored it. We always jumped in to help any cause but when it comes to kids they always seem to hold a special spot in our hearts.

I wish someone would have made me aware of the importance of donating blood. I could not imagine sitting there watching a grandparent, a parent, a friend or worse your sibling or your own child waiting for blood for a life saving transfusion and there is a shortage of blood?
There are enough people in the world already dying because they are waiting for bone marrow, lung, heart transplants etc. Nobody should have to wait for something as simple as blood when it’s free to give and the only thing it takes is time.

I really hope that people will really think about donating blood instead of bypassing the information and waiting until someone they love needs it.
Please consider donating………..help keep the blood supply stocked!!!!
It is a simple task that can help save a life and that is a fact we ourselves know for sure.

Sorry about the novel, this will keep you busy for awhile!
Deb & Brian

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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 11:40 AM

UPDATE Friday 11:30pm

Hey, just wanted to give you a quick update and let you know the bracelets
are in! I will bring them with me this week end to drop them off
to those of you we'll see. Can't wait to see you guys!

Thanks so much Connie for staying at our house this week end with the animals, they are really going to love it! Don't spoil them!

I will update the page on Monday, sorry.
PLEASE, don't forget to sign the guestbook.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



************************************
Hi everyone
Do you remember the Mito March that we went on last year in Georgetown (Ontario) for Kirkland? Well this year it is slated for May 28. If you get a chance they have a new webpage created specifically for the Mito March, check it out visit KIRK’s Mito March Page HERE

I will be back to work by then but I’m going to do everything I possibly can to get the time off to go. Anyone interested in going with us, donating a door prize or wishing to sponsor us your help would be appreciated. If you visit the page you will see that all proceeds go to Metabolic
Research at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto which in the end does help disorders like Katelyn had as well

With Katelyn’s 1 year Anniversary of flying to Heaven quickly approaching, the Blood Donor Clinic in Leamington is helping to keep us occupied. It will never take the pain away or fill the emptiness in our hearts but it helps us get through. We are really hoping for a good turn out. There seems to be quite a few people interested in donating in Katelyn’s Honor at the clinic, YEAH! We are also receiving emails etc of people who have dedicated the time to donate in March and have been receiving cards in the mail. I am keeping track of them but am afraid of missing some names if I start posting them all on here so for now I will leave it. Please don’t think we don’t appreciate your support, we truly appreciate every one of you. I think everyone is aware of how rotten my memory has become.

Thank you Christine for helping me with the donor clinic stuff last Thursday. I had a lot of fun and appreciated the help.

PLEASE, say a prayer for my Grandpa Newman. This past Monday he had a stroke and I am worried about him. Growing up next door to my grandparents and spending a lot of time with them, I have always been very close with them. I lost my grandma a few years ago and it broke my heart, I still miss her dearly. He is going to be 94 the day after my birthday, please pray that he can fight through this.

Please, don’t forget to sign our guestbook while you are here. You might think this is just another webpage with a guestbook but to us it means so much more. We continue to check the page several times a day and it brings a smile to face to see entries in there, even just a name means so much. Caring Bridge is a place for support, PLEASE take a minute to sign the guestbook’s when you visit the caring bridge pages!!!!

HUGS
Deb

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Sunday, March 12, 2006 11:45PM

Now that both Caillin and Jacob’s families have seen their memorial webpage’s I can properly thank everyone who contributed their time and thoughts. It was comforting to them to see that there are so many wonderful people who care for them.
I asked our faithful guestbook signers to help us out and once again so many of you pitched in, visited their pages and took the time to leave kind words to the families. Thank you all so much, we can never thank you enough for not only helping us put but our friends as well. The project really meant a lot to all of us.

The Canadian Blood Donor flyers are going up and most business’ are more than happy to post them for us. We even had a few donors already!!
As well, there are so many caring bridge families who have helped us by posting our own sign on their page, thank you so much for your support!!! As awful as the circumstances are that have brought the caring bridge community together I don’t know what I would have done with out on many occasions. We have met so many caring friends through out our journey with Katelyn.

Don’t forget to keep all our caring Bridge friends in your prayers, we have a few kiddo’s who are sick again.

Please, don’t forget to sign our guestbook while you are here. You might think this is just another webpage with a guestbook but to us it means so much more. We continue to check the page several times a day and it brings a smile to face to see entries in there, even just a name means so much. Caring Bridge is a place for support, PLEASE sign our guestbook!!!!

HUGS
Deb

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Saturday, March 4, 2006 1:2 5 PM

YEAH, the blood donor clinic is underway! I am so excited!

As you can see above the journal, we decided that since so many of our Caring Bridge families require transfusions that we should take it to an even higher level at the same time. It doesn't matter where you donate, it's just plain important to DONATE!
Alot of our friends are in the USA, if you need help or any information about donating PLEASE, email me. Logan's mom and Celeste have been helping me gather information. Thanks to both of you!!

We are calling on our family and fiends to help us make people aware of the importance to donate and get everyone they can out there to donate.

If you have a webpage and would like to post the purple awareness poster on your page please, please post it. Or email me and I will be more than happy to give you the codes or help you post it. Spread the word, pass it along!!

I am hoping that the 'In Honor" donor cards will help us track how many people donating because of this awareness.

Caillin's one year Angelversary is quickly approaching. It will be 1 year on March 7 since she went to Heaven. Please keep her family in your prayers.

HUGS
Deb

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Monday, February 27, 2006 11:25PM

UPDATE TUESDAY

My sister just reminded me that I wanted to tell everyone that I just found Brian's wedding present! I was going through the accumulation of stuff from when Katelyn was in the hospital and found it stuffed in a box! to funny..

You have to check out the colage that Karen made and put in the guestbook! OMG thanks so much Karen, it is beautiful! Love ya!! OMG OMG OMG!!! Did I tell you how much I love it???

Also, I just got an email and the bracelets on being re-shipped again today. They were returned to the CDG Network for some reason. YAHOOO!

************************************8

I guess I am overdue for an update. Until today there weren’t many entries so I just put if off, now I feel bad.

I still haven’t received the CDG bracelets yet, I am going to call them soon because some of the other families in Canada already have theirs. If you sent us a cheque and noticed it hasn’t been cashed yet that is why, I am still waiting until they come in. It has taken a really long time for they to come in but I should explain why: the CDG Network is made up of volunteers, this is the first time they have tried to do anything like this, in order to even try anything like the bracelet fundraiser they needed a commitment of 450 bracelets to be purchased before they could put an order in, then they had to be made and the volunteers had to count each size and distribute them.
Thanks to everyone who ordered them and I apologize for them taking so long!

I still have to straighten things out with the blood clinic to see what will happen. I think they are looking into a media release prior to the clinic.
I want to thank Celeste & also April (Logan’s mom) who have been trying to find out how the blood clinic work in the states for us. April has also posted a script about the importance of donating blood on Logan’s page.

My goal is to get the word out about the importance of donating blood. I would like to make a month specific to Blood donation in Honor of Katelyn if we can, on our own for the CB community. So many caring bridge families have received transfusions not to mention many of our friends and other people around the world, even some people in our immediate area get transfusions like Justina and Lucas.
I am hoping to get some CB families to help out with this goal. I want to track by getting people to fill out the ‘In Honor cards’ and sending them to us…..I will get into it more once I get some details from Canadian Blood Services. If your interested in spreading the word on your page let me know. I better get my butt in gear though because March is a few days away…..
I can’t seem to organize anything anymore, at least it feels that way but I am sure going to try my best.

If anyone lives around us we would appreciate it if you would spread the word and help get your family and friends out to donate on April 5 in Leamington.

Take care everyone and remember…….DONATE BLOOD!

Deb

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Sunday, February 19, 2006 11:00 AM

HAPPY 36TH BIRTHDAY BRIAN




I know today is not a good day for you but Boo is right beside you even though you cannot feel her. I know she is proud of you and smiling at you. We Love you!

Angela, Scott, Alyssa and Kyle and the family, our thoughts are with you today. Angel Jacob, we miss you. We are sending some balloons your way today and tonight we will light some sparklers. We will brighten up your day just like you did for so many people.

We have a few prayer requests, I sure hope forget me doesn’t forget anyone.
~Joseph who is going in for surgery tomorrow.
~Danielle who is also having surgery tomorrow, part of her lung removed.
~Collin who is starting some long awaited new med’s for pain management.
~Angel Caillin’s family as the 1yr in Heaven approaches for her.
Forgive me if I forgot anyone, I feel like I did but that might be because I’m used to forgetting things daily now! lol

Oh the blood clinic, GREAT NEWS…………..

On April 5 in Leamington, 9 days after Katelyn’s flight to Heaven we will be holding a blood clinic in Honor Of Katelyn!!! They are going to have her pictures on the posters around town so we hope to get as many new people donating blood in Honor Of Boo as possible.

I don’t want to post details today but I will VERY SOON.

Love Deb

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Monday, February 13, 2006 12:30 AM

Yep, it’s me again already. I am going to try to keep the updates short, let’s see how long that lasts! Every 3 days should keep them short right? lol

First of all the important stuff.

One of the little girls whose pages I visit passed away on the week end. Jessica Figg was so adorable and the poor little girl went through so much. I only started visiting the page not long ago so I don’t want to post the link to her page without asking the family. Please, just keep them all in your prayers.

Brandon is back home already and on a new med (I think). Chatted with him today and he is doing ok.

Alison is doing good.

AND Collin is also doing so much better too! YEAH, thanks everyone for thinking about our little buddies.

Notice a few changes on the page? Lol I put a few cute things on here!

Oh, can’t forget bracelets, they are not in yet but hopefully soon. Thank you everyone for being so patient. This is the first time the CDG network has tried something like this so it was new for everyone and a little difficult for them to organize and start.

AND>>>>>blood clinic. I called them today and they will get back to me in a few days. I wrote a little bit above the journal but to keep it short until I know for sure what will happen, we would like to hold 2 clinics close to home in Honor of Katelyn.

Our goal is to get as many people as possible out there donating in Honour of Katelyn. With her 1year anniversary in Heaven approaching it would be a great way to honor her memory. I am hoping the Canadian Blood Clinic will want to do something with her in mind. It was nice last August to get some new people to start donating blood and aware of the importance of it.

PLEASE, PLEASE keep your eyes open for some news…………

Thanks again to everyone who has done little favour’s for me lately. There are some wonderful people out there, thank you.

Hope everyone has a good valentines day.


Deb

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Friday, February 10, 2006 1:30 PM

I have been asked for a prayer request for Danielle who has CF, she will be having her right lung removed on Feb 27 at Sick Kids in Toronto. Please pray that all goes well.
She does not have a cb page so I cannot link you to one.
Thanks all
****************************************

Hello,
Wow, it’s been another week already. As some of you are aware I have been busy with some computer projects again. Now they are done I will get back to organizing my house. I am still sorting through boxes and boxes of Katelyn’s medical supplies and narrowed it down to I think 5 boxes so far. We are keeping one of everything
but much of it will be donated to a physician in our area who sends supplies over to some needy countries like Haiti, Venezuela, and West Africa. We are pretty geaked about being able to do this.

I have many of Boo’s clothes sorted already but there is an entire bedroom packed with stuff I need to go through. While we were in the hospital for the 8 month stretch (minus 3 days) thankfully Brian & my sisters sorted everything into boxes and put it into one of the spare bedrooms every week. I still have to go through all that. During the time we were home I continued to add items to the room and was unable to sort through it so there is 2 years plus worth of stuff in there. For every week we were in the hospital I think I got behind 2-3 weeks, crazy but it does happen.

Please pray for our little Buddy Collin, he has been having a difficult time lately.
This week he had some really bad seizures. They were lasting for more than 4 hours straight the other night.

Also, I think our little man Brandon is back at sick kids again already. Please pray that he gets a set of lungs real soon and has a successful transplant.

I have to apologize to my CB buddies for not visiting the pages as often. I have dial up and can only open one page at a time now. I think our server has been causing us grief. Needless to say, working on computer projects and the because of the dial up I only visit some of them every 1.5 weeks now.

Thank you so much to everyone who continues to sign our guestbook, your entries mean the world to us.
And thanks to ALL OF YOU who take the time to sign guestbooks for all of the families of sick children & the Angel's families. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that you have some special angels looking over you and bringing something good back to your life!

That’s all for now. I hope everyone has a good week end!
Deb

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Saturday, February 4, 2006 3:11 AM

Great news, the CDG braclets have been sent out! As soon as I get them in I am immediately going to start shipping them out. I haven't cashed any cheques for them yet, I wanted to wait until they come in first for those of you wondering.
What a wonderful surprise, I got a letter in the mail from Mary who wanted to order 50 bracelets!! I was so excited to get this in the mail and what a pleasant surprise that morning because I was packing and organizing some of Katelyn's clothes and medical supplies. It really means alot that Katelyn is still touching people enough that she is still contributing to the awareness of CDG. Thank so SOOO very much Mary, you are such a wonderful and kind hearted person. I called them immediately and they were hoping to have enough left over to add to our existing order!
On another good note..............that same day I received an email that brought many happy tears to my eyes. Many of you in the caring bridge community probably know Collin and his Mom Julie. They are such a spectacular family and it doesn't matter what she goes through she is always thinking of many other families, and lately Collin has been having such a rough time. I have been very blessed to have met them through CB and have come to love the little man as many of you also have. Well, the email was asking me if it was ok if Julie wore a pic of Katelyn on her t-shirt while she runs for a benefit! Ok, as if that didn't make my day! Thanks Julie, you really do have perfect timing!
It appears that Katelyn has been making herself noticed again. I am guessing that it is because of the many people who will be needing a special Angel over the next little while. The 1yr anniversary is approaching for not just Katelyn but a few of our close friends too. They became very important to use before our kids were taken from us, how ironic that our paths crossed at the same time.
Oh yeh, my point.... Jody I got your little surprise in the mail today...........I wonder who was there? lol Thank you so much for the butterfly bookmark too. That is so kind of you, you often think of us and I love the little surprises we get in the mail! Hugs to you Jody, another wonderful person who has crossed our path.
Ok I could mention so many of them...........
Wish me luck, I have to make some decisions of the next little while and I'm going to need it.
Well, I know there is so much more but I am keeping this one short. My updates always seem so long. Besides, I am so scatter brained and absent minded anymore that I feel like I don't know what I'm talking about anymore! lol maybe I don't....haha
Did I ever tell you that I still haven’t found the wedding present I got Brian?

Happy Birthday to my Great Niece Makyla who turned 2 on Wed Feb 1
(and yes I got it right this time, it's for real!!)


Deb

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Thursday, January 26, 2006 10:13 PM

Great news, for everyone who knows Alison, she is home from the hospital. I don’t know much but it’s great news and so deserved. She fights so hard to get where she is.

Not much new to report here. I have been thinking about the events that happened last year at this time. For anyone who doesn’t believe in miracles, if I told you about everything that surrounded Katelyn you would realize that although there are times that are tough, you can’t lose sight of the great things that happen surrounding them or you will sink yourself.

Last year on Jan 22 my sister Connie called the family at night, dad said he didn’t feel right. We all headed up to the hospital and Brian stayed home with Katelyn since she had a rough day. We all stayed huddled together in the freezing cold room laughing and reminiscing about some fun times. Finally at 3:30am I headed home not knowing it would be the last time I would talk to dad in person. I still didn’t think the time would come that he would no longer be with us, he was too strong and kind hearted to be taken away. After all, things like this didn’t happen to people with a faith like he had right? I know now, that night happened for a reason and I am so grateful that it did. Being in and out of the hospital with Katelyn so far away from home those last 4 months I didn’t get to see dad very often. He always understood and often told me how he thought I should be there with her but I sure did miss him. It was heart breaking to be separated during a time like that, the same way it was for everyone else being apart from Katelyn. But, when needed it always worked itself out and we could be home when we REALLY had to be.

Katelyn was becoming very ill and needed many transfusions during this time. She was in and out of the hospital, often she would only be able to stay home for 3 or 4 days before being admitted again.
The next day, we drove through a really bad snowstorm to get to London hospital, there was no way we could make it to Toronto. We thought the roads would be clearer on the 401 hwy but man we were wrong. It was terrifying driving with a TPN dependant child, along with a fever and diarrhea when you can hardly see the road. I clung to the TPN and pump for dear life in case of accident, you never know and if in that situation and her PICC line were to rip out…….!! It was so bad that we only seen a handful of vehicles going in our direction and there was even a snowplough stuck in the ditch! The normal 2hr drive took us forever. Brian did an amazing job, I don’t know how he did it.
Although Katelyn let us know she was in so much pain throughout the day she remained quiet for the entire ride there as would normally happen. EVERY single time the same chain of events would happen, coincidence or the work of a higher power? We always knew when to take her, then she calmed down for the long ride…….ALWAYS.

Katelyn was admitted and not feeling well at all. This was a Sunday, by Wednesday she woke up happy, alert and feeling great. I asked the nurse to check her blood while I administered the phenobarb in the PICC line (they couldn’t give it through IV there but I could, weird). I felt that it was a strange possibility that we could go home not knowing we needed to go.
Brian left work early, came and got us and we went home. Of course, another snow storm was brewing at home…….imagine that!

The next day mom called and dad took a turn. By the time I got there he was pretty much in a coma state and stayed like that for the next 2 days. Brian stayed with Katelyn and I was able to be at his side although he showed no response to anyone. Katelyn was doing AMAZINGLY well at home this time. Dad passed away late in the afternoon on the Saturday, Jan 29th. Somehow Katelyn managed to stay home for almost the entire month of February, right when everyone needed her the most. Once again things worked out for us regardless of how difficult the next few weeks were for us.

One day shortly after the funeral we decided to hook Katelyn up to her TPN and surprise my mom at 10pm with a visit from Katelyn. Mom was not sure if she had a bit of a cold and wore a mask but we decided to gamble (which didn’t happen often) and let her cuddle with Grandma, cheer her up. It was the right choice because she did wonders, she called her “gamma” 3 times!!!!
She never said it before that or ever again after. She was so amazing! How was she able to do all these things? How did she know the perfect time the perfect thing to be said when she was suppose to be disabled? How could she say words that many healthy kids her age could not say and learn some of them after being asked once? How did she know somebody needed to be cheered up and manage to put a smile on someone’s face or laugh when she felt like crap herself? Maybe its just a mom seeing things in her child that she wants to see?

Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramblings. Another long update but I sure do feel better. Honestly, this was going to be my short update! lol Something to think about………………..why did all these wonderful things happen around Katelyn’s life? Remarkable things like this revolved around her every single day. I don’t think we will know for sure in this lifetime why things worked out the way they did, I am just grateful that they did happen and that we got to see them. It would not have been such a wonderful time for our family had we missed them and maybe we would not have learned the things we did.

Katelyn and dad, you taught us all so much. Whatever reason you were put on this earth I think you succeeded your goals by far! We love you and miss you every single day. Not a day goes by that you’re not on our minds. I hope we can make you as proud of us now as you made us during your lives, we are trying.
Love You both xoxox

Brian & Deb

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Friday, January 20, 2006 2:06 PM

Wow, when I posted the last entry I never expected to get so many responses. I knew that many caring bridge people felt the same about people not signing their guestbook but now I know just how many. I really want to get working on the page that will hopefully help people understand how important it is to sign these guestbooks. I wanted to this week but ended up with some kind of flu bug.
Anyway, I hope that the last journal posting helped the cb community.

I found out that many visitors are new people stopping by the page too, which is great. I have added about another 15 caring bridge pages to my bookmarks to visit weekly. I wish I could get high speed here……..lol
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to sign the guestbook. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that it really truly helped me everyday to go on the webpage and see all those entries and to know that people still care. To know how people felt after visiting the page impacted us a lot.

One thing I didn’t explain, for all you visitors who stop by every few days for an update, I DO understand if you don’t sign in everyday and would not expect you to. Even weekly means so much to us. What bothers most cb people is when people visit the page and NEVER sign. (I won’t go there again though…).


A few updates I want to share….

Brandon is back at sick kids fighting a cold, he is okay, he is in to be on the safe side

Ema is doing great and home now (my niece’s step sister)

Remember our cb friend Ashlee who just lost her mother? Well she had another stroke of bad luck. Her house caught fire last week. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts.

Thank you so much to Robyn (Nicole’s mom) who posted a Memorial page for Katelyn on her PICZO page (I cannot link you to it sorry). It is a beautiful page and it means so much to us.

Thank you to Brenda for putting the border of Katelyn’s pictures in our guestbook, what a nice surprise. Many great comments about it and we appreciate it. I am sorry that people have been posting negative comments in your guestbook. It is unfortunate that people are that inconsiderate.

And I have to thank Karen once again. She not only posted a photo memory show on one of her pages but she too has an entire page dedicated to Katelyn
on her webpage as well! She has turned into a real Katelyn fanatic. You would think that she knew Katelyn since she was born or that she was an aunt or something! Haha She has the cutest 2yr old son Riley, I think Katelyn would have LOVED him!

Also, there have been many compliments about the background on my page. I wish I could take the credit but it all goes to Susan Ott, one of the caring bridge Angel mom’s (you might have seen Stephanie’s page linked to our Christmas site). Thank you so much Susan for not only putting the background on but for changing the font color’s and pictures etc. You have done a beautiful job, we love it and don’t think it will be changed for a long time! I am so grateful that we met through cb, you and Jeff have been such great friend’s to , always offering support in spite of what you have already been through yourself and we thank you.

Please keep my family and friends in your prayers again, on Jan 29 it has already been 1 year since my dad passed away. I sure do miss him and I don’t think a day goes by that he’s not in my thoughts. There were so many people close to him that will also find the next week difficult. He touched a lot of people and made a big impact in his life and I am so proud to be his daughter. He didn’t just sit around in this world, he provided plenty of humour, he was constantly thinking of others and doing things to help so many people, he left behind so many great memories of him. How lucky can I be to have a dad AND a daughter that have accomplished that goal in life?? Could you imagine if everyone in the world was like that?

The next little while is going to bring back a lot of confused feelings for many people around us. First it is my dad, then Baby Jacob who we came to love, then Caillin our precious angel who we always hold close to our heart too and of course Katelyn……….

Well, that it for the update.
Sorry it is so long but since I normally only update weekly I guess I get carried away.
Thank you so much for stopping by and PLEASE…don’t forget to sign the guestbook!

Have a great week end!
{{{HUGS}}} Deb

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Thursday, January 12, 2006 6:30 PM

Ok, please help us out here…. we really don't understand...................

From 1am until 11am Tuesday there were 68 visitors on the page and only 5 entries (2 of them being one person). Then from 11am until 11pm at night on Tuesday there were another 100 people who visited the page and only 3 more entries???
I think I can understand if you only came on to check for an update............and only sign once a week….

It is really frustrating to us, let me explain just how frustrating it is (and I think I can speak for many other cb families).

Imagine you yourself pouring your heart and soul out on a webpage for anyone to see, people visit the page to find out what you wrote, how your doing but don't take a few minutes just to let us know they were even there?
Thats just a few minutes when it takes us hours to do this page.
You get criticised, ridiculed, picked apart and talked about, everything you write is judged by certain people too.............
How does it feel to have people reading the page and doing that? not so good..….. cb families already have enough to deal with.

Over and over again I see families practically begging people to sign their guest books and yet people keep coming back and not bothering to take the time, some people NEVER take the time although they are on the page, inside your life, knowing your life……..

It is no wonder so many of the caring bidge community are putting passwords on their sites which we too have seriously considered but it shouldn’t be like this.

Ok, so you might think , why do you even bother, stop writing if you don't like it.
Well, it is OUR page after all, our support system. It is our feelings, our wants, our needs, and our thoughts, we shouldnt have to put a password on it!

I am working on a few webpages, one of them describing what CB is, some are views from other caring bridge families. I am hoping it will help people understand why it is frustrating to people, why the support helps families and why it is important to let people know you were visiting their page, how hard it is when you are criticized for what you do on your own page, what it is like to know people are there but not knocking on the door to come in........

Ok, so picture yourself struggling with something most important in your life. You look out your front window and see at least a hundred people a day on your front yard because its not fenced in. Only 3 people actually come to the door and knock to let you know they are there because they care, not because they are waiting to see what’s going on, to see what you are going to do or how you are going to react or deal with the situation. How would it make YOU feel?

Another way to look at it:

Its kind of like walking by your neighbour's house and seeing them inside their windows, you see they could use some help/support but you keep walking because YOU think they don't see you, they will never even know you passed by……

Don’t get me wrong……don’t think I don’t appreciate people who have been with us and shown us so much support, I am always grateful to you. I am also happy that people have stopped by the page to learn about CDG, to support us, and learn so many important things about life from Katelyn. I just want people to try and understand the side of the caring bridge community….

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

It is like spring here right now! it is beautiful outside!

I just want to update everyone about Alison, I spoke with Alison on MSN Tuesday, she is feeling much better and says she will be out of the hospital and heading home soon.
She is just as optimistic as she was before! She said they didn't think she would be able to breathe w/out the ventilator but did it the night before!
They had to put a trech back in and the Dr’s didn’t think it would come out this time but according to Alison……..she says “what do they know”… I love her attitude!

I have another CDG family from Ottawa, Ontario who just started a CB page, if you are interested in visiting the page to offer your support, here is the link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/Nicole
Or Click here to Visit Nicole’s Page

One more prayer request if you have time…….my great niece Meegin just recently got a baby sister Ema. Please pray that everything is ok, she was taken to Windsor Hospital because her lung was collapsed….

That’s it for an update……….Thanks for stopping by!

Love Deb

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Thursday, January 5, 2006 7:56 PM

Hi Everyone,

The bracelets have been ordered! I don’t know how long it will take to get them but they are ordered. They didn’t have the baby ones though like they first said, just adult and youth. As soon as I get them in I will be shipping them out right away. I can’t wait, hope its soon.

Thank you KAREN! My friend Karen from Victoria B.C. put a memory photo show of Katelyn on her MSN space. I love it, wow am I ever touched that she did that. To think that Katelyn could touch people enough that they would do that, or that someone I only recently met a few months ago took the time to do that, wow! What would I do without my friends? Wouldn’t want to know!

Did I tell you that I quit smoking 4 yrs ago on Jan 1???? No, I didn’t because I even forgot. That is the 2nd time I quit for a New Years resolution, this time I am going to quit longer than 6yrs though.
Anyway, I’m pretty excited (and proud) of it now that I remembered and I had to share it with you.

There’s not a lot to talk about. I have been de-christmasing the house and outside, that should keep me busy for a week huh. LOL! Thankfully it has started getting cooler outside again so I gave on taking the rest of that stuff down, I hope it snows now! ha ha

Can I ask you all to keep my mom (and family) in your prayers, it is quickly approaching 1 year since the darn cancer monster took him. We just got over Christmas and now many other occasions are going to take their toll.

I was thinking about everything that happened in 2005, how in 2004 I couldn’t wait for 2005 to come until I realized it wasn’t going to be good. 2004 wasn’t all that bad all, we had our family and we were happy, we believed and had a lot of hope. Sure we had a lot of ups and downs but everything always seemed to fall into place, we had more miracles happening around us than anyone would ever believe could happen. We could see them through everything that seemed to go wrong.
Now that 2006 has approached it hit me, this is the year that Katelyn will not be with us for any part, at least not here on earth…………now I don’t think I like the thought of this. I know we will get through it though.

Well, that’s all for now.
Take care,
Deb

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Sunday, January 1, 2006 7:59 PM CST

******CORRECTION*****
Aunt Marg and Uncle Dennis only keep their Christmas display up until Dec 31 not Jan 31. I was unsure of the date (imagine that eh? lol) so I think I tossed up between Dec 31 and Jan 1, hence the Jan 31 error.
Hey, this is NOT a good start to the new year huh, I wonder how many birthdays and anniversaries I will mess up this year, YIKES!


I hope everyone enjoyed their New Years Eve!
We stayed home New Year’s Eve and had some friends over. It was nice and relaxing too. Wow, we must be getting old! LOL
Nothing will ever top New Years Eve last year though. We were at Sick Kids in Toronto and spent the night hanging out at the end of the hallway window looking downtown with Kirk’s mom Kelly and some other parents, kids and nurses. Shortly before we met New Years we met Kirk and Kelly while out strolling the hallway with Katelyn, we were introduced by one of the nurses. We have remained good friends ever since, they have been a big support to us and we will always be grateful to them and the nurse who introduced us. After that Kelly would mail, call and come to the hospital to visit us and bring us munchies. She came to Katelyn’s funeral and even read the poem
‘Gods Garden’ for us.
We met so many wonderful people during all the time spent at sick kids and some of them we have not been able to contact unfortunately. As many of you who spend a lot of time in the hospital know, you create a huge support system amongst each other.

Believe it or not, we really did miss being at the hospital this year. We continue to think of them everyday and really hope that someday we can go back to visit. We love you guys!

By the way, thanks for keeping KIRKIE in your prayers, he is feeling better now!!

Anyway, one of the nurses gave Katelyn the princess crown that New Years but we are not sure which one, either Katie or Leonette. It really suited her and she loved to pose with it on, she was so hilarious. She was feeling so good, it was a New Years we will never forget. I am so grateful that we got to transfer back to sick kids shortly after Christmas! We didn’t even care that we were in the hospital for the Holidays, Brian was with us for the week and Katelyn was still fighting, who cares where we were! We only wish she was feeling better Christmas day because it was too scary.

What a year 2005 was for our family! I remember after the year we had in 2004 with mom having cancer, dad having cancer, Katelyn getting sick again and all the vehicle accidents within one month (and I could go on and on with the small stuff). We were hoping that 2005 would get better but somehow near the end of the year knew it wasn’t going to happen. By that time we knew Dad wasn’t going to make it let alone much longer & Katelyn’s liver functions continued to increase and the small stuff didn’t even stop happening. Then Brian’s Grandma passed away this summer.
I sure hope that 2006 will get better, I really don’t think it can get any worse!

On a better note, here’s a picture of the snowman my sister Connie made at the cemetary. It’s not very clear because it was taken with my regular camera I had to scan it and my scanner only works when IT feels like working! I have another one that turned out great, I will try to scan it elsewhere and post it later on! Isn’t this snowman adorable………………..I just LOVE this thing.


Happy New Year Everyone!
And to all our friends with special needs children that we have had the pleasure of meeting in the last year at hospitals or through caring bridge, we hope and pray that 2006 will bring you many wonderful memories, happy moments and plenty of good health. Try to remain positive through the difficult times (we don’t forget how difficult that can be) and always BELIEVE in miracles!

Don’t get me wrong, I wish good health and happiness to every one of our family and friends!

Deb

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Sunday, January 1, 2006 7:59 PM CST

******CORRECTION*****
Aunt Marg and Uncle Dennis only keep their Christmas display up until Dec 31 not Jan 31. I was unsure of the date (imagine that eh? lol) so I think I tossed up between Dec 31 and Jan 1, hence the Jan 31 error.
Hey, this is NOT a good start to the new year huh, I wonder how many birthdays and anniversaries I will mess up this year, YIKES!


I hope everyone enjoyed their New Years Eve!
We stayed home New Year’s Eve and had some friends over. It was nice and relaxing too. Wow, we must be getting old! LOL
Nothing will ever top New Years Eve last year though. We were at Sick Kids in Toronto and spent the night hanging out at the end of the hallway window looking downtown with Kirk’s mom Kelly and some other parents, kids and nurses. Shortly before we met New Years we met Kirk and Kelly while out strolling the hallway with Katelyn, we were introduced by one of the nurses. We have remained good friends ever since, they have been a big support to us and we will always be grateful to them and the nurse who introduced us. After that Kelly would mail, call and come to the hospital to visit us and bring us munchies. She came to Katelyn’s funeral and even read the poem
‘Gods Garden’ for us.
We met so many wonderful people during all the time spent at sick kids and some of them we have not been able to contact unfortunately. As many of you who spend a lot of time in the hospital know, you create a huge support system amongst each other.

Believe it or not, we really did miss being at the hospital this year. We continue to think of them everyday and really hope that someday we can go back to visit. We love you guys!

By the way, thanks for keeping KIRKIE in your prayers, he is feeling better now!!

Anyway, one of the nurses gave Katelyn the princess crown that New Years but we are not sure which one, either Katie or Leonette. It really suited her and she loved to pose with it on, she was so hilarious. She was feeling so good, it was a New Years we will never forget. I am so grateful that we got to transfer back to sick kids shortly after Christmas! We didn’t even care that we were in the hospital for the Holidays, Brian was with us for the week and Katelyn was still fighting, who cares where we were! We only wish she was feeling better Christmas day because it was too scary.

What a year 2005 was for our family! I remember after the year we had in 2004 with mom having cancer, dad having cancer, Katelyn getting sick again and all the vehicle accidents within one month (and I could go on and on with the small stuff). We were hoping that 2005 would get better but somehow near the end of the year knew it wasn’t going to happen. By that time we knew Dad wasn’t going to make it let alone much longer & Katelyn’s liver functions continued to increase and the small stuff didn’t even stop happening. Then Brian’s Grandma passed away this summer.
I sure hope that 2006 will get better, I really don’t think it can get any worse!

On a better note, here’s a picture of the snowman my sister Connie made at the cemetary. It’s not very clear because it was taken with my regular camera I had to scan it and my scanner only works when IT feels like working! I have another one that turned out great, I will try to scan it elsewhere and post it later on! Isn’t this snowman adorable………………..I just LOVE this thing.


Happy New Year Everyone!
And to all our friends with special needs children that we have had the pleasure of meeting in the last year at hospitals or through caring bridge, we hope and pray that 2006 will bring you many wonderful memories, happy moments and plenty of good health. Try to remain positive through the difficult times (we don’t forget how difficult that can be) and always BELIEVE in miracles!

Don’t get me wrong, I wish good health and happiness to every one of our family and friends!

Deb

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