Journal History
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Thursday, May 14, 2009 10:16 AM CDT
Hello one and all.
Thank you for stopping in our corner of the world today. Please dont forget to sign the guest book.....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET SAMANTHA>>>HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
Today is a very special day to our family. Today our Samantha turned 11 years old. Today her cancer has been gone for 5 1/2 years. Anyone who has been following Samantha's story knows that the extra 1/2 year of her watch is what i was most scared of. I know the doctors say 5 years is the "magic" number to watch but i had to learn the hard way with my mom that cancer cannot always count years the right way.
But today i look at my daughter and see,not the eyes of a scared little girl anymore, but those of a beautiful, smart, energenic pre-teen. I see a young lady who has overcome so much in such a short number of years. Someone who understands the value of each day. Someone who wants to make sure others are ok. Someone who understands that no matter what a person looks like they want to still be treated as a person. That your hair is just that..hair..it is not who you are. That scars or wires don't mean don't touch or hug someone. That everyperson is a person who needs love, friends and fun.
Today when i look at my daughter i see someone who has taught me to be a better person. Someone who makes me want to keep becoming a better person.
Today when i look at my daughter i see the future.
Samantha is my daughter, my hero, my friend.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 11:26 AM CST
Hello to one and all...
I am going to ask today that instead of sending thoughts for samantha that we send them to our Uncle Jimmy instead. He was just diagnosed with a leukemia...they still dont know what type he has though due to complications from another condition he has. The doctors say this is rare and so as many of us know when the doctors are unsure it makes a scary time even scarier....Jimmy is a young man in his 50's with a wife and 2 kids who need him to beat this. So please..every prayer helps and is heard..we know that....Samantha and Amanda are my proof of that.
Please everyone put Jimmy Schroeder in your prayers and thoughts.
thank you for stopping in our corner of the world today. Please dont forget to sign the guest book.....
PS...Samantha and Amanda are doing fine..please check the last entry for their latest update....
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 6:31 PM CST
Hello to one and all...i am glad to say we are back up and running with no problems....
We are now at 5 years off treatments with no side effects to the average person..once in a while we still have some scares but i think that is more our own worries getting in the way of life and not so much for anything bad.
School is going good for Samantha this year..its her last year at the younger schools...cant believe she will be in Jr High soon... i feel so old so fast.....but since i used to worry about her making it this far i am counting all my blessings......and happy for each and every one fo them......
Amanda is doing great also..good grades and friends..a great teacher and a lot more confidence in herself..its great to see...
both girls are in nijutsu and doing great...they started about 6 months ago and are almost at a yellow belt...they go 3 times a week and love it so much....plus sam is doing lacrosse and amanda has brownies...twirling was given a rest for this year and after the winter amand awill hopefully start riding horses again.....she did not want to be outside this winter and well,,,.....who can blame her..lol
things around the house are doing fine....dad and i are holding up pretty good. Hope everything is good for each and everyone of our caringbridge families..your all always in our thoughts prayers and hearts.....
thank you for stoppin gin our corner of the world today. Please dont forget to sign the guest book.....
Thank and god bless,
Karen (mom)
Saturday, November 8, 2008 2:40 PM CST
i am sorry the page doesnot seem to be working anymore..we will miss anyone who can still get to the page...
god bless one and all and you will all be in our hearts thoughts and prayers forever.....
god bless and stay well
the perrone family
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:04 AM CDT
thank you to one and all who made the 3 years on treatment and the 5 years off bearable for our family, All the love and support we found through caringbridge is not expressable in words. Please..for those who are new here or just stopping by..remember to ( if you can) donate to the websites home page.....you will be helping other families who are going to need them in the future, the families who are here now, and the families who are done but still like to stay in touch with their " extended families"
I cant believe how time changes....7 1/2 years ago when she was first diagnosed each day seemed to last forever in the hospital. Then when treatments were first over it semed like it flew by and that the watch years would take forever. Now that its all over, the slow passing days seem to have gone by in a blink. The scary part now is i look at my daughter and instead of seeing a 3 year old she is 10. Her childhood was done in mostly a medical setting with doctors and childlife people for her friends.
The best parts that came out of this whole experience i must say though are "sunrise day camp"...they made both kids feel special but regular all at the same time. They are the best staff anyone could ever want to be near and dear to their kids. we love them all. The other silver lining would have to be sammi's goal in life. she has decided to be either a doctor or child life person so she can comfort other kids who are sick and scared. While i know she is young still and will change her mind a few dozen times, i know she will do something big in her life.
Anyhow..thank you again for all your love, support, well wishes and prayers. God bless one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
special thanks to:
www.sunrisedaycamp.org
www.lls.org
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 12:44 AM CDT
SAMANTHA MADE IT....even though the date shows that the watch goes until September 22nd, the other day at the doctors they closed the file on Samantha and declared her watch over...now we only go once a year for blood work adn nothing else unless a problem comes up....YES!!!!
thank you to one and all who made the 3 years on treatment and the 5 years off bearable for our family, All the love and support we found through caringbridge is not expressable in words. Please..for those who are new here or just stopping by..remember to ( if you can) donate to the websites home page.....you will be helping other families who are going to need them in the future, the families who are here now, and the families who are done but still like to stay in touch with their " extended families"
The girls are so excited about the medical update and also to know they are both starting the school year tomorrow...Sammi is now in 5th grade and Amanda is in 3rd....They both have great teachers and so it should be a great year for them both.
We ended the summer with a 2 week car road trip around the east coast...we went from Ny to NC to visit our good friends....we all had a great time seeing each other again ( they had moved about a year ago). then we went to mickey mouses house for a while in orlando and had a lot of fun there....( that was sammi's wish for when her cancer was gone so of course we had to do it)..then we went to see pop pop in Palm Coast..of course that's when storm Fay decided to see him also for for our days there the weather was not the best but we made due with what we had....then we went to SC to visit our cousins. They live on a Great lake with a private beach. ( need i say more) they loved it there....then on our way home we decided to stop by the great wold lodge in virgina for our last stoppover. what agreat place it was...we will go back there again soon.....
anyhow thats about all for now. I will keep her site up as long as they let me.......
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
Sunday, August 10, 2008 10:09 PM CDT
8/10 happy birthday in heaven mom...we miss you
I cannot get over that the 3rd summer at sunrise day camp is almost over...or that school starts in a few weeks....so the only to say now is....LETS HEAD TO DISNEY!!!
we are going to spend the next 2 weeks driving all over with the kids....we are going to stop by to see friends of ours who moved last year to north carolina....then go see mickey and friends in orlando for a few days before going deeper into the south to see Poppy. Then on the way home we will stop over in south carolina to see our cousins who we only see one day a year.....the girls are all excited and its even better because we are going to also bring our nephew who is the same age as samantha with us...it should be a lot of fun....
we decided to do this for many reasons..one to be able to visit everyone..and also because we are jumping the gun by a month and celebrating the fact that Samantha's 5 year watch will be over on September 22,2008.......
WOW
it seems some days like we were just told about the cancer, and other days it seems like a lifetime ago. While we are glad the finish line is in sight and she is doing well, i know in my heart that it wont really be over for me...i guess all us moms feel like that....2 years from now i will still be worried, as well as 5, 6, even 20 years from now....we dont know why she got it in the first place so we dont know how to prevent it in the future....but that will be my worry in private whiel she goes out and lives life to the fullest...and i knwo she will...
both girls have started karate and love it....they are both really good at it also and want to continue into the school year so we said yes to that..it gives them focus and great exercise so why not go for it...amanda is also still riding her horses and loving it..sammi is thinking of looking into soem new sports to try out to see what she likes or not...and of course both girls have our love and support no matter what they want to do....
so for now i am going to try to pack for the trip...talk to you all again soon...
OH**** thank you to one and all who made the 3 years on treatment and the 5 years off bearable for our family, All the love and support we found through caringbridge is not expressable in words. Please..for those who are new here or just stopping by..remember to ( if you can) donate to the websites home page.....you will be helping other families who are going to need them in the future, the families who are here now, and the families who are done but still like to stay in touch with their " extended families"
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 8:08 PM CDT
fun updates ...
we are gearing up for Sunrise Day Camp's 3rd annual Walkathon. This year it will take place on june 8th at the real campsite. we are trying to get a child star or parent child team to become our national spokesperson..so if anyone out there knows of any please let us know asap....
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=261868&lis=1&kntae261868=96D8B12526B244B78495D9D939249C72&supId=204661909
this is the link (must cut and paste) for our families fundraising page...or if you want to you can go to
WWW.sunrisedaycamp.org click on the walkathon banner and look us up in the individual's box on top under karen perrone or in the team box under team perrone....we take all donations big or small....and anyone who wants to walk with us please join in....
Medical updates....
sammi has her next oncology appointment on the 13th of May....i was told to expect a lot of needles for her since they are doing all the regular stuff and also checking the blood to see which immunizations are re needed for her since most got wiped out with all the treatments and chemo....
the good part of that day is it will be done on tuesday the 13th and not on the 14th.....the 14th is another big day for sammi..she gets another year older and this time its the big double digits......SHE IS 10 !!!!!! We are having her party this Sat on the 10th...Roller skating for all....lol
WOW......i feel like i just found out she was in my belly...then it seemed like the 30 months of treatment would never end......now she is going to be 10 AND her 5 year watch will be done this year also...thats a great gift!!!
... she also has her ENT follow up as part of her post surgery follow up on Friday... so next week is a big one .....
Oh..i cant forget this ....last saturday at the girl scouts girlfest the girls got to meet Alexa ray Joel ( yep...Billy Joels daughter)...she is a great singer also....and very nice..she made time to meet each girl and sign autographs adn do pictures.....we gave her some info on the camps walkathon and are praying like crazy that she will agree to help us out by singing that day....i will keep you updated and i will post the pictures of them with her soon.....
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Thats about it for now. between school, doctors and fundrising that is our days....
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 8:08 PM CDT
fun updates ...
we are gearing up for Sunrise Day Camp's 3rd annual Walkathon. This year it will take place on june 8th at the real campsite. we are trying to get a child star or parent child team to become our national spokesperson..so if anyone out there knows of any please let us know asap....
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=261868&lis=1&kntae261868=96D8B12526B244B78495D9D939249C72&supId=204661909
this is the link (must cut and paste) for our families fundraising page...or if you want to you can go to
WWW.sunrisedaycamp.org click on the walkathon banner and look us up in the individual's box on top under karen perrone or in the team box under team perrone....we take all donations big or small....and anyone who wants to walk with us please join in....
Medical updates....
sammi has her next oncology appointment on the 13th of May....i was told to expect a lot of needles for her since they are doing all the regular stuff and also checking the blood to see which immunizations are re needed for her since most got wiped out with all the treatments and chemo....
the good part of that day is it will be done on tuesday the 13th and not on the 14th.....the 14th is another big day for sammi..she gets another year older and this time its the big double digits......SHE IS 10 !!!!!! We are having her party this Sat on the 10th...Roller skating for all....lol
WOW......i feel like i just found out she was in my belly...then it seemed like the 30 months of treatment would never end......now she is going to be 10 AND her 5 year watch will be done this year also...thats a great gift!!!
... she also has her ENT follow up as part of her post surgery follow up on Friday... so next week is a big one .....
Oh..i cant forget this ....last saturday at the girl scouts girlfest the girls got to meet Alexa ray Joel ( yep...Billy Joels daughter)...she is a great singer also....and very nice..she made time to meet each girl and sign autographs adn do pictures.....we gave her some info on the camps walkathon and are praying like crazy that she will agree to help us out by singing that day....i will keep you updated and i will post the pictures of them with her soon.....
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Thats about it for now. between school, doctors and fundrising that is our days....
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:47 AM CDT
Its surgery time for sammi again..YUCK!! we found out all the problems with her sinus area was actually causing most of her pains....her membraines were so swollen they were pushing her brain up into the skull and causing thepain..so after 5 weeks on medicines the membrains are normal again..but now we know she has a lot of trapped fluid in the ears that is making her hearing loss worse..and in the other ear she has a "bubble" cyst they need to remove...So wed morning she is going under the knife to have all that corrected..if all goes well she should be back in her own bed by dinner resting..thursday she will stay home to rest and friday hopefully she will feel better then she has been in a long time.
St. baldricks went well on the 22nd..Our goal was $10,000 but we had that before opening our doors for the event..my co-chair ( and shavee) Cindy isstimating about $18,000 total...awsome..Thanks to all who helped us out......I must mention that while all the kids who who being honored are adorable....you all must go visit alexa's page...you will fall in love with her......
www.caringbridge.org/visit/alexareenamoore
Now more fun updates ...
we are gearing up for Sunrise 3rd annual Walkathon. This year it will take place on june 8th at the real campsite. we are trying to get a child star or parent child team to become our national spokesperson..so if anyone out there knows of any please let us know asap....
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=261868&lis=1&kntae261868=96D8B12526B244B78495D9D939249C72&supId=204661909
this is the link( must cut and paste) for our families fundraising page...or if you want to you can go to
WWW.sunrisedaycamp.org click on the walkathon banner and look us up in the individual's box on top under karen perrone or in teh team box under team perrone....we take all donations big or small....and anyone who wants to walk with us please join in....
****************************************************
Thats about it for now. between school, doctors and fundrising that is our days....
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
Friday, February 8, 2008 9:36 PM CST
Happy love day....valentines day....or friendship day..whichever one you call it we wish all our friedns and family a good day....as our routine i will be giving blood that morning....in samanthas name...i am ashamed to say i still have not the courage to give platelets even though we all know they are just as important to give....
things here have been crazy and i am sorry for not updating as often as i want to...samantha has been getting those migraines again so the nurologist had her go for an MRI which showed the brain cyst has not changed..but it showed major sinus problems..sooooooo..off to the ENT we went where they found she has blocked fluid in her ear and a small percentage of hearing loss (which we are praying is nothing permanent)..2 opions were discussed..either a few weeks of antibotics and pray the infections and fluid go away..if not it will mean surgery for sammi once again for ear tubes, tonsils and adenoids to get cut out and have the sinus membranes scraped clean..then all the great stuff they get out will be biopsied as always and hopefully that will make her headaches go away as well. Oh yeah..to see why her sinuses acted up inthe first place we are also going to an allergist to do the 52 skin prick test on her...they are going to do amanda also since her asthma has been acting up again after almost a year of being nonexistant.....things here are never "small" when it comes to medical....
for fun updates we are gearing up for Sunrise 3rd annual Walkathon. This year it will take place on june 8th at the real campsite. we are trying to get a child star or parent child team to become our national spokesperson..so if anyone out there knows of any please let us know asap....
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=261868&lis=1&kntae261868=96D8B12526B244B78495D9D939249C72&supId=204661909
this is the link( must cut and paste) for our families fundraising page...or if you want to you can go to
WWW.sunrisedaycamp.org click on the walkathon banner and look us up in the individual's box on top under karen perrone or in teh team box under team perrone....we take all donations big or small....and anyone who wnats to wlak with us please join in....
****************************************************
Thats about it for now. between school, doctors and fundrising that is our days....
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
Sunday, December 30, 2007 12:03 AM CST
wow..I cant believe the holidays came and went already. The girls were spoiled again ( what else is new..lol) Mike and me had a good time seeing them smile and having fun. The thing i think we all liked best was getting the WII system from santa. They have been playing for hours every day nonstop....it has given us a lot of family time again..i mean the kids want to play with the folks...how great is that..lol.
the other gift they really had fun with was getting to go see the Hannah Montana/miley cyrus concert. Sam took her new digital camera and took over 400 pictures....she filled an entire album....hahahaha
Now to get ready to write 2008 instead of 2007. Hopefully this year brings good things. Samantha is still getting her headaches and we are bringing her in soon for an MRI of the brain to see why they are getting worse but the docs dont seem to worried about the cyst that is still in there. Guess we will know more after the scans..i will let you know how they go.
the best part of 2008 will be in september. That will be the officail end of her 5 year watch and her real return to "Normal" life. I can t wait till then but i gotta ask...will it ever seem like Normal again????
The camp is getting ready early for the walkathon. This year it will take place on june 8th at the real campsite. we are trying to get a child star or parent child team to become our national spokesperson..so if anyone out there knows of any please let us know asap....
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Thats about it for now. between school and fundrising that is our days....
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
Saturday, September 22, 2007 3:21 PM CDT
Wow..another year down and the last one coming up. In many ways it seems she was just diagnosed and the thought of 30 months of treatment seemed so long...then the thought of a five year watch seemed longer then you could imagine and now we are in the last part of it...i cannot believe how time plays games with people. Looking back it seems like yesterday this whole journey started but at the same times it seems like a lifetime ago...i guess unless you have walked the path its hard to understand.
Thank you to one and all who have ever supported Samantha in prayer, thoughts, fundraising or any other way. your support helped make this road more bearable....we love you all....
Samantha started the 4th grade this year and amanda is in the 2nd. Thats just another example of how time flew by.
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LIGHT THE NIGHT and WALK with us.....
http://www.active.com/donate/ltnMelvil/2074_sammip ( team link for donations or to join our walk team)
we will be walking on September 28th ( fri night) at the citibank park ( where the LI Ducks play). all walkers get to carry a balloon...white for surviviors and red for caregivers and friends...its really a great night for all....
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Thats about it for now. between school and fundrising that is our days....
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
Friday, June 29, 2007 8:01 AM CDT
Well..we did it..Team "ALL 4 SAMMI" made a big fun splat in the jello. The jello event started off nicely but the weather turned nasty and put us into a rain delay for about 30 minutes. however once that was over with the kids all had a fun time. Everyone on the team already started taking about when they do it again next year...lol
thank you to everyone who helped the team not only reach but go way over the goals set. between all the jumpers our team brought in a total of cash and prizes over $2,000.....
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For those who know our family you know that just because jello is over does not mean we are through fundraising...lol ...so let me get you all ready early..its time to now
LIGHT THE NIGHT and WALK with us.....
http://www.active.com/donate/ltnMelvil/2074_sammip ( team link for donations or to join our walk team)
we will be walking on September 28th ( fri night) at the citibank park ( where the LI Ducks play). all walkers get to carry a balloon...white for surviviors and red for caregivers and friends...its really a great night for all....
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Camp Sunrise Day camp opened yesterday with a great time....I cannot tell you how happy my kids were to be back there....for those who dont know..Sunrise is the first day camp of its kind in the nation...it is a full day camp for cancer kids and siblings located right here on Long Island....
we are honored to be a part of them and to be allowed to help them with different projects. they are run on 100 onations only and do not charge the families any fees. camp includes swimming, arts and crafts, music and drama, games and sports, and much more. The counslers there are great at dishing out the love and support and the kids are all great friends from day one....hats off to them all. if anyone is interested in more infor on the camp or wants to donate any items or money please visit their site at
www.sunrisedaycamp.org
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Thats about it for now. between camp and fundrising that is our summer for the most part....
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
come back soon
Thursday, June 7, 2007 11:17 AM CDT
Its JELLO TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....grab your towels, donations and dive right in.....
http://www.active.com/donate/2007gellohilton/samanthap
Here is this years link for Samantha's team....each person on her team is hopefully going to reach their goal of a minimum of $250 each and as CAPTAIN Sammi wants to do her $1,000 so hopefully we will have a great jello turnout this year. Also another reason Sammi really wants to make goal this year is she is was names Honored Patient for this years jump. Of course you all know that means we need your help. Please help us pass this link around to everyone you know so the donations will come in strong and steady until the final day.
HELP US HELP ALL THE KIDS AND LETS FUND A CURE!!!
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For the Regional baton twirling results......Samantha's team took first place out of the 11 teams who made it.
In her favorite solo event Sammi took 2nd place in the region out of 13 kids. A girl from Maryland beat her out by only 3 points..Ouch!! hehehe..... we are very proud of Samantha for all she has accomplished.
Another BIG EVENT to report about is a national contest from the Kohls departmetn stores...it is called "kids who care" contest. Samantha was nominated by some family members,organizations and friends. We were just notified that she did win on the store level and is now in the running to be named either a state of national winner. If she makes it up to and wins a higher level she will be awarded up to a $5,000 college scholarship fund. Please keep your fingers crossed for my amazing girl.
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As for as how the rest of life is going..things have been very emotional for Sammi right now. Her best friend just moved away from our area to head down south with her family and the loss is hard on her. Last year 3 of her friends moved which was hard but she still had her best friend. Now she is feeling very alone. Its very hard on me as well since her frineds mom was one of my closest friends. I hate watching my girl hurting and knowing only time can help. It broke my heart though when she asked my why all her friends either move away or die. Too much loss age age 9....i told her i agree with her that life can really suck at times. Thats when she repeated to me what we always said at medical times..."if it does not kill ya..it strengthens ya."
The school year is almost out...2 more weeks adn then thank goodness "sunrise Day Camp" starts again the next week. I really believe that is what will make Samantha get over her friend moving. They will keep her too busy to think about anything else. ( i hope...i hope)
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Little sister Amanda is doing good right now. She is doing well in school. This weekend she will be in her first horse show for beginner riders. I cannot believe it..we started her lessons for her 5th birthday but never thought she would love it so much....
pictures from twirling and the horse show will be posted hopefully soon.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 10:16 AM CDT
***ADDED MAY 12,2007****
Happy birthday to Sammi
Happy birthday to Sammi
Happy 9th birthday to Sammi
happy birthday to Sammi.....
And Many Many MAny more......................
Survior 2007 club would like to introduce their newest member...Sammi....yes its official...Samantha's doctors now put her into what they call generation "S" at the hospital....we now have checkups every 6 months for the next 1 1/2 years and then its just once a year. WOW!! never thought we would get here..funny looking back each day crept so long and slow but looking back at it as a whole it went by fast...i guess its true..time is related to whats going on when.
The school year is in its last semester....i cant beleive summer is almost here....the girls are really looking forward to going back to camp sunrise..its a great place staffed with really great people.
Before the school year can end though we will be having Sam's 9th birthday party..i cant get over that i have a nine year old..when did i get so old???? yuck!!
Anyhow she decided on a pool party with a ton of close friends so it should be nice.....i will report after mothers day weekend. While we are talking about pools and splashing let me say.....
Its JELLO TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....grab your towels, donations and dive right in.....
http://www.active.com/donate/2007gellohilton/samanthap
Here is this years link for Samantha's team....each person on her team is hopefully going to reach their goal of a minimum of $250 each and as captain Sammi wants to do her $1,000 so hopefully we will have a great jello turnout this year. Of course you all know that means we need your help. Please help us pass this link around to everyone you know so the donations will come in strong and steady until the final day.
HELP US HELP ALL THE KIDS AND LETS FUND A CURE!!!
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:52 PM CDT
*** UPDATE as of 3/20/07*****
Urgent prayers needed for a little girl in the florida area....
http://www.care4jessicarose.org/
the family can use all the prayers and support they can get...and we all know what thats like....lets show them the caringbridge family support...
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So …for those who don’t know….It was six years ago this month..( the 22nd to be exact) that our family got the news of Samantha’s illness. Six years ago our world turned upside down and never did we think it would be right again. Happily we can say though that we were proven wrong and things do improve with time. At least for us it did. We all know that unfortunately not all families get their happy ending. That is why this years jello jump is important to Samantha and our family. As you can tell from the above link we have a little friend who is still in the hospital and needs our prayers. Our other great friend is now down at St. Judes Hospital ( for those who know her it’s the other Samantha) and she is undergoing major treatments and surgerys still. ( hello Sammi S…we love you and pray for you each and every day…)
Sammi talked last week at a different fundraiser and I think she made a great impact on people when she said “ people hear that me or other kids are in remission and think that its all over for us and they are happy we are ok. However it is not really over for us. I don’t think it ever will be. We are always scared that our bad germs will one day wake up and it will start all over again. the needles, finger sticks and all that time back in a hospital bed. I don’t think that fear will ever really be over for any cancer kid.” After I wiped my own tears away I was amazed at this little girl who was my daughter. She may only be 8 years old but she is much wiser then most adults in many ways. With that in mind let me say…..
Its JELLO TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE....grab your towels, donations and dive right in.....
http://www.active.com/donate/2007gellohilton/samanthap
Here is this years link for Samantha's team....each person on her team is hopefully going to reach their goal of a minimum of $250 each and as captain Sammi wants to do her $1,000 so hopefully we will have a great jello turnout this year. Of course you all know that means we need your help. Please help us pass this link around to everyone you know so the donations will come in strong and steady until the final day.
HELP US HELP ALL THE KIDS AND LETS FUND A CURE!!!
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 11:43 AM CST
*** UPDATE as of 1/4/07*****
Urgent prayers needed for a little girl in the florida area....
http://www.care4jessicarose.org/
the family can use all the prayers and support they can get...and we all know what thats like....lets show them the caringbridge family support...
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Wow..its March again. This month will mark 6 years since sammi first got diagnosed. That day seems so far away and so close at the same time. Its really scary how time can change but yet it never really does. 6 Years agao i could not imagine this day. It was so far out of reach to me. Yet now that its here it went by fast.
On other notes....Samantha competed in her first competition of the new season for twirling. She walked away with a first place win in dance twirl and solo for her age group. we are all very happy for her. She was happy also but told me she did not think it was her best day so she wants to do even better ont he floor next time. She is her own worst critic...lol
School is still going really well for both Samantha and Amanda....doing well in class and learning hard..Amadna is also still doing her horses and loving them. I think she wants to be a jockey one day..lol..
Well, thats about all for now.Short and sweet this month.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Friday, February 9, 2007 1:11 PM CST
*** UPDATE as of 1/4/07*****
Urgent prayers needed for a little girl in the florida area....
http://www.care4jessicarose.org/
the family can use all the prayers and support they can get...and we all know what thats like....lets show them the caringbridge family support...
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I really cannot get over that it is almost Feb already. All that planning and shopping and the holidays bew over as fast as could be. Well now we will all have some quiet ..at least till Sept when it all starts again...lol what a circle we lead....
Well, 2007 has gotten off to a great start for my girls. Samantha's health seems to be holding well and she continues to be strong and well. School this year got off to a little bit of a rocky start but she has since started to really bring up her grades adn likes her teacher more that any others she has had so thats good. She is eager to please this one so it really shows in her neatness and work time. Twiling season is coming up soon adn she is also eager for that. This year she will be competiting in teams, regular solo and advanced, Dance twirl and marching. We will let you know how she does after she competes.
Amanda is also having a great year so far. Her asthma is not stopping her from doing all she loves to do. While she has had a bad cough for over a month now she still rides her horses and loves it. She really wants to start doing the beginning horse shows this year so we may let her. School is good. She also loves her teacher and wants to do a good job for her. Extra reading and assignments are enjoyed by her very much and she is like a sponge...soaks it all up and retains it all..what a memory this one has.
Family stuff is same as always..i am busy working on the Casino Royale night for the Leukemia society and next we will be working on the jello jump for all in the long island ny area. Anyone who would like to help out just let me know. I am also sending out my resume in hopes of finding a full time teaching job soon. Mike is working hard as always. Never complains just goes with the flow. I ask myself a lot how i got lucky enough to have such a great guy in my life. With Valentines Day coming up i will planning a special surprise for him. he deserves it.
Well, thats about all for now.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Thursday, January 25, 2007 10:24 AM CST
*** UPDATE as of 1/4/07*****
Urgent prayers needed for a little girl in the florida area....
http://www.care4jessicarose.org/
the family can use all the prayers and support they can get...and we all know what thats like....lets show them the caringbridge family support...
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I really cannot get over that it is almost Feb already. All that planning and shopping and the holidays bew over as fast as could be. Well now we will all have some quiet ..at least till Sept when it all starts again...lol what a circle we lead....
Well, 2007 has gotten off to a great start for my girls. Samantha's health seems to be holding well and she continues to be strong and well. School this year got off to a little bit of a rocky start but she has since started to really bring up her grades adn likes her teacher more that any others she has had so thats good. She is eager to please this one so it really shows in her neatness and work time. Twiling season is coming up soon adn she is also eager for that. This year she will be competiting in teams, regular solo and advanced, Dance twirl and marching. We will let you know how she does after she competes.
Amanda is also having a great year so far. Her asthma is not stopping her from doing all she loves to do. While she has had a bad cough for over a month now she still rides her horses and loves it. She really wants to start doing the beginning horse shows this year so we may let her. School is good. She also loves her teacher and wants to do a good job for her. Extra reading and assignments are enjoyed by her very much and she is like a sponge...soaks it all up and retains it all..what a memory this one has.
Family stuff is same as always..i am busy working on the Casino Royale night for the Leukemia society and next we will be working on the jello jump for all in the long island ny area. Anyone who would like to help out just let me know. I am also sending out my resume in hopes of finding a full time teaching job soon. Mike is working hard as always. Never complains just goes with the flow. I ask myself a lot how i got lucky enough to have such a great guy in my life. With Valentines Day coming up i will planning a special surprise for him. he deserves it.
Well, thats about all for now.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Friday, December 29, 2006 11:33 AM CST
*** UPDATE as of 1/4/07*****
Urgent prayers needed for a little girl in the florida area....
http://www.care4jessicarose.org/
the family can use all the prayers and support they can get...and we all know what thats like....lets show them the caringbridge family support...
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HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL!!!! Wow did 2006 go by fast or what??? lol
This holiday season has been so exciting for the girls. Thanksgiving day started off in a great and one of a kind way. Corbin Bleu from the "high school musical" fame called samantha to wish her happy holidays. It was so nice and really made the day. What Samantha and Amanda did not know was their daddy and I put tickets to see the show live right after christmas in their stockings. As a special bonus Corbin Bleu and his dad are making us their special guests for the show with meet and greet passes. Pictures are now up in the photo album. The girls are so looking forward to meeting the whole cast and crew. I also plan on talking to the dad about helping out the Sunrise Day Camp that we are all a part of. Look for more updates on that soon.
For Hannukka the girls also got to go to the Cheetah Girl concert. It was Sam's 3rd concert but Amanda's first. Boy did they have fun. Anyhow those were 2 of the biggest surprises for the holidays. Both girls also got heeley sneakers from their Aunt Cindy, lots of clothes, and toys toys toys..lol
We hope all of you also had a great holiday season and that health is the number one gift for all.May 2007 bring health joy and happiness to everyone in our caringbridge family.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Friday, December 1, 2006 4:58 PM CST
Wow!! December 1st. I cannot get over it. Didn't 2006 just start..
I would like first to apoligize to many of you who stop by on a regulare basis..i was emailed by many asking me if we were ok becasue i was not updating the page like i used to. I can honestly say we have busy with fun things not bad things and that is why updates have been slow. I am truly sorry for any worry i have caused to our many friends out there. Please forgive me!!
Ok now lets see. Samantha is doing well. School seems to be ok in most areas for her. Like all kids she wishes she could sleep later, have less tests and more time at recess but she is doing ok regardless. Twirling is still big in her life. In the gym 2-3 days per week to practice plus time at home. The newest thing is boys..she has discovered that they are not really as gross as first thoughts lead her to believe.lol. I am not ready for this.....
Amanda is now 6 years old...boy did that fly as well. She is doing great in first grade. She is always eager to learn new things. Horses still play a huge role in her life. She takes lessons and wants to start doing some shows this season.
Its really hard to belive that my girls are doing so well now. This thanksgiving made me realize just how thankful and blessed i truly am. I mean looking back to know that Amanda went from being in ICU as a 3 week old with breathing problems to now being a active 6 year old, and samantha going from an active 2 year old to a 30 month chemo battle back to a healthy girl is just amazing to me. And through it all i had my soul mate and rock, Michael right by me.
People always say they are thankful for their families on Turkey day but in my heart and mind i am thankful every day for them all.
And now Christmas and Hannukka are right around the corner....at least i can say i am almost done shopping and the fun wrapping starts tonight after the kids fall asleep. Someone has to ask sanata to wrap besides doing the delivery...lol.
Happy holidays to one and all. May you all be blessed and happy for the new year. From our family to all of you..
PEACE, JOY, GOOD HEALTH and most of all HAPPY CHILDREN FOR 2007!!
Well..thats about all for now...we will update again soon.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Wednesday, October 11, 2006 9:18 AM CDT
Wow..it is really almost time for yet another halloween.....the school year started without any problems. Samantha loves her new teacher and so does Amanda. I think this school year will be the best for both the girls. What ever magis spell the teachers have cast i pray it wont wear off anytime soon..lol
Samantha is going to be a pop star diva and Amanda is going to be pur little sleeping beauty...pictures will follow i promise.
We dont go back to Oncology till November but Samantha seems very happy and healthy so we will assume that all is well. We had a small family celebration to mark her 3 year re-birth of life off treatment. Strange that its been 3 years. It went by faster then we thought it would. Stranger to think its been over 5 years since the original diagnose....in fact march will be 6years. wow!!
Both girls are still talking about camp and how they miss the people their. Luckily Sunrise sundays are once a month and most of the campers return for them. This month it is at the end and will be a special day for the whole family. If anyone who did not go to camp but lives in teh area of long island and wants more info just email me and ask.
If anyone from camp comes to visit please sign in...we would love to hear from you and know your all ok...
Muffler the cat is getting bigger. The girls are still in total love with him and fight over who gets to feed and take care of him. they even fight over who gets to clean the litter box. they both like it....(told you my kids were strange..lol)
Well..thats about all for now...we will update again soon.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Saturday, August 19, 2006 8:01 PM CDT
I cant believe that this summer is almost over. But what a great summer it has been. I must share with you all, the information of such a very special place that the girls were invited to spend time at. For all of you living in the long island area its a must for you next year. It was this great new camp called ..Sunrise Day Camp. The girls went for 6 weeks from 8 am to 345 pm.....which worked out great casue i was able to go to work every day and not need a sitter for those odd hours. Any how this camp did it all...sports swimming arts and crafts, dance singing drama talent shows, and so much more. I can honestly say that each and every counslor became so importantt to my kids and i felt very close to them all. In fact the last day of camp came way to fast and the girls are very sad but already looking forward to next summer to go back.
If anyone from camp comes to visit please sign in...we would love to hear from you and know your all ok...
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We got a new addition to our family last week. not that it was planned. in fact the night before i was telling my hubby i liked not having pets in the house..no litter box or things to worry about. Boy did i jinx myself. I was driving to work and heard a squeak. i was getting mad since my car is really not that old and has little milage on it. So when i got to work and turned the car off i was surprised to still hear the noise. The custodian at my school heard it also and told me it was coming form under the car. After we looked up under the car and felt around we finally realized it was a cat stuck there. once we got him free and he hit my hands away i was hooked. so now he is an offical member of the family..hes a littel orange and white tabby cat...and we proudly named him Muffler!!
the girls were so thrilled to get a pet. Now as long as they continue to take care of him and the thrill of litter box duty dont wear off...lol
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We will be going to florida from the 22nd to the 29th to go see poppop....I will let you all know how that goes when we get back. I also hope to post new pictures when we get back so please stop in soon.....
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Well..thats about all for now...we will update again soon.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Thursday, July 20, 2006 3:28 PM CDT
Wow i cant believe how fast this summer is flying by.....i guess a lot of that has to do with the camp the girls are going to. Its called Camp Sunrise and WOW is it great. It is a special camp for all survivors and siblings but its the first day camp in our area. All the others are sleep away ones and we never felt right about that..too far away if god forbid something happens. Anyhow this one just opened and it is really only 4 minutes away from my front door so its great. They have been hiking, swiming, arts and crafts, mini golf, golf range, science and nature and sports every day..soccer, basketball, baseball, softball etc.....Talk about a jam packed camp. and the hours are great for parents who work..they get dropped off at 8 and i pick them up by 4 each day...the camp has extended hours till 630 if needed. The girls both want to stay longer but i feel 4 is long enough for now..lol
July 21st starting at 4 our team "A.L.L 4 Sammi" will be preparing to jump into the above ground pool of 1,500 galloons of red cold gelled jello.....you can help sponsor and support our team by going to the following site and pledging any amount you would like to send in.....
Sponsor team Sammi here
Thank you in advance to one and all who help us to reach our goal. As team captain Sammi wants to reach $2,000 and as of today her team has brought in about $1500...not too bad.
I also want to tell you all some great news about a bunch of people. Its an organization in my area called Contractors for Kids. Thanks to a newspaper article i just found out about them. They are trying to raise money for their goal and mission to help kids who are sick. If you are interested in trying to win a custom made motor cycle from the show "American Chopper" go to this page and enter. Chances are $25 each or 5 for $100.
http://www.contractorsforkids.org/html/bike.html
Good luck to you!!!
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Well..thats about all for now...we will update again soon.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Friday, June 16, 2006 9:05 PM CDT
Wow..what a week...ok lets see..where to start!! ok I got it..Samantha had her second grade graduation this week.(Photo in photo album) The schools here go from K-2 and then they move up to the 3-5 school. So we all took the day off from our lives to watch her and her classmates "graduate". I cried so much..mike kept teasing me that if i was like this now what would i be like in 10 years when it was from high school..tee hee.But to be honest i just kept thinking that only a few short years ago we did not know if she would make it this far in life. I was so happy to see her with her class, going through the motions, and celebrating that i lost it. But you know what...i think after all we have been through it was a very well deserved cry.
To celebrate a whole bunch of things.....her graduation, her belated 8th birthday( which the doctors at one time did not know if we would get to), her little over 2 1/2 years in full remission, and fathers day (will explain below)Samantha and her sister Amanda did something extra ordinary. They both decided to get their hair cuts. But with a special purpose to it. They knew that me and their daddy thought they needed a good cut so....as you can see at the top of this page, they both took 10 inches of hair off and donated to the Locks of Love foundation. We are so proud of them for their great big hearts!!!
This is the last week of school. WOW did this year fly by. I will let you know how camp goes..they start on july 10th.
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July 21st starting at 4 our team "A.L.L 4 Sammi" will be preparing to jump into the above ground pool of 1,500 galloons of red cold gelled jello.....you can help sponsor and support our team by going to the following site and pledging any amount you would like to send in.....
Sponsor team Sammi here
Thank you in advance to one and all who help us to reach our goal. As team captain Sammi wants to reach $2,000 and as a team she is hopin gto raise over $5,000. We have about 4 months to do it in so we feel good.
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I also want to tell you all some great news about a bunch of people. Its an organization in my area called Contractors for Kids. Thanks to a newspaper article i just found out about them. They are trying to raise money for their goal and mission to help kids who are sick. If you are interested in trying to win a custom made motor cycle from the show "American Chopper" go to this page and enter. Chances are $25 each or 5 for $100.
http://www.contractorsforkids.org/html/bike.html
Good luck to you!!!
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Well..thats about all for now...we will update again soon.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Saturday, June 10, 2006 9:04 PM CDT
Wow..where is this year going...i cannot get over that it is mid june and school is almost done. Samantha will be having her 2nd grade "graduation" next week. Then they all go over to the new school for 3rd -5th grades. They actually get a cap and gown, yearbook and an autograph book. I am gonna need a box of tissues!!!!
Regionals went well for her twirling season. 6 States were there to compete and in her intermediate dance twirl she came in first place..GO sammi!!!then she also had some 2-5 placements and her team won 1st..they had a undeafed season as a team....the coach is great and we are looking forward to staying with her next season.
Camp will start 2 weeks after school ends...yeah!!! i hope they like it..both girls are in different groups but same camp so their hours allow me to do my summer job with time left over for me to relax...kool!!!!
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July 21st starting at 4 our team "A.L.L 4 Sammi" will be preparing to jump into the above ground pool of 1,500 galloons of red cold gelled jello.....you can help sponsor and support our team by going to the following site and pledging any amount you would like to send in.....
Sponsor team Sammi here
Thank you in advance to one and all who help us to reach our goal. As team captain Sammi wants to reach $2,000 and as a team she is hopin gto raise over $5,000. We have about 4 months to do it in so we feel good.
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Well..thats about all for now...we will update again soon.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Monday, May 8, 2006 8:08 PM CDT
I cannot believe it is May. It sems like just yesterday the doctors told us Samantha was sick. When she turned 3 we celebrated in the hosptial playroom. we had all the kids on the oncology floor join us and it was fun. the nurses did not like when we hung the pinata on an extra IV pole but the kids sure did. Having her next birthday at home, even in isolation was great as well. Being told that was a milestone was a shock. Being told that turing 8 would also be a hugh step for her was a crazy feeling.
Today i can say however, that she has made it to her birthday week. In fact she is going to give me the best mothers day gift any mom could ever want. On Sunday May 14th, the real mothers day....Samantha will celebrate her real 8th birthday. Her life of battling cancer and chemo has been over now for a little over the 2 1/2 year mark. That results in having about 95% risk of relapse over. While we will still worry till she turns 10 it is sooooo nice to know that a hugh chunk of worry is gone.
She told me at her party when she blew out the candles, her only wish was for there to be no more cancer in the world. (if only that could be true!!)
Thank you one and all for her birthday cards and well wishes. Without all your support we would not have made it!!
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July 21st starting at 4 our team "A.L.L 4 Sammi" will be preparing to jump into the above ground pool of 1,500 galloons of red cold gelled jello.....you can help sponsor and support our team by going to the following site and pledging any amount you would like to send in.....
Sponsor team Sammi here
Thank you in advance to one and all who help us to reach our goal. As team captain Sammi wants to reach $2,000 and as a team she is hopin gto raise over $5,000. We have about 4 months to do it in so we feel good.
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My health watch is being closely monitored..They are still deciding if i will be needing the surgery or not. Once i know more i will let you know. Currently I am just having bi-weekly tests run with no changes.
Well..thats about all for now...we will update again soon.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Monday, April 10, 2006 10:20 PM CDT
Ok can i start banging my head against a wall today.
For 3 weeks now Sammi has been complaining of stomach pains...but it keeps moving around a lot. So first we tried the regular pediatrican. They came up with just an upset belly and gave her some meds to make her relax some. After another few days of her waking up out of sound sleeps and screaming in pain we called her oncologist. They did the blood work and urine tests but came up empty on any answers for this weird pain. Then after another few nights of motrin witha side dish of tylenol and a pepto chaser for dinner we went back to the pediatrcian. He was on vacation now so we saw his covering doctor. Turns out if was the same doctor who first helped diagnose sammi's cancer. She is so good and runs ever test till answers are found. So after 3 hours of testing..xrays..cat scans and the reg hands on exam..she discovered that samanthas intestines are blocked over 30 BR>
So now we are on heavy laxatives, stool softners and pain killers. Then she explained that it was good we caught it.in some cases this type of problem if unfounded can get so bad it backs into the stomach and can cause the person to throw it up. YUCK!!
Meanwhile this is what a fighter our little Samantha is...Yesterday she had a twirling competition. we were not sure if she could do it or not due to the pain but she was determined to do it. she ended up getting one first place, 2 seconds, 1 third and 3 fourths...way to go sammi!!
There is another competition in 2 weeks and then we get ready for the state one and regionals. No matter how she does first or dead last she is now and always will be our favorite twirler...( Amanda is tied with that..lol)
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July 21st starting at 4 our team "A.L.L 4 Sammi" will be preparing to jump into the above ground pool of 1,500 galloons of red cold gelled jello.....you can help sponsor and support our team by going to the following site and pledging any amount you would like to send in.....
Sponsor team Sammi here
Thank you in advance to one and all who help us to reach our goal. As team captain Sammi wants to reach $2,000 and as a team she is hopin gto raise over $5,000. We have about 4 months to do it in so we feel good.
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My health watch is being closely monitored..They are still deciding if i will be needing the surgery or not. Once i know more i will let you know.
Well..thats about all for now...we will update again soon.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 7:13 PM CST
Hello friends and family and first time visitors...Welcome!!!
**ADDED MAR 20** **5 YEARS**
Time...what a concept..it can seem to go slow slowly and at the same time fly. 5 years ago (March 21st 2001) Samantha was first diagnosed with her cancer. Each day after that seemed to take forever for 30 months as we watched and prayed daily. I cannot believe that now as we look back it seemed to go so fast. Amazing tricks time can pull on people. She is now halfway through her five year watch and doing good. We celebrate her years off treatment with a small family celebration. For this anniversary we ask people to think about how good they are and if they can to please help those children still fighting this awful illness.
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I can not beleive this was the week for St. Baldricks again. We went to our local shaving place and could not believe the totals..they raised over $200,000 for childhood cancer research!! god bless them all. Samantha helped shave one person and so did Amanda but then it got a little crowded so we headed out. Thank you though to everyone who supported that event.
And as all things go, when one thing ends another begins....so now we move forward into the Jello Jump time again!!!! July 21st starting at 4 our team "A.L.L 4 Sammi" will be preparing to jump into the above ground pool of 1,500 galloons of red cold gelled jello.....you can help sponsor and support our team by going to the following site and pledging any amount you would like to send in.....
Sponsor team Sammi here
Thank you in advance to one and all who help us to reach our goal. As team captain Sammi wants to reach $2,000 and as a team she is hopin gto raise over $5,000. We have about 4 months to do it in so we feel good.
Health wise things seem to be good with both of the girls. Samantha goes back to the docs in April. Wish i could say the same for me....my doctors are watching me closely due to a bunch of cysts they discovered along with soem other problems. surgery may be my only option but we are still watching and figuring that all out. I have come to peace with what may need to be done so it should be ok. So far the "c" word has not been said so thats kool.
Well..thats about all for now...we will update again soon.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Thursday, January 26, 2006 8:15 AM CST
Hello friends and family and first time visitors...Welcome!!!
Samantha saw the doctor yesterday and while the visit started off good, got a little scary in the middle. let me explain....her exam part of the visit showed all looked fine and Samantha was joking around with the doctor and things were of a light mood. She even went willing into the finger stick room and told me to wait for her outside.
Scary when you think back all the times you had to drag them in there kicking and screaming. I kept wishing the day would come when she would just go in and get it done on her own. Now when she did just that I feel sad that this has become so routine in her life that it is no longer a big deal to her.
Anyhow, after her stick we were back in her examine room and the doctor joins us after a few minutes with the "worried" face on. You guessed it, her counts are all messed up. So to be safe they wanted to take a few vials of blood for further lab tests. so....back into the blood room we go for a needle in the arm. That part Samantha still hates so now it did turn into the kicking screaming and biting fight between her and me. With the help of 2 other nurses we did manage to get the blood draw done and Samantha dried her eyes in time to get a prize from the gift closet. They even gave one to Amanda for being the brave younger sister.
And the results...after all the drama, her counts are a little high for the whites and a little low for the platelets but not in danger zones yet. So the final conclusion was to just watch her and return in 3 months instead of the 6. WHewwww...i can live with that!!!
Amanda was feeling ill the start of this week but i am happy to say that after missing school for3 days she is happily returning. she even woke up at 6 this mornign and danced into my room to tell me she was ready to get dressed. I love her energy....just wish she could have started 2 hours later in the morning...hehehe
I put new photos up in the photo album so check them out if you want to. Please sign in also so we can see who stopped by. And remember our new motto for 2006
..dont sweat the small stuff, dont fret over things you cannot control and make the best out of whatever is left over.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Thursday, January 26, 2006 8:15 AM CST
Hello friends and family and first time visitors...Welcome!!!
Samantha saw the doctor yesterday and while the visit started off good, got a little scary in the middle. let me explain....her exam part of the visit showed all looked fine and Samantha was joking around with the doctor and things were of a light mood. She even went willing into the finger stick room and told me to wait for her outside.
Scary when you think back all the times you had to drag them in there kicking and screaming. I kept wishing the day would come when she would just go in and get it done on her own. Now when she did just that I feel sad that this has become so routine in her life that it is no longer a big deal to her.
Anyhow, after her stick we were back in her examine room and the doctor joins us after a few minutes with the "worried" face on. You guessed it, her counts are all messed up. So to be safe they wanted to take a few vials of blood for further lab tests. so....back into the blood room we go for a needle in the arm. That part Samantha still hates so now it did turn into the kicking screaming and biting fight between her and me. With the help of 2 other nurses we did manage to get the blood draw done and Samantha dried her eyes in time to get a prize from the gift closet. They even gave one to Amanda for being the brave younger sister.
And the results...after all the drama, her counts are a little high for the whites and a little low for the platelets but not in danger zones yet. So the final conclusion was to just watch her and return in 3 months instead of the 6. WHewwww...i can live with that!!!
Amanda was feeling ill the start of this week but i am happy to say that after missing school for3 days she is happily returning. she even woke up at 6 this mornign and danced into my room to tell me she was ready to get dressed. I love her energy....just wish she could have started 2 hours later in the morning...hehehe
I put new photos up in the photo album so check them out if you want to. Please sign in also so we can see who stopped by. And remember our new motto for 2006
..dont sweat the small stuff, dont fret over things you cannot control and make the best out of whatever is left over.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Sunday, December 18, 2005 2:15 PM CST
2005 year in review.................
I decided instead of sending out a newsletter about 2005 and i would just post it on Samantha's site for anyone who wants to read it.
This year started with a hole in my heart when my mom and best friend passed away on January 9th. I cannot believe its been almost a year since i was able to talk to her. The pain is still such a part of me. While i cannot be sad that her pain is gone i am sad that now i have a hole that cannot be filled in my life.
As the year continued Samantha and Amanda continued to grow into nice little ladies ( most of the time). Samantha is in 2nd grade and doing well in school and in health. She now sees the doctors every 4 months but things look really good.She played soccer this fall and really loved it a lot.Her coach says she is one of the best on the team. I always said she loved to kick!!!
Twirling is still high on Samantha's favorite things to do list. We joined a new group and the coach really pushes her like she needed. moves she always wanted to do are now in her routines and shs loves it so much.
Amanda is trying twirling this year also. She likes playaing around with it but i get the feeling she wont be in it like Samantha. I dont see competitions in Amanda's future. Soccer was also on eof Amanda's fall activities and she, like her sister loved it as well. She just has to get a little more aggressive when making her goals. She usually stopped so the other goalie could do his job and pick the ball up first. Both girls will be in soccer in the spring as well.
Amanda loves horses and everythign to do with them, so for her birthday she was given horse riding lessons and boy does she love that!!! It was like a dream come true for her so i guess she will be doing that for awhile now. We even joined this cute club called the pony club. each month they send her new pictures posters adn horse books. Reading has always been a favorite for Amanda and now she loves our reading time more then ever. She is even begining to read herself which is great.
Mike is still at his job and doing well. Not much ever changes there. Still bowling and being himself. As for myself also not much as changed. I am teaching drivers education again and helping out at the girls schools when asked for volunteers.
regarding the rest of our family...my dad is slowly adjusting to life as a single guy again. He has learned to cook and take care of the house. While it has not been easy for him i think he is doing a good job. And he knows if he ever wants to he is always welcomed to come back to New York with us.
Ok, i am sure no one wants me to keep rambling so i will wrap this up now. Happy holidays to one and all of our friends, family well wishes and people who just stopped in.
Our wish to all of you is as follows.....may 2006 bring joy health and happiness to one and all. And remember when things seem bad, if things do not go as you have planned, life can always be turned around. Things happen for reasons.
So..dont sweat the small stuff, dont fret over things you cannot control and make the best out of whatever is left over.
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Wednesday, November 16, 2005 1:37 PM CST
Wow..I can not beleive that thanksgiving is right around the corner. And then only like 40 days till the holidays and new years...WOW!! where did 2005 go to??
Samantha is doing so much better in many areas. Health wise she does not go back to oncology until the new year..January 24th. School seems to be getting easier for her also. Her grades are gettting better and she is liking to read more and more. I dont know if its because of the school or not but her behavior at home is now also much better. she is taking care of her things and herself much more and even being nicer to Amanda.
Amanda is loving Kindergarten very much. She is also very excited to be having her birthday party next week. It will be a pony party ( of course)and she is driving us all nuts with questions like..how many more days? and can she keep the pony?? lol... i have never seen a littel girl so in love with horses. i am hoping to give her some lassons for a gift.
It is so nice to know that for once since my girls came into being i can say they are both healthy at the same times. Now thats the best holiday gift any mom can ever ask for. I am so glad that wishes do come true. Thank you to one and all for always keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. With our all of you ( my extended family) i would have lost my mind a dozen times over already!!
God bless each and every one of you.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Tuesday, October 4, 2005 12:55 AM CDT
hello all....Samantha passed her 2 year off treatment mark with no problems...WHEW!!!!!To celebrate we particpated in the Leukemia society Light the Night walkathon...As you can tell from the photo on the top of the page, Samantha and Amanda got to see the great #10 of the NY Jets..Chad Pennington...he is really a sweet guy. Not only did he talk and take pictures with the girls but he even signed their shirts and teddy bears. Talk about a happy day!!
The team raised over $200 dollars so Samantha was happy with that. Now our next fundraiser we help with is the adult night aka Casino Royal. If anyone knows of a person who would like to be our main sponser for the event please contact myself or Kim at the office 631 752 8500 ext 14.
Thank you to one and all who helped donate to Samantha's team and we helps support the Leuekmia society. It means more then i can put into words!!
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Monday, September 12, 2005 6:55 PM CDT
Hey all...Can you believe that the school year is again in full swing...yahoo...we made it..lol!!! Samantha is getting used to her new teachers way of doing things and tells me she thinks it will be a good year. Amanda loves her new teacher and is happy she is now in "big" girl school. Full days start for her on the 20th...so mom is looking forward to that...heheh
Both girls are going to be twirlers this year...Samantha has switched over to a new organization and so far she loves it. She tells me she will miss her old coach and we wish her well but i feel this was a great time to move her. Also Amanda thinks the new organization is fun since she knows some of the people in it so she was also eagar to begin. And they both look great in the new team uniforms....the colors and black and red. very chic!!
Besides twirling they are both also in soccer. Amanda is on a mixed team of boys and girls, and i must say she is pretty good for her age. Samantha is on a girls team and is not to bad either. All in all between the outlook towards school and their new activites i think this will be a nice fun full school year for them both.
*****************************************************
Besides the above items already mentioned dont forget our fund raising events.
TEAM SAMMI walkathon team will be walking on September 22nd at the hofstra university location. What a way to celebrate..That is also Samanthas exact date of being of chemo for 2 years. Hopefully we reach our goal for $1,000. Besides walking for Samantha we will be adding Nana Sherry's name to honor her memory as well.
thank you to all who donate for her team!!
Tuesday, August 30, 2005 9:05 AM CDT
Disney was a lot of walking but the kids had so much fun!!! We did the magic kingdom, epcot and MGM. then after 5 days in orlando we headed over to my dads area and spent time there with him. i dont know which part the kids liked more. you would think disney but they adored being with their pop pop.
Now we are home and all ready for school to start. only 7 more days..yeah!! this week is crazy though cause i got called in for jury duty. SUCKS!! they told me i could not be excused due to the fact i have had 3 extensions over the last 4 years. i tried telling them that was due to my daughter being sick but they dont care. so now the last week of vacation they have to be with a babysitter so i can sit there at the courts and tell them all i think they are all guilty of wasting taxpayers time and money.( they do not like me so much!!)
anyhow, amanda is also very excited to be going to school like a big girl on the bus. i am going to put them on the bus next week and go back to bed for a few hours!! thats when mommys vacation really starts!!! heehh
samantha sees the docs again on sept 22nd. her 2 year anniversary off treatment. that is also the walkathon date. anyone wanting to help her team out can go to TEAM SAMMI
thank you to all who donate for her team!!
Tuesday, August 30, 2005 9:05 AM CDT
Disney was a lot of walking but the kids had so much fun!!! We did the magic kingdom, epcot and MGM. then after 5 days in orlando we headed over to my dads area and spent time there with him. i dont know which part the kids liked more. you would think disney but they adored being with their pop pop.
Now we are home and all ready for school to start. only 7 more days..yeah!! this week is crazy though cause i got called in for jury duty. SUCKS!! they told me i could not be excused due to the fact i have had 3 extensions over the last 4 years. i tried telling them that was due to my daughter being sick but they dont care. so now the last week of vacation they have to be with a babysitter so i can sit there at the courts and tell them all i think they are all guilty of wasting taxpayers time and money.( they do not like me so much!!)
anyhow, amanda is also very excited to be going to school like a big girl on the bus. i am going to put them on the bus next week and go back to bed for a few hours!! thats when mommys vacation really starts!!! heehh
samantha sees the docs again on sept 22nd. her 2 year anniversary off treatment. that is also the walkathon date. anyone wanting to help her team out can go to TEAM SAMMI
thank you to all who donate for her team!!
Saturday, August 13, 2005 9:49 AM CDT
ok all..this will be a short update...we are leaving for our family vacation to disney for a few days and then to see my dad for a few days. the girls are very excited. This trip was our gift to them to help celebrate mike and mine's 11th wedding anniversary...wow did those years fly by fast..hehehe
hope all is well and happy with all of you.
we will update when we get home in a few weeks.
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Friday, August 5, 2005 12:50 AM CDT
WOW!! it is August already!! where did the time fly to???i cannot believe only like 32 days till school starts here..and both of mine will be going full time....yahoo!!
Samantha is excited to be going into 2nd grade. She is also looking forward to having Amanda in her building for Kindergarten. As for Amanda herself she walks around the house with her backpack on ( full of her supplies) and asks when she can go to school.....think shes excited and eager???lol......
before the start of the school year though we will be taking our family vacation. this year we are going to spend five days in orlando seeing the famous mouse and his friends and then seeing my dad for five days as well. It will be nice to see how hes doing for my own eyes.
I hope all our friends and family on caringbridge and all over are also having a good summer. I really hate the fact that we had to take our links down to each others pages. But your all always in our thoughts prayers and hearts!!
....thank you for stopping by our little corner of the world to see us.
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Saturday, July 16, 2005 7:02 PM CDT
Monday, June 27, 2005 10:26 AM CDT
Friday, June 10, 2005 9:13 AM CDT
Monday, May 16, 2005 8:50 AM CDT
Thursday, May 12, 2005 8:02 AM CDT
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 7:47 AM CDT
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 7:38 AM CDT
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 9:55 AM CDT
Hello all and nice to see you today. Samantha's twirling this year has gotten harder for her. Not so much the twirling part but now that she is almost 7 she is competing against the 7-12 year olds in most areas. Needless to say the older kids have harder moves so its not as easy to place in the top 5. But Sammi is determined to still work hard and do her best. I love her determination... State competiton falls on her birthday this year and she told me the best gift would be to win.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 9:55 AM CDT
Hello all and nice to see you today. Samantha's twirling this year has gotten harder for her. Not so much the twirling part but now that she is almost 7 she is competing against the 7-12 year olds in most areas. Needless to say the older kids have harder moves so its not as easy to place in the top 5. But Sammi is determined to still work hard and do her best. I love her determination... State competiton falls on her birthday this year and she told me the best gift would be to win.
Tuesday, April 5, 2005 8:25 AM CDT
Hello today...hope its a good one for you!! Samantha's 18 month off chemo check up went very well. All her counts were in the normal range and her organ functions came back fine as well. It still seems so strange. Part of me feels like it was just yesterday being told of her condition and thinking 30 months would take forever. Now its 18 months past that time and looking back it went fast. Pretty strange huh??!!
Her twirling this year has gotten harder for her. Not so much the twirling part but now that she is almost 7 she is competing against the 7-12 year olds in most areas. Needless to say the older kids have harder moves so its not as easy to place in the top 5. But Sammi is determined to still work hard and do her best. I love her determination...
Amanda is doing good as well. We are now pretty sure her asthma is in the past. This was a pretty hard winter and she did great. Only one breathing treatment here and there and even with those i think she would have been ok on her own. She is doing great in school and is really looking forward to being on the big bus with her sister in September.
OH....let me warn you all ( especially family reading this..hehe) THE JELLO JUMP is almost here for the 2005 summer. Samantha will be having a seperate web page for that so people can sponsor her team and use a credit card or other form of payment they would like.Her goal this year to have 20 people on her team and to raise at least $1,000 herself. As soon as the other site is up and running we will post the info here.
Poppop is slowly adjusting to the loss of Nana. Surprisingly he has even started to learn to cook..hehe...for those who know him you'll get the joke. This Friday will be a hard one though. It would have been theri wedding anniversary. I think number 43. As far as i go..i miss my mom alot. Its been almost 3 months and not gettign any easier for me. I still reach for the phone at least once a day to call her. I know with my head she is not here but in my heart she will always be with me.
On a happier note....i cannot believe only 1 more month till Samantha turns 7. She is growing up so fast. And i mean up..she is going to be like me and be tall. She decided on a roller skating party this year...due to the state competitions being on her real day though we made the party for the week after. I will post pictures next month when the days come. May is always a busy time at the house.
Well...thats about all for this area of the world. I will update again next week. Thank you all for stopping in and checking up on us. Please sign in before you leave!!
Bless you one and all!!
karen(mom)
Thursday, March 17, 2005 7:41 PM CST
**UPDATE ON SAT 3/19**
Caringbridge has started a new guideline requesting that links to other pages not be used. Therefore while i cannot share other childrens pages with you..please keep them all in your hearts prayers and thoughts. Out of sight should never mean out of mind!!
***************************************
Well.. its been a busy week for us here. St. Baldricks held their local event in our area. This year Samantha was one of the children being honored so not only was there a poster of her picture hanging up with the other children being honored but she was allowed to help shave some heads of very brave volunteers. Talk about having a total blast....she loved it. It aslo helped that our cousin is the Councilwomen of the town which the event is held in.
SEE NEW PHOTOS....
Samantha's latest twirling competition was a nice succuss....she placed in 4 out of 8 solo events...and the 2 teams she was on both took first. the best thing i think was that out of all her routines she remembered all of them without freezing in fornt of the judges. The placing in some of them is a bonus.
We go back to the doctors on Monday the 21st for our 18 month check up...
WOW 1 1/2 years off treatment already...boy is this part going fast!!! It seems so strange to know that the first 18 months on treatment took forever but this part flew. Hopefully i will be able to update again with good news..i am not worried about this visit for a change...she seems to be feeling really good and there are no bad signs to speak of..it should be a easy one....
check back monday night for an update of that visit...
To all who participated in St. Baldricks..THANK YOU ALL....
Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts.
Bless you one and all!!
Thank you for stopping in to check on us.
karen(mom)
Thursday, March 10, 2005 7:08 PM CST
I hate this month. Lots of bad memories. Even though Samantha is doing well for now i keep remembering that this all started 4 years ago this month.The 15th was when she was diagnosed and the 21st started her treatments. Back then i never thought we would get to the point of 1 1/2 years off treatment. But the 21st of this month is her next checkup and that will also be the 18 month mark.When this all started each day took forever...now looking back it went so fast. Strange how time can change depending on what side your on when looking at the clock.
so this month Amanda had her turn at the doctors for testing. She ran a fever for 5 days straight. Anywhere from 103 -104...so to play it safe they did chest x-rays and a ton of blood work. All came back fine which would normally have me happy but it does not feel right. Some little things have been off and still are. For example she has gone from hardly eating at all to nonstop muching. And i mean nonstop. ANd if you tell her enough she gets mad. Maybe i am just not used to it...hopefully she is just growing. i know i am crazy but hey...thats just me!!
It's also been 2 months since Nana left us. Denial is no longer happening for me and the hole she has left is really starting to ache.Poppy though has surprised me in a good way. Either he has me completely fooled on the phone or he is really hanging in better then i thought he would. He has found out how great and supportive his friends are and we are all greatful to all of them.
Competition season for the twirlers has started again so i will update with pictures after Samanthas next one on the 20th.At the first one she took 2 second places, 1 third, 1 forth and 1 fifth. And her team took first.
Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts.
Bless you one and all!!
Thank you for stopping in to check on us.
karen(mom)
Friday, February 25, 2005 7:49 AM CST
Well...Sammi is doing better with those pesky nosebleeds.I guess it was really due to the ear infections. Now she only gets a bad one when she gets into her overly hyper hissy fits. And since she knows that it will happen then she was told no more fits!!!! Hopefully she will start behaving better. If not i will let you all know when to start buying stock in kleenex...hehehe
Amanda is doing good. She loves school. I am looking forward to Sept when they will both be in school FULL TIME!!! Not that i am overly eagar or anything..heheh
Its been almost 2 months since beautiful Nana Sherry left us for her trip to heaven.I was really scared of how Poppy would survive without her but he has really started to do things well. He is learning to cook and do a lot. I am very proud of him. Still worried about him though. Guess i always will. Talk about role reversal...i feel like my oldest just left for college...i call daily to check up on him, see that hes eating well and doing his laundry....pretty funny huh?!!!
well...i guess even when you have a wounded heart life does have to go on. Keeping things lite and funny at times helps a little. And having all of you as friends to lean on helps a lot.
Bless you one and all!!
Thank you for stopping in to check on us.
karen(mom)
Friday, February 11, 2005 9:17 PM CST
well the nosebleeds finally got me to crazy so after calling the docs and insisting on her beeing seen NOW..we got in this afternoon. TUrns out she has a double ear infection that somehow blocked up so strong that it caused pressure which resulted in the nose bleeds but they all agreed her blood counts were great. So no worries now about the "R" word.....whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today was also the 1 month anniversary of my moms funeral. I went to her graveside to visit with her. Strange that for so many years i wanted them to move back to NY and now shes here (sort of) and i am at a loss.
Dad seems to be holding his own in florida so hopefully it will work out.
Happy Valentines day to one and all.....sending out lots of )))HUGS((( and kisses ( oxoxoxo) to our friends family and visitors...
Thank you for stopping in to check on us.
karen(mom)
Sunday, January 30, 2005 8:45 AM CST
Well...i can now say that while i came home last sunday from florida for my moms memorial service, my luggage finally arrived home as well. Boy does Delta have a lot to make up for!!! After such a horrible time with them and the nasty employees i meet i have given tehm 30 days to make up in way of reimbursement for my expenses due to them losing my bags and inconvience due to it. If i am not happy after that time i plan on sueing them in court.
but that it not why you came to see us today. Today is 3 weeks since Nana went to live with the angels. Amanda seems to be adjusting pretty good. However she still tells us once a day that she misses nana in heaven. Samantha has been harder i think by all this.her Behavior has changed and its affecting her in school slightly. We put her into some extra help classes to get her back on track. she loves going though so i am glad she sees it as fun and not punishment.
Health wise i am a little scared about sammi. She ahs been experiencing some nose bleeds. i am going to wait till the morning andcall the doctor about them. She also has some dry skin spots on her face and no matter what creams we are trying nothing is helping them. Has anyone else had this experience after being off treatment almost 1 1/2 years.
I am praying its nothing but my gut is not resting too easy right now.
I will keep you all updated as to what the docs say and do.
Thank you for stopping in to check on us.
karen(mom)
Monday, January 24, 2005 9:39 PM CST
i cannot believe its been two weeks since my beautiful, strong irreplaceable mom (Nana Sherry) left us to go to the other side. Between siting shiver, making the arrangements adn taking my dad back home to floirda time has flown by with no time to grieve. Now that i am back home with my husband and kids boy has it hit me hard!! Of course the last few days in florida were not easy at all....
Let me explain...the first full day back at my dads home in florida he had such a bad panic tack it looked like a heart attack to all involved. in fact is was bad enough that we rushed him to his doctors who in return rushed him by ambulance to the ER where he was admitted for tests and observation. He was released a few hours before My moms memorial service..so much for trying to advoid the stress level....but the night went as nice as it could....a lot of nice things were said about her...she would have been embarashed by all who showed up for her. Anyhow that left us only 1 day to go over things we thought we would have 3 days for....talk about rushed....then when we were heading back to the airport the garage doors would not open to let the car out. I think my mom is looking down at us and laughing at how nothing went right without her. Either that or she is getting even with us for everthing we ever did wrong.
things were no better for my sister and myself since we were leaving sunny florida to head back to blizzard covered New york. I will let you guess how bad the flight was, lost luggage, car buried in the parking lot...it did not get better either..its 2 days later now and i still do not have my luggage...keep in mind i have a lot of my moms things in there that cannot be replaced if they do not show up soon. talk about being pissed off!!!
anyhow....dad is now trying to handle things down in florida without me and my sister..but he knows we will be on the next flight if he ever needs us. Hopefully he will soon decide to move up with us back to NY.
i cannot update on sammi tonight..i have been away from her for 4 days and do not know much. will update again soon.
Thank you for stopping in to check on us.
karen(mom)
Saturday, January 15, 2005 9:26 PM CST
i am sitting here trying to put into words how i feel and can't do it. Tomorrow is the last day of sitting shivar and i still cannot beleive she is gone.
Nana Sherry was my mom, best friend and advisor. SHe was also a beloved nana to samantha and amanda, wife to hal and mom to my sister cindy as well.
everyone told us our speeches at the funeral were nice but to me it was just a blur.
ADDED 1/17*** on Saturday the 22nd at 7pm will be the memorial in Nana Sherry's Town of Palm Coast Florida at the Temple Beth Shalom. Again my sister and i will repeat our speeched and try to hold it together. I will update again when we return from bring Poppy home. Leaving him in florida is his choice not mine and a very hard one to accept.
Call me selfish but i do not want him so far away from me now that Nana is gone.
I love my folks....
thank you to all who sent messages either in the guest book or to the house. we love you all.....
Thank you for stopping in to check on us.
karen(mom)
ps..samantha did have her 16 month check up this week before the funeral. all was well...
Saturday, January 8, 2005 8:26 PM CST
UPDATE AS OF SUNDAY MORNING THE 9TH..
Nana Sherry slipped into a coma last night during her sleep. She was able to come out of it for a moment to look at Poppy and shed one last tear. Then she quietly left us to go to a place where the pain and cancer cannot hurt her anymore.
Funeral info:
Tuesday 1/11/05 at 3pm
Mt. Ararat cemetary
long island Ny
1800 382 4145
From Southern State PArkway......exit 33 and follow signs right to cemetary
from LIE exit 49south 2 lights make right onto pinelawn road and follow signs to cemetary.
shivar at my house in Deer Park
Call for info 631 586 3806
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I am going to dedicate this entry to Nana Sherry...
She went into Hospice care at her home on New Years Day. The latest as of today is we were told that her passing would probably be within the next few days if not sooner. I was due to go down to see her on the 13th but i am afraid i will probably be to late. However if i am, i have the peace of heart that my girls and mike and i got to spend a nice week with her in Dec before it got painful and bad.
My sister and Nana's oldest friend is with her now along with my dad so i have to take comfort in that. Also i know there is not much i can do for Nana but it will be poppy who will need me after the passing.
When the time comes she will be prepared down in florida and then the body will be flown up to Ny for the funeral. Poppy will spend time at my house when we sit shiva and then i will go back to florida with him to settle into the now empty house. I think that is when it will all sink in the most. And i am very worried about that time. The thought of leaving him in florida by himself when i need to return home bothers me more then i can ever put into words.
i will update soon.
i found this poem which describes me right now....
Pitty Pot
No smiles today, just frowns I've got.
It's time for a rest on the pity pot.
I'm sad, I'm cranky. It'll be a day or two.
Of feeling down, of feeling blue.
This isn't just a simple mood swing,
It's an honest to goodness pity pot thing.
You must admit that I've earned this spot.
Right up front on the pity pot.
It's just so hard to keep this smile.
I need a pity pot break for just a while.
So give me time to wallow a bit.
I know real soon that I'll get over it.
The clouds will part and the sun will grow hot,
And I'll jump right off this pity pot.
Thank you for stopping in to check on us.
karen(mom)
Monday, January 3, 2005 9:08 AM CST
I wish i could say that Nana Sherry got her new years wish but sadly she could not.....she had wanted to go out with my dad and their friends and have a nice slow dance in dad's arms that ended with a kiss at midnight.
Instead, as poppy was helping nana get dressed she took a fall and was unable to recoup from it. She was not feeling good at all after that so they had to change their plans and just stayed home..nana in bed feeling pain and poppy very worried.
Thankful when she fell asleep poppy also went to bed. However nana got up soon after that to answer natures call but fell very bad when she tried to walk and poppy had to run next door so the neighbors could help him get her back into bed. After talking to the doctors they called an ambulance to take her to the ER to see what was going on....basically they made her more comfortable but told pop it was not going to get better.
This morning nana went to see her own doctors to see what the latest news show. I will update more when i know.
**UPDATE hospice has set up a bed and extras in the house for Nana to use. All chemo and treatmetns have now come to a stop. Only meds for pain will be giving. Poppy is a mess and understandable so....don't know what else i can say....
i found this poem which describes me right now....
Pitty Pot
No smiles today, just frowns I've got.
It's time for a rest on the pity pot.
I'm sad, I'm cranky. It'll be a day or two.
Of feeling down, of feeling blue.
This isn't just a simple mood swing,
It's an honest to goodness pity pot thing.
You must admit that I've earned this spot.
Right up front on the pity pot.
It's just so hard to keep this smile.
I need a pity pot break for just a while.
So give me time to wallow a bit.
I know real soon that I'll get over it.
The clouds will part and the sun will grow hot,
And I'll jump right off this pity pot.
The girls had a great holiday season..spoiled rotten as always...Samantha got a pink pogo stick that she was crying for since the summer....along with a smores maker, icee maker and lots of arts and crafts items. she also go tan entire new princess bedding set.....amanda got a whole new herd of my little ponies, dora the explorer items, and dolls.....as i said both were very happy and very spoiled.
Samantha knows something is very wrong with Nana..a normal 6 year old would not understand the terms and words being talked about but unfortunatly sammi knows to much about this topic for her age. so know we are trying to prepare her the best we can for what will come. Thankfully Amanda is an unaware 4 year old.
i will keep the updates coming. i am battleing a bad cold right now so not feeling to great. plus my emotions are taking alot out of me as well. please bear with the mumbling and bitching i am doing...
God bless us all!!
Thank you for stopping in to check on us. have a great week and stop again soon!!
karen(mom)
Sunday, December 19, 2004 12:02 AM CST
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!!
We just returned from our week visiting Nana Sherry and Poppy Hal. I will start by saying that when i fist saw Nana i was deeply shocked at how swollen her face and body had become due to the steriods and meds. Once we got over that though we had a nice visit. Nana does get tired very easily but i think we may have improved that situtaion by getting her a motorized scooter, and she already had a walker so between the 2 that should be helpful.
She was also having a lot of trouble getting up after a sitting position so we got a special cushion called a "uplift seat" and it works very well for her. Basically once you start to lift yourself up a little it helps push you into a standing position.
However even with all these aids to help her we still had a few days of losing balance and falling hard on knees and legs. My biggest fear is that when she is home alone she will have a bad fall before my dad gets there...
The doctors office wants hospice to be called in even if for now its just once a week to check on her.....it was very hard to say goodbye at the end of this trip...my biggest fear is that it really was goodbye goodbye...i mean i will talk to her on the phone and hope to go down next month for a long weekend again but we just do not know what the timeline will be so its hard to plan it out.
i found this poem which describes me right now....
Pitty Pot
No smiles today, just frowns I've got.
It's time for a rest on the pity pot.
I'm sad, I'm cranky. It'll be a day or two.
Of feeling down, of feeling blue.
This isn't just a simple mood swing,
It's an honest to goodness pity pot thing.
You must admit that I've earned this spot.
Right up front on the pity pot.
It's just so hard to keep this smile.
I need a pity pot break for just a while.
So give me time to wallow a bit.
I know real soon that I'll get over it.
The clouds will part and the sun will grow hot,
And I'll jump right off this pity pot.
as far as the girls go samantha and amanda were ok in bahavior while we were down south..could have been better but since i was doing a lot of sorting through the house with my folks they were a little stir crazy at times....but they spent a lot of time playing with daddy and they loved that....i think he is ready to go back to work though and get some quiet time..hehehe
i will update more soon...
God bless us all!!
Thank you for stopping in to check on us. have a great week and stop again soon!!
karen(mom)
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 9:06 AM CST
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 9:04 PM CST
(****PLEASE SEE NANA SHERRY UPDATE AT TOP OF PAGE......PRAYERS ARE NEEDED)
Let me start off by saying for now Samantha is doing good. However i am worried how Nana's condition will affect her.
She is very worried that her cancer will make her sick again(like Nana's). I do not know how to explain to her how sometimes the person wins in one battle while some cancers win in others. I am looking into counseling for her now to help prepare.
My worry for Amanda is that she will just not understand why Nana is so sick.
As for Nana Sherry please read update near top of this page. Basically it comes down to knowing that chemo and radiation are no longer an option and that other plans must be made. I cannot handle it anymore. I guess if my mom was older it would be a little easier, but this has been going on since she was only 55. she is only 64 now. I want more time. I want my girls to be older so they will never forget how special she is. i want a cure yesterday!!!! I want to help ease my moms mind about her debts and final plans so she can feel better about the near future.
I hate the word cancer and chemo and radiation and everthing else that goes with it. I hate that when she was not as bad as now i could not go see her cause samantha needed me up here. and now that samantha is better its still hard to get to florida due to the costs of flying.
THIS WHOLE THING SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!
thanks for letting me vent. You all mean so much to me. Without my caringbridge family helping me keep it together through both mom and Sammi's illness i would have lost it months ago.
God bless us all!!
Thank you for stopping in to check on us. have a great week and stop again soon!!
karen(mom)
Monday, November 22, 2004 8:23 PM CST
(****PLEASE SEE NANA SHERRY UPDATE AT TOP OF PAGE......PRAYERS ARE NEEDED)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SAMANTHA"S LITTLE SISTER...AMANDA TURNED 4 TODAY!!!!
just had to say that Amanda is now a big girl of 4. Hard to belive she was only 3 months old when all this cancer crap started with Samantha. Its strange how when the doc's first say the words cancer and child you think it will never end...living it seems to take forever...but looking back on it makes it seem like the time flew by...but thats only when i look at how big amanda is....the memories of the hospital say otherwise.
ok now back to the star of this page.....
...while Samantha's twitches are slowing down during the day they still pop up at night. The doctors still feel that they will one day go away...if they are still here next month though i think we will go back to the neurologist. Sammi is very happy though and seems to be adjusting to "normal" living. Its so great to see....
***** A special thank you to all who helped with the 2ND annual SAM toy drive for the leukemia society..it looks like the kids will have a good holiday season********
As for Nana Sherry please read update near top of this page. Basically it comes down to knowing that for the rest of her life chemo will play a major role along with some runs of radiation mixed in when needed. I have had people ask about her medical and did find out that anyone wanting to make a donation if made out to the hospital can claim it as a tax write off. please email me privatly if interested in the information. Do not be shy!!!
Thank you for stopping in to check on us. have a great week and stop again soon!!
karen(mom)
Friday, November 12, 2004 12:54 AM CST
(****PLEASE SEE NANA SHERRY UPDATE AT TOP OF PAGE......PRAYERS ARE NEEDED)
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Friday, October 29, 2004 8:40 PM CDT
(****PLEASE SEE NANA SHERRY UPDATE AT TOP OF PAGE......PRAYERS ARE NEEDED)
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Friday, October 22, 2004 8:43 PM CDT
(****PLEASE SEE NANA SHERRY UPDATE AT TOP OF PAGE......PRAYERS ARE NEEDED)
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Monday, October 18, 2004 7:57 PM CDT
(****PLEASE SEE NANA SHERRY UPDATE AT TOP OF PAGE......PRAYERS ARE NEEDED)
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Sunday, October 3, 2004 9:11 PM CDT
(****PLEASE SEE NANA SHERRY UPDATE AT TOP OF PAGE......PRAYERS ARE NEEDED)
So much to say and so little time...heheh....first of we added new photos of all Sept events for the kids...They included the start of the new school year...going to our first Long Island Duck Game...thanks to the luke fund(local organization)...and of course the Light the Night walkathon....Chad pennington the quarterback of the NY Jets was our guest walker and Samantha was thrilled when he signed her team banner for her..right on her photo..we cut that part out when we got home and are planning on framing it for her...she was floating on cloud 9..if you ever read this Mr. Pennington..thank you soooo much!!!! the Jets wive association also had set up a great area before the walk for the kids to do crafts which was a hugh hit...both Sammi and Amanda made a bunch of treasures to bring home..thank you to everyone involved with this years walk..and most of all thank you to all who supported team ALL 4 SAMMI....
Sammi is feeling good...enjoying being able to tell people she is no longer a cancer kid....she does not understand that she will still be under careful watch for another 4 years but she is happy and thats all we want...of course next week that will change a little.....the oncologist and her regular pediatrian is making up her schedule for her to retake all her immunization shots. That is going to be a few months of total hell...just when you thought the needles were done.....oopps!!!
i do want to ask all the other cancer moms off treatment a question though...is there anyone who did not redo the shots for their kids?? i am hearing mixed thougths about what may be more harm then good and so i am trying to talk to others in this boat. Please email me....thank you!!
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We are also starting our 2nd annual toy drive for the leukemia society this week....Known as the SAM Toy Drive ( sharing a moment)..we are hoping for public support from local businesses and schools...if interested please contact Karen Demario at the leukemia office at 631 752 8500 ext 12...or contact my email....
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Thank you for stopping in to check on us. have a great week and stop again soon!!
karen(mom)
PS...if any of our friends out there are treated at the vandy childrens hospital in tenn please let us know. Our cousin in that area is doing a story on you all there and we thought it would be kool to introduce you all...
Wednesday, September 22, 2004 8:14 PM CDT
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL FOR THE PRAYERS AND GOOD THOUGHTS!!
Samantha was given the good news today that she has now offically completed her one year off treatment and is in FULL REMISSION. It seems like just yesterday she was first diagnosed and now its 1 year into the 5 year watch. WOW!! time flies when your a stressed out mom!! heheh
We tried to make this a specail day for sammi to celebrate. the morning started off with the angels helping out. i let sammi scratch a lottery ticket and SHE WON...$50...but then for the rest of our celebration plans there were some timing errors so we are going to really surprise her tomorrow..i am going to bring cupcakes to her school and juice for her class..her teacher is wonderful and very understanding as to why we want to scream it from the rooftops...then friday we are going to go out to a special dinner and ice cream cake for her.
We had wanted to have everyone over tonight but a pesky little cousin had other plans...so at this point let me say congrats to Samantha's Aunt Marie( my sis in law) and uncle Mike on the birth of their 2nd son..Alden. He is due to arrive on the morning of the 23rd by appointment and sammi thinks that is a great gift...i agree..what better way to celebrate her rebirth then having a new birth in the family also!! ITS A GREAT WEEK for a birth of any kind!!
(UPDATE AS OF 9/23...Baby Alden joined our family today. He is a healthy big boy weighing in at 10 lbs and 2 ounces...Welcome to the world kiddo!!)
Nana Sherry will hopefully be getting her results at the beggining of next week hopefully so i will update her section then. Till that news is in though we are still accepting all prayers and good wishes!!
thank you to one and all for your unconditional love and support. you have all made these last few years more bearable for us. your all "the wind beneath our wings!!"
Thank you for stopping in to check on us. have a great week and stop again soon!!
karen(mom)
PS...if any of our friends out there are treated at the vandy childrens hospital in tenn please let us know. Our cousin in that area is doing a story on you all there and we thought it would be kool to introduce you all...
Sunday, September 19, 2004 9:25 AM CDT
Ok..We are finally within one week of our 1 year off chemo treatment anniversary....follow that??hehe
Wednesday we will see the doctor and hopefully get some good news. Her cold is getting better so we are all hoping that is what sent her counts going crazy to start with. i will let you know..
Thursday is a big day also for our extended family. My sister in law and her husband will be having their 2nd little boy...we are hoping all goes happy and healthy for them. We are still not sure which name they are going with..its either Trent or Alden....once tehy decide i will post it...
stay in touch and thanks for visiting us this week!!
karen(mom)
Sunday, September 12, 2004 1:24 PM CDT
Thank you to all for my birthday wishes..it was a great day...my kids took me to Chuck E. Cheeses so we could stay and play all day..they are sooo thoughtful!!! heheh
Sammi is continuing to act very sensitive and is now all puffy around the eyes and congested so i am hoping this is the virus finally leaving and once it goes away her counts will all be better again and in normal ranges. We are still on target to go back to clinic on the 22nd so please keep fingers crossed and prayers coming till then. The ironic part of all this is the 22nd will be exactly 1 year off chemo. hopefully it will NOT BE when we are told its back.
its like walking on egg shells around her for now. Even if i am not talking to her she goes crazy over things...yesterday i gave Amanda a compliment and Sammi got all upset and once again accused us of not loving her as much as Amanda and that we do not like her. its driving me cRaZy!! But i am sure some of you out there in cyberland have also gone through this...right??
Nana had a biopsy of her lung area done and will get her new results around the same time as Sam's clinic day so i will update for them both at that time.
Please visit our friends listed above in our drop down box..
as well as our angels families....the kids love getting messages and the angels cannot ever be forgotten...look for the spirits in all the butterflies around us.....
karen(mom)
Saturday, September 4, 2004 9:11 PM CDT
hello everyone.....we are back home...hope all had a good summer. thank you to all who were hoping we would get home before the hurricane it florida....the good wishes were very sweet.....however we are worried that Nana and Poppy are still in harms way so prays are still welcomed!!!
Nana is so strong. she has always been an exceptional person to me but watching her battle go on and on just proves it even more. while the cancer is spreading and some days are better then others she tries so hard to stay positive...at least on the outside. a few of our talks in private were very spooky for me and i hope just like the last 9 years she can continue to fight the cancer. However i am not so sure how the future will be. I will keep you all up to date...her scans will be done the end of this month so i will update for her then.....
Samantha's docs are going to wait till the 22nd to redo her counts again...please pray with all her flip floping that they will be ok..if they are not then we will go ahead with a spinal to recheck for no blasts.....(hopefully it will all work out fine)....
School started on the 2nd here...Sam loves her teacher so that is a great thing..amanda also loves her class and school (half day pre school) so it makes my life easier...and quieter with 2 hours a day of quiet...(thank you god)hehehe
On a last note for now..thank you to all who sent me birthday emails....its hard to admit to getting older so for those who had asked me lets just say....i am 21 with another year of experience!! heheh
karen(mom)
Saturday, August 21, 2004 9:23 PM CDT
UPDATE TUESDAY 8/24
nothing goes easy..last night sammi spiked a fever of 103.2 so off to the emergency room we went..after a violent headache and stomach cramping with vomiting she began to feel slightly better and her fever came back down to 99 with in 2 hours. However while running the blood work they discovered all her counts were in the normal range except her whites. they were high at 11.9(please pray tey do not go up into relapse zone!!)
The doctor in the ER along with her own oncologist told me its still ok to go to Florida to see Nana and poppy but when we get back they will be doing followup blood work. please pray for the best at that time.
I would like to start off by saying thank you to Sammi's daddy. The day we left for Ocean City was our tenth wedding anniversary. I wanted to take a little space to tell him how much the last decade has meant to me. Mike your my soul mate and i love you with evey inch of my heart. Looking forward to the next ten plus.....
Hello everyone...we are home for less then 48 hours before the girls and i take a plane to see nana and poppy in florida...Ocean city maryland was FAB....what a great time....in 6 days there we squeezed in 4 full afternoons on the beach( sammi learned how to boogie board and loved it....amanda liked the sand and toys better then the water), did a pirate adventure, a wild west day with real cowboy actors, 2 water parks, an amusement park, a pool party, boat sightseeing, mini golfing and even ice skating.
Yes ice skating...their was an indoor rink in one of the hotels there and the girls loved it. to help the kids learn what to do they had walkers for them to use...it brought back some scary memories to see sammi with a walker but boy did they love it....and yes..pictures will be updated if not already done.... Plus we did shopping and other little stuff also....
now i have 48 hours to unpack and repack for florida....we will be able to update from there so we will....
i have to say we were very sad when we first checked on our friends and saw that Michaela has passed over and earned her wings. please visit her site and see what an amazing angel heaven just gained. Our thoughts and sorrow go to her family at this time....
....
have a good remainder of the summer....check back soon!!
karen(mom)
Thursday, August 12, 2004 12:21 AM CDT
WEDDING PHOTOS ADDED 8/4
OK....last update before we leave for our Ocean City Family Trip....Samantha saw the doctor this morning...they decided to take some extra vials of blood to check out her organ levels also( such as liver functions etc)so that was fun....sammi hates needles so she flew off the handle when we told her it was needed..3 nurses to help hold her down and some tissues later they got it done...at fast glance her counts looked great
ANC= 2900 (normal 2-7.8)
White= 6.9 (normal 4.1-10.9)
HGB=13.9 (normal 12-18)
HCT= 41.2 (normal 37-51)
Plate=356 (normal 140-440)
We still have no idea what happened last month or why her counts zero'd like they did but whatever it was seems to have straightened out itself. Her next CBC check will be at 4pm on Sept 22nd....exactly one year off chemo treatment to the day....we figured that would be a good time..of course we will continue to update weekly so do not think i won't.
For now though i still need to pack and get things ready for Ocean City. Then me and the girls go to FLorida to see my mom for a week. Hopefully this time around Ocean City will be funner then last year..( for those who did not know last year we got to be there for 4 days but were in the ER for 3 of them)this time we are due for a full week ( keep fingers crossed)
I am looking forward to seeing my mom also. The girls are really looking forward to seing her as well. I pray she will look good and be able to enjoy the week with them. Needless to say i will be taking a thousand rolls of film of them all together and video!!
I will update from whereever i am but please be patient if it takes awhile....
have a good remainder of the summer....check back soon!!
karen(mom)
Wednesday, August 4, 2004 12:42 AM CDT
Things here are slowly getting back to normal for Samanthas counts. We will be going back in for another recheck on the 12th though instead of waiting the full month so i am hoping the doctors are not hiding anything from us.
This past weekend Our cousin Deana got married and as you can tell from the new photos we posted she had the cutest flower girls around. Congrats to her and her new husband Boris...we love you both so so much!! Much love and long life together.....
Mike and I are getting things ready so we can take the girls back to Ocean City next week for a mini family vacation before me and the girls go to FLorida to see my mom for a week. Hopefully this time around Ocean City will be funner then last year..( for those who did not know last year we got to be there for 4 days but were in the ER for 3 of them)this time we are due for a full week ( keep fingers crossed)
I am looking forward to seeing my mom also. The girls are really looking forward to seing her as well. I pray she will look good and be able to enjoy the week with them. Needless to say i will be taking a thousand rolls of film of them all together and video!!
I will update from whereever i am but please be patient if it takes awhile....
have a good remainder of the summer....check back soon!!
Please pray for both Nana Sherry and Samantha. They are both so big in my life i need them around for more time.
Thank you for checking in on us this week.
karen(mom)
Thursday, July 22, 2004 8:43 PM CDT
**UPDATE AS OF TUESDAY 7/27**
Sammi went in early to the doctors due to pains again in the stomach. the CBC's have shown that her body is fighting off a virus after all and her levels are struggling to come back to all good levels. But her platlets are out of the danger zone and hopefully they will continue to go up. next docs in 3 weeks!!
As you all know from my last update i was worried about todays doc appointment....Now it seems i may have had good reason to be concerned.
Her counts came back the first time way off. So to Samantha's protests another finger stick was needed. When they came to me to tell me they wanted to do a third finger stick i demanded to know what was up. I was told her whites were all the way up to 8 ( still normal but on the high side) her reds were good in number but low on size of the cells( could be nothing or could mean they are shrinking due to a problem) and the main concern was her platelets were only in the 90's ( should be about 200). If the platlets go below 50 it wil be the first transfussion needed for her in over 2 years. It could also mean the start of a Relapse.
So instead of having a month between docs visits we now have to go back in a week for new CBC's. Please pray for Sammi.
(thursday mornign at 9 is the docs appointment..please pray for sammi at that time!!)
After i got over the shock, i called my parents to update them. Thats when i really felt sucker punched today BIG TIME!! My mom had to break news to me that her doctors found 2 tumors in her brain that were not operable. he started radiation today right after being told they were there. Now she cannot travel at all so their visit for next week was canceled. I am so scared for my folks and also so sad that i cannot see my mom now. i have not seen her since Feb and that was only for a day. Now until i get to the bottom of sammi's counts i cannot go down to florida either so i am again torn between 2 special people in my life...my mom and daughter.
Its so so unfair that it all seems to happen at the same time. i want to see my mom but cannot leave sammi either. THIS SUCKS!!! sorry to vent ..i always try not to but i cried a river today and just really needed to get it off my mind.
Please pray for both Nana Sherry and Samantha. They are both so big in my life i need them around for more time.
Thank you for checking in on us this week.
karen(mom)
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 9:26 PM CDT
This years jello jump was so much fun...Samantha jumped about 5 times, amanda only wanted to do it once(too messy for her) and i got suckered into about 3 jumps(not like i minded)....Thank you to one and all who halped her reach her teams goal by sending in donations!!
remember to mark your calender for next years jump..the 3rd friday of july!!!
Samantha has been complaining of some cramps and pains in her legs and stomach so i moved up her next docs appointment from next week to this thursday..( i will always be a nervouse wreck anytime there is a complaint similar to the begging of this book). my head tells me its nothing but my heart is holding its breath. I promise to let you all know the results as soon as i know what they are!!
I cannot believe its already the middle of July. This summer is going by really fast.As you know from my Nana Sherry area up above most of my thoughts are with my mother these days. I was informed today that my mom does not want to stay on chemo for now. The plain truth is that scares the hell out of me. She is the strongest person i know though and one of the wisest so i am trusting her judgement.
but as with anything i am scared of so losing so much and she is high on my list.
Anyhow i cannot think about that now...i do not want to cry..sammi saw that i was sad before and hugged me so long..she even told me that maybe we could all go and spend the rest of the summer in florida. i told her maybe the end of auguest for a week....i will keep you all up to date!!
Thank you for checking in on us this week.
karen(mom)
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 7:29 PM CDT
***ADDED UPDATE****
This years jello jump was so much fun...Samantha jumped about 5 times, amanda only wanted to do it once(too messy for her) and i got suckered into about 3 jumps(not like i minded)....Thank you to one and all who halped her reach her teams goal by sending in donations!!
remember to mark your calender for next years jump..the 3rd friday of july!!!
Let me start by saying sorry it took me so long to update for all our faithful friends..i did not mean to scare anyone ...there is no good reason for my late update this time....just life keeping us busy.
Sammi seems to be doing good...she loves camp and karate lessons. Also next week twirling will start up again so she will really be kept busy. Amanda also between swimming and gymnastics is busy as well.
I cannot believe its already the middle of July. This summer is going by really fast.As you know from my Nana Sherry area up above most of my thoughts are with my mother these days. I was informed today that my mom does not want to stay on chemo for now. The plain truth is that scares the hell out of me. She is the strongest person i know though and one of the wisest so i am trusting her judgement.
but as with anything i am scared of so losing so much and she is high on my list.
Anyhow i cannot think about that now...i do not want to cry..sammi saw that i was sad before and hugged me so long..she even told me that maybe we could all go and spend the rest of the summer in florida. i told her maybe the end of auguest for a week....i will keep you all up to date!!
As i noted above the jello jump is here again this year. if anyone would like to donate to team sammi you can send in a donation to Kim Maccarthy at the above address. She runs the jump and will credit sammi's team. Thank you to all who help us out. Our goal is to raise $1,000 this year for the team.
Thank you for checking in on us this week.
karen(mom)
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 7:59 PM CDT
Thank you one and all for the good wishes and prayers...another month down and doing good....Samantha saw the doctors today and she is doing well....her platlets are down a little not but not alarmingly low so its off now for another month....yeah!!!
I did have a bad scare though when later in the day she went to get into our van and shut the sliding doors..it seems she was not inside all the way and when she pulled the door shutshe squished her head between the sliding doors and the front seat door....thank goodness it was her head and not on her neck!!! as it is she squished her earrings real bad....( not even worth trying to fix them) and her ears themselves are swollen and red. We gave her tylenol to prevent any pain but i am curious to see how she is in the morning!!
Amanda is doing really good now. the new medicine is working much better then the old stuff....but i do not want to jinx ourselves so i will stop talking now..heheh
As i noted above the jello jump is here again this year. if anyone would like to donate to team sammi you can send in a donation to Kim Maccarthy at the above address. She runs the jump and will credit sammi's team. Thank you to all who help us out. Our goal is to raise $1,000 this year for the team.
Friday, June 25, 2004 8:31 AM CDT
Well..lets see where to start. i think with Amanda. She saw the allergy doctor the other day and thank goodness all the testing showed negative. So now we know that her asthma is just toddler asthma and she will/should outgrow it by age 7 or 8. Instead of the singulair to control it though we were switched to the pulimacourt inthe nebulizer 2 x a day intill future notice..so thats a pain but she does the breathing treatments with minimum fuss so i can live with it...what other choice do we have...right!!
but she is doing better..sleeping well again and very happy so that is the best thing for us all. thank you all for your good prayers and best wishes...they worked!!
Samantha does not go back to the doctors until the 30th of June so i cannot say what things are for right now but she seems ok and happy...(thank you god!!) The only thing that has us a little worried is her energy level...she goes from being ok to pooping out in a matter of minutes but there is not a pattern so i am not sure if it means anything or not. let's face it..we will jump for shadows till the day we die!!
As i noted above the jello jump is here again this year. if anyone would like to donate to team sammi you can send in a donation to Kim Maccarthy at the above address. She runs the jump and will credit sammi's team. Thank you to all who help us out. Our goal is to raise $1,000 this year for the team.
Monday, June 21, 2004 8:04 AM CDT
Monday, June 14, 2004 8:02 AM CDT
Monday, June 7, 2004 4:30 PM CDT
Friday, May 28, 2004 8:43 AM CDT
Friday, May 21, 2004 12:07 AM CDT
Friday, May 14, 2004 1:24 PM CDT
Thursday, May 6, 2004 7:22 AM CDT
Monday, April 26, 2004 9:58 AM CDT
Thursday, April 22, 2004 10:57 AM CDT
Saturday, April 17, 2004 8:23 AM CDT
Friday, April 9, 2004 9:58 PM CDT
Monday, April 5, 2004 7:08 PM CDT
Saturday, April 3, 2004 8:16 AM CST
Monday, March 22, 2004 8:03 PM CST
Monday, March 15, 2004 1:00 PM CST
Sunday, March 7, 2004 4:42 PM CST
Friday, March 5, 2004 1:28 PM CST
Monday February 16th 2004 9:56 am
****
Tuesday, January 13, 2004 3:05 PM CST
***WARNING TO ALL***** please do not get taken in by anyone calling themselves princess jessica cat or princess nicole....they have been asked to leave caringbridge families alone..they are frauds and have been banned from many real sites including quilts of love and others. be careful!!!!!!!
| Ashton | Jason | Aizee | Alex | |
| Gooch | Jalen | Jeremy | Colton | |
| Connor | Tayden | Serena | Isabella | |
| Craig | Lakota | Lindsay | Steven | |
| Madison | Christine | Alexia | Noah | |
| Joey | Chance | Lindsay | Teresa | |
| Ethan | Luke | Matthew |
Thursday, January 8, 2004 12:18 AM CST
I am going to start off with Amanda this time. She has been having trouble breathing this week. We went to the doctors on Tuesday and they said that due to her asthma any small cold symptoms can turn ugly for her but they thought it was just a cold and she would be ok. Well today she woke up with a fever of 102 so back we went to the docs. Now they are saying she has some inflamation in her lungs but they are not congested (yet!) So now instead of her breathing treatments 3x's a day she will get them every 4 hours ( yes even at night..great news for mommy's sleep boo hoo hoo)plus her singulair tablets and the liquid steriod meds 3 times per day. Are we having fun yet or what???
Luckily Samantha is doing better. Her behavior and attitude are really showing improvement. Going back to school after the vacation i was expecting another adjustment period but thank goodness she has been great according to her teachers. Even at home i see it. until she gets tired. then she does slip a little but i'll take it. At least now i can really start to see the light at the end of samanthas long journey in the tunnel.
thank you to all for the good wishes for both our girls. I hope you know how much they all mean to us. As well as all of you. I feel so close to many of our caringridge friends. Almost like extended family.
God bless us all!!
Tuesday, January 6, 2004 6:40 PM CST
well..samantha is doing good so far this year. I think the worst part of her chemo withdrawal is over. She still has her small fits of rage but not nearly what it was. she is looking forward to knowing that soon we will get the date for when her port should come out. I think that is when she will come to terms with being off the chemo for good ( god willing!!!!!)
now for her little sister...Amanda is having trouble with her breathing on and off. it seems everytime she gets the start of a cold symtom it triggers her asthma attacks...last night it was like a baby seal was in her bed...all i heard was aarff...aarff...with her waking up and crying all night long. she saw the doctor today and he increased her breathing treatments for the next few weeks...hopefully that will work.
Saturday, January 3, 2004 1:14 PM CST
Sunday, December 28, 2003 2:55 PM CST
Sunday, December 28, 2003 2:55 PM CST
YEAH!!! WE MADE IT ANOTHER MONTH WITH NO MAJOR PROBLEMS!!
While her ANC(average neutrafil count) was down to 1200 the doctor was happy with her overall blood work. her platelets were 208, and her whites were 3.3. plus for the first time in a long while her reds were normal!!!
plus while we were at the office the staff spoiled both sammi and amanda like crazy. they got stuffed animals, toys, candy and driedels. plus a hanukka goodie bag.
SPOILED!!!!! i must add that while i am thrilled she is doing good, my heart still aches for all gods newest angels. for those who did not know last week three of our friends went to celebrate the holidays up above. please say a prayer for those families or visit their links down below.
Well..as you can see we have changed from the hanukka graphics to christmas. more spoiling for the girls..they love been ing able to say they do both holidays....it seems for the holidays though mom and dad are receiving all the bills now for the last 3 years of treatments..heheh
so....to help out with medical expenses for nana sherry I am going to be holding fundraising dinner. as I work out all the details I will keep you posted. I am hoping between having a set price per plate, chinese auction and raffles durning the night that I will be able to have a successful fundraiser. if i can help my mom out with a lot of her bills that would be the greatest holiday present ever.....
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL NO MATTER WHAT CELEBRATION YOU FOLLOW
nana sherry got some mixed news on her latest checkup...2 of her tumors are the same size, 2 got bigger and 1 got smaller. her doctor is going to check around and see what meds to try next. crazy right.....the biggest problem seems to be that her doctor does not take her health coverage anymore. and the new one she was going to use does not either. so now we need to find a doctor in her area (flagler beach...florida) who takes GHI coverage who has good luck with stubborn breast cancers. If anyone knows of anyone who may fit this bill please let us know ASAP. Without a doctor in her health plan the meds are costly...as it is they owe out more then $100,000. and if anyone reading this is looking to sponser her treatment please ..do not be shy. All donations can be mailed to myself or my mom. please email me personally at mpbowler1@aol.com for more information or to make a contribution.
please sign the guest book..i know its not always fast to do but sammi loves getting the messages from you all....thanks!! its amazing what 1 nice new message a day can do to a kid.....
god bless you and yours!!
karen ( mom)