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Friday, March 20, 2009 9:57 AM CDT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET SISTER LAUREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This year is Lauren's 5th birthday in heaven. She will be turning 9 already! She will probably have a HUGE party with Grandmom, Grandpop, Uncle Eddie, Mrs. Colvin, and everyone else in heaven. Also, this year will be Lauren's 5th year in heaven while celebrating Easter. I have a poem for you sis........


Dear Mr. Easter Bunny,
I just had to write today,
To see if you stop in Heaven,
As you hop along your way?

You see...a part of me is up there...
That I miss with all my heart...
You see...my sister lost her battle...
With a dicease that tore our lives apart.

So, I wanted to know if you go there?
And if I could ask a favor of you?
Can you take her a basket to heaven?
Filled with colored eggs and bunnies too?

And could you please add a green for me?
Mom says green means new life and rest,
For my sister is now resting in heaven...
No more pain and no more tests.

And could you also add an orange egg for me?
Orange for the color of a candles flame,
For my sister little light will always shine...
Although our lives will never be the same.

And cold you add an egg so blue?
For blue is the color of a cloudless sky,
And when I see the geese flying over me...
I know its a sign...from her way up high.

And we can't forget a yellow egg too...
For yellow is the color of the rising sun,
And my sisters love will shine down on me...
For all my days and nights to come.

And we also need a rainbow colored egg...
For the rainbow way up high in the sky,
For mom says she will always live within me...
And her spirit will never die.

And last but not least a red egg if you could?
For we all know red means the color of love,
And I love my sister oh so much...
Please send my love to her above.

Thank you Mr. Easter Bunny...
I really appreciate your time today...
And I will say a prayer for you too...
As you hop to Heaven for me on Easter day.

When you take her basket up to the Heavens...
Can you please whisper in her ear?
And wish her the happiest Easter form me...
For I miss her more with each passing year.

Here is another one for my dearest sister



You're...
My Sister,
my companion,
through good times and bad
my friend, my buddy,
through happy and sad,
beside me you stand,
beside me you walk,
you're there to listen,
you're there to talk,
with happiness, with smiles,
with pain and tears,
I know you'll be there,
throughout the years!


I love you with all my heart.

Thursday, March 19, 2009 6:01 PM CDT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET SISTER LAUREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This year is Lauren's 5th birthday in heaven. She will be turning 9 already! She will probably have a HUGE party with Grandmom, Grandpop, Uncle Eddie, Mrs. Colvin, and everyone else in heaven. Also, this year will be Lauren's 5th year in heaven while celebrating Easter. I have a poem for you sis........


Dear Mr. Easter Bunny,
I just had to write today,
To see if you stop in Heaven,
As you hop along your way?

You see...a part of me is up there...
That I miss with all my heart...
You see...my sister lost her battle...
With a dicease that tore our lives apart.

So, I wanted to know if you go there?
And if I could ask a favor of you?
Can you take her a basket to heaven?
Filled with colored eggs and bunnies too?

And could you please add a green for me?
Mom says green means new life and rest,
For my sister is now resting in heaven...
No more pain and no more tests.

And could you also add an orange egg for me?
Orange for the color of a candles flame,
For my sister little light will always shine...
Although our lives will never be the same.

And cold you add an egg so blue?
For blue is the color of a cloudless sky,
And when I see the geese flying over me...
I know its a sign...from him way up high.

And we can't forget a yellow egg too...
For yellow is the color of the rising sun,
And my sisters love will shine down on me...
For all my days and nights to come.

And we also need a rainbow colored egg...
For the rainbow way up high in the sky,
For mom says she will always live within me...
And her spirit will never die.

And last but not least a red egg if you could?
For we all know red means the color of love,
And I love my sister oh so much...
Please send my love to hre above.

Thank you Mr. Easter Bunny...
I really appreciate your time today...
And I will say a prayer for you too...
As you hop yo Heaven for me on Easter day.

When you take her basket up to the Heavens...
Can you please whisper in her ear?
And wish her the happiest Easter form me...
For I miss her more with each passing year.

Here is another one for my dearest sister



You're...
My Sister,
my companion,
through good times and bad
my friend, my buddy,
through happy and sad,
beside me you stand,
beside me you walk,
you're there to listen,
you're there to talk,
with happiness, with smiles,
with pain and tears,
I know you'll be there,
throughout the years!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 9:14 PM CST

December 9th, the day our Lauren became an angel. Four years here on earth and now today being her fourth year in heaven. Some days it feels like just yesterday and others it feels like an eternity. How have we gone on for this long without her - is what I find myself asking today. I know it is with her help guiding us and continuing to live our life just "One day at a Time".

I want to thank everyone who continues to check in on us and for the love and support you all continue to give - you'll never know how much it helps!!!!


Sweet Child

God made a sweet child
a child who never grew old
He made a smile of sunshine
He molded a heart of pure gold.
He made that child as close to an angel
as anyone ever could be
God made a Sweet Child
and He gave that dear child to me
Then God saw His wonderful creation
growing very tired and weak
so He wrapped the child in His loving arms
and said, "You my child I keep"
But now my Sweet Child is an angel
Free from hurt and pain
I'll love you forever, until we meet again
So many times I have missed you
So many times I have cried
If all my love could have saved you
Sweet Child you never would have died.
~~~~author unknown

Loving and Missing You,

Mom, Dad and Megan

Saturday, March 29, 2008 11:23 AM CDT

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, LAUREN!!!


We continue to miss you everyday, but especially today on your 8th birthday. As we gather together today to remember your birthday, we want you to be enjoying another great birthday party in heaven.


Loving and Missing you,

Mom,Dad,Megan & Biscuit

Sunday, August 5, 2007 12:46 AM CDT

Hi Everybody! It's me Megan! I know it's been a while since we updated but I'm updating now. I hope everyone's summer's going good! Mine is going GREAT but FAST! I turned 10 at the end of June and had to celebrate another birthday without my sister. Even though she is not here she will always be with me, just in a different way.
I also went to the shore in July for 10 days! It was so much fun but when I came home I was really tired. I wished Lauren was there too, but wait what am I thinking she was there! I won her a lot of stuff that I'm going to put on her grave!


CAN YOU BELIEVE IT I'M GOING INTO FIFTH GRADE ! ! ! ! ! ! !


Anyway, I only really have one more thing to tell you about. We all continue to miss Lauren very much and in memory of her we want to help the other kids still battling cancer. My family and I are going to walk at the "Park Way Run" for childhood cancer. It is on Sunday September 30th. All money raised will go to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Our team name is "Love for Lauren" and you can join to either run or walk you can go to "www.parkwayrun.com". Hope to see you there!

Will update again soon!

Love,

Megan

Wednesday, June 6, 2007 6:25 PM CDT

Hi Everyone,

I know it has been a while since our last update and actually I'm only going to share a few things with you that I think are important and you may be interested in. When I update again, I will let you all know about some things that have been happening with us. We are all doing well and I know Megan is looking forward to summer vacation, but with every passing day we continue to miss our Lauren, and that I know will never change.

On May 24, 2007 we held our 3rd Annual Alex's Lemonade Stand at Holy Cross School (Megan's school). It turned out to be a beautiful day. Not only was the weather beautiful but the success and the support we received was too. We are proud to say we raised $3,260.00. We were able to share our story again this year with Larry Mendte and Channel 3. It aired on the 4 o'clock news on Tuesday, June 5, 2007. For the past three nights, Channel 3 has been sharing stories with all of us about children who are battling and who have lost their battle with the dreaded disease we call CANCER. Tomorrow, June 7th they will host an all day phone bank on behalf of Alex's Lemonade Stand. I have copied the information from the website to share with you. I hope you will have some time to watch some of it and realize why it is soooooooooo important to donate to such an important cause. Just remember, our children cannot fight it alone.

The following is the information from the website:

An all day phone bank on CBS 3 and its affiliates will air on Thursday, June 7th benefiting the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF). CBS Anchor Tracy Smith of The Early Show along with Larry Mendte will pioneer the event.

CBS 3 President and General Manager Michael Colleran said, "The CBS 3 family is proud to embrace this important cause with an unprecedented commitment of airtime." The phone bank is airing one day prior to ALSF's National Lemonade Days (June 8th-10th) of which individuals, families, and companies across the nation hold lemonade stands raising awareness and helping to fight childhood cancer.

Pledges can be made from 6am to 8pm by credit card or check by calling 1-877-KYW-3ASK (1-877-599-3275). Live coverage of the event will be seen during newscasts, commercial breaks and by pre-empting various regularly scheduled programs. Also, CBS 3 Meteorologist Kathy Orr is holding an Alex's Lemonade Stand in Ocean City, NJ to be highlighted during her "Orr At The Shore" reports.

The 14 hour event includes volunteers from local companies, including the Flyers, the Sixers, the Phillies and CBS 3’s own sister stations, The CW Philly 57 (WPSG-TV), KYW Newsradio 1060, 98.1 WOGL, 94 Free FM WYSP, SportsRadio 610 WIP and The Big Talker 1210AM WPHT.

Throughout the day Alex's story will be retold from clips of CBS 3's award winning documentary, Alex Scott: A Stand For Hope. The program will also be aired in full on Sunday, June 10 at 11 a.m. on CBS 3 and at 12 noon on The CW Philly 57.


Will update again soon!

Love,

Michele

Thursday, March 29, 2007 8:06 PM CDT

Today is Thursday, March 29, 2007 and it is Lauren's Birthday.

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, LAUREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU EVERYDAY.

LOVE,

MOM, DAD, MEGAN & BISCUIT

Sunday, February 11, 2007 1:22 PM CST

Megan decided that she would like to write the journal this time. So here is her update:

I know my mom updated that we were going to go to Walt Disney!We went to Orlando Florida and stayed at the Wilderness Lodge! We had the BEST TIME EVER!!! But we knew Lauren was with us every moment and was having a blast too. We stayed for 8 days. It was so much fun I want to go back again!I brought back souvenirs for evrybody in my family! They all enjoyed them. Then just around the corner was Christmas! YAY!!!!!!!!

So we celebrated Christmas and we were all crazy but we knew that Lauren was watching over us and was celebrating Christmas with us too! Then it came to New Years Eve we all gathered around and made lots of noise. We knew that every moment we took Lauren was with us always. Everyday when I walk home from school I always look at her sign. Our family has not been the same without her of course. We all knew that she was a bright little girl even through the tough times and we know thats why God wanted her to be with him. She was the best sister to me I will always remember her know matter what!

A boy in my class named Matthew has a sister named Alex and she was diagnosed with cancer in December ( The same week of Lauren's second year in heaven. ) She is in first grade at our school, the same grade Lauren would have been in. My family and I would please ask you to keep Alex in your prayers. I know she will be tough just like Lauren was and I know she has a special angel watching over her, and that angel just might be my sister ( Lauren ). My class and I are raising money for Alex and Alex's family.

We are starting to plan our third Alex's Lemonade Stand in May at Holy Cross School we will tell you more about it when it gets closer to the special occasion. Also, next month will be Lauren's 7th birthday and if you would like to remember Lauren by making a donation to Lauren's Legacy I will put the address at the bottom. This is our way to help other kids with cancer.I would like to do something special to help raise money and try to cure cancer and raise money for other family's.

Thanks for reading my update.


LAUREN'S LEGACY
c/o Citizens Bank
1055 W. Baltimore Pike
Media, PA 19063

Friday, September 8, 2006 8:40 AM CDT

Hi Everyone,

WOW!!!! It has been three months. School ended and has begun again since my last update.

Well, I'll share a little bit of what our summer was like. Megan celebrated her 9th birthday at the end of June, the 27th to be exact. She has been through more then most 9 year olds and is growing up so fast. I often tell her that I wish she was still little and that we could keep her like that. Megan tells me in return "Mom, you can't hold on to me forever". Oh, but I will even if she doesn't like it to much.

At the end of July we had another fundraiser in memory of Lauren. It was called "Love for Lauren Day", it was a day of fun with a lemonade stand, baked goods, hot dogs, pretzels, games, prizes, moon bounce, etc. The event was held at my friend Rose's house. Rose and I worked together and we were both pregnant at the same time. Her daughter Brielle wanted to do something special in memory of Lauren. Although the weather did not really cooperate the day of the event, it was successful and we even made two of the local papers!!! The day after the fun day we left for a weeks vacation. We went to the shore and had great weather and a good time. No vacation will ever be the same, but we try to enjoy it the best we can for Megan. She is what gets us through a lot of the most difficult things. Although, I think Megan has a harder time during the summer months - she does not have school as her distraction. Even though she has all kinds of toys, books, ect., she still wanders around the house missing the sister she use to have to play with and Mom and Dad aren't good enough sometimes. We just don't play the same way they use too.

Megan also went to the Mountains this summer with her Grandmom and Aunt Gloria. She had a great time and wants Bob and I to buy a house up there. The first day she was gone I kept waiting for the phone call to come get her, but it never came. It was the first time being that far away for a few days without us. It didn't seem to matter to her. Well, as far as the month of August, I'm not sure were it went - it was here and gone before I knew it.

Megan started her first day of 4th grade on Wednesday, September 6th. She was anxious to go back to see some of her friends she didn't see over the summer. As I dropped her off yesterday, I couldn't help but shed a few tears as I watched the first graders go in for there first day. Watching and thinking about how Lauren should have been there with them. Something I struggle with everytime I see a child her age.

Well not only did Megan go back to school, but I guess you can say I did too. Only I went back as a teacher not a student. Yes, I went back to work. I am working part-time at "Toddler Time" (2 year olds) at a pre-school in our area. I am working along with the teachers Megan had in pre-school and I guess you can say they were Lauren's teachers too, even though she only lasted a few weeks in school. She just didn't like it. When I think back I am glad I pulled her out, because it gave her more time with me.

Lastly, I would like to invite anyone who would like to join us on Sunday, September 24th for this years Parkway Run/Walk. Our team name is the same as last year "Love for Lauren". This walk raises money for the Oncology Division at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. If you would like to join us you can register at www.parkwayrun.com. If you go to the site and click on Family Fun Run/Walk there is a photo of some of us from our Love for Lauren team from last year. Hope to see you there!!!!!

I would like to thank everyone who still continues to check in on us. Your thoughts, prayers and well wishes still mean a lot to us.

Will update again.

Love,

Michele

Wednesday, June 7, 2006 10:26 AM CDT

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to give you a quick update on how our 2nd Annual Alex's Lemonade Stand went. We made $2,700+. This includes all donations and also what we sold in merchandise. We had t-shirts, bandanas, wristbands, etc. It was another nice day, except for about the hour of rain we had in the afternoon, but after that the sun came out and shined brighter than ever. (THANK YOU LAUREN!)

Also, I would like to share with everyone about how CBS 3 came to our stand to hear our story about why "Alex's Lemonade Stands" are important to us. CBS 3 in Philadelphia is airing the Alex Scott mini-documentary on Thursday night June 8th at 7:30 and again on Sunday, June 11th at noon. Hopefully our story will be included in this wonderful documentary on Alex. I know Alex and Lauren will be smiling down on all of us as we watch and try to spread the word about how important it is to raise as much money as we can for Childhood Cancer Research. Don't forget to watch - and maybe even consider holding your own stand - it's not that hard. Think about how many children you will be helping and no amount is too little.

Will update again soon.

Love,

Michele

Tuesday, May 16, 2006 4:22 PM CDT

Well I know it's been awhile, again!!!! Next month it will be 1 year and a half (18 months) since Lauren earned her angel wings. Most people say that with time it gets better, but I have to disagree with that. The more time that passes, I constantly think about the things we are doing and everything that is happening without Lauren. I find myself wondering what it would have been like this year taking both girls to school and how I would have been spending my time. Oh, how I wish that was the way it was and not the way it really is. So many parties, family get togethers, school functions, etc. without someone who was such a special part of our family. I just keep telling myself that someday we will know the reason why - only somedays I wish I knew now.

Well, just to let you know a few things that have been happening. For Lauren's birthday we left it up to Megan and her choice was only to order out for dinner - she said she knew that Lauren would have liked that. So that's what we did. Over the Easter break from school we finally delivered the toys to CHOP that Megan's class collected for Lauren's year anniversary. It was a trip filled with mixed emotions, happy to see everyone who became part of our family, yet sad to remember and visit. I just can't forget about that part of our life. Also, two saturdays ago we set up at Westbrook Park School for our first flea market, with all proceeds going to Lauren's Legacy for childhood cancer research. The school was kind enough to donate our space to us. We made close to $200.00. My good friend Lisa and her husband Joe set up with me and at the end of the day said - see we turned our Junk into Jingles and we all know how Lauren loved to find her coins. We plan to participate in more flea markets and will keep you posted as to when and where. This coming Thursday, May 18th we are having our 2nd Annual Alex's Lemonade Stand in memory of Lauren. Once again this year, we would like to invite anyone who can come. The following is all the info about the stand:

When: Thursday, May 18th
Where: Holy Cross School, Springfield, PA
Time: 12:00-3:00 4:00-10:00

Hope to see you there.

Once again, thanks to all of you who continue to check in on us. I will update again after the Lemonade Stand to let you all know how things went.

Love,
Michele

PLEASE REMEMBER, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US IN HELPING OTHER KIDS & FAMILIES GOING THROUGH WHAT WE DID. DONATE TO:

LAUREN'S LEGACY
C/O CITIZENS BANK
1055 WEST BALTIMORE PIKE
MEDIA, PA 19063

NO AMOUNT IS TOO LITTLE - DONATE YOUR LOOSE COINS AND YOU MAY HELP "CHANGE" CHILDHOOD CANCER.

MARCH 29, 2006

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY LAUREN!!!!!!
WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU.


THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2006
Today it has been 15 months since our precious Lauren earned her angel wings and it is 20 days from her 6th Birthday. Were has time gone and how have I made it this long without her? Just some questions I often ask myself.

Well I know it has been a while since I updated last and for that I am sorry. It is so hard to believe that we celebrated yet another Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Daddy's Birthday without Lauren. Sometimes I wonder when I am going to wake up from this horrible dream - then realize I'm not dreaming - it is so much more real now then when Lauren first passed away. All I can say is we are all doing the best we can.

Since I updated last, here are some things that have been happening with us. Back in December, on Lauren's year anniversary, Megan's class at school wanted to do something to remember Lauren. They class decided that each child was going to bring in a new toy to donate to Children's Hospital. I believe it was also decided that her class will be doing this every year until they graduate from 8th grade. They are truly a great group of kids and parents. I am still making arrangements to deliver the toys when Megan has a day off from school, because she wants to go with me.

On New Year's Day we told Megan that she had won an award from the Colin Donnelly Memorial Fund. This is a Memorial Fund that friends of ours have started in memory of their son. The letter we received stated that one deserving child each year will be the recipient of the "Brave Kid Award." This year Megan was selected because of the great love and support she gave her sister and best friend, throughout her battle with childhood cancer. As the recipient of this award Megan has received a seven night vacation, for the three of us, to Walt Disney World. I know WOW. Well that is what we all thought. It will be somewhat of a hard trip to take - for those of you who know, Lauren's Make-a-Wish was to take a trip to Disney, only we never made it. Part of me truly believes that Lauren had something to do with this. That she knew we would drag our feet in taking Megan there and that she had to help make it happen. So we want to say thank you to the Donnelly's and to Lauren for giving us something so wonderful. We all know that she will be on that trip with us.

Since this is Lauren's birthday month, Megan has asked me, Mom what are we going to do for Lauren's birthday? Once again, this year, I told her it is up to her. She can decide what we do that day (of course after she goes to school). I think it makes her feel good being the one to decide how to make that day special.

Also, we are still working hard on raising funds for Lauren's Legacy. Since the nice weather will hopefully be arriving soon - we are planning on participating at some local flea markets, with all profits going to Lauren's Legacy. I'll keep you posted, just in case you are doing some cleaning and have some things you might want to donate for us to sell.

I think I have updated you with most of what has been happening with us - I'm sure I forgot some things, but I'll write it next time.

Once again, thanks to everyone who continues to check in on us. It truly means a lot.

Love,

Michele

PLEASE REMEMBER, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP US HELP OTHERS GOING THROUGH WHAT WE DID, PLEASE DONATE TO LAUREN'S LECACY:

LAUREN'S LEGACY
C/O CITIZENS BANK
1055 WEST BALTIMORE PIKE
MEDIA, PA 19063

Sunday, December 11, 2005 3:40 PM CST

This past Friday, December 9th was the one year anniversary of Lauren earning her angel wings. It is so hard for all of us to believe that it has been a year already. Some days it feels like just yesterday and others it feels like forever. I often wonder how we made it through this past year without her, but then realize that she is still here with all of us and that it is her giving us the strength to go on. I would like to share with all of you the following:

Dear Lauren,

How can it be, a year's gone by
Since you left us here on earth
Why it seems like only yesterday
We were celebrating your birth.

The joy you brought our family
Still brings a smile to the face
For memories we shared with you
Are so hard to erase.

Who could forget your silly jokes
And the songs you liked to sing
For life with you was happiness
So much laughter you did bring.

Now sometimes when we're feeling sad
And wonder how we'll make it through
We'll see a penny on the ground
And know it was sent by you.

Your courage and your bravery
Were great for one so small
Your grace and your acceptance
Were an inspiration to us all.

And though our hearts are aching
At missing you so much,
To know you, we were priviledged
As were all whose lives you touched.

Now all of heaven is brighter
Since you've become their guest,
For their comfort comes in knowing
God brought them his very best.

So now we pray, dear Lauren
That you watch over your family
Until the day we meet again
In our home so heavenly.

This was written by Lauren's Aunt Diane. It will be in the memorial booklet that will be distributed tonight at the Candle-lighting ceremony at Children's Hospital.

Don't forget to light a candle tonight at 7:00p.m. to remember all the children who have earned their angel wings. And remember, WE DO THIS....THAT THEIR LIGHT MAY ALWAYS SHINE!

Thanks to everyone for thinking of us during this time.

Love,

Bob, Michele & Megan

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 7:02 PM CST

I know it has been awhile since my last update and I want to say I am sorry for anyone who is still checking in on us.

I want to share with all of you that we made almost $2,700.00 in our first penny drive (Pennies for Pediatric Cancer) during the month of September. We want to thank the stores and Megan's school who participated in making this a success.

Also, on September 25th we participated in the Parkway Run/Walk, what a perfect day we had. We got to see a lot of the families we have met, doctors & nurses who took care of Lauren and all of the kids still going thru treatment. After participating in the walk you felt like you made a difference. I have pictures of our team which was named "Love for Lauren", I will add it to the photo page soon.

As far as how we are doing, well I guess okay, but we know that it will be hard for all of us as the holidays and Lauren's anniversary approaches. Even as I sit here doing this update, I think about what tomorrow is and remember that last year on Thanksgiving Lauren was still here with us. She was suffering from her leg pain, but was here to share Thanksgiving Day with us. This Thanksgiving and always we know she will be with us, but just in a different way.

On Sunday, December 11th, our family and some friends will be attending the 6th Annual National Children's Memorial Day Candle Lighting Ceremony. The candle lighting is held annually for all to remember those children who have died from any cause, at any age. The event is held annually on the second Sunday in December at 7p.m. local time. Candles stay lighted for one hour in each time zone around the world creating a virtual 24-hour wave of light. So on Sunday, December 11th at 7p.m. light a candle at your house as a way to remember Lauren and all the other children who have earned their angel wings. And remember: WE DO THIS....THAT THEIR LIGHT MAY ALWAYS SHINE!

I am going to leave the address of the bank on the website, so that if anyone at this time of giving would like to make a donation to "Lauren's Legacy" account you will know where to send it. It is so important to help find a cure for this horrible disease, so no more children will have to go through what Lauren did.

Lauren's Legacy
Citizens Bank
1055 West Baltimore Pike
Media, PA 19063

From our family to all of yours - Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Bob, Michele & Megan

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, LAUREN - WE LOVE AND MISS YOU!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 1:07 PM CDT

Well it's September 1st and almost time for Megan to go back to school. We had an ok summer, but she is anxious to go back and see all of her friends.

I have a few things I would like to share with everyone:

In our last update we told you about the "Lauren's Lane" street sign at Megan's school. We want to thank friends from the Parish, Dot & Dan O'Connor, for taking a picture of the sign and e-mailing it to us to use on the website. I'm glad they did, because I still have not gotten my pictures developed. Take a look on the photo page.

As many of you are already aware, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Since Lauren earned her angel wings and her battle with this terrible disease is over, we as a family have taken on a new challenge. Lauren's love for finding loose change has inspired us to establish "Lauren's Legacy" in her memory. Our goal is to raise as much money as we can for Pediatric Cancer Research. For the month of September we are having a penny drive called "Pennies for Pediatric Cancer". Many of the local businesses have agreed to place a penny container on there counters for the collection. Also, Megan's school will be participating the last week of September. I would like to ask if anyone has connections with any businesses that you think would be interested in supporting our penny drive, please e-mail me at mjb903@aol.com and I will make sure a penny container gets to them. I also have had many people tell me that ever since they found out about Lauren's love for finding loose change, they have been keeping the coins they find and feel they need to do something special with that change. If you are one of these people that feel this way, and would like to donate your findings, we have set up a bank account and checks can be sent to the following:

Lauren's Legacy
c/o Citizens Bank
1055 West Baltimore Pike
Media, PA 19063

Also this month, on September 25th we as a family will be going to the 2005 Parkway Run/Walk for Children's Cancer Research, benefiting Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We would like to invite anyone that would like to join our team to come out and walk with us for this great cause. If you would like more information and would like to register to be on our team go to www.parkwayrun.com. Our team name is "Love for Lauren". If you cannot join us on the walk and would like to donate to sponsor our team you can also do that online. If you do join our team and have a purple shirt - wear it. Lauren's favorite color was purple and that is what we will all be wearing.

Hope to see you on the 25th. Thanks to all of you for your continued love and support.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005 9:59 AM CDT

Today is Wednesday, July 27th and I know it has been a while since my last update, but Caringbridge made some changes and I was having problems with logging in to update the site.

The last update was about us having an Alex's Lemonade Stand at Megan's school. Wow, what a day - since it was our first time having a stand, our total raised was much more than I thought it would be. The total was $4,990.05. I know Lauren and Alex were with us that day and must have been proud of all our hard work.

A few weeks after the stand, on the last day of school a street sign at the school was dedicated in memory of Lauren. Megan and the whole second grade class along with family and friends were there. The sign is in front of the gym and the street was named "Lauren's Lane". On the sign is also a picture of a Yorkie (which is the kind of dog we have). I cannot even describe how beautiful it is, but when I get the pictures developed I will put one on the site. I would like to share with you what was said and how the dedication went:

We are gathered together today to honor the memory of Lauren Brown - a precious child of God who brought much joy into our lives during her life. Although she was young, Lauren taught us many lessons about life. Lauren loved life and lived it to the full with great courage, enthusiasm and humor. We remember her with happiness as we picture her here in this place waiting for her sister and best friend, Megan, to come home from school. With a big smile and hug the two sisters would reunite at the end of a busy day of work, play and sometimes hospital visits. Regardless of the day's activities, the sisters were happy to see each other in this special place. Often, a third family member would also share in the excitement of the moment - of course Biscuit liked the walk to Holy Cross School as well. How fitting then, that we mark this little plot with a sign of our love and gratitude for Little Lauren and her big sister, Megan, and their pet, Biscuit.

As we gather, we ask God to fill our hearts with peace as we picture Lauren in the arms of His loving and joyful Son, Jesus, who told His disciples quite clearly, "Let the little children come to me, for of such is the Kingdom of God". Let us pray with courage and with confidence in the words that Jesus taught us to pray, "Our Father....."

At this time, we ask Megan and her Mom and Dad to unveil the sign for all of us.

We give thanks to all who supported us in our desire to remember Lauren and her family in a special way. May God bless us with a deeper appreciation for the gifts of life, faith and love we share as members of Holy Cross School and Parish.

This was such a beautiful dedication and will remain with all of us forever.

Now we are into the summer and some days are harder than others, but we continue to ask Lauren for strength and guide us along our way. It seems to be a little harder for Megan now, she does not have school which normally kept her mind occupied, at least most of the day. We took Megan on vacation to the shore (North Wildwood) and she seemed to have a good time. Everything we do is different and we never know how it will affect any of us, so all we do is the best we can.

At the beginning of July, we found out that TJ, one of Lauren's friends from CHOP, who we went through treatment and transplant with, has relapsed. When we heard this news, words cannot even describe how we felt. After talking to his mom, I found out that TJ will be going thru 6 weeks of radiation. I told her miracles happen, don't give up and that we would be praying. I would also like to ask all of you to pray for TJ too.

I'm sure that I have left something out, but I think this update is long enough. Will update again.

FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2005

Lauren earned her angel wings almost six months ago and not a day goes by that we do not think about her.

Over the past few weeks I have been working with a few of the moms at Megan's school planning an Alex's Lemonade Stand. One of the moms is the mother of Danny Hammond, a 7th grader at Holy Cross School who has been battling spinal cord cancer since he was in the 3rd grade. I know Lauren is keeping special watch over Danny, because it was him and his mom who were a few of the first to visit us after Lauren was diagnosed. We know Lauren is also watching over all the kids she met during her treatment, the ones she never met and even the ones that have been diagnosed since she earned her wings. I often sit and wonder about were I am getting the strength & drive to do what I am doing and then it hits me, it's Lauren guiding me along. I know that everything I am doing will never bring her back, but if I can help other children and spare their family what our family had do go through ---it is all worth it.

Well here are the all the details about the Lemonade Stand.

When: Thursday, May 26, 2005

Where: Holy Cross
240 North Bishop Avenue
Springfield, PA
Between the Church and the Gym

Time: 12:00pm 3:00pm-4:00pm 10:00p.m.

Please come out and join us.

Also, please continue to pray for all the children and their families who are still battling this terrible disease.

To all who have shared in Lauren's life and have given us your love, support and prayers during this difficult time, we give you our heartfelt thanks.

We will update again.

Thursday, February 10, 2005 9:10 AM CST

Yesterday was two months since Lauren earned her angel wings and we continue missing her with each passing day.

We often tried to recall what life was like before Megan and Lauren were born. They both became a big part of our lives and it was as if we could not remember those days. It felt like they were always here and we could not imagine what life would be like without them. We now find ourselves trying to do just that - living our lives without Lauren. As Mom and Dad we are learning how to be parents to just one. Megan is missing that one special person who looked up to her. She was her playmate, her best friend and most importantly her little sister. We all are adjusting and doing the best we can. Some days are harder than others, but we pray to Lauren to help give us the courage and strength to go on.

We know some of you were not at Lauren's funeral Mass or only knew her through her website, so we would like to share with you a little bit of the Lauren we knew and loved. The following is the Eulogy that was written and read by Lauren's Aunt Denise.

It has been said that "your children will take you places you never thought you'd go and teach you things you never knew you didn't know". Lauren took all of us, not just her family, but anyone fortunate enough to be touched by her, to places we never thought we'd go and taught us things we never knew we didn't know.

The love Lauren had for her mother and father cannot be described in words, just as the love they have for her cannot be described in words. She adored her big sister, Megan and wanted to be like her in every way. Lauren loved spending time with Grandmom and was the apple of her PopPop's eye. Her dog, Biscuit-boy was her constant companion and protector.

Lauren was loved dearly by her aunts, uncles and cousins. She was the youngest of many cousins, yet she knew how to relate to each one in her own special way, no matter what their age.

Lauren had a zest for life that none of us ever understood. Little did we know, we would only have her for a few short years. She packed so much living into her four years and touched so many lives in ways that most of us could never begin to imagine.

Lauren loved to have her picture taken. She loved finding loose change on the street. She loved playing dress up. She liked to sing and dance. Lauren loved going out to breakfast every Sunday after Church and playing the video game in the restaurant. You were lucky if you were the one she picked to play the game with her that week. She loved a party - and she loved to eat.

Lauren enjoyed going on family vacations to the beach. She enjoyed playing outside with her sister, or just watching television with her family.

When Lauren was diagnosed with cancer it devastated all of us; however, we knew she was a fighter and if anyone could beat this terrible disease it was her. She endured endless tests, scans, transfusions, surgeries, transplants and hospital stays. She faced all of these with courage, and through it all, she never lost her sense of humor.

God had other plans for our Lauren.

Her family takes comfort in knowing that she is an angel. She is in heaven in the hands of God. She is in heaven with her Grandmom and Grandpop Bodell. She will never be forgotten by those she left behind.

We will miss you Lauren, yet we know you will give us the courage to carry on and always be with us. Whenever I find those coins on the street, I'll know they're from you.


Please continue to pray for all the children and their families who are still battling this terrible disease.

To all who have shared in Lauren's life and have given us your love, support and prayers during this difficult time, we give you our heartfelt thanks.
We will update again.

Sunday, January 9, 2005

Today is Sunday, January 9th, nine days into the new year and one month since Lauren earned her wings. The holidays have come and gone and we did our best to get through them. We can only imagine what Lauren's first Christmas in heaven was like. Although nothing in our lives will ever be the same and are changed forever, we believe that Lauren will always be with us. We have our own angel watching over us.

Lauren has joined my parents(Michele) in heaven and she met her grandfather and one of her uncles for the first time. Our hearts ache and we miss her terribly, but knowing she is with family, out of pain and there is no more suffering gives us some comfort.

We want to express our heartfelt thanks to all who have shared in Lauren's life, our family, friends, co-workers, members of Holy Cross School/Parish, staff & other families at Children's Hospital and even strangers who always surrounded us with love, support and prayers. We also appreciate the comfort from all of you during our most difficult time.

Please join us in praying to Lauren for all the other children who are still battling cancer and other diseases.
We will continue to update to let you know how we are doing.

We will always love you Lauren!!!


Love,
Bob,Michele & Megan

Friday, December 10, 2004 3:32 PM CST

With heavy hearts, we are saddened to say that on the afternoon of Thursday, December 9th, our little angel Lauren passed away peacefully in her mother's arms.

We will update again soon with the arrangements.

Friday, December 3, 2004 9:00 AM CST

We got the test results from Lauren's CT & MIBG Scans and her Neuroblastoma is back.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY - WE NEED A MIRACLE.

Tuesday, November 30, 2004 4:50 PM CST

Today is Tuesday, November 30th and I'm sorry its been awhile since we updated. Thanksgiving was good (it could have been better - but we were home and not in the hospital so we'll call it good) and Lauren is now off mask precaution!!!!

The week before Thanksgiving we had off from any doctor visits, only we wound up having 2 visits that week. Lauren has been suffering with pain in her left leg. She did fall so they took an x-ray, but nothing showed. We have been giving her Motrin and it is helping a little. The pain is worse at night when she tries to sleep. The doctors say even though the x-ray showed nothing it may have been to soon to detect a fracture, it could be a bad bruise, growing pains or something we don't want - that the cancer is back. We are praying and trying to be positive. The doctors have told us that it is a good sign that when she takes the Motrin it helps and she also asks us to rub her leg & that helps too. If it was a relapse, the motrin probably wouldn't help and she wouldn't want anyone to touch her leg. Last Tuesday we had our follow-up visit with Dr. Grupp (Transplant Doc) and Lauren will start her treatment on Accutane next Monday, December 6th. What a challenge that is going to be - for all of you who know how much Lauren loves to take oral medicine you know what I mean. Talking to Dr. Grupp about Lauren's leg he does not feel that the leg pain is a relapse, but of course they won't know for sure until she has her CT scan and MIBG scan.

Our schedule for the rest of this week is:

Tomorrow we have a checkup with the Oncologist, another x-ray of the leg and the injection for the MIBG scan.

Thursday we have the CT scan and MIBG scan.

Friday we have a follow-up with Dr. Maity (Radiation Doc).

We will update again with the results.

Monday, November 8, 2004 9:44 AM CST

On Friday, November 5th Lauren finished her 12th & final treatment of radiation. Going everyday for 12 straight days except Saturdays & Sundays you would have never known she was having radiation. She had no side effects and so much energy - even though we had to be up and out every morning by 6:30a.m. After radiation on Friday she also had her Picc line removed. We go back for a checkup on Wednesday, November 10th and we will begin to schedule her post testing. Also, at the end of the month Lauren will start taking her oral medicine. She will be on the medicine for 2 weeks, off 2 weeks for 6 months. She is so happy that all her treatments are over, so we are going to wait until the time comes to tell her about taking the medicine. Her hair is starting to grow back and we have a few more weeks of being on mask precaution.

On November 25th, THANKSGIVING DAY, she will be off mask precaution/home isolation. We are planning to have a great Thanksgiving and we sure do have a lot to be thankful for.

We want to thank everyone for the love and support and continue to ask for your prayers. We ask not only for prayers for Lauren, but for all the kids going through cancer treatment and to keep the kids done treatment cancer free.

Will update again soon.

Love,

Bob,Michele,Megan & Lauren

Friday, October 22, 2004 8:24 PM CDT

Hi everyone!!!

Today is Friday, October 22nd and we are still enjoying everyday of being home.

This past Tuesday, Lauren had a Picc Line (which is a temporary line)put in her upper left arm and everything went fine. The only problem she had was the procedure was not until the afternoon, which meant she could only have clear liquids until 2 hours before. We all know how Lauren loves to eat and the liquids were not doing anything for her! On Thursday we had another afternoon trip to the hospital for Lauren to have her setup appointment and first treatment of radiation. Another day of only clear liquids - what a challenge to keep her from eating. Today we went back for her second of twelve treatments and thankfully it was an early arrival time - 6:30a.m. to be exact. Although it was still dark when we left, Lauren was awake, but didn't ask to eat and everything went fairly quick once we got there. We were done and back home by 10:00a.m. and had the rest of the day. Just two more weeks and Lauren will be done with all her treatments and then she will have her scans done again.

Well I have to end the update because Lauren is yelling at me to get off the computer and play with her. Will update again soon.

Friday, October 8, 2004 7:59 AM CDT

Today is Friday, October 8th and Lauren was back in the hospital, but is now back home.

On Saturday morning Lauren spiked a fever of 103. We took her to the Emergency Room and blood cultures were drawn, antibiotics were started and we were admitted. Later that night we found out that her cultures were growing - there was an infection and it was in her central line.

On Sunday morning the doctor told us we could treat this two ways:

1. Treat with antibiotics for 7 days and hope that will clear up the infection.

or

2. Pull her central line and continue to treat with antibiotics to make sure the infection is out of her blood stream.

If you remember when Lauren's other central line got infected during her 1st transplant the doctors tried to treat it, but they wound up taking the line anyway.
We decided this time to have the line pulled and told the doctor to do it as soon as possible. He advised us that it would be done later that day (Sunday). Hours after telling Lauren what was going to be done and not allowing her to eat or drink, we were told they could not schedule an operating room. We were also told if we wanted to they could remove the line in the treatment room on the floor. We knew this was possible from other families that have done it, but we always requested the O.R. We wanted the line out and did not want her to have another long day of not eating or drinking if we scheduled for the O.R. on Monday. On Monday she would have been an add on to the schedule so we had no idea how long she would have had to wait.

Sunday evening around 6:30 we took her to the treatment room and the doctor gave her some medicine to help her relax and maybe sleep through the procedure. After giving her the maximum dose of medicine she was still not relaxed or sleeping. We decided to do the procedure anyway. So when the Surgeon was ready, a Resident, two Nurses, Aunt Denise and Mom helped to hold her. Everything went well and Lauren does not remember what happened because of the medicine the gave (if only they could have given some to Aunt Denise and Mom). An IV was also put in so they could continue treating her with antibiotics. Now all we had to do is wait to find out what kind of infection it was and if it could be treated with oral antibiotics. On Tuesday morning the doctor had good news - Lauren could go home and take oral antibiotics. We called Daddy, told him to come get us and we surprised Megan by picking her up at school.

We are glad to be home once again and have a checkup scheduled for next Wednesday. We still do not know when radiation will begin, maybe in two weeks or so. Until then we'll enjoy our time without any teatments!

Your thoughts and prayers are still needed and we appreciate them. We would like to ask you to keep all the other families and children at CHOP in your prayers too.

Thanks!

Bob, Michele, Megan and Lauren

Wednesday, September 29, 2004 8:29 AM CDT

Hi Everyone!

I know it has been awhile since our last update, but we have been to busy enjoying our time at home. We have begun our "new normal" life and are hoping and praying that we have no more hospital stays, only checkups!! Megan is enjoying 2nd grade (except for the homework part), Bob, not working since Lauren was diagnosed went back to work last Monday (September 20th) and Lauren and I are just enjoying being home, going for walks and doing whatever she wants to do. We are limited as to what we can do with her being on home isolation, but we are making the best of it.

Lauren has had a few clinic visits and also a CT Scan. Her checkups have been good and we have only needed one platelet transfusion. The CT Scan she had was done at HUP (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania)were she will soon begin radiation. This scan is compared to her first at diagnosis and will help the doctors determine the exact area that needs to be radiated were her primary tumor was. Lauren will have radiation everyday for 12 days straight except saturday and sunday. We were scheduled to start on October 7th, but at Mondays clinic visit we were told it might be postponed for a little while. Lauren's platelets are coming up on there own, but still are not high enough to being radiation.

Once again, we want to thank everyone for their support and prayers. Will update again soon.

Thursday, September 16, 2004 12:29 AM CDT

Today is Thursday, September 16th and Lauren is home!!!!

As I mentioned in the last update, we were suppose to come home on Monday, but that didn't happen. Lauren was not weaned enough off of her pain medicine so we had to stay until Tuesday.

Just in the few days that Lauren is home she has started eating,drinking,walking (still with help) and getting a little stronger everyday. It is going to take time, but we will get there. The best medicine for her is being HOME.

We go tomorrow to clinic for a checkup and a CBC. We are hoping that she will not need any tranfusions and it will be a quick visit.

Again, thank you for all the messages, cards, thoughts and prayers. Lauren loves to receive mail and to hear the messages when we read them to her.

Will update again soon.

Saturday, September 11, 2004 8:14 PM CDT

Today is Saturday, September 11th, and we are at day +17. Last Sunday Lauren had a CT scan. The result was good news, no fungus infection. The doctors feel that her fever was due to the fact that she had no immune system. They believe that she did have a bacterial infection although her cultures never grew.

This week Lauren has gotten some much needed rest, although she is still battling mouth sores and mucositis. Because she's been confined to bed, she has been receiving physical therapy. We hope she soon begins walking without help.

Her counts continue to rise, however, she needs to go two full days without a platelet transfusion in order to go home.

Along with her stem cell transplant, Lauren had to receive T-cells. This part of the transplant happened on Friday. And once again she spiked a fever, but thankfully it seemed to be just a reaction from getting the cells. As a precaution, blood cultures were drawn and Lauren was put back on antibiotics. The fever was gone by midnight. Nothing has grown from her cultures and antibiotics will be stopped Sunday.

Tomorrow, with doctors approval, we will be surprising Lauren with a visit from Megan. It has been a long 4 weeks for both of them to be apart.

I can happily say that we have accomplished two days without needing platelets and we expect to be going home on Monday. Hip hip hooray!!

Thank you for your continued good thoughts and prayers. Will update again once we are home.

Saturday, September 4, 2004 3:12 PM CDT

Today is Saturday, September 4th and we are day +10 after transplant.

The past few days have been quite rocky. Beginning on Tuesday, Lauren started to get more uncomfortable and still had an unexplained fever. Since nothing had grown from the blood cultures, the doctors are concerned that it could be a fungus infection. However, it could be just that her immune system is wiped out. Lauren will have a CT scan to rule out fungus once her counts recover.

Wednesday started with low blood pressure issues and even higher fevers. New antibiotics and fungus medicines were added to her growing list of medications. The fungus medicine gave her the shakes, and she was given demerol to help with this. Her blood pressure continued to be dangerously low and her fever was still a problem.

Thursday morning Lauren was transferred to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). To stabilize her condition, she was given yet another medication to try and raise her blood pressure level. Once all her medicines kicked in, her fever lowered and she seemed to be able to rest more comfortably.

Lauren spent 1 1/2 days in PICU and was able to go back to the Transplant Wing on Friday night. Her counts are beginning to recover and will help to heal her mucousitis and mouth sores.

Today Lauren was able to play with daddy and mommy and is trying to catch up on some much needed rest. Thanks for continued interest and support. Please keep the prayer coming.

Monday, August 30, 2004 9:20 PM CDT

Today is Monday, August 30th and we are day 5 after transplant. On thursday,the day after getting her cells Lauren spiked a fever and has had it ever since. They have done blood cultures, but nothing has grown - which means no infection. On friday night we had the scare of her blood pressure dropping (we also had this with the 1st transplant). By saturday it was okay and has been fine ever since.

Lauren has really bad mucousitis, along with mouth sores, stomach pain and some vomiting. She spends most of her day just resting in bed or sleeping. We hate to see her like this it is not the little girl we are use too and can't wait until it is all over.

Hoping and praying tomorrow will be better. Will update again.

Wednesday, August 25, 2004 9:46 PM CDT

Today is Wednesday, August 25th and we are a little over a week into our second transplant.

Our week started with an MIBG scan and admission into the hospital. The next morning Lauren went to the O.R. to have a new central line put in. (Everything went fine) That afternoon the doctor told us that they did not get a good picture on the MIBG so off we went to have the scan again, only this time just of the stomach and pelvic area. The good news was she did it without sedation. The results of the scan was not what we expected. They were seeing something "glowing", but from the view of the scan could not tell if it was on the bladder, in the stomach or on her spine. The doctors told us that the chemo she was getting would probably take of this if it was anything and in time she would have a CT scan. We did not want to wait for the CT scan so I asked the doctors to put our minds at ease could we have it done as soon as possible. The next day we had the scan and it showed nothing. The transplant team doctors, our Oncologist and the Radiologist met to see if they could get a better view of the results and compare it to her prior scan. After reviewing everything and with the MIBG and CT scan having different results they felt there was nothing to worry about. (Easy for them to say)!! They did tell us that if they thought Lauren was relapsing they would stop the transplant, but they did not feel that way at all.

Well after getting over those results the next couple of days were okay. On Sunday Lauren woke up about 1:00 in the morning and did not want to go back to sleep. Every time I laid her down she sat right back up, she started talking crazy and if she did fall asleep for a few minutes she was very restless and continued talking in her sleep. When Bob came to the hospital that morning she told him that her and Megan needed more water in the swimming pool. Finally, about 7:00p.m. she settled down, got herself comfortable and went to sleep. It was a very scary day especially not knowing if this was the way she was going to continue to be. She slept all night and the next morning she was back to her old self. Lauren was asking to take her shower, can we go to the playroom, want to play a game, can we paint and anything else we could do to make the days here go by faster. The only thing she is not doing much of is eating -she is still drinking, but has no interest in eating. (So unlike her) On Tuesday there was much of the same only with a little less energy.

Finally, its Wednesday, our chemo is done, our days of rest are over and it's time for Lauren to get her cells. It happened about 5:30p.m. and Lauren slept right through it and did not even realize the doctors were in her room. Everything went great with no reactions. (Today was my dads birthday and we know him and my mom are watching over Lauren through all of this - but him especially today)

Now we just wait!!!!

Sorry it took me so long to update - I'll try to do it again in a couple of days.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004 8:01 PM CDT

Hi Everyone!!!!

Today is Tuesday, August 10th and we had another checkup today - it went great. Lauren is doing just fine. We have been enjoying the summer and our time at home. We have been doing the pool, slip n' slide, sprinkler, playing at the parks, going for walks and we even went to play miniture golf last week. Anything we can think of to do outside we have been trying to do it.

It has been a fast 3 1/2 weeks and next week is the start of the next transplant. On Monday, August 16th Lauren gets her injection for her MIBG Scan. The next day she has the scan and we are admitted. On Wednesday morning she is scheduled to have her new central line put in and that afternoon they will start chemo.

Well before we know it next week will be here, but until then we are going to continue to enjoy ourselves.

Will update again.

Saturday, July 24, 2004 8:57 PM CDT

Today is Saturday, July 24th and Lauren is home from the hospital. We came home on Wednesday, July 21st and she is doing just fine. On Thursday, July 22nd she was able to enjoy a fun day with Megan in the swimming pool. If it had not been for her central line getting infected and being removed she would not have been able to do the pool. She really cannot go anywhere so being able to go in the pool is a big treat for her. We believe everything happens for a reason!!! We had a follow up visit on Friday, July 23rd and the doctors are pleased at how well she is doing. Her counts are continuing to come up on there own and as long as everything continues to be O.K. we will go back once a week for checkups. The next checkup is scheduled for Tuesday, July 27th. We also found out that our next admission date for the 2nd transplant is August 17th, but until then we only plan to go for checkups and enjoy our time at home.

Thanks to everyone for all your well wishes and prayers. Will update again soon.

Sunday, July 18, 2004 4:38 PM CDT

Today is Sunday, July 18th and it has been one week since our last update. Here is what has been happening:

Last Saturday, July 10th Lauren remained the same. Saturday night into Sunday she had some problems with her blood pressure being very low. They were able to get it under control, but we still had the fever and her blood cultures kept coming back positive. Her original blood culture had 3 different infections growing. On Monday, July 12th there really wasn't much change and she still had the fever. Finally, on Tuesday, July 13th the doctor decided that her central line had to go. That night about 8:30p.m. Lauren went to the O.R. to have her line removed and had 3 I.V. lines put in (two in one hand, one in the other). Everything went fine and about three hours after surgery her fever was gone. On Wednesday, July 15th we began to see Lauren's counts beginning to come up. The next day the counts were up even higher, her fever was still down, but she hated the I.V.'s in her hands. Today was also the day that we moved to the new transplant wing in the hospital. On Friday, July 16th she had a procedure done to put a Picc line in. The line was put in her upper right arm and they removed the I.V.'s from her hands. This will serve as a temporary line until we are discharged (it will be taken out the day we come home) and when we are admitted for the 2nd transplant she will have a new central line put in. On Saturday, July 17th Lauren was beginning to play and become more like her old self. We are off strict isolation and this means as long as she wears a mask she can go out of her room for walks and is able to go to the playroom. She will be the first child to use the new playroom in the transplant wing.

The doctor told us that the tentative discharge date is Wednesday, July 21st. By then she will be off the antibiotics for her infections and her counts will be up. Today, Sunday, July 18th we are working on trying to get Lauren to start eating and drinking again. We all know how she loves to eat so we are hoping this will not be a problem that will keep us in the hospital.

Will update again - hopefully from home!!!!!

Saturday, July 10, 2004 10:26 AM CDT

Just wanted to give an update as to how transplant was going.

We were admitted on Monday, June 28th, but that was considered our "free" day because nothing really started until the next day.

On Tuesday, June 29th we started our first kind of Chemo. With this Chemo Lauren had to have a Foley put in and she had to take a shower every 4 hours during the day and 6 hours at night. We thought that the showers were going to be a real fight, but they turned out to be O.K. She also had no nausea/vomiting with this Chemo and continued to eat (not as much, but some). On Thursday, July 1st we started with the second Chemo. On Friday, July 2nd she was done with the first and the showers stopped. She continued the other Chemo until Sunday, July 4th. Lauren had little nausea/vomiting, but not enough to stop her from eating and playing. On Monday, July 5th this was considered our day of rest, which meant she was done Chemo. On Tuesday, July 6th she was given her stem cells - all went well and she continued to eat and play. Now we were at the point that we just wait for the cells to do there part. On Wednesday, July 7th Lauren was still eating, drinking & playing and we kind of wondered "what are we doing here"?

Well the next day, Thursday, July 8th things changed and Lauren developed a high fever, started having pain and has blood in her urine. They took blood cultures and started her on antibiotics as if she had an infection. On Friday, July 9th they told us that her cultures grew and she does have an infection, but we don't know where. If the infection is in her central line she will have to have surgery to remove it. We are hoping and praying that will not be the road Lauren will have to take. Today is Saturday moring, July 10th and things are still the same -high fever, controlled pain and blood still in the urine. We are hoping that as the day goes on things will get better.

Keep praying and join us in saying some extra prayers that the infection is not in the central line. Thank you and we will update again.

Monday, June 28, 2004 11:40 AM CDT

Today is Monday, June 28th and we were admitted into the hospital this morning for transplant. We had a couple of great weeks at home. Last Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday we had all of our post chemo test and pre-transplant testing. Also, on Tuesday we had our checkup with the surgeon. Our visit with the surgeon went well and we were released from his care. I'm not even going to name all the test she had because there was so many, but I will tell you the results. On Friday, June 26th our Oncologist called to give us the results of the MIBG Scan - it was negative - no cancer cells are being detected in her entire body. GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!

We enjoyed a great weekend and Lauren helped her big sister celebrate her 7th Birthday. We had a bowling party with Megan's friends on Saturday afternoon and a family party at home Saturday night. On Sunday, June 27th Megan's actual birthday the four of us went out to dinner. We had a birthday and some great news to celebrate.

It's going to be a hard few weeks because there are so many rules with transplant that not only Lauren is not use to, but the whole family. The hardest being - Megan will not be able to come visit her. Keep praying - not only for Lauren, but this time for Megan too that the time away from her sister will go fast.

Keep the prayers going - the results are great. Will update again during our stay.

Friday, June 11, 2004 11:12 AM CDT

Today is Friday, June 11th and Lauren is home.

On Sunday, June 6th the doctors removed her epidural and she was given a dose of morphin every three hours. Then she was able to receive pain medicine on an as needed basis. (Once again she surprised us - after her third dose of pain medicine she didn't need any more). They also removed her NG tube and she was able to have clear liquids. On Monday, June 7th she was back to a regular diet, eating and drinking fine and we were discharged. Before we were discharged she had a dose of tylenol, because we knew it was going to be a more active day then what she was used to. Since she has been home she has needed no pain medicine and has bounced back to the way she was before surgery.

Today she was able to go enjoy seeing her sister Megan at Church on her last day of school. We are also planning to go with Megan later tonight to see her teacher get married and watch her class participate in the ceremony.

We have an appointment on Tuesday, June 15th to meet with Dr. Grupp who is the Transplant Doctor. On June 22nd we have our follow-up visit with the surgeon.

Our prayers are being answered, so please even though summer is here don't take a vacation from praying because we still have a way to go. We will update again soon.

Saturday, June 5, 2004 11:34 AM CDT

TODAY IS SATURDAY, JUNE 5TH. LAUREN HAD SURGERY ON THURSDAY, JUNE 3RD TO REMOVE THE PRIMARY TUMOR IN HER STOMACH. THE SURGERY LASTED APPROXIMATELY 4 HOURS AND AS HER SURGEON PUT IT "IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT BUT NEVER DANGEROUS". HE WAS ABLE TO REMOVE THE ENTIRE TUMOR. SHE HAS AN EPIDURAL TO CONTROL PAIN AND A NG TUBE TO DRAIN FLUIDS FROM HER STOMACH. THE FIRST NG TUBE WAS NOT IN THE RIGHT PLACE, SO YESTERDAY THEY HAD TO REPLACE IT. LAUREN IS STARTING TO COME AROUND AND WANTS SOMETHING TO EAT AND DRINK. SHE WON'T BE ABLE TO EAT OR DRINK UNTIL HER NG TUBE IS REMOVED, WHICH WE HOPE WILL BE LATER TONIGHT. HER EPIDURAL SHOULD BE REMOVED TOMORROW AND THEN THEY'LL BE NO STOPPING HER! WE'RE NOT SURE WHEN WE'LL BE DISCHARGED - HOPING IT WILL BE SOON. WE'LL UPDATE YOU AGAIN WHEN WE'RE HOME. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS AND PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING.

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 9:15 PM CDT

TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2ND AND WE MET WITH THE SURGEON YESTERDAY. LAUREN ALSO HAD A CBC AND HER COUNTS ARE FINE FOR SURGERY - HER HEMOGLOBIN WAS 9.3 AND THE SURGEON WANTED IT TO BE HIGHER BEFORE THE SURGERY SO WE WENT TODAY FOR A BLOOD TRANSFUSION. TOMORROW, THURSDAY JUNE 3RD WE HAVE TO ARRIVE BY 11:00A.M. WITH SURGERY SCHEDULED FOR 12:00.

WE KNOW EVERYONE HAS BEEN ASKING WHAT THEY CAN DO - SO TOMORROW WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK IF YOU COULD SAY AN EXTRA PRAYER FOR LAUREN - THAT GOD WILL NOT ONLY BE WITH HER AND KEEP HER SAFE DURING SURGERY, BUT BE WITH THE DOCTORS AND NURSES AND TO GIVE US THE POSITIVE RESULTS WE ALL ARE PRAYING FOR.

THANK YOU AND WE WILL UPDATE AFTER SURGERY.

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 9:16 AM CDT

TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 26TH AND LAUREN IS HOME. LAST WEDNESDAY, MAY 19TH WE WERE ADMITTED INTO THE HOSPITAL WITH TYPHLITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWEL). WHEN WE FIRST GOT TO THE HOSPITAL THE DOCTORS DID NOT FEEL THAT THIS IS WHAT SHE HAD. THEY SAID THAT MOST KIDS WITH THIS ARE REALLY SICK - PAIN, VOMITING, BLOOD IN STOOL, AND DON'T WANT TO EAT OR DRINK. IN OUR CASE LAUREN ONLY HAD SLIGHT PAIN ON HER RIGHT SIDE AND BLOOD IN HER STOOL - SHE HAD NO PROBLEM WITH EATING AND DRINKING. OF COURSE ANOTHER THING THAT WAS AGAINST US WAS THAT HER COUNTS WERE LOW (SHE HAD NO ANC) AND HER BODY COULD NOT FIGHT THIS OFF. ON THURSDAY, MAY 20TH WE HAD A CT SCAN - THE SCAN WAS ALREADY SCHEDULED BECAUSE THAT WAS THE DAY THEY WERE GOING TO CHECK THE TUMOR IN HER STOMACH. THE SCAN CONFIRMED THAT SHE HAD TYPHLITIS. THE TREATMENT WAS ANTIBIOTICS AND NO EATING OR DRINKING SO THAT THE BOWEL WOULD RELAX AND THE BLEEDING WOULD STOP. WHAT A HARD THINK THAT WAS TO TELL LAUREN SHE COULD NOT EAT OR DRINK - SHE DIDN'T FEEL THAT BAD AND COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY. OVER THE WEEKEND THEY STARTED HER WITH CLEAR LIQUIDS AND THEN TO A BLAND DIET. EVERYTHING WENT O.K. AND WE WERE ABLE TO COME HOME ON MONDAY, MAY 24TH.

WELL NOW SOME NEWS ABOUT THE TUMOR. THE SURGEON STOPPED IN TO SEE US ON SATURDAY AND TOLD US THAT THE TUMOR IS SMALLER. WHEN WE WERE DIAGNOSED THE TUMOR WAS COMPARED TO THE SIZE OF A GRAPEFRUIT NOW THEY ARE COMPARING IT TO THE SIZE OF A LIME. THE SURGEON ALSO FEELS CONFIDENT THAT HE WILL BE ABLE TO REMOVE THE WHOLE TUMOR. WE MEET WITH HIM IN HIS OFFICE ON TUESDAY, JUNE 1ST AND SURGERY IS SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 3RD. IF ANYTHING CHANGES AFTER OUR MEETING ON TUESDAY WE WILL UPDATE, IF NOT WILL UPDATE AFTER SURGERY ON THURSDAY.

Tuesday, May 11, 2004 6:11 PM CDT

HI EVERYONE! TODAY IS TUESDAY, MAY 11TH. LAUREN WAS ADMITTED INTO THE HOSPITAL ON THURSDAY, MAY 6TH FOR HER FIFTH ROUND OF CHEMO. WE WISH WE COULD SAY THAT THIS ROUND WAS AS GOOD AS THE OTHERS, BUT SHE REALLY HAD A LOT OF NAUSEA/VOMITING THIS TIME. THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WERE BAD, BUT BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON WE COULDN'T KEEP THE FOOD & DRINK COMING FAST ENOUGH. WHEN WE GOT HOME LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON ALL SHE WANTED TO DO WAS GO OUTSIDE AND RIDE HER BIKE. WHAT A BOUNCE BACK!!!

TOMORROW WE HAVE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE THE DOCTOR AND A CBC CHECK. NEXT MONDAY, MAY 17TH WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR A CT SCAN TO CHECK THE TUMOR IN LAUREN'S STOMACH. THE DOCTOR'S FEEL THAT THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE IS WHEN WE WILL BE HAVING SURGERY TO REMOVE THE TUMOR IN THE STOMACH. THIS MAY CHANGE DEPENDING ON HOW HER COUNTS RECOVER FROM THIS ROUND OF CHEMO.

THAT'S REALLY ALL FOR NOW. WILL UPDATE AGAIN SOON!!!

Thursday, April 29, 2004 9:23 AM CDT

HI EVERYONE! TODAY IS THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH AND WE ARE HOME. WHEN WE ARRIVED YESTERDAY LAUREN HAD A CBC (COMPLETE BLOOD COUNT) AND WE FOUND OUT THAT HER PLATELET AND HEMOGLOBIN COUNTS WERE DOWN. SHE WAS NOT READY TO BE GIVEN HER CHEMO TREATMENT. WE GO BACK TOMORROW FOR ANOTHER CBC AND IF HER COUNTS ARE STILL DOWN SHE WILL RECEIVE A TRANSFUSION. DEPENDING ON HER COUNTS AND IF SHE NEEDS ONE OR BOTH TRANSFUSIONS WILL DETERMINE IF NEXT WEDNESDAY, MAY 5TH WILL BE THE START OF HER CHEMO. WE WERE SO SHOCKED WHEN THEY TOLD US THAT HER COUNTS WERE STILL LOW - SHE WAS SHOWING NO SIGNS OF IT - OF COURSE THAT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE WE ARE ENJOYING HAVING THE OLD LAUREN BACK.

WELL WE ARE GOING TO ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL DAY AND WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AT OUR CHECKUP TOMORROW.

KEEP PRAYING AND WE'LL UPDATE AGAIN SOON.

Thursday, April 22, 2004 4:21 PM CDT

HI EVERYONE!!! TODAY IS THURSDAY,APRIL 22ND AND JUST A BRIEF UPDATE TO LET YOU KNOW HOW LAUREN IS DOING.

ON FRIDAY, APRIL 16TH SHE HAD TO HAVE A BLOOD TRANSFUSION AND OVER THAT WEEKEND SHE STARTED BRUISING. WHEN WE WENT FOR HER CHECKUP ON MONDAY, APRIL 19TH SHE HAD TO GET PLATELETS. ALL WENT WELL WITH BOTH TRANSFUSIONS.

YESTERDAY, (WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21ST) WE HAD OUR VISIT WITH OUR ONCOLOGIST. SHE TOLD US HOW GREAT LAUREN IS DOING AND HOW WONDERFUL SHE THINKS SHE LOOKS. WE QUESTIONED HER ABOUT LAUREN'S UPCOMING SURGERY AND WHEN SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE. THIS IS WHAT SHE TOLD US:

WE ARE SCHEDULED TO BE ADMITTED FOR OUR FIFTH AND LAST ROUND OF CHEMO ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28TH,AND IF ALL GOES WELL TO BE DISCHARGED ON FRIDAY, APRIL 30TH. A CT SCAN OF HER STOMACH SOMETIME AFTER THE CHEMO,BUT WE ARE NOT SURE YET IF SHE WILL HAVE TO HAVE ANOTHER BONE SCAN OR MIBG SCAN. SHE WILL HAVE SURGERY TO REMOVE THE TUMOR FROM HER STOMACH (MID-MAY) AND STEM CELL TRANSPLANT TO BE STARTED END OF MAY.

WE HAVE BEEN HOME FOR SOME TIME NOW WITH ONLY VISITS TO THE HOSPITAL FOR CHECKUPS. LAUREN HAS BECOME SO MUCH LIKE THE GIRL WE KNEW BEFORE ALL THIS STARTED THAT WE HATE TO HAVE TO GO BACK. BUT WE WILL ONLY SO THAT WE CAN GET HER BACK COMPLETELY TO THE WAY SHE WAS. WE KNOW THINGS MIGHT GET ROUGH IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AND WE KNOW EVERYONE IS STILL PRAYING FOR LAUREN, BUT IF IT'S NOT TO MUCH TO ASK - CAN YOU SAY A FEW EXTRA PRAYERS THAT IT WILL NOT BE TOO ROUGH ON HER?

KEEP PRAYING AND WE WILL UPDATE SOON.

Saturday, April 10, 2004 9:26 AM CDT

TODAY IS SATURDAY, APRIL 10TH AND LAUREN'S FOURTH ROUND OF CHEMO IS OVER. ON AN OUTPATIENT BASIS WE WENT FOR TREATMENT ON WEDNESDAY (APRIL 7TH), THURSDAY (APRIL 8TH) & FRIDAY (APRIL 9TH). SHE DID VERY WELL THIS ROUND AND WAS NOT SICK AT ALL. AS A MATTER OF FACT SHE COULD NOT GET ENOUGH TO EAT BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER TREATMENT. WE LOVE TO SEE THAT.

IN OUR LAST UPDATE WE MENTIONED THAT LAUREN WAS SCHEDULED FOR A MIBG SCAN. SHE HAD THE SCAN AND THE RESULTS WERE GOOD: THE SCAN SHOWED THAT THE ONLY PART OF HER BODY THAT STILL HAS CANCER CELLS IS A PART OF THE TUMOR THAT IS IN HER STOMACH. OUR PRAYERS ARE BEING HEARD.

WE WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR ALL THE BIRTHDAY WISHES AND LET YOU KNOW THAT LAUREN HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY. WE HAVE BEEN HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF A "NORMAL" LIFE SINCE WE HAVE BEEN HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL AND EVERYDAY WE SEE MORE AND MORE OF THE OLD LAUREN WE KNEW BEFORE THIS STARTED.

OUR PLAN IS TO ONLY HAVE TO GO BACK FOR CHECKUPS UNTIL OUR NEXT ADMISSION WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 28TH WHEN LAUREN WILL START HER FIFTH ROUND OF TREATMENT.

WE WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED AND WANT TO WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY EASTER.

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 2:07 PM CST

HI EVERYONE!!
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24TH AND WE CAME HOME YESTERDAY FROM OUR THIRD ROUND OF CHEMO.

WE WERE ADMITTED ON THURSDAY, MARCH 18TH AND LAUREN HAD HER BONE MARROW TESTED BEFORE HER CHEMO TREATMENT STARTED. ON MONDAY, MARCH 22ND WE FINISHED CHEMO AND HAD A CT SCAN. LAUREN DID WELL WITH THIS ROUND AND WASN'T TO SICK. THE ONLY PROBLEM WE HAD WAS WE WERE SUPPOSE TO COME HOME MONDAY NIGHT, BUT SHE GOT A FEVER AND WE HAD TO SPEND ANOTHER NIGHT.

NOW FOR SOME TEST RESULTS:

BONE MARROW ASPIRATE AND BIOPSY BOTH CAME BACK NEGATIVE. (THE PATHOLOGIST ASKED OUR ONCOLOGIST "WHAT ARE YOU GIVING THIS CHILD?") WE GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY DON'T REALLY GET THESE KIND OF RESULTS AT THE HALF WAY POINT.

CT SCAN - TUMOR IN THE STOMACH IS SHRINKING.

ON FRIDAY, MARCH 26TH WE HAVE A CLINIC VISIT TO CHECK HER COUNTS. WE ARE ALSO SCHEDULED TO HAVE A BONE SCAN. WE PLAN NOT TO HAVE ANY PROBLEMS SO WE CAN COME BACK HOME TO ENJOY A NICE WEEKEND AND CELEBRATE LAUREN'S 4TH BIRTHDAY ON MONDAY, MARCH 29TH.

ON TUESDAY, MARCH 30TH WE ARE SCHEDULED TO GO FOR THE INJECTION THAT LAUREN NEEDS TO HAVE FOR HER MIBG SCAN. WE GO BACK THE NEXT DAY (MARCH 31ST) FOR ANOTHER COUNT CHECK AND THE MIBG SCAN.

HOPEFULLY THESE TEST WILL ALSO HAVE POSITIVE RESULTS.

THE NEXT ROUND OF CHEMO IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 7TH, 8TH & 9TH AND CAN BE DONE ON AN OUTPATIENT BASIS.

KEEP PRAYING!!! I'LL UPDATE AGAIN SOON.

Friday, March 12, 2004 3:43 PM CST

HI EVERYONE! TODAY IS FRIDAY, MARCH 12TH AND WE ARE HOME. WE CAME HOME ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10TH. BEFORE WE CAME HOME ON WEDNESDAY, LAUREN HAD HER 1ST APHERESIS DONE (FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS - IT'S ABOUT A THREE HOUR PROCEDURE WHEN THEY TAKE OUT HER STEM CELLS FOR TRANSPLANT WHICH WILL HAPPEN LATER IN HER TREATMENT). ON THURSDAY WE WENT BACK FOR ANOTHER APHERESIS AND CAME BACK HOME. WE ARE SCHEDULED TO GO BACK ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17TH FOR OUR THIRD ROUND OF CHEMO. THIS IS A FIVE DAY TREATMENT AND WE HOPE TO BE HOME ON SUNDAY AFTER SHE FINISHES HER CHEMO TREATMENT OR SOMETIME ON MONDAY.

WE GOT SOME GOOD NEWS THAT I FORGOT TO MENTION ON THE LAST UPDATE, BUT I WAS A LITTLE UPSET ABOUT HAVING TO HAVE SURGERY AGAIN THAT I FORGOT TO MENTION THE NEWS. THE DOCTORS FEEL THAT THE TUMOR IN LAUREN'S STOMACH IS SHRINKING. NO SCANS HAVE BEEN DONE TO CONFIRM THIS, BUT JUST FROM THEM FEELING HER STOMACH THEY FEEL IT HAS GOTTEN SMALLER. IF THIS IS TRUE - SOME OF OUR PRAYERS ARE BEING ANSWERED, BUT PLEASE KEEP PRAYING BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.

WILL UPDATE AGAIN SOON.

Saturday, March 6, 2004 1:02 PM CST

TODAY IS SATURDAY, MARCH 6TH AND I KNOW IT HAS BEEN A FEW DAYS SINCE I UPDATED EVERYONE. WELL THIS IS WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING:

WE WENT TO CLINIC FOR OUR CHECKUP ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3RD AND LAUREN HAD A FEVER AND HER COUNTS WERE LOW SO WE WERE ADMITTED INTO THE HOSPITAL. THEY TOOK BLOOD TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS NO INFECTION AND AFTER 24 HOURS WE FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS NONE. THAT WAS GOOD NEWS. ON THURSDAY EVENING MARCH 4TH WHEN THE NURSES WERE CHANGING LAUREN'S DRESSING ON HER CENTRAL LINE, HER LINE SOMEHOW CAME LOOSE AND STARTED COMING OUT SO WE HAD TO ARRANGE TO HAVE SURGERY ON FRIDAY MARCH 5TH. BECAUSE WE WERE AN ADD ON TO THE SURGERY LIST WE HAD TO WAIT ALL DAY FRIDAY UNTIL THEY WERE READY FOR LAUREN - IT WAS ABOUT 5:00P.M. WHEN THEY FINALLY TOOK US TO SURGERY - ONLY IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. AFTER NOT EATING ALL DAY AND KNOWING AND QUESTIONING ABOUT HER COUNTS BEING LOW IT WASN'T UNTIL WE GOT TO THE HOLDING AREA FOR SURGERY THAT THEY TOLD US IT WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN. SHE RECEIVED A TRANSFUSION (PLATLETS) AND WE RESCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY MORNING. ON SATURDAY SHE WENT INTO SURGERY ABOUT 10:30A.M., THEY REMOVED THE ONE CENTRAL LINE AND REPLACED IT WITH ANOTHER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF HER CHEST, EVERYTHING WENT WELL AND SHE WAS BACK IN HER ROOM BY 1:00P.M. THE PLAN NOW IS TO RECOVER FROM SURGERY, WAIT FOR HER COUNTS TO COME UP AND GO BACK HOME.

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR ALL YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS. WILL UPDATE AGAIN SOON.

Saturday, February 28, 2004 11:07 AM CST

TODAY IS SATURDAY AND LAUREN IS HOME!!!! WE WERE IN THE HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT FROM WEDNESDAY 2/25/04 AND CAME HOME LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON 2/27/04. EVERYTHING WENT WELL - NOT TO SICK THIS TIME.

SO FAR TODAY IS A GOOD DAY.

-GOOD SPIRITS
-EATING GREAT
-PLAYING WITH MEGAN
-YELLING AT THE DOG

THE VISITING NURSE COMES LATER THIS AFTERNOON, BUT I DON'T THINK SHE WILL HAVE ANYTING BAD TO SAY BECAUSE LAUREN SEEMS TO BE DOING GREAT!!! IT'S SUCH A NICE THING TO SEE FOR ALL OF US.

WE GO BACK ON WEDNESDAY 3/3/04 JUST FOR A CHECKUP TO SEE HOW HER LEVELS ARE DOING AND AGAIN ON FRIDAY 3/5/04 FOR THE SAME THING. (WE TOLD THE NURSES IN THE HOSPITAL THAT WE DON'T PLAN TO SEE THEM AGAIN UNTIL WE ARE BACK FOR OUR NEXT ROUND OF TREATMENT - OUR GOAL IS TO STAY HEALTHY AND HAVE NO EMERGENCY VISITS)

THATS ABOUT IT FOR NOW - WILL UPDATE AGAIN SOON!!!!

Saturday, February 28, 2004 10:46 AM CST

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