Wednesday, August 8, 2007 8:06 AM CDT

Today is scan day!!!

Please pray really hard that we get some good news.

I'll update again when I know something!

Thanks for the prayers, love you all.

Aunt Annaliese

Monday, July 16, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

Well, another BUSY, FUN we has passed, we started out at the clinic on Tuesday to find that Michael had 180,000 platelts (we have not seen those #'s in a LONG time)...so we went home that day and Michael greeted his daddy with "Come on, i gotta uses my platelts up, let me ride my dirt bike!!! So of course we let him ride his dirt bike, and Evan too, well lets just say things were getting a little crazy and there was a little crash involved and Michael got to use his platlets up!!! The poor kid was laying there crying and i said "honey what hurts?" and he said "my leg, and i just know that you are gonna make me get an x-ray"...he defiantly is going to need years of therapy!!!

We went to the shore yesterday, and the boys were "Surfing" the waves, they had so much fun, the only thing that got Michael out of the water was the fact that he was hungry...thank God for Hunger Pains!!!


Well I have much needed house work to tend to but just wanted to let everyone know that Michael, Evan and Dakota are doing well and pretty much living the "GOOD LIFE", it might sound funny or weird, but i would not change my life for anything...I have a good life where my kids enjoy every single day like it is their last...what a GREAT way to live!!!

Monday, July 9, 2007 10:26 AM CDT

Hello all,

Well Michael & mommy are home. They came home last Thursday. MIBG therapy went well, Michael handled it like a champ! He's feeling great & he actually has platelets!!! I think Kelly said he has 180k!! WOO HOO!! Boy, can you tell he has them too, he's running around like a maniac. I had the privilege of spending the day Saturday with the whole Luzader gang. Uncle Dave & Aunt Joy had a picnic at their house and we were all there. Michael and Evan were digging for buried treasure in the sandbox, playing horseshoes, bocce ball, volleyball, pool, darts, talking to & petting Jill the donkey & trying to lure the cows & alpacas in with little success. The night was capped off by a nice little fireworks display put on by Uncle Greg & his friend Eddie. It was an awesome day! I think we have 6 weeks until the next scan to see if the MIBG therapy did anything, so let’s keep our fingers crossed & start praying now. Also say some prayers for Ruby; she has a scan this week (Wed) so let’s hope everything stays awesome for her!! As always, thank you so much for checking in. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!!!



Aunt Annaliese

Sunday, July 1, 2007 1:34 PM CDT

Well as SOME of you may know, we are once again at Hotel CHOP, we are doing "just fine"...with room service and a playstation in your room, who would't be happy!!!

Michael received his MIBG therapy Friday afternoon, very uneventful, it was transfused over 1 1/2 hours now we just wait until his radiation level gets below 7, we are currently at 9.7, so probably tommorrow morning we will be outta here. As always Michael is being such a trooper. He actually told me that this is his best hospital stay ever (and i am thinking of ranking it worse then stem cell transplant!)...i bought him this silly airplane shooter from the dollar store and he only thanked me a million times for it! Why can't the rest of the world think like these innocent children...he is stuck in a bed with a tube in his "peter", lead shields surrounding his bed, and he is GRATEFUL that mommy bought him a "STUPID" airplane shooter!!!

In six weeks we will get another MIBG scan to see that hopefully this therapy did the magic trick!!! If he shows progress then he will be elgible for another round of this therapy. He will probably need several blood and platelt transfusions so if they get outta hand then they will discuss giving him his stem cells back to help boost his bone marrow.

So as always prayer for my little angel and all of these amazing children...and next time you want to complain about something real petty, please think of the little bald headed, hearing-aid wearing boy with the tubie in his chest and "peter", sitting in his bed with lead shields all around him, playing with his dollar store airplane telling his mommy "This is his best hospital stay ever!!!"

Friday, June 15, 2007 3:02 PM CDT

Are you all ready for this?...it is Michael's mommy updating...i am not even joking!!!

We have been so BUSY, in a good way, we have been using our "Give the Kids the World" passport which admits our family into various amusement parks in the area, you already read that we were at Sesame Place with the Stanfields, what a fun place to go, Evan has been so busy eating his vegetables that he was tall enough to go on the "Big Person" roller coaster with Victoria, HE LOVE IT!!! We spent the day splashing in the water and meeting our favorite characters from Sesame Street. The following weekend we went to CamelBeach water park, we picked the perfect day to go (70 degrees and overcast) so there were absolutely no waiting in any lines, so again we spent the ENTIRE day splashing in the water and jumping waves in the wave pool!!! And our final destination was Hershey Park where I must say proudly that Evan had his 10 minutes of pure fame...they have this ride called the "Wave Runner" which anyone with half a brain would not send their 4 year old on nor their 6 year old who has really LOW platelts, well lucky for my boys their mommy is NUTS!!! So after standing in the line for at least 30 minutes, I had to argue with the lifeguard that indeed Evan was a Peanut Butter Cup (their way of measuring the kids for the rides!!!) so with the entire crowd in an uproar the nice man decided that Evan was indeed tall enough (again, thanks to those veggies!) So off my little "man" jumps in to the waves like a true pro, he made it to the bottom, and he thought that his turn was over, and everyone is yelling at him to get back on, so he does and he kept riding those waves for what seems like an eternity (probably all of 3 minutes) I was almost in tears, the whole crowd was cheering for him, what a great moment for Evan!!! Then I let Michael go on, he tried his hardest but he fell right off, it really flips you around, so he was in tears and the lifeguard told him to hop right back on and Michael said "I just think that I need to calm down first!"

I had to remind myself that summer has just begun and we have already managed to get our FUN in. The boys and Dakota enjoy playing on their slip-n-slide, Dakota just sits at the bottom and waits for the chaos to begin, thank God she is so easy going, and to think that she believes that this is a "Normal" way of living!!!

Michael and Evan have been riding their dirt bikes around the yard. We are just waiting for Michael's platelts to get a little higher then 24 so we can take him up to Tower City and ride and camp-out!

Michael has finished Kindergarten, another very proud moment for me...what a HUGE thing that boy has accomplished, he has grown so much, i am really glad that he was able to attend school this year. At his graduation he had the very important job of holding up the notecards so his classmates could sing the words to the song!!!

Well, i keep promising the boys, one more minute, one more minute, they have big plans for me, basketball then soccer.

Please keep all the families in your prayers!

Love

Kelly

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 7:18 AM CDT

Well I was hoping to come back from the long weekend with good news, but unfortunately, that's not what we got.

The scan wasn't a good one. Things have gotten worse. So they're stopping the new treatment and going back to good ol' chemo. Everyone's okay with the news. We knew it might not work. Kelly is most upset by the fact that now they'll have to do their daily trips to CHOP and get blood product every week or so. That's no way to spend your summer! Michael was upset when they were told his platelets were low, he knew what it meant when they said he went from 100,000 to 34,000. In his mind all low platelets mean is no riding! They didn’t let the bad news ruin their weekend.

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of the whole Luzader gang coming to our family picnic. They ate, laughed and played. Michael & Evan got to ride their dirt bikes in the back yard for a while until the rain came, then they just came inside and rode quads on a video game. Overall a wonderful visit.

Yesterday, they went to Sesame Place with the Stanfield Family! I haven’t gotten the scoop on that trip yet, but I’m sure they had a ball!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers & especially for checking in!

Aunt Annaliese

Tuesday, May 22, 2007 8:55 AM CDT

Okay everybody it's prayer time!

Sorry it's been a while between updates, but there hasn't been too much going on.

Michael has a CAT scan scheduled for tomorrow to check out his liver since his ALT levels are going nuts. Thursday is the BIG BIG BIG day. Another MIBG scan, to see if everything is working. So, pray super duper hard that we get great news.

Other than that, everything is great; everyone is feeling good and going on like normal. Michael is doing wonderful. As is the rest of the family!


Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather! As always, thanks for checking in!

Aunt Annaliese

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 8:17 AM CDT

Hello all,

Well spring is in the air and with spring comes....T-BALL!!!! That's right our little guy Michael had his very first T-Ball game last night! We had so much fun watching all the little kids running around, but our favorite little guy was #12, Michael!!! Unfortunately Michael only had one practice, so he was a little nervous on what to do, but he did great! Kelly said when they got in the car last night to leave Michael was beaming, because he had so much fun! He says he can't wait for the next game. If anyone is interested in attending a game they are Monday & Friday nights @ 6pm at the Living Memorial Park in Coopersburg. I honestly have no idea who won, or if they even keep score, but it was a great match-up between Michael's team: The Giants (orange & black) and The Red Sox (who where in blue & white). There was a little girl on the other team that I think I should try to hook up with Michael...she had her hair in pigtails and was holding a pink glove!!! A girl after my own heart. lol


Other than that, everyone is doing great & feeling great, counting down the days to summer vacation!!! Hope all is well with everyone & as usual thanks for checking in!!
Aunt Annaliese

P.S. I just realized today was the first day of May, I flipped to May on my Angels of Hope calendar and there’s Michael, Evan and Dakota! I almost forgot he’s Mr. May!!!

P.P.S. Please say some prayers for Jillian and her family; they have a MRI scheduled for today @ 12:30pm. She has been having some strange aches and pains, and they’re all nervous for some answers.

Monday, April 23, 2007 9:35 AM CDT

Well I better update before Karen comes up to kick our butts!

Things are going really well. I had the pleasure of spending Saturday with Michael, Evan & Dakota & mommy too. We were all at Mimi's house with some extended family. It was a beutiful day with lots of fun and sun.

Saturday morning Michael, Evan, Dakota & mommy were all fishing! They went to Ranger Lake Rod & Gun Club where both Michael & Evan both caught a 16" rainbow trout!!! Of course we had to cut the fish up and cook it on the grill!! It was a wonderful day, fishing, playing with the cousins, and just having a blast.

I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of stuff, but this is the fun stuff!!! I'll have to get with Kelly, to see if there is anything to add. Hope everyone is enjoying this BEAUTIFUL weather!!

♥ Aunt Annaliese

Saturday, March 31, 2007 7:59 PM CDT

It is with great sadness in my heart that I tell you that Trevor Gresko has lost his battle with neuroblastoma.

I don't really know what to say, so I'll just post what is on his page. Please pray for the Gresko family, to give them strength through this very difficult time.
___________________________________________________________
Trevor James Gresko, 4 years old, passed away on Friday, March 30th, in the arms of his parents at CHOP Specialty Care Clinic in King of Prussia.

Trevor bravely fought against neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer, and inspired everyone with his energy and spirit.

Trevor is the beloved son of Chris and Jackie (McFeeley) Gresko, and the valiant older brother of Tabitha, age 2. Other special loved ones include grandparents Rick and Susan (Lawler) Sheetz, Donald and Janice (Eltringham) Gresko, Patrick and Jeanne(Zearfoss) McFeeley, a large loving extended family, and many friends.

Trevor's main occupation was collecting toys. He was also an avid pirate, bug wrangler,paleontologist,as well as a tiger-lion-gator-power-ranger. Trevor enjoyed countless hours cruising with Tabby in his go-cart,blasting Buzz in Disney, and defeating boss monsters in video games.

We will carry him in our hearts always.

Family, friends, and those touched by Trevor's life may call from 3PM to 6PM on Wednesday, April 4th, at the Robeson Lutheran Church, 3520 Plow Road (Rt. 10 and Plow Road) Mohnton, PA 19540. A memorial service will follow directly at 6PM with Rev. Susan F. Fox officiating.

Arrangements are by Henninger Funeral Home, 229 North 5th Street, Reading, PA 19601-3303.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in memeory of Trevor Gresko be sent to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, 333 Lancaster Ave. #414, Wynnewood, PA 19096,
www.alexslemonade.org
___________________________________________________________

With a saddened heart,
♥ Aunt Annaliese

Monday, March 26, 2007 6:12 PM CDT

Sorry for the delay in updating (i was really trying to keep up with it) We had an exciting trip to the E.R. Saturday that i will not even begin to rant and rave about (well, o.k., maybe just a little), lets just say that i taught the nurses and doctors at the E.R. a few things about oncology kids: 1) they don't take motrin 2) it does not take 4 hours (not exagerrating) to access a port 3) we need to flush a port with Heprin after we use it 4) you might want to unclamp your I.V. tubing when you are trying to flush it and my personal favorite 5) ANC means absolute neutrophil (sp?) count....UNBELIEVABLE!!! but anyways so this is what i learned that night...Michael has a mild case of Pneumonia in his one lung, small enough that they would normally do nothing about it, but because he has CANCER they have to be extra careful!!!


We met with Dr. Grupp last week and he was very impressed with how Michael looked and was acting. He said that it is the perfect time to get creative and try an experimental drug. So of course i got nervous and said why would we take him off something that is working for him (even though i already in my heart new the answer) and of course he said because eventually he will build up resistance to it so if we take him off of it for a little while then if we need it we can go back to it...so that is what we are going to try. So once a week we will trek down to CHOP and get this drug through his port and the infussion should only take an hour or so. It should not mess with his counts so hopefully no transfusions for a while!!!

well that is enough talking about CANCER for one nite...i am personally tired of it!!!!

Besides everything we can't complain, overall he is doing awesome, as you can see we had a play date with Abba and they are anxious to do it again!!! That boy digs up so much energy its unreal, he is always giggling and smiling...such a joy!!!

until next time

keep praying for all the families dealing with this crap!!!


kelly

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 7:24 PM CDT

MIBG scan results are in:


SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT!!!!


Thank the GOOD LORD above and for everyone's prayers, i have my boy still!!!!


I am very thankful for EACH day that i get to see my children smile!

mama luzader

Wednesday, February 21, 2007 8:31 AM CST

We are back in PA...NOBODY was anxious to come home!!! (except to see Dakota May) Michael did participate in the talent show...he did the limbo with a very CUTE volunteer (girl) he made his daddy very proud!!! We also went skiing...all of us took lessons, the boys did amazing, they did not want to leave (we skied for almost 4 hours), they were having a blast!!! mommy only fell off the ski lift once (pretty impressive!) We are already making plans to go up in the summer!!!

Sunday, February 18, 2007 3:35 PM CST

Hello! from Maine...We are having so much fun, have no idea how i am going to get those boys in the car! They have gone sledding, ice skating, snow shoeing (sp?), swimming and on a horse drawn sleigh ride! Tonite Michael is supposed to perform a dancing act in the talent show (solo) so we will see how that goes!

Sorry so short but i just wanted everyone to know that Maine is GREAT!!!...any family time is GREAT!


OHHHHHHHHHHHH, i almost forgot, we are all goin skiing tommorrow...should be FUN!


Kelly

Friday, February 9, 2007 1:45 PM CST

Hello to everyone...this is Kelly, Michael's mommy...i know, i know (and i deserve all of the thoughts that are going through your heads right now!!!) I want to thank Aunt Annaliese soooooo much for picking up my slack and getting the page looking so AWESOME!!!


Michael (my man apparently made out of steel) is doing wonderful. He is as active as ever. Once again, eating me out of house and home..he is back to his pre-cancer weight...a hefty 65 pounds!!! He is in kindergarten and he loves it. He is doing so well and the teachers just love him so much. I get random calls from his teachers just to tell me that he is such a delight to have in class and to thank me for sending him to their school (like i'm not emotional already!!!) He is still getting chemo 5 days straight every 3-4 weeks depending on his counts (his bone marrow got hit pretty hard, so it's a little poky!!!) He is just as awesome as ever..love him to death!!! We have been roller skating, bowling and trying to play in the snow. The other nite (9:30 to be exact) it was snowing, we just got home from my mother-in-laws and it was snowing, so of course the boys got so EXCITED that it was actually snowing. They were already planning their next day of "fun-in-the-snow", well we all know that the couple of inches that were falling would not be there in the morning, so we seized the moment and got he sleds out and had so gool-old-fashion fun!!! They had such a blast (and mommy did too!)

Evan is still Evan, he is beyond creative, if he sees something on T.V. that he wants, he makes it (which works for me, less expensive!) This week we created: telescope, knife holder (like mommy's in the kitchen), fax machine, trash can, and puppy dogs with cage!

Dakota May is almost five months old, she is thinking about rolling over she just has no "real" reason to do so! She has realized that there is more to life then formula, so we are trying all sorts of yummy food that Michael picks out for her! She loves to suck on her hands and she has two very "impressive" sucking marks on her hands! Silly little girl!

The luzader gang minus Dakota May will be headed to Camp Sunshine in Maine next Friday, so if any of our fellow oncology buddies will be there please e-mail us then we can look out for you!!! We are so excited, this is our first time, the boys want to do everything!!!


Have no idea when i will update again but it was actually "NICE"

Please say a million prayers for Trevor and his family...miracles do happen!!!

Kelly

Friday, January 19, 2007 7:42 AM CST

Friday, Jan. 25

I just wanted to ask everyone to please pray for our NB buddy Trevor, they have just recieved some bad news....
Trevor's Site

_______________________________________
Hello all,

I guess it's time for an update. Things have been going very well with Michael. Dakota and Evan is a different story. Dakota has been dealing with an ear infection, bronchitis and now a lovely rash all over her back. Evan has been blessed with an ear infection too. Did Michael pick up any of that? No, of course not! After getting on some antibiotics, Dakota and Evan are beginning to feel much better.


In other news, Michael was on the news!!! Our local news station (WFMZ Ch.69) and our local paper (Morning Call) were at clinic yesterday for a little press conference. They were there about the Angel34 calendar! Kelly was interviewed on TV and Michael was by her side on the news. I spoke with Kelly yesterday, so said Michael thought he was top dog 'cause everyone wanted to talk to him! I have included what was posted on WFMZ.com, I bolded Kelly & Michael's part, which is pretty much their copy that they read on air (that's why it looks weird) as well as a link to the site where they have the video clip.
________________________________________
Ill Children, Families Helped by Calendar
POSTED: 01-18-2007 10:58 PM ET
MODIFIED: 01-19-2007 07:34 AM ET
www.wfmz.com
________________________________________
Hope, inspiration and courage. It's the theme for a new calendar here in the Lehigh Valley and it's all part of the Angel 34 Foundation created to support kids and their families suffering from severe illness or cancer. WFMZ'S Bo Koltnow has more. >> 9 year old Lauren Loose checks out the calendar she shares with 10 other kids. >>Lauren 5:18-21 {all the kids in different poses it's cool.} >>Lauren has from multiple brain tumors. In fact each kid in the calendar has some forum of cancer or a life threatening disease. >>Kelly Luzader's 5 year old son Michael is the calendars Mr. May. He suffers from Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, which are solid tumors in his body but as you can tell that doesn't stop him from riding his dirt bike. >>Kelly 11:22-28 {Been dealing with for 2 years, but his spirit is what get's us through it all} >>Courage and hope the theme. The idea stems from Nicole Sheriff, who despite having all the courage and hope in the world couldn't beat bone cancer, she died in 2004 at the age of 15. She still managed to start the Angel 34 foundation which has raised thousand of dollars for sick kids. These calendars are meant to be personal angels of hope. >>Doug 6:14-21{These kids touch your lives and make you know what is worth while} >>Doug Sheriff is carrying on his daughters dream to inspire, something the calendar is already doing. >>Maryianne 4:51-58 {great photographs did a fantastic job; girls had a great posing experience. >>Kevin 14:35-43 {every month has a beautiful child on it. Turned out wonderfully a huge success.} >>As is this 15 year olds legacy. In Allentown Bo Koltnow 69 News. >>> Calendars cost 15 dollars and are available at Starters Pub and Starters Riverport in Bethlehem. You can also call 610-522-1923 to get one. All the proceeds will go towards the Pediatric Unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Angel34 Article WFMZ.com Channel 69 News
_______________________________________________

Once I see something in the Morning Call, I'll be sure to post it.

I also wanted to quickly say an early Happy Birthday to Evan, who will be 4 on 1/24 and Michael's Daddy, Mike who's birthday is on 1/25! Happy Birthday Guys!!!!


I'll update again soon, I hope all is well with everyone!

Aunt Annaliese

Friday, January 19, 2007 7:42 AM CST

Hello all,

I guess it's time for an update. Things have been going very well with Michael. Dakota and Evan is a different story. Dakota has been dealing with an ear infection, bronchitis and now a lovely rash all over her back. Evan has been blessed with an ear infection too. Did Michael pick up any of that? No, of course not! After getting on some antibiotics, Dakota and Evan are beginning to feel much better.

In other news, Michael was on the news!!! Our local news station (WFMZ Ch.69) and our local paper (Morning Call) were at clinic yesterday for a little press conference. They were there about the Angel34 calendar! Kelly was interviewed on TV and Michael was by her side on the news. I spoke with Kelly yesterday, so said Michael thought he was top dog 'cause everyone wanted to talk to him! I have included what was posted on WFMZ.com, which is pretty much what was said on the news as well as a link to the site where they have the video clip.
________________________________________
Ill Children, Families Helped by Calendar
POSTED: 01-18-2007 10:58 PM ET
MODIFIED: 01-19-2007 07:34 AM ET
www.wfmz.com
________________________________________
Hope, inspiration and courage. It's the theme for a new calendar here in the Lehigh Valley and it's all part of the Angel 34 Foundation created to support kids and their families suffering from severe illness or cancer. WFMZ'S Bo Koltnow has more. >> 9 year old Lauren Loose checks out the calendar she shares with 10 other kids. >>Lauren 5:18-21 {all the kids in different poses it's cool.} >>Lauren has from multiple brain tumors. In fact each kid in the calendar has some forum of cancer or a life threatening disease. >>Kelly Luzader's 5 year old son Michael is the calendars Mr. May. He suffers from Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, which are solid tumors in his body but as you can tell that doesn't stop him from riding his dirt bike. >>Kelly 11:22-28 {Been dealing with for 2 years, but his spirit is what get's us through it all} >>Courage and hope the theme. The idea stems from Nicole Sheriff, who despite having all the courage and hope in the world couldn't beat bone cancer, she died in 2004 at the age of 15. She still managed to start the Angel 34 foundation which has raised thousand of dollars for sick kids. These calendars are meant to be personal angels of hope. >>Doug 6:14-21{These kids touch your lives and make you know what is worth while} >>Doug Sheriff is carrying on his daughters dream to inspire, something the calendar is already doing. >>Maryianne 4:51-58 {great photographs did a fantastic job; girls had a great posing experience. >>Kevin 14:35-43 {every month has a beautiful child on it. Turned out wonderfully a huge success.} >>As is this 15 year olds legacy. In Allentown Bo Koltnow 69 News. >>> Calendars cost 15 dollars and are available at Starters Pub and Starters Riverport in Bethlehem. You can also call 610-522-1923 to get one. All the proceeds will go towards the Pediatric Unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Angel34 Article WFMZ.com Channel 69 News
_______________________________________________

Once I see something in the Morning Call, I'll be sure to post it.

I also wanted to quickly say and early Happy Birthday to Evan, who will be 4 on 1/24 and Michael's Daddy, Mike who's birthday is on 1/25! Happy Birthday Guys!!!!


I'll update again soon, I hope all is well with everyone!

Aunt Annaliese

Tuesday, January 2, 2007 11:59 AM CST

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! We sure did!!! Everything continues to go very well. Everyone is happy and healthy!!!

Hope this new year is wonderful for everyone.

♥ Aunt Annaliese

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 10:29 AM CST

Hello all,
I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season. Michael continues to do amazing. He just had his very first "friend" birthday party. They had a bowling party and 6 or 7 of his classmates came out to celebrate. They all had a blast.

The big news today is Michael and Evan are going to the North Pole!!!!!!!! They will be flying in an airplane to go meet the big man, Santa, on Tuesday, Dec. 19th. Of course parents can't go along, so hopefully Michael and Evan will be okay, going solo. I'll update once I hear of their travels...hope all is well with everyone!!!

♥ Aunt Annaliese

Thursday, November 23, 2006 11:04 AM CST

Hello all & HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Just wanted to post a quick update...Kelly called me last night with the results of Michael's scan....GOOD NEWS!!!! Most of the spots that showed up on the last scan have completely disappeared!!! The remaining spot or two have shrunk in size....CHEMO IS WORKING!!!!! Our prayers have been answered yet again!!! I hope has a very wonderful Thanksgiving!!!


¢¾ Aunt Annaliese

Friday, November 17, 2006 10:43 AM CST

Hey all,

Just wanted to ask for some prayers, scan day is upon us. Michael will be having an MIBG scan on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Please pray for good news so everyone can enjoy our Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is next week I wanted to thank each and everyone of you for your continued kind words and support through everything. Each and everyone of you have a very special place in our hearts.

♥ Aunt Annaliese

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 10:07 AM CST

Hello all,

Sorry so slow with the updates, I haven't even had a chance to see the boys in forever. Everything continues to go well, Michael is doing well with the chemo (as usual). Everyone is getting ready for the holiday season....

♥ Aunt Annaliese

Monday, October 30, 2006 12:46 AM CST

Hello Guys & Ghouls.

Just wanted to give a quick update. Michael continues to feel great. Still hasn't been able to start this round of chemo yet, but all in all feeling really well. He had a low grade fever this past weekend, and Evan had it a few days prior, just a little virus, nothing to worry about. School is still one of his favorite things. The boys got dress up this weekend and did some trick-or-treating. Michael was a police officer and Evan was Eeyore. Michael also had the great news of being named this weeks "king" of his class. This means he gets to bring something special in and tell his whole class about it. He's gonna bring in a picture of his dirt bike and his riding jersey. So exciting! Hope everyone continues to do well. Have a hauntingly good Halloween!!!

Aunt Annaliese

Tuesday, October 17, 2006 10:07 AM CDT

Well hello everyone,

I just wanted to thank everyone for continuing to check in on Michael, I know I'm not the best at giving updates, but Kelly really doesn't have the time.

Our prayers for some of our friends have been answered.

Alyssa, has made a remarkable recovery, the breathing tube is out and she is feeling great. She began her dialysis and her kidney's are doing better. Thank you for the continued prayers, boy, do they help.

Our other beautiful CHOP buddy, Alexa, got very good results from her MIBG.....CLEAR, CLEAR, CLEAR. Way to go Alexa!!!!

Jillian is also doing well!

Please now add our friend Trevor to your prayer lists. He is an adorable little boy, also fighting this monster, Neuroblastoma. Trevor's mom, Jackie, noticed a bruise on his eyelid last week and feared the worse. Well Trevor went down for a scan on Friday. The results were not good. Here's what his mom posted on his site: "The scan shows several new spots of disease. There are some new spots on his spine some on his pelvis and a few on the top of his skull. They cannot see anything in the area of his eye but feel that may be because the salvatory glands that are in the same area are supposed to light up and they may be blocking the spot in question." Trevor and his family need prayers now, more than ever, so please, add him to your daily list.

Also, try to stop by all of our CHOP friend's pages, and drop them a line, like us, they like to see people are thinking about them. Hope everyone else is doing well...love to all.

Aunt Annaliese

PS: Michael continues to do well.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 7:55 AM CDT

UPDATE:
Since my update earlier this morning I checked Alyssa's page again, she does not have pneumonia there is blood in her stomach and lungs, things are not looking good. Please spare as much prayer as you can for Alyssa and her family to get them through this. They need support from everyone.
******************************************************************************

Michael continue's to do great, is eating Kelly out of house and home! They head over to Muhlenberg clinic today for counts after kindergarten...Michael and his classmates are heading to the pumpkin patch on Friday for some fall fun! I would like to ask everyone for some prayers for a few of our CHOP friends.

Alyssa isn't doing to well. She is down at the PICU at CHOP, she has pneumonia in both of her lungs, and her counts are all low. Please pray for her, so she feels better and can get back to being her adorable self.

Alexa is still waiting on her MIBG scan results, so lets us pray really hard for NED.

And last but certainly not least Miss Jillian who just found out that she needs to have surgery again, this time in both eyes.

Thank you to everyone who continues to check in.

Love to all,
Aunt Annaliese

Tuesday, October 3, 2006 7:08 AM CDT

Well hello all just wanted to post a quick update. Michael continues to do awesome. His counts we were they needed to be and then some, so he could begin Chemo again. So yesterday they were finally able to start his next round of Chemo! Woo Hoo! He's weighing in at a very healthy 60lbs!! School is going excellent, he was invited to his very first birthday party...and it was a bowling party at that! Evan's doing great in school too! As is Miss Dakota. I saw the boys and girl on Thursday and little Dakota (who's eyes I have yet to see) was in this adorable frilly white dress (Princess Dress) picked out by big brother Michael! Soooo cute! I hope everyone continues to do well.

Please say a few prayers for our fellow CHOP family members...
Beautiful Alexa who has an MIBG scan on Wed, hoping for continued NED.

Adorable Alyssa who is having some kidney issues...

Princess Jillian,who had eye surgery on Monday, and is battling a heck of a cold...

Thanks to everyone for checking in!!!!


Aunt Annaliese

Tuesday, October 3, 2006 7:08 AM CDT

Well hello all just wanted to post a quick update. Michael continues to do awesome. His counts we were they needed to be and then some, so he could begin Chemo again. So yesterday they were finally able to start his next round of Chemo! Woo Hoo! He's weighing in at a very healthy 60lbs!! School is going excellent, he was invited to his very first birthday party...and it was a bowling party at that! Evan's doing great in school too! As is Miss Dakota. I saw the boys and girl on Thursday and little Dakota (who's eyes I have yet to see) was in this adorable frilly white dress (Princess Dress) picked out by big brother Michael! Soooo cute! I hope everyone continues to do well.

Please say a few prayers for our fellow CHOP family members...

Beautiful Alexa who has an MIBG scan on Wed, hoping for continued NED.

Adorable Alyssa who is having some kidney issues...

Princess Jillian, who had eye surgery on Monday, and is battling a heck of a cold...

Thanks to everyone for checking in!!!!


Aunt Annaliese

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 6:54 AM CDT

Hello All,

Not too much to report. Michael wasn't able to start Chemo last week as planned, since his counts were to low. He didn't mind though, he got to go to his favorite place....SCHOOL!!!!! He still loves it! Evan loves preschool still. When Kelly drops him off he asks her "mommy are you leaving? You better go home, don't come in with me” He’s so independent! Dakota is still doing wonderful. Michael picks out her outfits almost everyday. She wears what he calls "Pretty Princess" dresses; of course he also thinks tights go with every dress. All in all things are going very well. Hope everything is going good with all of our buddies. Thanks for checking in.....
Aunt Annaliese

Saturday, September 16, 2006 3:06 PM CDT

She's heeeerrrreeeee!!!!

Dakota May Luzader was born, Friday Sept. 15th, at 3:48pm.

7 pounds 4 ounces, 21 inches long.

Mommy and baby are doing excellent!!!!!

Aunt Annaliese

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Tuesday, September 12, 2006 8:21 AM CDT

Well if you notice Kelly's pregnancy ticker it says she has 17 days to go....well it doesn't look like she's gonna make it 17 more days. She had a dr.'s appointment yesterday, and she is 3cm dilated, and she really feels like she's ready to POP! She was joking with the midwife saying Michael starts chemo on Monday; think we can get this baby out before then?? The midwife told her to come in on Friday, and she’d see what she could do. Technically, the midwife doesn’t think she’ll last till Friday, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Kelly and her mom will be frantically trying to finish the nursery this week before Dakota comes into the world.

On the Michael front, he continues to do very well. He had kindergarten yesterday, and loved it just as much as Friday, and couldn’t wait to go back again today. He was helping Kelly pick out an outfit for the baby to wear home. He is so excited for his new baby sister. I really think he is going to be an enormous help to his mommy.

Well I’ll update again soon, probably with a birth announcement. Until then please keep praying for Michael and all the other cancer kids out there.

Aunt Annaliese

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Monday, September 11, 2006 8:13 AM CDT

Today I ask you while you’re praying for all of our cancer kids and families to also pray for all of families and loved ones of those who lost their lives five years ago. Gone but never forgotten. May God Bless you all.



Aunt Annaliese

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Friday, September 8, 2006 2:56 PM CDT

Michael is HOME!!!!

They got home Wednesday night. Michael also attended his first day of school today and absolutely loved it!!! Kelly wasn't allowed to tell me too much, because Michael wants to tell me all about it himself. Needless to say Kelly was a mess, and Michael did great!!! Kelly's still preggers, though she's having some major Braxton Hicks contractions....she has a Dr.'s appointment on Monday so we'll see how things are going. I'll update again early next week when I have some info. Everyone have a great weekend!!!!


Aunt Annaliese

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Tuesday, September 5, 2006 6:31 AM CDT

Well, Michael missed his first day of school, which would have been yesterday. He's still down at CHOP with a lovely low ANC, so he'll be down there till they see some numbers. Hopefully this butt kicking chemo is kicking the right butt!!! Now, you'd think that he'd be all bummed and not eating or any of that stuff...but that just isn't the case! He's eating like crazy, and running around like a mad man. As for Kelly, not to worry, she's still preggers....I'll update again if anything changes...thanks for checking in.



Well it wouldn't have been a holiday weekend with out a trip to CHOP. Michael was admitted to CHOP on Friday with a fever. Nothing to be to concerned about, we knew this round of chemo was supposed to knock him down. When I spoke to Kelly on Sunday, they were still down there, but as usual, no fever since they came in. As usual, Michael was breaking out in hives from everything. First he got platelets, along with the platelets came hives, then antibiotics, for the hives, and got hives from 3 different kinds of antibiotics....just a normal holiday weekend for the Luzaders. I asked Kelly how everything was, and her response was "I'm still pregnant, and Michael still has cancer, so everything is normal." It's amazing what we think is normal these days. Kelly had a nurse on call just in case Dakota wanted out. I haven't spoke to her since Sunday, but as of yesterday morning, they were still down CHOP and doing just fine. Hopefully they’re home now. I’ll post some more info, when I know more… I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend, and didn’t blow away in those crazy winds!! Thanks for checking in!

Aunt Annaliese

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 9:10 AM CDT

Nothing new to report with Michael, still trucking along and doing great. I do however have news about Miss Dakota May....Kelly called me last night with some news....she is now 1-2 cm's dilated and fully a faced!! Dakota's ready to come out!!!! She's not due until Sept. 30th, but we'll see what happens. With Michael & Evan, once she was dilated at 2cm's she gave birth within a week. We shall wait and see what happens. The Dr. says she's very healthy and growing great, but she would like her to stay in there for a few more weeks. I'll keep you all posted...Thanks for checking in.

Aunt Annaliese

I almost forgot....school starts very soon for Michael (kindergarden) & Evan (pre-school)

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Monday, August 21, 2006 6:33 AM CDT

Hello all,

Okay well I started to update saying I didn't know anything, and then Kelly called. So now I know everything. As some of you know Dr. Grupp was/is out of town. Kelly got a call from him on Thursday night with the results of the scan. He did not see the scan at all, but a technician read him the results. Unfortunately the technician believes there is no improvement, and there may be a new spot on his leg. Dr. Grupp will be back on Wed. and he will read the scan and give his own opinion. So until then, Kelly and Michael are heading down to CHOP to begin another round of Chemo. He will get this Chemo for 5 days. Supposedly this is a heavier duty Chemo, so Michael could be getting knocked down a bit this week and may require some platelets by the end of the week; we will have to wait and see. After this week of Chemo, he should be getting 2 to 3 weeks off, and then they may do 2 more rounds then scan again. So that's all I have for the kind of bad news, now on to the good news....

Michael is still feeling awesome!! They went up to Tower City this weekend for some dirt bike riding. Mr. Bigshot decided it was time to do the kiddy track sans training wheels on his dirt bike. So on he went without training wheels, and he did great!!!! Kelly said he fell once, but got right up and kept on trucking. He was hot doggin' it like he does when he has the training wheels on!! What a show off! Now when I say kiddy track, it's not what you'd expect, it's a pretty big track with whoops and berms and lots of turns, and he kicked butt on it!!! Evan also rode along on his 50cc 4-Wheeler! After all this riding Michael (who usually isn't the daredevil) decided to go rock climbing with Evan. Kelly said pregnant or not she wouldn't have climbed what they did!!! Overall they had an amazing weekend that they can talk about all week to get them through everything.

Kelly had a Dr.'s appointment on Wed. and the baby is doing great. She is VERY active, mostly at night, when Kelly want's her to sleep. Evan gets a little irritated each time Kelly goes to the Dr's and comes home without the baby. First thing out of his mouth is usually when you bringing Dakota May home?!?!

Okay, I think I got everything covered...sorry it took so long!!!

Congratulations to Jillian and Ruby on their clear scans! You girls are amazing!!

I will update again when I know more....thanks for checking in!!!



Aunt Annaliese

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Monday, August 14, 2006 1:11 PM CDT

Well Hello.....

It's Aunt Annaliese again doing a little update for Kelly. Last Tuesday the family spent the day at Knobles and had a blast, not too much else going on, that I know of. Just enjoying every moment of this nice weather. I know Michael and Kelly will be down at CHOP again this week for counts and a scan on Wed. So keep your fingers crossed that counts are good and the scan shows improvement!!!! I'll let you know when I know anything. Thanks again for checking in!!!!

♥ Aunt Annaliese

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Wednesday, August 2, 2006 2:52 PM CDT

Hello all,
Finally an update....Michael is doing awesome!!!! He's going to be finishing this week of Chemo, then he has next week off. In two weeks, he will be going back down to CHOP for his counts and he'll be getting another scan on Wed. (8/16) so keep your fingers crossed. Dr. Grupp says he definitely doesn't think it's gotten worse just by looking at him, but a scan will clear everything up and let us know where we are. If there's an improvement, then the experimental drug will be the next step, leaving 4 rounds of Chemo in their back pocket, just in case. Other than that, everything is great. He's weighing in at 54lbs. He actually gained weight since starting Chemo again. His hair's still hanging on...a little thin in the back but Kelly says you only really notice it when it's wet.

The boys are excitedly waiting for the baby which most likely be named Dakota May, since that's what both the boys are calling her!! They did some shopping the other day and Michael picked out some pink hangers to put in her room!! Just a few more months!!!!!

Hope all is well with everyone, and thank you all for checking in. Sorry it's been a while, but there really hasn't been much to report. Just enjoying every minute of the summer!!!

TRY TO STAY COOL!!!!!

¢¾ Aunt Annaliese

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Friday, July 21, 2006 12:22 AM CDT

Not too much to report. Michael's still doing awesome, still eating like crazy and still holding on to all of his hair. I am happy to report that he is now swimming under water! That's right both Michael and Evan have turned into fish!!! Just thought I'd post a little update to let everyone know we're still kicking....speaking of kicking, Kelly says the baby is moving around like crazy! Thanks to everyone for checking in!

♥ Aunt Annaliese

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Monday, July 17, 2006 12:16 AM CDT

Hello, hello, well since I am back to work, after 9 lovely days off I figured I'd do a little update. As you can see from some of the new pictures, Michael and Evan had a visitor last week. That's right the beautiful little Abba came over to play! Boy did they have fun! The boys also came over to my house on Thursday and did excellent swimming in the big pool. Two sleeps later they were over again, this time for my little sister’s graduation party. They ate, swam, jumped in the moon bounce, played basketball, threw the ball to the dog and watched fireworks. Overall they had a great day, and so did I! Hope everyone is doing well, because everyone here sure is!!!


♥ Aunt Annaliese

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Thursday, July 6, 2006 7:11 AM CDT

Hello all,

I hope everyone had a relaxing 4th of July. I just wanted to post a little update to let everyone know how things are going. I called Kelly yesterday to see how the little guy was feeling. I was expecting to hear, he's not eating, he's crabby and sleeping all the time. Boy was I wrong, Kelly says he's eating her out of house and home and is back to his old self!!! This is making things much easier. They're going to CHOP everyday to get Chemo. He is doing great with his port, when he went to get accessed, he was a little nervous, so he closed his eyes, after a few moments he asked are you gonna do it or what? Kelly and the nurse started laughing because it was already done! So he really doesn't mind getting accessed or de-accessed. Other than that not to much to report, everyone is doing pretty well. I personally am really looking forward to next week. I took the week off and I can't wait to go swimming with Michael and Evan! Luckily Michael is off from treatments next week, so it'll be a vacation for everyone. Thanks for checking in!

¢¾ Aunt Annaliese

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Thursday, June 29, 2006 9:05 AM CDT

Hello all,
Just wanted to let everyone know, Michael came home on Tuesday, with his new port in place. They are making they're daily trips down to CHOP to receive Chemo all this week. Other than that not much to report, everyone is doing pretty well.

Aunt Annaliese

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Thursday, June 29, 2006 9:05 AM CDT

Hello all,

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Monday, June 26, 2006 10:57 AM CDT

Michael and Kelly will be down at CHOP all this week. I just got a message from Kelly. Michael just got his port placed and the surgeon said he did fine. Keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers to get them through this. Thanks!

♥ Aunt Annaliese

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Thursday, June 22, 2006 10:42 AM CDT

Okay I just talked to Kelly, the ultrasound was fine...no worries there. Michael is going to go off the Accutane. They're still not 100% sure what treatment they are going to go with, but they have options. They will either do Chemo, MIBG therapy or an experimental drug. Kelly says she apologizes for not updating lately, but she just has too much going on. Michael unfortunately has not been acting like his normal self since last Friday. He's been very tired and cranky, so hopefully going off the Accutane will help that. He will be getting a port placed in the very near future, which he wasn't to happy about, but he'll still be able to go swimming, which makes it worth it. Please continue to pray for Michael and his family. Thanks!

Aunt Annaliese

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Thursday, June 22, 2006 6:57 AM CDT

Hello all,

I haven't spoke to Kelly yet so I really don't know much. I will try to touch base with her today to see what's going on. I did speak to Michael's Uncle Greg (my boyfriend) last night, and the one thing he said he did know is that the ultrasound of the baby was fine. I will confirm this with Kelly today if possible. Sorry that this doesn't answer any questions, I'll try to find out some info ASAP. Keep sending the prayers our way. Thanks.

♥ Aunt Annaliese

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Tuesday, June 20, 2006 6:51 AM CDT

Hello all,

I figured I'd do a little update for Kelly since the site is understandably the furthest thing from her mind. Mike, Kelly and the boys are obviously back from Disney, and they had an amazing time! They are still wishing they were there! Kelly has her ultrasound scheduled for this morning and then they head down to CHOP for a 3:45pm meeting with Dr. Grupp to discuss treatment options. Needless to say Kelly is a little stressed. So please send some extra prayers their way today, just to help them get through this. I will update again when I know what’s going on. Thank you all for your continued support.

Love to all,
♥ Aunt Annaliese

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Tuesday, June 6, 2006 7:20 AM CDT

Just a quick update: I had the privilege of speaking to Michael, Kelly and Evan on Saturday morning! They are having a blast. Michael and Evan loved the plane ride, Michael being the strange little boy he is enjoyed the take off and landing the most! Evan wanted to get out of the plane about halfway through the flight to jump on the clouds like the Care Bears! Friday, they spent the entire day at Universal Studios. Take one guess who they got to meet....SPIDERMAN!!! Spiderman and a few friends rode up to Michael and Evan on their four-wheelers!!!! So needless to say they are having the time of their lives!!! Hope everyone is well....I'm sure we'll update once everyone is home!!

Love to all,
Aunt Annaliese

***********************************************************************************************
Hello all,

It's aunt Annaliese. I'm sure Kelly will be updating at some point in the near future, but she's been busy getting ready for Disney.
Kelly met with Dr. Grupp yesterday, and unfortunately he's thinking relapse. This news is devastating. Kelly is doing amazing. I must say she is the strongest woman I know. She takes each day as it comes and continues to live her life with her children as if it were the last. She doesn't want to dwell on the bad, because she knows that if she does she will regret missing fun with her kids. She handles these situations with grace and strength that I truly admire.
We are not giving up hope, and I think that¡¯s the only thing we can do. Dr. Grupp offered to talk to her about treatment plans, but Kelly opted to wait until after they get back from Disney to discuss everything. So I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll know more then.
As for Michael, he is still doing great, feeling good, running, playing and eating! He can¡¯t wait to go to Disney with his family! I¡¯m so excited for all of them.

Please continue to pray for Michael and his family, and also for Trevor and his, he seems to of gotten the same news.

Thanks to all,

¢¾ Annaliese

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Tuesday, June 6, 2006 7:20 AM CDT

Just a quick update: I had the privilege of speaking to Michael, Kelly and Evan on Saturday morning! They are having a blast. Michael and Evan loved the plane ride, Michael being the strange little boy he is enjoyed the take off and landing the most! Evan wanted to get out of the plane about halfway through the flight to jump on the clouds like the Care Bears! Friday, they spent the entire day at Universal Studios. Take one guess who they got to meet....SPIDERMAN!!! Spiderman and a few friends rode up to Michael and Evan on their four-wheelers!!!! So needless to say they are having the time of their lives!!! Hope everyone is well....I'm sure we'll update once everyone is home!!

Love to all,
Aunt Annaliese

***********************************************************************************************
Hello all,

It's aunt Annaliese. I'm sure Kelly will be updating at some point in the near future, but she's been busy getting ready for Disney.
Kelly met with Dr. Grupp yesterday, and unfortunately he's thinking relapse. This news is devastating. Kelly is doing amazing. I must say she is the strongest woman I know. She takes each day as it comes and continues to live her life with her children as if it were the last. She doesn't want to dwell on the bad, because she knows that if she does she will regret missing fun with her kids. She handles these situations with grace and strength that I truly admire.
We are not giving up hope, and I think that¡¯s the only thing we can do. Dr. Grupp offered to talk to her about treatment plans, but Kelly opted to wait until after they get back from Disney to discuss everything. So I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll know more then.
As for Michael, he is still doing great, feeling good, running, playing and eating! He can¡¯t wait to go to Disney with his family! I¡¯m so excited for all of them.

Please continue to pray for Michael and his family, and also for Trevor and his, he seems to of gotten the same news.

Thanks to all,

¢¾ Annaliese

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Tuesday, June 6, 2006 7:20 AM CDT

KAREN, THIS ENTRY IS FOR YOU...WE HEAD DOWN TO CHOP TODAY AND THAT'S WHEN I SHOULD KNOW SOME INFORMATION SO THAT I CAN POST IT ON THIS WEB PAGE THAT YOU LOVE TO HARASS ME ABOUT!!!

LOVE YA KAREN

KELLY

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Saturday, May 27, 2006 5:40 PM CDT

Well, i really wanted to update the other day, and never got around to it. We are having so much fun at home. We have been fishing, Michael caught a bass and Evan caught a turtle!!! The boys even managed to going swimmming one afternoon..oh, the "Lazy Days of Summer"

Then comes Friday, oh, good old CAT scan day, everything was going GREAT, then we just got home (after visiting with an Aunt for a few hours) and Michale broke out in a nice fire-engine red rash, started out on his back and quickly spread to his front side and down his legs. He threw up, I check his temperature and it was a lovely 101.9. So I called CHOP and you all know when a Onco-child has a fever and rash that automatically wins him a trip to the CHOP E.R., so we turned the car right around and headed for CHOP, i was very nervous because it was 5:30 p.m. on the Friday before Memorial day, but we actually made it in record time! So we arrive they (about 5 or so people) check him over and came tot he conclusion that it was a reaction from the contrast for the CAT scan. So he got benadryl and was monitored until 12:30 a.m., when they came back in and asked if i felt comfortable taking him home. Now come on, my child has a rash and fever, i think i cna handle this one at home!!! So off to home we were. And everything is GREAT, he got to spend some much needed one-on-one time with Daddy, they went to the lawn mower store, grabbed a slice of pizza and they are fishing right now.


Keep praying for my strong little angel!!!

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Wednesday, May 24, 2006 8:28 PM CDT

UPDATE:

Hello, this is michael's mommy, just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Aunt Annaliese for updating the page for me while my mind was pre-occupied. I thought you all deserved to know what was going on "straight from the horses mouth." As you all know Michael had his MRI and that showed that there was definetly abnormalities on his spine, but since they have nothing to compare that MRI to, the abnormalities could be left over cancer cells, new ones or just damage from all of his treatments, his bone marrow biopsy showed 1 cluster of Neuroblastoma cells which could also be left over cancer cells or new ones. His urine test came back on the high side of "Normal." so with all that said, they have absolutely no clue what is going on, so the best they can tell me is to wait 4 weeks and do another MIBG scan, well i am sorry, you can't tell me, a mother of a potentially re-lapsing Neuroblastoma kid to wait 4 weeks, so Dr. Grupp ordered a CAT scan for this Friday, so we may or may not know more from this scan. We are all still trying desperately to hold onto our Faith and know that God will work this out how He wants.

We are still planning on going to Florida in 2 weeks and getting very excited about that. MIchael is having lots of fun shopping for his baby sister already, he spent an hour picking out the "perfect" dress for her..he is going to be an awesome big brother to this little GIRL!!! She is already bringing much Un-needed "Fun" to my life, they have me scheduled for another ultra-sound in 4 weeks because the head and body are not growing at the same rate...at htis point it does not even phase me!!! My doctor does not seem overly concerned over this at this point, she just wants to keep an eye on it!!!


Keep the prayers coming for my entire family and all of our oncology buddies.

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Wednesday, May 24, 2006 10:33 AM CDT

Karen this is for you....I don't want you kicking Kelly's butt for not updating :)

We still really don't know much. The MRI results came back and there is definitely something there. What? Who knows? Still waiting on the results from the urine test. Dr.Grupp is out of the office till the end of the week and then we have the holiday, so who knows when we'll find anything out.

If I talk to Kelly today, I'll find out if I missed something, which I tend to do since all this stuff tends to confuse even the smartest people.

Still planning on going to Disney, so the boys are so excited for that.

We went fishing this weekend with Michael, Evan, Daddy, Mimi, Uncle Greg, Uncle Dave, Aunt Diane, Cousin Gabriella, Poppa and myself. Everyone had so much fun. Michael and Evan both whopped Daddy's butt in the fish catching department!!! I put some pictures into the slideshow from our outing.

Other than that not to much is going on. Michael is still feeling really well, playing outside all day and just being his normal self. They took a trip to the new McDonald's Playland in Quakertown on Friday and were there for about 4 hours playing with the other kids!!!!

Hopefully this is an okay update!
Hope everyone is doing well!!!

♥ Aunt Annaliese

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Friday, May 19, 2006 10:34 AM CDT

Hello all, it's Aunt Annaliese.

I'm sure the suspense is driving everyone nuts, so I figured I'd share what we know for sure.

The full results of Michael's bone marrow aspiration came back on Thursday. They found 3 or 4 Neuroblastoma cells in his bone marrow. They found this when they did a biopsy on the bone marrow, the aspiration showed no cells, but unfortunately the biopsy did. I was really confused about what the difference between the aspiration and the biopsy was so I found this helpful from WebMD: "Bone marrow aspiration removes a small amount of bone marrow fluid through a needle put into a bone. The bone marrow fluid is looked at to see if there are problems with any of the blood cells made in the bone marrow. A bone marrow biopsy removes bone with the marrow inside to look at under a microscope¢®¡¾ So that's why the aspiration showed no cells, because it's such a small area.

So everyone now is doing the normal CHOP thing, that everyone is familiar with "Hurry up & Wait". Michael was scheduled for his MRI at 11am yesterday. He did not go in until 1ish. He was in for close to 3 hours.

We are still waiting to hear from Dr. Grupp as to what is really going on. He said the cells that they found could either be new or old cancer, but the MRI will tell us more. I will update again when we no more. Sorry if I leave anyone feeling confused, but unfortunately that seems to be the general state everyone's in. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. Also, keep praying for Trevor too, we haven't heard any news on him yet.


♥ Aunt Annaliese

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Tuesday, May 16, 2006 10:59 AM CDT

Hello all, it's Aunt Annaliese....

I am pleased to announce the results of Kelly's Ultrasound........drum roll please.......
She's having a.....GIRL!!!!!!!

That's right not another boy, but a GIRL! Mommy Kelly is so excited! Michael, who originally didn't like the idea of having a new baby, is so thrilled to be getting a sister. Kelly said he was absolutly beaming. He says they need to go shopping now for something pink!

Other than that, nothing new to report. Hopefully we will have some more good news about Michael's bone marrow asperation at some point tomorrow.

Love to all,
♥ Aunt Annaliese

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Monday, May 15, 2006 6:19 AM CDT

Monday Afternoon Update: Kelly called a little bit ago. Now, don't get overly excited, because this isn't official. But the dr.'s tested just the bone marrow from the aspiration and found no cancer cells. They said to wait until Wednesday for the final results, but just this little bit of good news, is enough to help settle us for now. Keep praying that all test results will come back clear for Michael and Trevor. Thanks!

Hello all, it's Aunt Annaliese again. I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

I just wanted to give everyone a run down of the upcoming events.

Today, Michael will be going in for a Bone Marrow Aspiration down at CHOP. Hopefully this will come back negative, so please pray really hard for that. Tomorrow, Kelly has an ultrasound scheduled to find out the sex of the baby! Woo Hoo so excited!
Next Monday Michael will go in for an MRI, to see what those spots really are. Let's all continue to pray for Michael.

Michael's friend Trevor, also had a bad scan last week, and he'll be going in for more tests too. Think happy positive thoughts, and pray really hard, that both of these amazing little boys just had some weird scans, and that they are both still cancer free.

We will not know the results of the bone marrow aspiration until Wednesday, so Kelly or I will update again when we know more.

Thank you all for you're kind words of support and prayers. I know they mean the world to Kelly and the rest of us.

Until next time,

¢¾ Aunt Annaliese

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Thursday, May 11, 2006 9:16 AM CDT

Hello all it's Aunt Annaliese.

Well, Kelly just called and we have some potentially bad news.

The results from yesterday's MIBG scan shows spots on his spine.

Dr.Grupp would like to do a few more tests, urine, MRI etc. to see if they are cancer or just a wierd scan, but that probably will not be until Monday. We'll update again when we know more.

So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Pray extra hard, that these spots are not cancer! Thanks you all. God bless.

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Monday, May 8, 2006 12:04 AM CDT

Hello All, It's Aunt Annaliese, doing a little update for Kelly, who as most of you can see has a fear of updating! HAHA

Anyway, Michael is doing wonderful, of course he's doing wonderful, all while having Scarlet Fever, yeah that's right he has Scarlet Fever! Other than being a little itchy, he's dealing with it really well. Him and his brother and of course mommy too have been getting outside playing as much as possible and really enjoying the nice weather. They are beginning to get a little excited for their upcoming Disney trip. They will be leaving June 8th. This is going to be the first time any of them have ever been on a plane, so I'm sure a few prayers won't hurt, to make sure they make it there safely and without losing any luggage.

Speaking of prayers, Michael's next MIBG scan is THIS WEDNESDAY! So please pray for him really hard, so he has another clear scan, so they can go to Disney and really PARTY!! Anyway, thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers and well wishes, they truly mean the world to everyone...hope everyone enjoys the nice weather (even though it's a little cool today)

Until next time.....

Aunt Annaliese




Monday Night Update....

Michael has lost his first tooth (not counting the ones he had pulled) Having some corn on the cob for dinner and realized the tooth that has been getting more loose every day, was gone! Unfortunatly, no one can find it, so everyone's thinking he may have swallowed it! Still, a little note to the tooth fairy and I'm sure he'll make some money out of the deal!

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Thursday, April 20, 2006 5:36 PM CDT

As always I must apologize for being such a slacker when it comes to updating this page. And secondly I have to thank Michael's Aunt Annaliese for making his page cooler and cooler, we are hoping to get some new pics of the boys, because quite frankly, Michael looks nothing like that anymore, somehow he got handsomer.


So what can i say, Michael had an appointment with Dr. Grupp last Tuesday...(I know, I know, a week and a half later i am finally talking about his appointment, i just hate talking about the medical stuff, trying to put it in the past) his appoitment went really well, he is 6 months post his 2nd transplant, and he got the "stamp of approval" to be a "normal" boy. Dr. Grupp asked me what Michael wanted to do that i wasn't allowing him, then he said "Oh, that's right your the mom that lets them slide down the stairs on a sofa cushion." So, yes, my boy has had his share of fun even with low platlets...well shame on me for having some fun during all of this..ha!ha!

After our appointment with Dr. Grupp we decided to have lunch in Philly, just the two of us, it was really nice until we were on our way home and i noticed a violation ticket flapping in the wind..that's right i got a parking ticket for an expired parking meter..UGhhhhhhhhhh, Michael started to cry and he thought i was going to jail!!! Never a dull moment!


Today we took a trip to the store and bought a water sprinkler, the boys had such a blast, Michael hasn't been allowed to play in water since last March, so he had a blast! Then daddy came home and told us that we were running the sprinkler long enough, so he shut it off, well don't think because you are bigger then me that you are going to ruin my fun!!!! So we filled up a pool and splashed in that the rest of the evening!!!!

We are looking at possibly going to Disney World for Michael's Make-A-Wish in June, so he is getting excited about that.

The time has come again..Ughhhhhh, for the good old MIBG scan, May 10th is his scan, so of course i am already loosing sleep over it, but we just try and enjoy every single day and we never miss a moment for some good fun!!!

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Thursday, March 30, 2006 6:52 PM CST

I am so sorry, it has been way too long since i have updated, but what can i say, except that we are trying our hardest to get our "normal" lives back!

Ever since this nice weather broke, we have been outside from sun-up to sun-down, my boys love being outside!!! Today we went to a huge wooden park. The boys rode their bikes for a little while, they are both on big boy bikes without training wheels, yes that's right, my 5-year-old and 3 year-old, they are absolute nuts, i need to start bringing my own bike to the park!!! Then my boys discovered a creek, of course i'm a softy, especially when i see those little smiles and giddy laughs, so I let them walk through the creek with their brand new shoes on, well their not brand new, we had them for almost a week now!!! It was well worth seeing them both laughing and playing like boys are supposed to! Somehow i convinced them it was time to go home and possibly take a nap, so they both agreed, but as we were leaving a lady walked by with a Rita's in her hands, and Evan yelled "I need one of those", so we all agreed that it was the perfect day for an icee! So we got our Rita's, went home and we ALL crashed for about 2 hours..what a wonderful day!!!


If the weather is still nice then we are all going camping and riding dirt bikes this weekend, the boys just love to camp and roast marsmellows!!!


What a great life we have, i love my boys and i realize this more and more each day, the other day i really realized that i had two BOYS when i was doing the wash and had to empty out about 20 rocks, not pebbles, out of Evan's pockets!!! Being a boy mommy is the best, always full of surprises!

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Monday, March 13, 2006 9:29 AM CST

Hello All,
This is Annaliese, Michael's Aunt, doing a little update for Kelly.
Well from one new baby, on to the next. I am happy to anounce that Michael and Evan are going to have a new brother or sister. That's right Kelly's pregnant!!!! I'm sure Kelly will be updating soon, to let you all know how things are going!!!



Oh yeah, Michael's still doing awesome!!! His hair is coming in like crazy!!!

This is the new baby happy dance!!!

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Monday, February 27, 2006 2:51 PM CST

Michael & Evan have their first cousin!!!

Jessica Lucille Bender
8lbs. 1oz.
20 inches long

Baby and Mom are doing great!

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Monday, February 20, 2006 7:23 PM CST

What a great day...michael had volunteers from Make-A-Wish come over tonite. They asked him what they could do for him and he said "I want to meet Mickey Mouse and the big dog," how cute was that?!?! Then they said well we are pretty sure that we will be able to help you out with that wish but if for some reason we can't get you to see Mickey Mouse what would be your next wish? Michael's response was "Then I'll just go meet the dog...Goofy!!!" only my child!!...so then said not to worry that they'll try their hardest to get him to Disney World. We are so excited, we want to go NOW! We should know by March when we will be going, hopefully sometime around May or June. Besides that, nothing much to report here, we are just waitng for the arrival of my 1st niece or nephew "the boys first cousin", any day now would be GREAT!!!

M-I-C-K-E-Y MOUSE, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck

Ohhhhhhhh, so excited, he deserves it!!!

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Wednesday, February 8, 2006 3:28 PM CST

Clearrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, the scan was finally clear, we have never had a clear scan, this is so huge for us, ughhhh i am so relieved i just want to go outside and scream!!! thank you to everyone that has been praying for my boy, what a great day!!!

until i can think of something to say, my mind is mush!!!

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Monday, January 23, 2006 1:29 PM CST

we had an awesome weekend, we celebrated evan's 3rd birthday on Friday with some desserts and family then saturday i went to work where I get to socialize with "Big People" then on Sunday my family went up to our campsite at Tower City where we ride our dirt bikes and four-wheelers. Michael had a blast riding his dirt bike, he tanked me a million times and told me how much fun he was having (he only rode for maybe and hour at most!) then we all got a good laugh as we watched Evan on his four-wheeler go sraight into a huge water-mud bog...i don't think he had a clue to what he was doing, he got off of his four-wheeler in the midlle of hte water and yelled "Mom, i need a towel!"

I am so thankful that i get so many great memories with my boy and family, i was on cloud nine yesterday...both my boys were as muddy, tired and hungry as can be...that's when you know you had a good day!!!


Oh yeah, i almost forgot my child has cancer, so how's that all going??, he is currently on Accutane, its an acne medication but they believe it helps kill any left over Neuroblastoma cells, so of course he is getting nice dry skin from it, but hey, i can handle that!!! He goes for a MIBG scan i think its on February 7th then a follow-up with Dr. Grupp on the 14th!

Did i mention how handsome my child is with his hearing aids???

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Wednesday, January 18, 2006 2:53 PM CST

CHECK OUT THE UPDATED PICTURES!!!!

let me just start this by saying that i have completly fell in love all over again with Michael Brian, he just got his hearing aids yesterday, and somehow i think he got even more handsome then he already was...(he's my baby and i can brag if i want to!!!) he loves his hearing aids and the minute the lady put the one in he gave me this puzzled look and said "mommy, i can hear different!, what a great moment, then she put the other one in and he said "mommy, i can hear myself now!...so now my days aren't filled with listening to "hughs, and whats", its great, i am so happy for him, and he loves wearing them, what an awesome boy!!!



well my boys "NEED MOMMY"

the luzader gang!!!

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Monday, January 9, 2006 5:56 PM CST

This is the fourth time now that i have tried to update this webpage...it better go through, anyways, things have been great, the chicken pox was completely uneventful, not complaining, we started radiation last Tuesday and we finish up tommorrow, michael had his labs done last Friday and his platelts were 121, very, very good for him and his Hemoglobin was 12.0, PERFECT, since radiaiton can knock all those important numbers down, we will head to clinic on Thursday for more labs

Until later

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers

the luzader gang

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Saturday, December 31, 2005 1:39 PM CST

we are home at last!!!....i will write more later, we still have to celebrate Christmas!!!



love
the luzader gang

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Monday, December 26, 2005 9:59 AM CST

yes we are still here at hotel CHOP, even though we are in the hospital we still had a very nice Christmas and Michael had a nice 5th birthday (still can't believe he is 5...WoW) Michael received lots of nice gifts from Santa and from a family that came in dressed up like elves, so very nice. He is doing really well with his chicken pox, he is not even itching, of course with all that he has been through this is basically a cake walk for him!!! the only reason he is in the hospital is because with transplant kids, the chicken pox can become internal, so they have to give him a certain anti-virial medicine through an I.V., and constantly check his kidney and liver functions, but so far so good!!!


Please keep praying for him and all the other little angels down here!

love ya
michael and his proud mommy

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Friday, December 23, 2005 11:20 AM CST

Hello all & Happy Holidays!!

This Annaliese - Michael's Aunt.

Just spoke to Kelly and guess what Michael has....give up? CHICKEN POX!!! So they are on their way to good ol' CHOP. He has no fever, no itching, just spots. Hopefully they won't be down for to long since Michael is turning 5 tomorrow and Ho Ho is coming on Sunday. Everyone please pray for Michael so his bumps go away and he can come home soon!!!!

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Thursday, December 15, 2005 7:08 PM CST

o.k, lets see if this works, how frustrating, i typed this journal entry twice yesterday and it never went through...and you people wonder why i never update his page!!! we are doing great at home still, we had a wonderful visit from none other then Santa Clause himself, he helped us put up our Christmas tree and decorate it, just as he was walking up the driveway, it started to snow, which was way neat, so i must thank my brother, brian, from up in Heaven for that little bit of magic because that is the only way i can explain it!!! we also did a lot more sledding and made gingerbread houses,

i guess michael decided that he did not need his N.G tube anymore because he threw it up, so the doctors agreed that we would give him a week and monitor his weight and see if he holds his own, well so far i am happy to report that i can not keep enough corn dogs in this house!!!

o.k. well i guess i'll give it a whirl and see if this thing will even work today!!!

keep up the prayers!!!


love ya

The Luzader Gang

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Tuesday, December 6, 2005 5:49 PM CST

we are still home having lots of fun in the snow!!! if you know my boys then you know that we just did not go down the hill on a cute little sled, oh no we didn't, we had to have daddy pull us around on our sleds with the four-wheeler, oh what fun that was!!! mcihael's platlets are still hanging out around 34 so radiation had to be put off until maybe the end of next week!!!

prayer for all the children that are dealing with this crap!!!


love, michael and his proud mommy

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Thursday, December 1, 2005 8:04 PM CST

we are stil home and enjoying every moment of it, the boys are being boys and i am enjoying watching every minute of it!!! we had clinic today and michael's counts are holding steady on their own..so no transfusions today. tommorrow we go down to H.U.P. to simulation radiation, then he will start his 6 rounds whenever his platelts are above either 40 or 50, that was not made clear to me!!! hope everyone is enjoying life as much as i am right now!!!


michael's proud mommy

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Monday, November 28, 2005 2:59 PM CST

We are finally coming home tonite, very excited, very nervous!!! We are coming home tubie free, unless you want to count the tubie down the nose!!! So exciting!!!

thanks for all of the prayers and thoughts

love michael and his proud mommy

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Saturday, November 26, 2005 6:19 PM CST

well its saturday and we are not at home, we are still at CHOP, we have no idea when we will be going home because he decide to spike a fever last night at midnight and a few times throughout the day...so the fun has begun once again!!!

will update when we know something
love

michael and his proud mommy

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Wednesday, November 23, 2005 7:57 PM CST

Michael had his Pic line placed and also a tubie down his nose for feeds since he has lost some weight and they don't want him to lose anymore. We are hoping that he will only need it in for a few weeks until his belly gets used to food again. So the plan is to come home Saturday afternoon, we can't wait.



Since Thanksgiving is tommorrow and we will be in the hospitol, it is the perfect oppurtunity for me to sit back and thank God for how lucky i am. Some of you reading this are probably like "lucky, her child has cancer, that's not lucky" but i don't look at it that way, never had, never will. i am lucky to have the wonderufl experience at being a mother, some woman never get that opportunity

I'll continue later, michael needs me!!!

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Tuesday, November 22, 2005 7:34 PM CST

We are officially tubie free!!!, unitl tommorrow, hey but we can still enjoy our one night without them!!! so he is getting a Pic line placed tommorrow at noon!

that's all for now

michael's proud mommy

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Monday, November 21, 2005 11:03 AM CST

Tubies are coming out, either today or tommorrow!!! we grew out another infection!!! not much more to say then that!!!

love
michael's proud mommy

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Sunday, November 20, 2005 8:21 AM CST

Good news...we do not have a fungus, so what the heck do we have, nobody knows!!! Michael is now down to 3 antibiotics and still having low grade fevers. He slept most of yesterday and is still sleeping now at 9:30 a.m. maybe the child just needed some good rest, who knows, its all a mystery!!!

love michael's proud mommy

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Friday, November 18, 2005 9:39 AM CST

First i want to say thank you to evryone that prayed super hard for michael's quick recovery...he is definetly a super hero, unbelievable!!! So we are back to our second home and lovin' it, michael slept awesome last night and is still sleeping (it's almlost 11:00 a.m.) Sometime tommorrow they will be doing a C.A.T. scan to rule out a fungal infection so that they could take him off of one of his meds!!! we will probably be here until sometime mid-end of next week...and that is just fine!!!...my baby is not in the P.I.C.U. anymore!!!


love
michael's proud mommy

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Wednesday, November 16, 2005 6:57 AM CST

This Michael's Aunt Annaliese again - I don't know if Kelly will get a chance today, but we have wonderful news...MIBG came back CLEAR!!!!! Michael is still in ICU, but should be back in "onco world" as Kelly put it by Friday. He is doing well, still on antibiotics, but no catheter and no BP medicine. Please use the link below to send him an e-card, they really make him happy!!!!

Thank you to everyone again for all of your support and prayers!!!!

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Sunday, November 13, 2005 8:45 PM CST

I know that it has been a while since i updated, we were having way too much fun at home but i think that i little, and i mean little part of michael missed his nurses at CHOP, so he decided to spike a fever saturday night and won us a trip to the emergency room at CHOP, so now here we are sitting and wondering why he has a fever, maxing out at 103 and coming down with tylenol to 101, so far no infections, 24 hour-rule out at midnight, so we on the oncology floor like to play the awesome and exciting game of "Hurry up and wait!!!"....there is definetly no sarcasm while i type this..on the positive note, when we were home i decided to let my husband cut and highlite my hair (yes i know what everyone is thinking right about now) but he actually did and awesome job and my entire CHOP family has done nothing but compliment my hair...even the male libriarian!!!...go figure, you go to the hair salon, spend big bucks nobody compliments your hair, you let your machinist husband, who is color blind highlight and cut your hair and everyone loves it...what is this world coming to!!!


keep the prayers coming for all oncology children!!!

love ya
michael and his proud mommy

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Sunday, November 6, 2005 6:16 PM CST

We are home and having a wonderful time being home. The doctors and nurses, knowing my son, told me numerous times that Michael may not ride his dirt bike or pedal bike until his platelts get to some ridiculously high number, which will probably take forever to get to. So we started our stay home with a little sledding down the steps on a seat cushion, to sliding down the sliding board into a pile of leaves, and they were worried about my child on a bicycle??? So i decided i was tired of seeing my son a little depressed that he was not allowed to ride on his dirt bike...after all its not his fault he got this nasty cancer, right? after 20 minutes of drilling it into him that he must go very slow on his dirt bike, i let him ride...and he enjoyed every minute of it, even if i was running right behind him like a crazy person!

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Tuesday, November 1, 2005 9:17 PM CST

just wanted to let everyone know that michael is the current designer of his web page...i had absolutely nothing to do with it!!! we are outta here tommorrow, we can not wait!!! besides the week of fevers, michael had an overall good stay!!!

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Sunday, October 30, 2005 12:22 AM CST

michael has been fever free since saturday morning at 4:30 a.m., as of yesterday his ANC was way over 6000, so as long as he does not spike another fever we should be home by tuesday or wednesday, he is in better spirits and is looking forward to trick-or-treating tommorrow at the hospitol

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Friday, October 28, 2005 4:51 PM CDT

michael's CAT scan came back negative..no fungus!!! i am so relieved. so now we just sit and wait for michael to not have a fever for a few days then we will be on are way back home, hopefully by the end of next week, we are both very homesick!!!

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Thursday, October 27, 2005 10:48 PM CDT

sorry that it has taken me so long to update michael's page. things have been a little crazy and i also think i am in bit of denial that my baby is actually sick, so far he has been going through his treatments with flying colors, but this week we decided to spike high fevers 102-103 for five days straight...not fun! everyone seems to think that he is spiking the fevers because his body is working so hard to reproduce his white cells, i sure hope that they are correct, another possiblity would be that he has a fungal infection, so tommorrow at 3:30 p.m. he will be going for a CAT scan to rule that out, if he does have a fungal infection they will put him on medicine right away for it, so we should know the results by tommorrow night, so i pray that it is just his cells coming in too quickly!!! check out michael's pictures, featuring his brother, Evan...thanks to their Aunt Annaleise who helps me with this web page because i am pretty much computer illiterate!!!

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Thursday, October 20, 2005 9:59 PM CDT

sorry its been a little while since i have updated the page, but michael has been keeping me busy as usual. his infection is under control with the antibiotics they have him on. this morning he woke-up and was crying, and i said michael what's wrong and he said my mouth hurts and i think that i need medicine in my tubie, so he had one dose of morphine all day and he is doing fine with it, he is such a strong little boy and he tries so hard to be mister tuff guy all the time, i have to get the biggest doctors in his room to tell him that even big guys need pain medicines!!! so he finally fell asleep after being up alllllll day!!!


keep the prayers coming!!!
love michael's proud mommy

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Sunday, October 16, 2005 10:18 AM CDT

if you read my earlier entry from today...i spoke too soon, his culture grew out an infection, so they'll put him back on an antibiotic!!!...fun, fun!!

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Sunday, October 16, 2005 9:10 AM CDT

Good news, michael has not had a fever since Friday when he received his t-cells back, and no infections grew from his blood culture. He has no mouth sores yet (please knock on same major wood!!!) so they don't have him on any pain medications, so we are doing pretty awesome!!!


Keep the prayers and e-cards coming

love
michael and his proud mommy!!!

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Friday, October 14, 2005 8:24 PM CDT

Michael had a pretty good day until he received his t-cells back(he is on an experimental study, t-cells help fight fungal infections) and he got really bad shakes for about 30 minutes and a fever about an hour later, so now he is just laying there and i wish i could be complaing that he was acting wild like yesterday!!! The shakes and fever are perfectly normal but of course they have to draw blood cultures and put him on an antibiotic just in case he is brewing something!!! I just pray that he returns to his normal rambunctious self tommorrow!!!

Love michael's Proud Mommy

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Thursday, October 13, 2005 6:54 PM CDT

He is driving me absolutley NUTS...and you know that i'm loving every minute of it!!! We have been up since 6:00 a.m...and it looks like we might be pulling an all nighter!!! i had speech and music therapy come in today to try and wear him out but that did not work!!! every time i tell him to slow down and to not jump ont he bed he looks me straight in the eyes and tells me that its o.k. because he is already in the hospitol!!!...what a smart ass!!

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Wednesday, October 12, 2005 6:35 PM CDT

today was the big day, in more then one way...it was his last radiation treatment and he GOT HIS STEM CELLS BACK...woo hoo, what an exciting day, he is sleeping now,too much excitment for him!!! He is still acting like himself, drinking and trying to eat..what a trooper.


that's all for now
keep the prayers coming
love
michael's proud mommy

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Monday, October 10, 2005 5:34 PM CDT

for any of you who would like to send michael e-cards, we switched rooms today we are now in room 11, it has a bathtub, yeah yeah! Michael had his first radiation treatment this morning and i am very happy to report that my 4 year old acted like an adult(as usual) and did not need to be sedated which is much better for him then he can eat and drink all day...as he likes to do! he also made a very big boy decision and picked listening to mommy on the intercom rather then listening to an eminem CD, made mommy so proud! His second session was supposed to be at 5:30 p.m. but the machine is down so there is at least a two hour delay...oh well, whatever!!! so now he is in his bathtub soaking and playing with NaNa. Ohhh, i almost forgot, today michael received some gifts from an organization...ohhh gotta go to radiation!!!

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Friday, October 7, 2005 9:49 PM CDT

Well the fun has begun...We are finally at CHOP for his last transplant. Michael weighs 55 pounds and is 3ft 7 inches tall...he just keeps on growing. Very boring day, we had to be at clinic by 10:00 a.m. so they could hydrate Michael before giving him his chemo which only lasted 30 minutes, that will go on until Sunday. Then Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday he will get full body radiation. Michael decided that he will be a very brave boy and not need to be sedated when he gets his radiation, so i told him that he may have a new CD to listen to while he is getting his radiation, so my 4 year old picks Eminem...he is only 4, what the heck do i do when he becomes a teenager...I just can't wait!!! For dinner he started out with two pieces of pizza hut pizza, washed down by a total of 12 oz of apple juices, then he had two bowls of chocolate lucky charms washed down by chocloate milk...what a little piggy!!!

Keep praying that this is the end of all of this!!!

Love Ya
Michael's Proud Mommy

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Thursday, October 6, 2005 11:20 AM CDT

Tommorrow we head down to CHOP for michael's last stem cell transplant. We had such a good time home it is very hard to leave again, but fortunally i am the only one whining about it, michael says it is fine and he is very excited about spending Halloween in the hospitol..go figure!!! The boys are busy decorating pumpkins and then later on we will make Halloween cut-out cookies. Well the boys want to go outside, Michael has his dirt bike helmet on...he is raring to go!!!

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Tuesday, September 27, 2005 7:19 PM CDT

What a wonderful day we had today, it started out with a nicce stroll in the park to the fish hatchery where we fed the fish and almost fell in numerous times. Then it was off to home to tye-dye our t-shirts, socks and our unmetionables (thanks to our wonderful Aunt Annaliese) Next it was snowboarding races in the basement, and don't worry we put on out motorcycle helmets, goggles and gloves...safety first!!! We will finish the nite off with a plate of meatballs (yes its 8:30p.m.) and a nice relaxing bath (for the boys!!!)

Good Nite

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Sunday, September 25, 2005 3:50 PM CDT

Shhhhhhh... michael rode his dirt bike (with training wheels) all weekend...don't tell the doctors!!! He is still eating me out of my house, i made him homemade bananna bread ( 2 loaves) and he was mad at me for giving one away!!!

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Wednesday, September 21, 2005 10:02 AM CDT

We are having the best time at home, just being together and playing. Michael is eating me out of my house, i can't keep up with the boy!!! michael had clinic yesterday and we finally did not need any transfusions....yeah michael!!! so we will go back on friday to make sure he is really producing his own cells!!!

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Thursday, September 15, 2005 4:10 PM CDT

We LOVE being home, michael is doing wonderful, eating wonderful and most importantly playing with his brother, Evan, they missed each other so much. I had to break the news to Michael, a child who has been waiting since Christmas for Halloween, that his Halloween will be spent in the hospital...his response was "That is super neat mommy, hey Evan guess what?, i'm gonna be in the hospital for Halloween...super neat"...not what i expected but that is just fine with me!!!

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005 8:18 AM

We are home!!!!! We've been home since Friday and we're doing very well. We'll be back down for transplant #2 Oct. 7th.


keep the prayers coming


love michael and his proud mommy

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Thursday, September 8, 2005 9:12 PM CDT

We are outta here tommorrow (hopefully)...that is why its is 10:15 P.M. and i am not sleeping because i am sooooo excited to go home and see Mike and Evan....michael and i are bursting with excitement...we will get about a month home before his next transplant....so excited!!!


keep the prayers coming


love michael and his proud mommy

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Wednesday, September 7, 2005 1:14 PM CDT

michael is allowed in the hall way with a mask on because his ANC is a little over 800 and we have 1.0 WBC....YEAH Michael and we had a very special visit from Elmo and Zoe...what a great day, now he is in Art Therapy painting the word on the street is that we MIGHT be going home by Monday, but we won't count on it

michael and his proud mommy

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Sunday, September 4, 2005 1:57 PM CDT

WE HAVE COUNTS....YEAH...YEAH...YEAH...His ANC is 150 and his WBC are .3, we are making progress...thank the Good Lord, i am so excited, so now it should be no time until we are back home, we miss Evan sooooooooo much, we have not seen him at all since the admission, we can't wait!!!


keep the prayers coming

michael and his mommy

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Saturday, September 3, 2005 12:03 AM CDT

well its 1:00 in the afternoon and the little man is still sleeping...must be nice, the nurses and doctors are reassuring me that he is tired because his body is very busy reproducing those white blood cells...still none yet, but his mouth and butt sores are healing and they won't heal unless you have white blood cells..so he must have some they are just too busy repairing things...just a big waitng game!!! i had my discharge meeting with the nurse practioner, (Ginny) yesterday, she already has michael's next admission date and we have not even left from this stay yet...we are coming back on Oct. 7...can hardly wait!!!
so it looks like we'll be celebrating halloween Philly style, gotta get my creative thinking cap on because he has been talking about Halloween since last Halloween...oh well, what are you going to


keep the prayers coming

michael and his proud mommy

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Thursday, September 1, 2005 3:20 PM CDT

michael had such a wonderful day yesterday, we played down on the floor with his trucks, then he did some crafts, we played baseball...what a great day, he even had a little bit of frozen yogurt with M&M's...today he had art therapy and music therapy which brightened his day, then we had a surprise visit from Dr. Leslie (who looks after michael when he is back home), we still have no white cells yet but the doctors believe that he is reproducin them and that they are just getting used up to help with his mouth and throat sores...because he is starting to look a lot better


keep praying for all the little angels down here

michael's proud mommy

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Monday, August 29, 2005 3:37 PM CDT

I am so bad at this journal thing, anyways michael is doing "o.k" i guess, he is doing good for his situation, its just so hard to see him laying in bed all day, but he is being a real trooper, him and Dr. Grupp were arguing because Dr. Grupp and i both thought that michael needed a continuous morphin drip but michael told us both that if he is in pain he will just sleep it off...what a tough 4 year old!!! he spiked a fever today so they will put him on an antibiotic for at least 24 hours to see if his culture grew any infections, fevers are very normal with this process
well i gotta get back to my little man

keep the prayers coming for everyone down here

michael's proud mommy

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Thursday, August 25, 2005 1:38 PM CDT

well this is absolutley no FUN, michael's butt hurts, its bleeding its so sore, his whole body itches probably from the morphin and he is constantly throwing up mucos, well thats about all besides that he is doing wonderful, he soaks in his mandatory bath for at least 45 minutes a day, and today we started an oatmeal bath which he LOVED i just wanted to say thank you for everyone that has sent michael an e-card, it brightens his day for those who are not familiar with it you can log onto www.chop.edu/e-cards, michaels room is 3 central room 11....it brightens his day and mine

keep the prayers coming to all of these angels

michael's mommy

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Tuesday, August 23, 2005 4:01 PM CDT

He got his stem cells back, and he helped flush it in, so you know how technical that was!!!! now the waiting game begins!!! he is not eating so the put him on a feed that he gets right through his broviac and the mouth/throat sores have begun, fun...fun

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Sunday, August 21, 2005 8:45 AM CDT

what a wonderful evening, michael spiked a 102.5 fever at midnight so we gave him tylenol and started him on some antibiotics..he did not fall back asleep until 4:00a.m., did not have a fever again until about 8:00 a.m....don't know why??? still throwing up...fun...fun..fun...well i must go check on him now

keep praying
michael's mommy

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Saturday, August 20, 2005 10:04 AM CDT

Hello
Michael is feeling rotten today...he starting to throw-up a little bit of blood probably from him throwing up only acid. And he is constantly saying how itchy he is, so i have been rubbing him down with lotion all day!!! But he his still doing an awsome job taking his medication for me which is so important.

Keep the prayers coming for all of these angels

michael's mommmy

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Friday, August 19, 2005 1:59 PM CDT

I am so bad at updating this page (trevor's mommy always reminds me)...anyways we are back down at CHOP for our first of two stem cell transplants. it is only the 4th day we have been here but he is already doing better then i thought in terms of staying in the room and taking his medicine...what a trooper, he is getting naseau(sp?) from the chemo but that is perfectly normal


well that is all for now
keep praying for all of the angels down here
michael's mommy

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Sunday, August 7, 2005 5:01 PM CDT

Well we are back home, actually we have been home since monday, they were practically kicking us out of there, i was begging to stay and they assured me that michael was doing aawesome and that he would be fine going home (after only 3 days after his surgery) so now we are at home trying to soak in as much fun as possible because we will be down at chop for a month starting Aug. 15th...we found out the michael only has three little spots on his leg, so its looking pretty good but he does have some permanent hearing loss caused by one of the chemos he was on...no big deal, i can handle a hearing aid!!! well gotta go enjoy the boys!!!

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Sunday, July 31, 2005 4:31 PM CDT

Michael is doing awesome...he is already walking around and wheeling himself around in the wheelchair...so darn feisty!!!

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Friday, July 29, 2005 9:59 PM CDT

ITS OUT ITS OUT, the main tumor plus three little one's are finally OUT... way to go michael, he had a very long day..about 8 hours of surgery. when DR. Mattei(sp?) went to remove the last tumor, he nicked the kidney, he was just about to remove the kidney when suddenly he started to turn pink and pump blood so he was able to save the kidney by stitching a blood vessel to the kidney..GO Dr.Mattei. Michael also had a new line put in, which is called a Broviac and i already love it much more, i could never get a good seal on his tegaderm where the Med-Comp was placed. He also had two teeth removed and a bone marrow biopsy down, but he handle it all like a champ. Well i am exhausted so i better sleep while he is sleeping.

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Wednesday, July 20, 2005 11:30 AM CDT

Well we are down at CHOP. Michael had a fever of 102.1, so we got to ride in an ambulance down to the hospital. Michaels blood culture grew out positive so that means that we just won ourselves about a week stay at this lovely establishment. Michael is also complaining about his tooth hurting so we will have the dentist check it out. None of this is keeping Michael down so don't let this little set back bring you down. We went to a "campfire" today and sung songs and had S'Mores cookies. Well the men are hungry so i'll type later.

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Tuesday, July 12, 2005 6:45 PM CDT

Well today we had our big "transplant meeting," couldn't they have come up with a nicer word for it, anyways, it went as expected. Michael will be going for his surgery whenever he recovers from this last round of chemo, so hopefully in two to three weeks he should be ready. So we are just at home enjoying being a little (BIG) boy.

HOPE ALL IS WELL WITH ALL OF OUR FRIENDS

michael and his mommy

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Thursday, July 7, 2005 5:20 PM CDT

We are home now, our fifth and final round of chemo are done and over with, Michael did an amazing job with it all. Next week we will meet with the stem cell transplant team and hear about all the fun things that happen on the "dark side." Michael had a CAT scan done this morning before leaving CHOP so please pray that the tumor can be removed or has already left my little angels body. Hope all is well with everyone.

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Friday, June 17, 2005 11:54 AM CDT

Just wanted to brag about my little angel. A couple of weeks ao he was outside riding his dirt bike around(his counts were good!!!) and he went out of his way to stop and pick me a flower, boy after my own heart. If that was not enough this past week he went to the store with his Aunt and told her that he needed to buy his mommy some flowers, and were they ever gorgeous!!! You can't slow him down, which means mommy does not get a break, but i wouldn't want it any other way!!!

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Tuesday, June 7, 2005 3:50 PM CDT

we are back in Hotel CHOP for a scheduled 3 days of chemo-therapy, michael's fourth round, one more to go!!! He is still doing awesome, eating drinking, running around like he always has. Michael has taught me not to complain about the little things in life because he got handed a lot more then i could ever handle.

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Friday, May 20, 2005 8:54 PM CDT

what a good day we had, two of our tests came back showing that michael's chemo-treatments are working, there is at least a fifty percent decrease in the amount of tumors...yeah, yeah, looking from the outside in i already new by my mommy instincts that he was doing much better, but we needed that extra reinforcement

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Thursday, May 19, 2005 9:54 PM CDT

Michael is a four and almost a half year old very energetic boy. He was diagnosed on Good Friday with Neuroblastoma. He is already in his third of five rounds of chemo-treatments and is so far doing extremely well. He just had his bone marrow aspiration done today and twenty minutes after being woken up he was running the hallways!!!

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