History

Saturday, January 12, 2008 3:26 PM CST

Katie's Helping Hand- giving a hand to parents when they need it the most.
Link to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital KHH website:

http://www.vanderbiltchildrens.com/interior.php?mid=1745

Cook Children’s Hospital does not currently have a KHH web page, but see below for information on how to help us get meals rolling down their halls!

Hello! Here is the update on Katie's Helping Hand...first things first, let's talk about how we are doing at feeding some parents....

Fundraising Update!
Cook Children's Hospital update- Cook Children's Hospital in Ft. Worth Texas is the site of our second KHH chapter. We are currently in the process of trying to raise the $7,500 minimum we need to get meals rolling down the halls. The same Minn. business man who gave us the first check for the charity at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital has once again shown us his heart to help others by giving us a generous check to get us started towards our $7,500 goal at Cook. (Kinda cool huh?)

Once we raise the funds needed to begin, we will be set to take another trip to Texas and do some publicity for KHH there, which will bring in more donations. If you want to help, or know of anyone who might have an interest in helping parents at this wonderful hospital, here is how to contribute:

To send a donation, make a check out to the Cook Children’s Health Foundation note Katie's Helping Hand in the memo section on the check. Mail the check to:
Cook Children's Health Foundation
801 7th Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76104

You can also contact:
Katherine Curtis (Cook Children's Health Foundation)
682.885.4103 (direct)
682.885.3799 (fax)
kcurtis@cookchildrens.org

LifeWay Christian Stores:
On Monday I go to LifeWay to receive the check from the LifeWay Community Fund my mom will be out of town, but my Dad, Aunt Heather, Aunt Gena, Uncle Thomas, Heidi, and the other people Mom works with whom I love are going to be there so I think I will be okay.

Ravenwood High School:
At school (Ravenwood) we had a fundraiser which was really fun because it was a penny war, so it fed off the class rivalry, and raised money for a good cause.

Aspect Loss Prevention project Christmas card:
Aspect, which has done so much for us in the past, sent electronic Christmas cards this year and donated the cost of the postage and cards they would normally send to KHH, I personally think that was sweet and creative! What a great way to celebrate the holiday by giving to others! Aspect is all over KHH! Look at upcoming events to see what else they are planning!

Upcoming Events

KHH Golf Tournament:
Together with our friends from Church we are planning a golf tournament in the spring to continue to raise funds for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. I am excited because this will be a great way for local people to help local parents here in Nashville. We will keep you updated with information as we get it.

Aspect Loss Prevention Annual KHH fund raiser:
Aspect will be having the annual KHH fundraiser in June that help us out in Minnesota, and this year I get to go! Yaaay! I get to meet all the people that have helped us out for 3 years running in Minnesota! I can’t wait! Not to mention that I get to meet all my Moms buddies in Loss Prevention…Oh the stories I could (and will) tell them…I bet she is nervous!!

Notes from Katie:
I am excited to be taking over the journal entries for our website! I wrote this page myself this time…Yaaaay! So now, on to what I have been up to! I am feeling great! I go in to the hospital for blood work every other month now, and it is cool not to be there everyday like I used to! I am almost 16 months off chemo…( which is about half of the number of months I was on it!)
So far this school year has been busy, but fun (I only think about the fun parts). I’ve learned so much already, from both school and from the people around me and I’ve loved almost every minute of it. I can’t believe that this school year is halfway over it seems like yesterday that I was making plans for the summer! Then again time flies when you’re having fun.

I hope and pray that you have a wonderful year that is filled with many blessings for you and the people that you love :)

Love, Katie

Saturday, October 20, 2007 1:00 AM CDT

Flash News Flash News Flash News Flash!!!

OUR NEWEST HOSPITAL ADDITION!!!!
Katie’s Helping Hand is going to Cook Children’s Hospital in Ft. Worth Texas. We have met with the wonderful folks at the hospital, and this is definitely the perfect place for us to open our first chapter of KHH outside of Nashville. We will need all the help we can get as we go forward, since we do not have the benefit of being located close to the hospital.

We are also excited to have met some wonderful people at a media company that does only not-for-profit work, called Real World Media. They are going to help us with the things we cannot do because of distance. Their cost is minimal, but since we are currently funding this out of our own pockets, we are trying to do as much of the work ourselves as possible.

Katie Celebrates One Year off Chemo!!

On 9/22/07 Katie reached a milestone of being off chemo for one year. 1 year down and 4 more to go!!! The Tennessean did an article on her to recognize this milestone. Here is the link to the article: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709260307.

FUND RAISING UPDATE

The Loss Prevention folks at Orchard Supply Hardware recently had a training opportunity with Aspect Loss Prevention. They took the initiative to talk up Katie’s Helping Hand in anticipation of the Aspect annual fundraiser. We cannot express how much we appreciate this act on their part to help families far away from their offices in San Jose California. The generosity of people like this never fails to amaze us.
We are hopeful that Katie will be able to travel to Minnesota this year to speak to the Aspect users group.

The Nashville Women’s League graciously had Katie speak at their 2008 kick off luncheon. Melissa was happy to have the chance to introduce her. Katie did not seem at all happy when Melissa mentioned that anyone in the Brentwood area should immediately yield the right of way in order to save themselves if they say Katie behind the wheel. It should be noted that this did get a big laugh from the crowd though!

The Dean and Mary Farling Meal Group from the Peoples Church in Franklin Tennessee is in the beginning stages of planning a golf tournament to benefit Katie’s Helping Hand. Katie is excited to be able to participate in each stage of this, since none of us play golf very much. Melissa and I are hoping that she will let us win! The one thing we know for sure is that when it comes to people helping parents get a meal during the worst time of their lives, everyone wins.

LifeWay Community Fund-
Next month, we will be getting the 2007 gift from the LifeWay community fund.

The LifeWay Community Fund is special in that it supports charitable organizations selected exclusively by LifeWay employees, and each organization matches LifeWay’s vision and values.

We have also just gotten word that KHH has once again been selected by the employee committee, to be a 2008 recipient of this generous activity by the LifeWay employees.

Katie’s Helping Hand Activities

Table tents – After many edits and reworks, we got the approval for a final version of the table tents. The table tents will provide additional information about Katie’s Helping Hand as well as directions to order a meal from the charity. The tents are to go into all the rooms on the cancer floor of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. To see a picture of the table tent, look in the pictures section of this website. A special thanks goes to Michael Styer with NovaCopy who provide the tents for free and also contacted an associate to laminated the tents for cost.

The SK Nail Salon on Nolensville Road in Antioch Tennessee has posted Katie’s most recent article in an attempt to create awareness and donations…thanks girls!

Web Site Updates: A PowerPoint presentation is now available on the web site. Please understand that this is a work in progress. The presentation will eventually be an automatic slide show with music behind it. We are in the process of getting the copyright for the music.

Doctor trading cards – We would like to thank Marilyn Spicer from LifeWay for her time and talents in taking the pictures.

Katie’s Helping Hand Website – We are in the process of putting together an official website that will more fully outline KHH activities. I have signed up for a class on starting a charity. Better late than never.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and kind thoughts. We wouldn’t be here without them. When I think of where we were three years ago and where we are now, it is clear to me that God has had a hand if all of this. He has put all the right people in our path to make all this happen. It is very apparent that God has a plan for Katie (we are only along for the ride). And I am looking forward for the next chapter.

Thanks again for all you have done.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007 10:27 PM CDT

Katie’s Helping Hand Update:

FUNDRAISING: We continue to chip away at our goal of raising $100, 000.00 for Vanderbilt Children’s hospital by the three year mark of the start of Katie’s Helping Hand this October.
…

BRENTWOOD LADIES CLUB: This group has asked us to come and talk to them about our organization at their first 2007 monthly luncheon in September. They are going to have a collection jar on each table every moth at their meetings, giving their members a chance to extend a helping hand to parents on the cancer floor of our hometown award winning hospital- This is but one of the charities they generously support, and we are grateful and excited abut the opportunity.

ASPECT LOSS PREVENTION:
Aspect has adopted Katie’s Helping Hand as their own.
In May they had their second annual fundraiser that raised over $3,500.00 in a single night of fun and games at a wonderful casino night and silent auction. It must be said that the participants were Loss Prevention folks form a variety of retail companies, and they all came together to donate items as prizes and auction items. 700 parents were fed by those generous people acting in concert to take care of others. Thank you Aspect and Loss Prevention community.

LifeWay Christian Resources:
LifeWay selected KHH to be one of the charities that comprise the LifeWay Community Fund. The Community Fund is comprised completely of donations made by the generous hearts of my LifeWay family at the corporate office. The charitable organizations all provide help to people in the local area. The organizations are selected by an employee committee. We will receive the donation in Late September.

CHECKPOINT SYSTEMS, NORTH AMERICA:
Checkpoint recently made a generous corporate donation to KHH. We appreciate this more than we can tell you. Checkpoint has a variety of charities that they support both as a corporation, groups, and individuals. We are grateful to have been included in their sprit of corporate generosity!

New Horizons Ahead:
We are currently looking at two locations to take Katie’s Helping Hand to next. We will update the site as soon as we have a solid commitment to either of the Children’s hospitals we are talking to.
We will be actively looking for volunteers to take the helm of Katie’s Helping Hand in these communities once we get the foundation down.

Katie continues to go for monthly blood work, and we are happy to go just to se the nurses and Doctors we miss so much!
As always, we appreciate all you have done, and continue to do to support our family, and KHH to help other families.

Blessings,
Melissa Mitchell

Sunday, March 4, 2007 11:13 PM CST

Welcome to our website! This site used to be full of medical information, but Katie is off of chemo now, and we can focus our gaze on helping others through Katie’s Helping Hand. We will definitely meet our goal of $100,000.00 this year. When I asked Katie what her new goal was, she said, how about $100,000.00 in three hospitals? So here we go! We will keep you up to date as we get this rolling…

We have had an amazing 6 months of fundraising. As you know, we raise our funds (usually) $5.00 at a time. That is all it takes for one family to help another. Think of it as taking a meal to the family down the street when someone is having a hard time. Katie’s Helping Hand allows you to do just that- help a family going through a hard time.

In September, Katie came to LifeWay Christian Resources- to speak to our employees about her charity. Katie’s Helping Hand was chosen to be one of the 10 charities that would receive employee donated funds. We will not know until next October how much that donation will be- but we are grateful to God once again for putting these kind people in our paths. If there is anything I can tell you about LifeWay as a whole, it is that we are a company of people who love to help others, and this donation will do just that.

In February, Melissa had the chance to speak to a group of folks in town for their regional convention. The group is the Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. They change their convention location annually, and select a local charity to support each time. This year, they selected Katie’s Helping Hand.
When they originally asked us to participate, our contact, Karen, from Vanderbilt, told us it might raise $3,000.00. We were thrilled at the prospect of having 600 meals provided in one fell swoop!
How could we have known? These folks were not kidding when they told me they wanted to really “do it up right”. It was amazing. I gave a speech and a PowerPoint at their lunch, and then they took me down to see the donation booth they had set up. They had made a beautiful stand up banner that they generously donated to us for future fund raising use. They had buttons with the KHH logo on them for anyone who had donated. They had signs…it was just unbelievable……and effective.
When Katie, James and I went back the next night for the check presentation, we were stunned when they revealed that they had raised $15,000.00

Yes, you read it right the first time- 3000 meals in one night. Think of the parents who will not have to worry about a sick child and wonder how they can pay for their next meal at the same time! What a blessing.

We are trying to come up with new and creative ways to keep developing this charity. If you have any ideas, please post them! Remember, 100% of the finds go directly to the parents, so try and make your ideas such that we could reasonable cover the overhead if there is any.

Sunday, October 1, 2006 0:04 AM CDT

Let’s see…

It has been quite a few months since the last update. And not much has happened … well, Katie’s Helping Hand was recently added to LifeWay’s Community Fund, and to introduce the fund to LifeWay, Katie gave a small speech during chapel that we think was a homerun for the Katie- she really did such a good job, so poised and confident, it is beyond belief…

Oh yeah,… Katie had her last spinal tap a couple of weeks ago and… SHE FINISHED HER CHEMO!!!!! WE ARE FINISHED WITH CHEMO… DONE…. NO MORE CHEMO!!!! Say it with me now,… NO MORE CHEMO FOR KATIE, NO MORE CHEMO FOR KATIE, NO MORE CHEMO FOR KATIE!!!!!
At this point they “start the clock” we are looking for 5 years without re-occurrence. She will have monthly blood tests to monitor her counts the first year, then every two months the second year, and three months the third year, etc…

I guess the fact that we believe that it is over is the biggest thing for us. We of course, are thrilled, we are thrilled beyond belief.

Thanks again for all of the prayers and support during these last 2 years and almost 6 months. We couldn’t have done it with out you. We will now use this site to keep you updated about Katie’s Helping Hand as well as her progress….

God Bless!!!

James Mitchell

Monday, June 19, 2006 12:46 AM CDT

It seems like I am always apologizing for taking so long to update this journal. You know how it is; you just get busy trying to take care of the day-to-day activities that consume a family’s time. Never the less, Melissa reminded me that we needed to update the journal so it was added to the list of things to do and today I get to cross it off the list, until the next time.

Katie update
Two weeks ago we had a brief visit to the emergency room because Katie had a fever and a very bad cough. (It turned out to be pneumonia) So, just like all the other times, before we went, she packed a bag expecting to be admitted to the hospital. To our surprise, they came back and told us that since Katie wasn’t neutropenic, we could go home and they could treat it from there…. I was sure that I heard it wrong but they sent us home anyway. Did I mention that our ER doctor was “The Bachelor?” I kept looking for the cameras.

Since last time, Katie’s name was entered for a local award called the “Mary Catherine Strobel Award” for her charity work with Katie’s Helping Hand. Here is the link; http://www.hon.org/AboutUs/index.php/strobel_awards.html. Katie was entered in for the Youth Volunteer Award. There were six categories and about five people or groups competing for each award. The categories are: Youth Volunteer, Volunteer Group, Direct Service Volunteer, Community Volunteer, and Volunteer Innovator. Melissa, Katie and I were invited with a group of Vanderbilt Volunteers and Staff to attend the award luncheon back in April. We also got one more ticket that Katie could distribute as she wished, and so our friend Thomas came, which was super as he is just back from Iraq. As usual we did not have a clue- we thought it would be a little get together of around 40-50 people. When we came into the room and saw 600 people we were a bit shocked….
We were delightfully surprised when they announced that Katie was the winner for her category.

Katie has finished Junior High School and is ready to start High School. Another milestone in her life finished. I can’t believe it. Well, Katie was again recognized for her charitable service and received the James C. Parker Service Award and Warrior Awards at Woodland’s Award Ceremony. The first is an award for service to the community and the later is an award given to students that “walk the walk” and “talk the talk.” The very thing students others should look up to. We were very proud of her. She starts ninth grade at Ravenwood High School in the fall. Then we have a year where all the kids are at separate schools. Dad will be very busy in the mornings I bet.

The Music City Marathon came and went. Katie was selected as the “Honored Patient” for the medical staff. Everyone within the medical staff was giving a button with her picture on it. Doc. Roc. (the head of the medical staff) told me I could come into any medical tent along the race and say I was Katie’s Dad, and I would get the royal treatment. I decided that I would try to say out of the medical tents and only visit to say hello. Naturally, Melissa and Katie asked if the medical team could arrange for an ambulance to follow me for the whole race. They are so funny those two…

If you didn’t know it, I ran the Music City Marathon this year. This was something I had never done before but with the help of Team in Training, I was able to get my old body in shape enough to finish it. It was VERY COOL to see close to 25,000 people in the middle of West End Avenue at 7:00 AM that Saturday morning. It was a very awe inspiring moment for me. I was able to train for the marathon, and raise money for leukemia research; something that has become very important to our family. I’ve decided that I want to do this again next year. So I will have to start training again very soon.

We were invited to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man and Woman Of the Year Dinner to see who won. Melissa was asked to be the guest speaker. I am so proud of
my wife; she has really become a great motivational speaker. (Well, at least I am motivated every time I hear her speak.)

I think that takes care of the past, now on to the present and then the future.

Summer
For the summer, everyone is doing camps. Katie when to NaCoMe Church Camp last week, Matthew is there this week and Zack goes next week. Also next week, Katie is attending Camp Horizon (the Cancer Camp sponsored by Vanderbilt). Both Zack and Matthew will go to Camp Horizon the following week. During July, Katie is attending a “Living History” course at Salem Academy in Winston-Salem, NC for two weeks. She is very excited about that. Zack was invited to attend the Duke TIPS camp for talented kids. He will be gone for three weeks and attending at Kansas City University and taking An Introduction to Pre-Med. (Just what we want. At least someone is concerned and is taking the steps to take care of Mom and Dad in their retirement years.) Matthew is also attending some very cool YMCA camps where he is rock climbing and learning how to water ski. Wish I could go to these.

One additional thing to look forward to in July is the Faith Hill and Tim McGraw concert; the gift from Transformation Nation. Katie and the boys love the song ( ironically) “Live like you were dying”, and are excited to have the chance to see it done in person.

Katie’s Helping Hand
The Police and Firefighters of Springhill are doing a fun raiser for Katie’s Helping Hand on July 8th. They were looking for a local charity and chose KHH. We are very excited about that.
There will be an update coming out in several Conde` Nast magazines like Glamour, Vogue, Teen Vogue, and Self, just to name a few about the Transformation Nation show and what has happened since then with Katie’s Helping Hand.
Also, last month, Melissa attended a users Conference where Aspect Loss Prevention hosted a fund raiser for Katie’s Helping Hand. They raised around $1100 at the event itself, and one of the vendors, Stored Value Systems, Inc sent a check for $500.00 which we got this week. This is a group of Loss Prevention folks- just regular people who decided to give to a charity at a hospital they will probably never use, as most of them live a great distance away. What a great bunch of people, and my wife is a part of them. (Realistically, Melissa is a part of everything that is good in our lives. We are thankful for her everyday. I am thankful for her all the time.)
We are now in the process of trying to come up with a corporate sponsor or some other vehicle by which we can do events on a consistent basis so that we can open the fund up to the whole hospital. Parents of children who are having open heart surgery should not be ineligible for a benefit because their child doesn’t have cancer…

Finally, we are very cautious at the moment because we are getting our life back. We are use to managing one crisis after another but there aren’t any to manage at the moment. It seems very strange to be more concerned about how everyone is going to get to camp for that week and is all the paperwork required for the camp, ready for each kid? It is comforting and troubling at the same time. Just like we had to adjust to how Leukemia was going to affect our family, we now have to adjust to a normal life again. We want to take a deep breath and relax but what happens if we do and something goes wrong? I don’t know if it has been said yet but Katie last chemo treatment is scheduled for 09/22/06, only 3 and a half months away. It just doesn’t seem possible that we are coming to the end of the treatment. At that point they start the clock to see if this has done it’s job. The general rule is that there is a 5 year countdown, and if she is cancer free at that point, they call her cured. Unbelievable to think that she had just turned 12 when this started and she will be considered cured when she is around 19 ½.
As much as no one enjoys chemo, we are a bit nervous about taking it away- since we know that is what is protecting her right now… I only mention this because it seems to be troubling me more than anyone else. But I am sure I will adjust as time goes on.

Once again, I have to close by thanking everyone for all of their help and support during these last two and a half years. We have been so, so lucky to have such a large and very energetic group of people praying for us. I am positive it has made our path easier. Thank you so very much.

God bless!!

James and Melissa Mitchell

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 10:41 PM CST

News!!!Here is a link to the website that has the preview of what will air on the national TV special called Transformation Nation which features Katie's Helping Hand...

http://www.transformationnation.com/TV/tvshow.aspx

It has been about three weeks since the last update.

Back in September, we wrote that Katie had been selected as the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Champion Patient for Tennessee. This meant that we were going to make a trip to Orlando, FL for the taping of the national telethon for CMN, and after that, it was on to Washington DC to have lunch at the White House and possibly meet the President. Well, two weeks ago was when this trip happened. So this update will focus on everything we did and all the people we had the good fortune to meet during that trip.

We arrived in Orlando Wednesday (3/15/06) afternoon where we immediately met someone from CMN who directed us to the buses waiting to take us to the hotel. However, while on the bus it provided us the first opportunity to meet some of the other families, like Jacob Swessinger and his parents or Roseman Dease and his mom and dad.

All of the families that had traveled great distances to participate in this yearly event were the Champions from their state. The hospitals associated with CMN, and most importantly, the sponsors that support this great cause were also there. All had come together to kick-off the 2006 fund raising campaign for the CMN.

We were very fortunate to have our two adopted aunts alone with us; Aunt Gina and Aunt Heather. I was very thankful since they helped Melissa and I keep watch over the kids while in Disney. It is always better to go with “man-on-man” defense than “zone” when kids are concerned.

There were so many things that happened on this trip that I hardly know where to start, so I will apologize up front if I skip around a lot; I have a lot of ground to cover.

The afternoon we arrived at Coronado Springs (our Disney Hotel destination) we met Lynn Soltys, the lady who has spent a good portion of the last year coordinating this trip and would be there at all the events for the next seven days. She handed us our room keys and trip packet and then said she would meet us in the morning for the first scheduled event, meeting Marie Osmond and John Schneider, “Bo Duke” from the old Dukes of Hazzard TV show.

The next morning started well enough but instead of all of us going to the first event, Matthew wasn’t feeling well (actually, he had a fever the night before) so I volunteered to take him to the local medical clinic to find out what was wrong. After 3 hours later at the clinic, they told me Matthew had Pharyngitis (something I have never heard of) and then we were sent to the local Walgreens for a prescription and then sent back to the hotel. However, while at the clinic, Matthew and I met the Champion kid from Indiana, Kendall Shepard. Seems he had a touch of a stomach bug. When we got back to the room, the aunts had arrived so we were ready to party.

That night we were treated to an annual event of the “Pin Exchange”, dinner, and a show from “The Wiggles” (an Australian children’s TV group very popular in the States) and then KC and the Sunshine Band; yes he is still around. The pin exchange is where all the sponsors hand out their lapel pins in exchange for the Champion’s autograph. It was a huge room and took about 90 minutes to visit each table. The Champions had been given a stamp of their autograph to make things easier.

The next two days we were at the parks; Magic Kingdom and Epcot on Friday and MGM and Animal Kingdom on Saturday. (Melissa wanted to make sure I told everyone that she road the Rocking Roller Coaster at MGM, not once but twice.) Then on Saturday night, we went to the Finale for Orlando, where Leann Rimes started the evening and then Tracy Bird finished the night with a concert.

Tracy Bird was so close to the edge of the stage that the kids were only five feet away from him. They were truly mesmerized by his performance and being so close to the action. Then Jacob Swessinger from Iowa started taking pictures of Tracy and once Tracy noticed him started posing for Jacob. (I need to make sure you can see this picture; Jacob is about three or four years old and had a digital camera his parent let me borrow. He had been taking pictures all night of anyone that would pose. So when Tracy Bird started posing, Jacob couldn’t stop snapping the pictures.) Once Matthew saw that someone else was on the stage (and not in trouble), he got into the act as well and sat under Tracy’s stool to take a picture. In the end, Tracy finished the concert sitting on the steps of the stage where ALL the kids gathered around him. What a great guy he is.

I have to say that Tracy Bird is not only a great performer but a very compassionate man. You could tell that he was very taken with all the Champion kids and was invited to go with our group to Washington DC at the last minute. I wasn’t able to fly with Melissa and the kids because it was a charter flight with only four places per family but I heard that Matthew noticed Tracy Bird on the flight and started talking to him like he had known him forever.

As the Champion Plane was leaving the Orlando Airport, the airport fire trucks made an arc of water for the plane to taxi under. All the kids were most impressed with this.

Once in Washington, we stayed in the JW Marriott two blocks away from the White house and Museums. The day we arrived, we understood we were still on for the White house but only 4 of us would be allowed in. I had planned to take Matthew to the Smithsonian while Katie, Zack and Melissa met President Bush. However, that was to change.

Before we even left Nashville, a great friend for ours, Jan Williams, suggested we contact Dennis Kirk who used to work with her husband in the Office of General Counsel for the US Army at the Pentagon. Dennis met us after the group toured at the Capital building the first full day in DC. He walked up to Matthew and said, “Son, the President of the United States sent me to take you around Washington DC.” Matthew didn’t know quite what to say. For that matter, neither did we!!

Dennis had contacted us prior to our visit and asked if there was anything specific he could show us or anything we wanted to do. We mentioned that we wanted to see if Matthew could get in to the White House if at all possible. He said that he would speak to the Secret Service and see what he could do. And as far as sight seeing, the only thing everyone had expressed an interest in doing was visiting the Walter Reed Medical Museum.

Just to be clear, the only reason the kids knew about this museum was because I had told them about some of the exhibits I saw when I was there nearly 15 years ago. Unknown to us, Dennis contacted the museum and set up a VIP tour just for our family. So once he picked us up at the Capital building, we were off to Walter Reed.

I have to take a moment to talk about this museum. It isn’t part of the Smithsonian and can be very difficult to find if you aren’t familiar with DC. It is located at the Walter Reed Army Hospital and contains what I feel are some of the most unique exhibits available in DC. You have to understand that it is all about the evolution of medicine and shows lots of unusual exhibits including the bullet that killed President Lincoln. There is also the leg bone of a Civil War soldier who donated his amputated leg to the museum because of a cannon injury and then came to visit his leg every year of his remaining life on the anniversary of the injury. Additionally, there is a skeleton of a man that developed a rare disease that caused all of his joints to fuse together making it impossible for him to move. Trust me, you can’t really understand Walter Reed unless you go there and I consider it a definite “must see” if in Washington.

Once we arrived at the Museum, we were greeted by the Director of the Museum, Dr. Adrlanne Noe, who promptly handed Zack and Matthew what looked like a toy brain. She explained about a procedure called “plasticization” that turns organic material into plastic and calmly said that the brain they were holding was a real brain. From that point on, the kids couldn’t get enough of the museum.

Our tour guide, Andrea Schierkolk, started off by explaining how the museum came about, which let us to the leg of the Civil War soldier and then to the Lincoln exhibit. I was very impressed with how she immediately engaged the kids and then further impressed with the questions the kids started asking. Along the way, we saw a leg of a man that had elephantiasis, the lungs of a smoker, a coal miner and one that was healthy, a heart that had been plasticized, and a new exhibit of a robot named “Penelope” that assists in surgeries.

We ended up in the offices where they brought out items only for us. Mike Rhode brought out the original sketch that was made at Lincoln’s death bed. Dr. Lenore Barbian showed us a baby’s foot with small pox that was encased in epoxy (thank goodness), and a lady’s skeletal foot deformed from wearing high heels. Alan Hawk showed us a very rare Civil War surgical device that was a hand operated chain saw for cutting off limbs. (The director was very nervous when we were being shown this one.) And to finish off the tour, they had the skeleton of the original US Space Monkey. We were all very impressed with everything they did for us.

The last thing was when Donna White brought the kids to the gift shop to show us what was available in the store. And as we were leaving, Courtney MacGregor handed all of us a bag of gifts. What a great time we had.

The next morning, Dennis met us for breakfast and then took us on a tour of the Pentagon. Because Melissa and I had both been in the service, this was more for us then the kids. After that, we had lunch and then got ready to go see the President. (Oh, I forgot to say the Dennis worked everything out so we could all see President Bush.)

Now, we didn’t exactly go to the White House, we went to the Executive Offices right beside the White House. Once we cleared security, we all went into a room where we waited for Bush to arrive. We expected him to come in and take a couple of quick pictures and then leave. However, once he arrived, he turned to look at all the parents and said that we were exactly what the country needed, compassionate parents. Then he posed for the camera and next he noticed Christopher Young, the Champion Kid from Washington DC and asked if he could sign Christopher’s hat. From that time on, all the kids were hanging off his arms, asking for autographs, posing with him for pictures, etc. Only when the parents tried to get close to him did the Secret Service become worried.

I forgot to mention that President Bush was as least one hour late. So to past the time, the kids started entertaining us. Savannah Spacil from Utah started out singing, then Lauren Murphy from Maryland, and Christopher Young was the last one to sing. Just as we were about to be entertained by Maryama Green from Minnesota, President Bush arrived.

The final event of the trip was dinner and games at ESPN Zone. Tracy Bird gave a small show, (to lots for photographs again) and then we were turned loose to play games until we couldn’t play anymore.

We woke up early the next day and came back to our home in the great state of Tennessee.

We were touched by so many people on this trip. We got to meet Maryama Green from Minnesota on the way back from the White House who is a very bright 16 year old. On the bus to the Capital, we met Briana Bliss, her sister and parent from Oklahoma, and last but not least, Jason and Johnson Varghese from New York. We met so many wonderful families and all touched us in some way or another, but none more than Lindsay Smith and her parents from Mississippi. Lindsay and Katie hit it off very well from the start. Lindsay has leukemia like Katie. And Melissa and Joy, (Lindsay’s Mom) were inseparable the last night.

Well, I guess that is about it. I am sure you are tired of reading about our trips. And I know I could do a better job of telling the story. But I try to do my best. I hope I didn’t ramble to much.

One last thing…. If you haven’t done so, you owe it to yourself to meet each of these kids for yourself. You can read each of their stories on http://www.cmn.org/. Each is a story of tragedy and of true inspiration. All are leaders for their states but most of all, Champions Across America.

See you next time,

James Mitchell

Sunday, March 5, 2006 7:35 PM CST

UPDATE!!!!!

NO MORE WHEELCHAIR!!!!!

As Melissa mentioned in the last update, about three weeks ago, Transformation Nation (a new national TV show scheduled to air in late April) came to our house to film our morning routine in getting off to school and work, Katie and Zack arriving at school, Katie and us at Vanderbilt having a doctor visit with Dr. Engel, and then personal interviews with our entire family in the evening. As I said, that was three weeks ago.

Today, however, the film crew wanted to surprise us by taking us to Kohl’s to show us all the stuff that will be donated to the hospital through “Katie’s Helping Hand.” Next, they “transformed” us for an upcoming concert we will be attending. It was their way of giving us a special day for helping other families in a similar situation through “Katie’s Helping Hand.”

The day was a very different day for our family. The driver arrived at 7:45 AM and took us to the Kohl’s store in Hermitage, TN. Once we got there, we met the hostess of the new show, Tinabeth Pina, who presented all the neat things that will go to the hospital and ultimately to the families that will have to go to Vanderbilt Hospital in the coming months. Then we met the gracious store manager Raquel Victor, who presented us with a HUGE Kohl’s gift card for the hospital to use as needed for families who have needs other than the meals. Next we met THE stylist for all the country music stars, “Trish.” Trish had a huge rack of clothes all picked out for us to try on. So we spent the next two hours seeing what we liked, what made us look younger, older, cooler, etc.

Did I mention that they were filming us every minute? Michael Young, the owner and director of the production company doing the filming was helping us all along the way. We gave him a hard time all day which should tell him that we consider him a family friend now.

Then during the middle of all of this the local news crews and a reporter from the Tennessean showed up and wanted to interview Melissa, Katie and I on what all had been done, how the charity started, why Katie started it, etc. It was a very surreal morning.

It is truly very hard to imagine that all this is happening for Katie’s Helping Hand. I mean, the only thing we did was have an idea that could help families through hard times. Believe me when I say we understand fully what those hard times are all about. No one can know how devastating it can be to get the news that your child has leukemia unless you have been through it. We will never forget the many blessings that continue to be bestowed upon us by our friends, family, co-workers, Caregivers at Vanderbilt, EBPC Church family, and neighbors…not to mention the generosity of people who continue to give to the charity.

We do not deserve the first minute of attention on a personal level; it rightfully belongs to the people that donated the money to help the families. We continue to be thrilled about any chance we have to raise money, so today we are truly thrilled.
Our newest goal is to raise enough money to open the charity up to the entire children’s hospital. That may take a while but it is now something we can realistically shoot for.

Anyway, it was a very different kind of day, and to be perfectly honest, a day that couldn’t have happened without YOU. Thank you for all of your prayers, continuing support and genuine concern for Katie. Without it, it is difficult to image how we would have made it through these last two years.

God Bless you all.
James Mitchell

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 2:07 PM CST

Well, it has been a month again with no posting from us. We are slackers, true, but I can tell you this- what has happened in the last 30 days is going to be worth it.

A few weeks ago, one of our dear friends from Vanderbilt called us and said that they had given Katie’s name to someone at a production company. They had not mentioned it to us as it was just a very preliminary type of deal…
Well, they ended up calling us because the production company now wanted to interview us, and we said sure.
So they interviewed us (Katie and I) by phone. The TV show they are looking for participants in is called “Transformation Nation” It is about people who have transformed the world to be better though in adverse situations (as I understand it). One interesting question that they asked me was what I thought Katie would want to come form this if her story was taken for the show….I said without a doubt that it would get the words “Katie’s Helping Hand” out to more folks, which gives the possibility for more donations to get families fed…
When they later asked Katie, she said the exact same thing….
I cautioned Katie that she had to remember that just having someone give them her name is the big deal- not necessarily being on the show….
In the end, they have taken the story of Katie’s Helping Hand…they came and filmed us all day last Wednesday. They visited with as family at the hospital …the Doctors, Nurses…it was really fantastic. I do not yet know the details of when it will air. I am so happy for the families who will ultimately be helped by this- if we can generate some substantial donations, we will be able to open the charity up to the whole hospital, not just the cancer floor.
As I told the gentleman who interviewed us, we do not deserve the first minute of tape they use on us. We are not in a position to have written a big check, we just had an idea that became the vehicle by which folks who already had a heart to help could do so…we are so thankful to the donors and to all of you- who hold us up always….
We will keep you up to date as we have news.

On the medical front, Katie has an appointment with the Ortho guy at the begining of March...she is hoping that she will be released from the wheelchair, or at least given some freedom from it...
She still has chemo everyday from now until September 22....
God Bless you and all you do for us emotionally....

On the Children's Miracle Network front- we are going to Orlando to tape the labor day telethon and then on to Washington! And so we have come full circle, from having Katie see the telethon before she was diagnoised and wanting to grow her hair for the kids who had cancer, to having her be on the same telehton as she is coming to the end of her 2.5 years of treatment...

Friday, December 30, 2005 0:03 AM CST

First let me just say I am sorry we have been negligent in updating this site….I can only tell you that we have been a bit overwhelmed lately by having to take care of the details that must be handled for Nana's estate.
So here are some updates:

The big news---- Katie has a date to be off chemo- September 22, 2006. Yes, nine months, like a new birth…she is so excited! Only 3 more spinal taps,…
Katie is really really good. Swell actually. She is still in the wheelchair and we think she will be re- evaluated again in March, but for now it is just a means to an end, and she is being her usual patient self. She has beautiful and very wavy hair which she is so happy about…

We just got the news that Katie’s Helping Hand has raised over $23,000.00. That is enough to feed 4,600 meals to folks who can use some relief. We cannot thank you enough on behalf of those families. I remember when someone at work that I hardly knew ( Kimberly ) brought me a case of water and some other things when we were in the hospital the first time. The gesture was so overwhelming that I cried. That is what all of you have done for another family you will never even know- you have made a gracious gesture that will make a difference. Thank you so much.

James is training for the marathon that he got himself into by being a big talker at the last TNT marathon (Music City Marathon). I was hoping this would be comical, like it would be if I had talked before I really thought it out and got into this, but as usual, James has taken all the fun out of it by doing every bit of the training. He refuses to play when the kids and I suggest that we will train with him by driving in the heated van alongside of him while we eat McDonalds. He will not take the bait when we whoop and holler as he tries to train, and when we yell “show us your marathon form “ he just ignores us. I have now recorded the theme music to Rocky, and I am planning to rent a truck with A LOUDSPEAKER AND SNEAK UP BEHIND HIM AND THEN LET IT RIP…

Other than that things are OK. It was a hard Christmas without Nana. The first without her since the children were born. I have to admit that I feel like an orphan. James actually laughed when I told him that, and told me that at 44 you are disqualified as an orphan, but that is really how it feels. When we found out about Katie’s date to go off Chemo, I called Nana’s house on the way home, and actually had it ring before I realized that she was gone.
I should also take this moment to thank all of our friends and family (the line for that is kind of blurred after all of this…our friends are our family…) for all of the support we got during this time the last several weeks. Where would we be without you? I hope that you all know that when you love us you are modeling the type of behavior that people are always looking for in others. Are you proud? We sure are proud of you.
Lastly, we will be meting Whitney Tucks Mom, Betsy Patton next week we hope. That will be the one year anniversary of Whitney’s passing. Please remember her in your prayers.
The Mitchell’s

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 10:20 PM CST

We are so sorry that it has been a long time between updates. It has been a very trying time for us recently.

On November 2, my Mother passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly. I had gone to her house to get her for dinner, and I found her in her bed. It was a real shock. It was hard for my sister, Robin, and my brother Rick. They came for a memorial (not a typical funeral, as my Mom donated her body to Vanderbilt) and as such we have been out of sorts.

We do appreciate all the cards and prayers that came our way. What wonderful friends you all are, and how we would get by without you I do not know.

We have had another bit of news lately. As you may know from reading this site, Katie originally decided that she needed to do something for others when she met Mr. Carell (Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt...) who we know as he is the Chairman of the Board at Central Parking where James is fortunate to work. She was taken that, as she has said, "an ordinary man did an extraordinary thing" by helping to make that wonderful hospital.

She couldn't think of what she wanted to do specifically.

One Day over the Labor Day weekend last year, we were admitted to the hospital, and we were really feeling sorry for ourselves. We really were just appalled that we were there for the second time in 5 months! (Oh how little we knew.) Katie was actually getting a feeding tube and that was pretty awful.

James and I met some other parents out in the hallway - we talked to them at separate times at the coffee maker and water cooler. In any case, at one point as he was telling them how we had been there 10 days and we had just about had it. They very kindly told him in separate conversations that they understood. They had been there 200 days in the last 12 months, and assured James that it would be OK and it would get better.

Needless to say, James told me and then we both felt like big sissies! As we were talking, Katie asked us who feeds those parents. (For some reason, James thought they were from Kentucky) and we took that as an opportunity to again make the point that we were really very fortunate as we live close by, work close by, etc.

The result was that she decided right then and there that this was what she wanted to do to help! Feed families. Katie's Helping Hand was born that minute, literally, as she asked me to start making calls to set it up, and we did just that.

It wasn't many months later when I began thinking about that family, who showed us such kindness in that moment when they justifiably could have made us feel like whiners. I often thought that they should know what they had sparked and that the result was that money has been raised to provide 4000 meals to families going through the worst time in their lives, and we are just really getting started...

I have asked nurses and Doctors with the limited info that I had, if they knew who they were. I finally asked the right person, Jessica Howard Ennis, the reporter for the VCH newspaper.

She put it all together and gave them our information and told them what Katie has done because they took a minute for us. Sadly, their beautiful daughter, Whitney Tuck, passed away January 4, 2005. We were devastated to hear that this had happened, but were still grateful to be able to tell them that we did not take that one minute lightly.

Here is a link to Whitney's page. I am asking that you take a minute like they did with us, pray for their family, and post a message if you can. We will forever be linked in some way by this. I have asked the folks at Vanderbilt if they can edit the KHH site to mention Whitney as well. http://www.caringbridge.org/tn/whitney/.

I hope all of you have a good Thanksgiving; the thing that we are grateful for is most certainly, all of you!!!

God bless you and keep you.

Saturday, October 22, 2005 9:27 AM CDT

Sorry it has taken so long to update the journal since we got back from Disney World. You know how it is… you go away for a week and come back expecting to ease into work, home life, etc. But instead of the smooth transition, you now have to catch up with a week’s worth of work and chores that didn’t get done while you were away.

Anyway here goes….

So…, we were picked up bright and early at 6:45 AM on Saturday by a limo. The kids were bouncing off the walls and ready as soon as they woke up. We made it to the airport just as Page Moore and her parents, Keith and Melissa were arriving. Page also had a friend with her, Shasta. (Did you know that we had requested to have our Make a Wish trip with Page and her family? We met them at the clinic and have become good friends.) Well, the Make a Wish foundation is great in granting every aspect of your wish, so our two families were off to Florida together.

Once we arrived in Orlando, got the rental cars and started driving to find Give Kids the World (GKTW), we had no trouble finding it even though it was about 5 miles away from the parks. We arrived there around 1:00 in the afternoon so we were all hungry and found the Ice Cream Palace. Besides serving free ice cream anytime you wanted, they also serve sandwiches. Instead of going out for lunch we just stayed there to get a check out GKTW.

So the first day we didn’t do much except see GKTW. They have two swimming pools, a putt-putt golf course, a movie theater, a free restaurant, a video game room, a merry-go-round and of course the Magic Castle. It is at the Magic Castle that most of the activities for GKTW took place. When each “Wish Kid” arrives, they are given a silver star to write their name on and then it goes on the ceiling in the castle. To date, they have somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000 stars. Did I mention that everything at GKTW is free? Everything!!!

The next day, we went to the Animal Kingdom and stayed there half the day and ended it upat Epicot. At the Animal Kingdom we saw “It’s a Bug Life”, went on the Safari ride to see the animals, the water ride where we all got soaked except for Matthew and then went to Dinoland. All the kids had a great time. Our only problem was to keep Matthew from running too far ahead to the next ride. He was concerned when we started the Safari ride and mentioned that we would be on the ride for “two weeks.”

At Epicot, we saw “Spaceship Earth”, and I think what is call “Test Track” (the ride where you are suppose to test drive a car) as well as one I hadn’t seen before where they show you Epicot’s gardens. Our only problem was finding a place to eat. Most of the country restaurants were only serving customers with reservations. We stayed until it closed and watched the fireworks. They really know how to put on a show.

Let’s see…, the next day was Monday. And it started out by having a few Disney characters visit the GKTW grounds. We met Cinderella, Pluto and Goofy. We were able to get a great picture with Goofy and remembered our favorite Doctor Engel. (See new photo).

After the pictures, we were off to Universal Studios. There we saw a couple of cool shows and rode the best ride (as far as I’m concerned for the week), Spiderman. Every time I got on it, even though it is just 3-D animation, it made me scream. It got to the point that everyone was riding it and trying to imitate me. If you haven’t been to Universal Studios, this is really the best ride.

Tuesday we went to MGM Studios. The best rides there were “Tower of Terror”, “Arrowsmith Rollercoaster” and a Dinosaur ride. The Dinosaur ride was only for people with kids, so it was good that we had so many. We had to borrow one or two between us so all could go on it. Anyway it was like a very tame coaster but more like you were flying. We also went on a water ride (three or four times) for the Splash Mountain. We got rained on while we watched the stunt show with the cars. Very cool, the show, not the rain.

Wednesday was spent at Sea World. This was to be more or less relaxing but it looked like it was going to rain most of the day. There was one large rollercoaster that Matthew wasn’t big enough to ride so we spent a good portion of the day on a just a couple of rides. After that Zack and Matthew did some Xtreme sports by climbing up a VERY tall rock wall and jumping on some very cool trampolines. When the girls caught up with us we were all pretty tired from that and basically left the park after that.

It was a good thing since the “Mayor” of GKTW was to come and tuck in the kids that night. Mayor Klayton is his name. Did I mention that he is a rabbit? I mean a really BIG RABBIT? It was great that he took time from his busy schedule to personally come and wish our kids good night.

Thursday was spent at Magic Kingdom were most of the day the kids tried to get Melissa on the “Tea Cups.” I am not sure why she didn’t want to go on them but there was nothing the kids could do to get her to step foot into one. We would have stayed there until it closed but they were closing the park at 6:00 pm for regular guests and reopening it back up at 7:00 pm for a Halloween party. It started raining about the time we had to go so we decided to call it a day.

On Friday, we had to be at the airport to fly home at 6:00 pm so the plan was to go shopping early and then go back to Universal Studios so I could scream on Spiderman again. However, we kept telling the kids all through the week that they needed to save their money incase they found something later on they wanted. Once we went to “Downtown Disney” it was hard to get everyone out in time to go to a park and actually have fun instead of running from one place to another. So…., we opted to stay there and shop. Good thing too; Zack couldn’t decide what to get once he entered the Lego Store. And Katie was also trying to find just the right thing for all of her friends.

Overall we had a great time. It was hard to actually think that we were going on a trip to Disney World much less a “Make a Wish” trip to Disney World. It was over too soon and one never has as much time to see all they want. But it was a great time for all of us. Coming from an environment were we are always trying to help others, it is very hard just to sit back and let people do kind and generous things for us. I know that both the Moores and our family will never forget the time we spent there any how wonderful everyone was to us.

Thanks to everyone that made it happen. You can’t know how wonderful it was for us as a family.

Did I mention that the Spiderman ride made me scream every time I was on it, or that it was required that we have ice cream everyday? That everything at GKTW was free and just a great place to be? Did I tell you we can go back a visit anytime we want to?

The truly best part was that we got to spend it with our friends the Moores.

Sorry, don’t mean to ramble. Let’s just say that we can't thank Make A Wish enough for the trip, it was a great vacation and Spiderman rules!!!

James

Saturday, October 22, 2005 9:27 AM CDT

Monday, October 3, 2005 3:44 PM CDT

Well,

Since we were trying so hard to let this little tidbit of information be a secret, we couldn't update until we had told Ms. Katie her surprise. Make-A-Wish has sent Katie and her entire family to Walt Disney World for the week along with Katie's friend Paige (also has ALL) and her family. Talk about a wild time....2 teenage girls will be hand fulls for sure!! Not to mention the boys!!

So, they will update on all the excitement when they get back, but we did want to let you in on the secret FINALLY!! :) It was really hard to keep from her, but the look on her face was priceless!! Minnie Mouse showed up in person at what she thought was a party celebrating the Vandy's Ambassodor announcement!! Little did she know that she would be told she was leaving in 2 weeks to head to Orlando for a week! Hopefully they have a picture of her face when she realized the real reason!!

Thanks for all of your continued prayers and support. The family appreciates everything that you do for them!!

-Aunt Heather

Tuesday, September 6, 2005 8:24 PM CDT

UPDATE!!! Here is a message we got from Vanderbilt today. Katie is excited to represent the kids like her, who are such fighters and not deserving of the hand they have been dealt, but continue to be upbeat and so sweet natured in spite of it all........

Every year, based on hundreds of applications that are submitted, Children’s Miracle Network chooses one Children’s Hospital patient from each state to represent that state as a Children’s Miracle Network Champion Across America?.

I am very pleased and excited to announce that Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital patient, Katie Vacanti-Mitchell, has been chosen to represent the state of Tennessee. This is a great honor for both Katie and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. In the eleven (11) years that the Champions across America program has been partnering with Children’s Hospital patients all over the country, Katie is the very first Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital patient to be selected to represent the state of Tennessee. As a Champion across America, Katie will travel to the Annual CMN Celebration in Orlando to represent the state of Tennessee, and will be included in the taping of national segments for the CMN Annual Telethon Broadcast. In addition, and along with other Champion Patients, Katie will also travel to Washington DC to have lunch at the White House, and possibly meet the President!

For those of you who have not had the opportunity to meet Katie, I can tell you that she is a remarkable young lady who continues to very bravely fight her battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She is a very smart, funny and generous young lady who comes from a family that continues to stand by her side every step of the way; encouraging her to take this unfortunate situation and flip it into something good. And, it is no secret that Katie has done just that. While in the hospital receiving treatment, Katie started her own charity called Katie’s Helping Hand?. To date, Katie’s Helping Hand has raised over $16K for patients on the 6 th floor of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. During a phone conversation with her mother today, I learned that Katie recently met (all by herself) with our own Monroe Carell Jr. to discuss how to raise more money for Katie’s Helping Hand. In the near future, Katie hopes to be able to provide funds for all Children’s Hospital patients; not just those staying on the sixth floor. If you have not seen her story in the 2003-2004 Children’s Hospital Annual report, I encourage you to take a look. Katie is, and continues to be, an inspiration to cancer patients and families all over the state of Tennessee and beyond.

In the coming months, I will be working with CMN National, Carole Bartoo, Jessica Howard and the Mitchell family to get the word out about Katie and her goal to help patients and families in their fight against cancer, and other childhood illnesses and diseases.

Saturday, August 27, 2005 11:40 PM CDT

First, for those of you visiting this website who do not know the story being Katie's Helping Hand, here is a little background...

In November of last year, Katie was admitted to the hospital for the second time. She was down to about 59 or 60 pounds, and we were facing the idea that she was going to have a feeding tube (down her nose) to assist her in getting the nutrition she so desperately needed. Katie was having a very rare moment of feeling as though she was having a harder time than anyone else that we knew, and was feeling really low. I had told her from the moment that she was diagnosed that I knew that God was going to use this trial in her life in a special way. In that moment when she was crying, and feeling so badly, I was once again searching for something we could tell her or show her to feel grateful for.
James stepped out into the hallway and happened to talk to another parent. He (James) was telling him how hard the last 10 days had been for us- such a long time to be separated as a family because Katie had been in the hospital. That parent, showing only the gracious camaraderie that another parent of a child with Cancer can feel, told James that he knew how it was, as they had been admitted for 200 days in the last 12 months. They did not live locally; I believe that they were from Kentucky.
Naturally we were devastated for them at the very thought of how much more difficult their journey had been than our own.
I was telling Katie about it later when she asked who paid for their meals while they were at the hospital. When we explained that they had to pay for their own meals, and how fortunate we were to live locally, you could see the wheels turning.
That very day, she conceived of a charity that would provide meals to families like ours who were in need. She wanted to make sure they had calling cards to make calls, and that if needed; a plane ticket could be obtained for family members if a child was doing poorly.
To date, over $16,000.00 has been raised just through word of mouth and some wonderful local publicity (started by LifeWay Christian Stores where I work and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital...) Children’s hospital. The hospital provides the meals for a flat fee of $5.00 each. The families can order whatever they want from a room service type menu. For some parents, this meal is the only meal they will eat all day. Because many of the families that Vanderbilt cares for are of limited means, their medical is taken care of, but the other necessities like those that KHH provides are not.
Katie is determined that the funds not run out, and she has expressed interest in having these funds available to other floors. (Currently Katie's Helping Hand is limited to the cancer floor) She has been trying to think of ways to raise money for this worthy cause...

OK, now for the update...
Several strong Katie supporters took it upon themselves to form a committee and are planning an actual fundraising event to benefit Katie's Helping Hand! Coincidentally this works perfectly for Katie's wish to have an event. I met with 6 "committee members" last week for 3 1/2 hours and unbelievably but conceivably our target date is November '05. That means, if you want to help we can use your help! Of course we hope you will make plans to attend the event, but for now if you have any of the following, please let us know.
Know of individuals or companies who might be interested in underwriting this event? We anticipate a total cost of $7,000 - $10,000 - but a minimum single underwriter could contribute $1,500.
Have connections to Adventure Science Center, Nashville? The facility rents for $5,000 - we would love the space, for a great discount!
Any other ideas for venues that accommodate adults and children (separately) that is inexpensive or better yet, willing to donate?
We need a printing sponsor - someone to pick up the cost of providing invitations.
Restaurants or caterers willing to donate food (adult and kids)
Youth groups or clubs (fraternities or sororities) who might be interested in donating their time to entertain/maintain the children 4 and up event evening - activities would be pre-planned.
Awesome auction items to donate? Ideas?
If you would like to make a donation to Katie's Helping Hand to help underwrite event cost please contact us via email so that we can direct you to the right folks at Vanderbilt. (All of the funds for KHH are sent directly to their major gifts dept. and earmarked for KHH. They are audited and dispersed per a written outline)

Any help you can offer in any way is most appreciated! Check the website for updates and event information!
You can either post email replies if you can help or send it to us at jamemitch@comcast.net.
Please know that these meals are like manna from heaven for families in the worst crisis of their lives....Please helps us to help them. As always, we are grateful to you, and appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
Melissa

Monday, August 15, 2005 5:53 PM CDT

NEW PICTURES...NEW PICTURES...

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Well, she did it (with a little help from her brother and friends). Katie got on that regular bus and rode off to school. She was a vision in purple. Her brother (Brother of the Year Zack) takes her down to the end of the driveway in the chair, and then brings it back up to the garage. The bus pulls to the end of the drive and she gets to walk up those steps!
At the end of the day we just reverse it all and she is home! The school nurse Terri, who is in our Church family, meets her at the bus with the school wheelchair and then Katie is on her own.

She says she got around fine today for the most part, and when she got tired she has a friend, Erin, who helped her. Isn't that the way it should work? You get by with a little help from your friends? This friend Erin lives across the street, and I have to say I wish I had had a friend that true growing up. Talk about always being here for her... In any event, we also got counts today and she is looking good! We are really thrilled that she is getting a little normalcy back.

Also, we have some wonderful friends who are going forward with putting together a fund raiser for Katie’s Helping Hand. We are over $16,500.00 now. That is enough to provide 3300 meals to families in the worst crisis that you can imagine.

We want to get to a total of $50,000.00 before we take a rest. Katie would like the fund to be available to anyone at the children’s hospital, not just the cancer floor, but we need to have more funds raised first.

We are sooooo excited about getting a fund raiser off the ground. The idea came from Jay and Stefanie, who we both know from the Man and Woman of the Year contest from the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society. Can you get over these folks? Just came off participating in a big, long fundraising contest and they now want to do another for KHH?
This I believe- the world is sure full of wonderful people.

Monday, August 8, 2005 4:16 PM CDT

Yet another week with good news! What is going on here???

Katie went to Dr. Green today- he is the Orthopedic Doc. They took x-rays of her ankles, shoulders and her hips- the osteo-necrosis is healing well. She does not have any damage because she has been following orders about not walking. That might sound like it is easy, but Katie is such a champ - she has been "walking" around the house on her knees is volleyball player knee pads that James got her. It is not easy at all- but she is a trooper, and today we saw the payoff.
She still has to be in the wheelchair for an undetermined time, but she did get the go ahead for biker riding, as ling as she doesn't stop and put her foot down- so her brother is going to help her stop and balance the bike so she can get off and "walk" away on her knees.
Also, he said she can ride the regular school bus as long as we wheel her up to it and she uses her arms to pull herself up the steps and sits in the first seat. She is soooo excited about being able to ride the same bus as her friends. We are hopeful that the school will help us by letting the bus stop in front of the house instead of at the cul-de-sac about 20 yards away.
We are relieved that we do not have to have a driveway that cones up to the front door installed, as it was going to cost a pretty penny!
Thanks so much to all of you who call and pray for us, we need it!

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 11:56 AM CDT

Yet another great week!!!

Katie had her birthday slumber party (third try- her birthday is actually April 3...)It was great! Her friend Paige got to come ( we know Paige from Vanderbilt, she has Leukemia also, so to get both of them able to do this at the same time was quite an accomplishment! ) as well as her friends of many years, who have supported her through this trying time. It was all soooooo girly. Giggling, talking about boys, giggling, swimming in the dark (candles lit all around the pool- they loved it)...have I mentioned giggling? And then there was James, asking every few minutes what they found so funny, and that really set them off!
I really love the girls at this age-
We also have just found out that the hospital has submitted Katie as their candidate to represent the state of Tennessee for the Champions across America program. This is part of the Children’s Miracle Network program there are three hospitals (CMN) in Tennessee, of which Vanderbilt is one. Each hospital submits a child that they feel embodies being a champion, and then one of those is selected as the state rep.
I have to say, having been there and met so many children, each one of them is a champion in my mind. It is unbelievable what those kids can take, and still smile at the end of the day. We are really honored that they would select Katie to represent such a brave group of kids.

Sunday, July 17, 2005 7:32 PM CDT

FINALLY......SUCCESS!!!!!

Katie had a great week. She went for her regular weekly appointment and her counts were good, so she can touch the kitten! (And start chemo, which James and I worry about her being off of...)
Also, we were the guests of a very gracious friend of Aunt Gina.... Dana. She had us to her house on a beautiful lake in Kentucky. She had a beautiful setting in the woods overlooking the lake, and we got to spend the day on her boat (and it was a pretty big boat-what a blast!)We went to an isolated cove and they also brought the wave runner with us, so we got to go skiing (just the adults) and the kids got dragged around in this inflatable dingy, and Katie was in the water for about 8 solid hours.
The kids got to drive the boat and the Jet Ski, and they were thrilled! Katie said it was the best day she has had since we went to Myrtle Beach 3 years ago!
Then, to end it right, on the way home, we realized that the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society billboard was probably up, and we found one to show her as a surprise...there it was- a picture of the Man and Woman of the year, and Katie and Austin...
We all so needed this weekend. Thanks to Gina and Dana we had a chance to get a deep breath. What a difference it makes!
Hope all of you who check in had a great week as well.
We appreciate you and your thoughts and prayers for Katie. Thanks.

Sunday, July 10, 2005 0:08 AM CDT

OK, first the medical stuff. Her counts are still down, which naturally means she can have a spinal tap and chemo in the port, but cannot touch the kitten.
Her weight is also down, and they are getting nervous about that- so the feeding tube was brought up again. I think she can get back on track without it, but the scales will tell. I have suggested to her that if she juts eats what I eat, weight gain will never be a problem.
We have started our gratitude program, where Katie and I talk about all of the things we are grateful for (we name one to each other each day) so that we have something to draw from when we hit a bad patch like we have been in.
Our good things for this last week:
-We found out that the Hospitals Annual Report won an international award- no wonder! It was really beautiful, and we were so honored to be part of it.
-Our neighbor and Katie’s best friend Aaron Williams. This is the girl you always wish you had as your best friend as a kid- and as an extra bonus, she thinks I am hilarious- she laughs at all my jokes, she thinks everything I try will work the first time, and so I am a “cool Mom” in her eyes.
-We have had the city of Brentwood work with us on getting the circular driveway accomplished. It still may end up being too much for us to afford at this point, but they really went out of their way to try to make the process as easy as possible for us. Now we have to see if the contractor who would put it in can give us a low enough bid so that we can do it- (because of the slope it has to be paved, not gravel). Even if it doesn’t work, we appreciate folks trying to help.
-We have spoken to our good friend Stefanie Miles from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She has asked again about doing a fund raiser for Katie’s helping Hand. That is what I really hope for. Surely some of you who read this know someone who knows someone in this town who has name recognition and could throw in some time and talent to raise money for the charity. Katie really wants to raise a bunch at one time so that there is never a lack of money in the fund when some family needs it.
When Katie was in the hospital last week, I ran into a man and his brother near the elevators. They saw my lovely hospital gown, and assumed I worked there. The man told me that his daughter was admitted, and that his brother had driven all night, and did I think the brother could just sleep on a couch in the lobby of the hospital. I asked them about getting into The Ronald McDonald House. The Dad told me they had been on the list for months….The hospital can only allow the parents in the room at night, and these folks had no where to go…there but for the grace of God…I had to get back to Katie, and when I returned to find them later to offer to help, they were gone. There is such a need to help these folks who cannot take one single more stress in their lives.
If you can help us put together a fund raiser or have any suggestions, please post and leave an email address.
If you only knew how the nurses work to try to help each family that walks into that place, how they care like we are one of their own, and this would give them another tool to help them help those families…
Most of the people who visit this site do so because they care, and so I feel I am not out of bounds by asking you to help us help others like us.
We are determined to have a good week. We are ready. We hope yours goes well too.
Melissa

Saturday, July 2, 2005 12:53 AM CDT

Katie is out of the hospital!!!!
She got out Thursday night. She is feeling well, except for the pain in her shoulders ( see previous journal entry)
A huge boost to her was that on Thursday, the e4ditor of the Vanderbilt newspaper came to her room (Jessica Howard…our buddy for sure!) and gave us an advance copy of the hospital annual report. Katie has a 6 page spread, which details her charity. It goes out to 22,000 people ( or somewhere near that) and we were thinking that if even half of those folks donated $5.00 to cover one meal, that would provide about 12,000 meals to folks going through a rough time. It was perfect timing to have gotten the report, as it helped us to focus on what is important ( and that we can actually control) that we can do for others, instead of focusing on how hard all of this can seem.
We are just trying to have as restful of a holiday weekend as possible.
Our next challenge: (sounds like survivor doesn't it? Feels that way too.) We now need to figure out a way to get Katie into the house. She can no longer use her arms to pull her backwards up the stairs, and she cannot walk up them. In looking at all the options, a semi-circle drive that runs right past the front door would probably be the best solution.
Just as I was trying to figure out who I might know that would know someone else who can dig a circular drive so that we can have the handicapped bus drive Katie to the front door, a friend happens to call and naturally she knows someone. God works in pretty swell ways.
We will know next week if it is possible to do, if zoning laws will allow it, and if we can afford it. I am not going to worry though, because He has always provided for us in anything that has come up...
Please say a prayer for us as we try to get a few days to take a deep breath...

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 8:22 PM CDT

And the beat goes on......
Katie is in the hospital. She had a fever of 101.5, and they admitted her on Sunday. During the last few days, we have found out that she has vascular osteo-necrosis in both shoulders. (the same condition that effects her ankles- basically dead bone from the steroids) She has had considerable pain on and off.
We are now realizing that she cannot scoot up the stairs backwards on her bottom, as she had been doing, as it puts strain on her shoulders to pull up to the next step. We are trying to figure out if we can dig out a circular driveway in the front that would come up to the front door, which has only 4 steps as opposed to the very long and steep stairs from the garage to the back door.
Her spirits are OK, but we are all a little tired.
We did talk today about what we are grateful for, and we decided that we are grateful that on the floor she is admitted to, parents can get a free meal from Katie's Helping Hand.
And we are grateful to you. All of you who call, and keep up with us, Aunt Gena and Aunt Heather who came to stay with her the last two nights (I was in California on business when she got the fever...) James’ Dad and my Mom who pitched ion, my co-workers who are so wonderful and the guys at Central Parking who are concerned as well. The folks at the convention I was at, some of whom I barely know and who take the time to ask about her, and especially those who know me well and are as hurt by all of this as our own flesh and blood. We are truly grateful to all of you.
Thanks. Say a prayer. Please.

Friday, June 24, 2005 1:07 PM CDT

We were trying to wait until we had some good news to report, but, well....what can we say? Sometimes this deal is pretty smooth and sometimes....
On Sunday the boys left for camp. To divert Katie's attention (since this is the same camp she couldn't attend the week before- see previous journal) I took her to see a newly released movie that she has been really excited about- The sisterhood of the traveling pants. I did read the movie synopsis as I always do to make sure it looked fine for her age. You know how there is sometimes a little plot twist that they do not tell so it doesn't ruin the movie? The plot twist in this case was.....12 year old girl dying of Leukemia, complete with a hospital deathbed scene. Now in most cases, I have got something up my sleeve just in cas4e, so we can at least laugh, but this time I had nothing. I cried, she cried. I said let's leave, she didn't want to. It was a long movie. At one point she asked if that is how she looked when she was diagnosed ( this was during the hospital scene...) it didn't turn out to be the diversion I intended...
The next little blow was on Tuesday. We had to take her to the hospital because she was sick (throwing up) and feeling weak. Her counts are really way down, and one of the things they want to watch her for is....
Cat scratch fever. Yes, this would be the kitten that we got her when we had to tell her that she couldn't go to camp. We did check with her Doctor first, and he did say it was OK. It is most likely NOT cat scratch fever, but just ion case. She now cannot touch the kitten for a week until we see her counts come back up.
She also cannot attend the rest of summer school ( just 1 week to go) because of her counts, and now we are nervous about making sure that she is OK for 8th grade. ( she only had about 40 days of 7th grade...)
OK, so all of that is over, and we are moving on. My new idea is that we are going to keep a journal where we only write something that we are grateful for every day, and then when we have a week like this, we can read back and see the good and then decide where to fix our gaze...on gratitude or sadness.
For the record, if she gets a paper cut from the journal, I GIVE UP! (Just kidding, never say Uncle is my theory!)
Please pray for us...we all need it.

Saturday, June 18, 2005 4:38 PM CDT

Tomorrow the boys leave for cancer sibling’s camp. This will be a good thing for them no doubt. I am a bit concerned about how Katie is going to take it. She was very disappointed that she couldn't go to cancer camp because of the VRE virus, but she does understand why.
I did get her a kitten as a buffer against the camp let down. For the record, I am not really a cat person. Katie is well aware of this. I would think that since I don't like them, but took action and got her one anyway, somehow this would work in my favor at some point.
But no. Katie, in the ultimate act of humiliation to her Mommy, has named the cat after me. She thinks this is really funny, and makes it a point to run around calling the cat so I can hear it. Someday that girl will pay!
On the medical front, it turns out that she has Osteo-necrosis in her shoulder as well. It is hurting her at the moment, but they have given her something for pain and that is all we can do right now.
We are tired after several weeks of tough news. so we have decided the perfect stress relief will be……. to have a bunch of screaming 13 year old girls here for a slumber party...yes, I said slumber party. Katie couldn't have it on her actual Birthday on April, so we are gonna do it now.
After the name- of- the- cat incident, I feel sure they will be freezing my unmentionables or short sheeting my bed. This is not fair. I am the Mother. Aren't I supposed to have some clout or something? Please feel free to post any suggestions on get-even tactics for Missie Britches and her goofy cat!
Thanks for checking in.

Saturday, June 18, 2005 4:38 PM CDT

Thursday, June 9, 2005 7:57 PM CDT

Another week of chaos....
Katie was all set to go to cancer camp...a sleep away camp for kids with all types of cancer- free of charge sponsored by the cancer society....
Now first let me say that I am aware of just how far we have come when I can write that at all- last year someone mentioned cancer camp as something we might look forward to this year, and I can remember thinking “not on your life is my child ever attending anything called cancer camp".
Naturally, after the year we have had, it sounded like a dream come true this year. The boys were signed up for sibling camp, which is the next week, and it is a great thing- kids who are going through exactly what they are going through in their families...
In any case, Monday we were told that Katie cannot go after all because she has tested positive for VRE- a virus that many people have but that kids with compromised immune systems should try to avoid. It is not a medical issue for her ( that we know of right now...) but they are actively trying not it let it spread- and it lives on surfaces for a long time, so she would be putting others at risk.
I could not believe that I had to go home and tell her something disappointing again. James and I both had to shut our doors at work when we heard she couldn't go because we just had to put our heads down and cry...
My only saving grace was that I located a kitten that we can go and get on Saturday, and I was able to tell her that to soften the blow. She is thrilled about the kitten, and trying to take the camp issue in stride…
The boys still get to go, which is good for them, but at some point something great will have to happen to Katie to level the playing field of the universe-right?
Thanks for checking in, we pray for all of you as we can feel you doing for us.

Monday, June 6, 2005 8:51 AM CDT

We seem to have hit a rough patch. I don't know why, it was actually a pretty swell week.
Katie participated in a video for LifeWay about how her faith has kept her grounded though all of this. She actually got made up by a professional make up artist, and she thought that was cool. Zack came with us so I had someone with me to taunt Katie when she was supposed to be serious...
We had the big Leukemia-Lymphoma Society finale dinner on Thursday- it was really wonderful, and we got to see Lisa Harless and her husband Winston, which is always a treat. We also sat with Dr. Engel and his wife, the other Dr. Engel, which is fun for us as well- although as we left we realized that we forgot to ask him for his joke, but we will see him again on Wednesday.
We have hit a tough spell...
I am not really sure why- it was actually a swell week.
Tuesday Also, Stefanie MILES, and her friend Jay have talked about what we can do as a fundraiser for Katie's Helping Hand.
A very sweet man, Brad Towe, bought Missy Britches a silent auction item of a pedicure, facial ( it will turn back the hands of time, so now she will look 8 instead of 13.. ) and hair cut and style.

In any case, as a family we seem to be struggling over the last 2 days or so, but this too shall pass.
We did find it kind of surreal to watch the Children’s Miracle Network Telethon, as I sat there and realized that two years ago this was probably the telethon that Katie had seen that started her growing her hair for locks of love. One year later, she was diagnosed with Leukemia, another year later; she is on the telethon as one of the children that these hospitals help everyday.
We have just kind of hit a wall I guess. We are a bit worn from all of it- but we are staying focused on gratitude, and helping others- and that is a plan that will surely get us through.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:46 AM CDT

Sorry for the time that has gone by without posting....
Katie is slowly adjusting to life in the chair. She is now allowed to use crutches at home for really short distances, so that is a blessing.
Saturday was the year mark of her diagnosis. She was a little weepy, but I told her we were not going to mark negative times. We all have it within us to fix our gaze where we choose, and we choose to fix it on the future and be thankful that we found out what she had so we could get on with it. She bucked right up and got past it.
We have been experiencing some issues with the school that she attends, and that has been quite draining for James and I. We do not want to be he parents who just "want it their way", but we have to be advocates for Katie.
I am convinced that it will work out for her in a way that is fair and lawful ( as the law provides for her in her current condition). We are just hoping for a little bit of an easier path, just for a week or two so we are ready for the next issue that arises...
We do appreciate all of you who have posted and given us moral support for these 12 months

Monday, May 9, 2005 10:11 AM CDT

News on the ankles....
We went to the Orthopedic Surgeon last week. They told us that Katie has a dead spot the size of a quarter in each ankle. The great news is that new bone is growing back already. The tough news is that she has to stay off them- completely, for up to a year.
This means that she can only put weight on them to transfer from the wheelchair to a regular chair or the couch or her bed etc. This is an interesting challenge as we live on a hill, and there are steps to get into the house.
Our main concern for the next three weeks is that she cannot ride the bus anymore because she can't get on and off it. We are going to piece meal it together until school gets out for the summer, and then come up with a plan for next year.
The only activity that she can do is swimming, which they said would be really excellent for her. We do have an above the ground pool, that she can get into as it is decked onto the house, so that is good for the summer.
Katie was really much more devastated about this than I thought she would be. I had been saying all along that we should go on and accept that it was probably Osteonecrosis, and that it might be a year or so in the chair most of the time, but we always thought that she would be able to walk short distances and around the house. Just having those few steps taken away has been really hard on her emotionally.
She is a tough one though, and she is getting better with it each day. I have no doubt that she will conquer this in time as she has every other obstacle.
The boys are being very helpful to her, and we are proud of them for being such good boys that way.
Thanks for checking in on us, and please pray for us as we do all of you. We appreciate you more than you know.

Thursday, April 21, 2005 7:00 PM CDT

It has been a bumpy week. Katie is really down about the need to use a wheelchair. I cannot blame her a bit. She wants to be running around in the summer like she now feels up to doing.
We are at a loss as to what will happen from here. Unfortunaterly, we cannot get in to see the neurologist until the 4th of MAy, so we do not know how bad this could be, or how minumal it might be.
We continue to be gratefull for those who contribute to her charity, because we know that others are being helped everyday. Last week, one of the LLS Men of the year candidates gave her a very generous check - all while he is also raiosing money for the society as well. We also have a new friend whop knows where we are because his late wife passed away from Leukemia. He has been a really positive force in helping us focus on some fund raising ideas, which we need to be doing.
It is pretty amazing that we have not done any real pro-active fund raising and yet there is almost $15,000.00 in the fund.
We have all been worn out by all of this lately, but when we can get a breath we will do better.
Pray for us. Please. We need it.
The Mitchells

Thursday, April 14, 2005 10:05 PM CDT

Have I mentioned that it is a bumpy road???
Just after we had a rather grand time showing the hospital to the Men and Women of the year candidates,( for the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society) we got home and got a call about the MRI....first we are up, and then......

Here is the update. Remember, this is just how I understand it, and I am not a Doctor...
Katie definitely has vascular necrosis in both ankles. This is a condition where there is cell death in the bone due to complications from the steroids.
There is no way to tell if it will right itself or if there will be damage that will be lasting in terms of mobility.
The result fore now is that she cannot take steroids as part of her treatment as it would cause further damage. There is no study that has determined what impact this might have on the survival rate, and I have to say I am a bit worried about that part of it.
She also must use a wheelchair to get around. We will be treated by an orthopedist for this condition, and we have not seen him as of yet, so this information is pretty limited in terms of what we can expect.
Katie was not really sure how to react. She was somewhere between being OK with it and crying. I made it a point to bend both of my knees so she could have the pleasure of hearing the gravel like crunch...I told her that because of the jumping I did in the Air Force, and probably the fights with shoplifters who had an aversion to jail, I have damage that is permanent. My point was that there are a bunch of things that can damage your body, and one can never tell what the result down the road will be...she laughed and made me do the knee thing again. No respect...I don't understand it.
In any case, we are trying to remember that this is just a bump.
Please say a prayer for us to be able to accept this, since we don't really have a choice.....not to imply that we are hysterical. Actually, I think we are doing better with this latest thing than I would have expected...
Melissa and James

Thursday, April 7, 2005 11:54 AM CDT

Some news!!!
- She has an MRI scheduled for the 13th- next week.
In the meantime we have heard that the results of the genetic test are normal, which means that it is not a genetic abnormality that as caused the reaction to the 6MP chemo pills...
We do not now yet what that means in terms of upping her dosage to the expected level. I do know that they have told us that some people metabolize it at a different rate and as such can be at a lower dose and have it be as effective as the acknowledged expected level that other kids are on...
Also, her ankles are a bit of an issue now. She is using a wheelchair at school. The first day was tough, as she felt like kids we re staring at her. I did tell her that if she fell off a building and was in a full body cast she would be in a wheel chair...she failed to see hw that was supposed to make her feel better, and also mumbled something abut not understanding how I come up with these things. The nerve!
In any case, they gave her some pain meds, and she has taken half of the dose and feels great. The wheelchair has also become less of an issue for her each day-0 the novelty has worn off for the other kids, and she is adjusting. Staying off it really seems to have helped.
Her weight is up to 77 pounds- we are so excited! That is her all time life high weight record!\
Her hair is coming in beautifully. If I looked that good ever I’d be so happy….
She is the trooper of all time that girl!
This weekend is the rooms make over, and she is really excited about it.
We will update this website again next week when we know for sure what the deal with the ankles is. We are going to assume that it is nothing serious until they tell us otherwise, and even if it is the bone issue (osteo-necrosis) we will deal with it.
Blessings to you and yours.
Melissa and James.

Thursday, March 31, 2005 9:10 PM CST

13th BIRTHDAY ON SUNDAY APRIL 3!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it is a mixed bag this time out.

We went to the hospital yesterday to see if her counts were up enough to get the chemo. They are up so she started again, which is good.

The genetic test was not back yet- this is the test that determines if her body has enough of an enzyme to break down the chemo she takes daily. Additionally, they are doing an MRI to see if she has a condition known as Osteo-necrosis in her ankle(s). She has had some pain and difficulty with her ankles when walking lately. This condition would mean that the bone has died because the vessels have not been working properly to bring blood to that area. I think that is right, but again, I am not a Doctor.

If this is the case, she would need to stay off her feet (no sports, playing, or running) for an extended period of time. She might have to be on crutches or in a wheelchair during that time when in school. We can handle it if this is what comes to pass, but it would be nice for her to catch a break here.

Also, she is turning 13 years old on Sunday. We are doing a teen room make over for her. We have gotten new flooring because the carpet in that room is very old and I am concerned about the fibers in the air that she shouldn't be breathing during all this chemo.
We are going to paint and try to build her a bookcase/desk so she can have a place to store stuff and work on homework. If anyone reading this has any carpentry skills and lives near Nashville..., please email us, we will need the help. All of that is scheduled for next weekend. The theme of the room as Katie describes it is....VERY PURPLE.

Please pray that the genetic tests are favorable and that the MRI shows no sign of the condition outlined above.

Thanks for all you do for us emotionally; we realize it and really do appreciate it.

Monday, March 28, 2005 8:36 AM CST

Things are kind of coasting along...
Last Thursday, we went to the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society Benefit dinner for Man and Woman of the year. Katie looked absolutely beautiful. She was really much more at ease than I would have predicted. We should have some pictures to post soon.
My speech went well, had to stop a few times because I felt too emotional, but eventually finished it.
On Friday night, we had the family night we have waited for!!! We went to Stars on Ice with Lisa Harless and her husband, Winston. It was a fabulous luxury box with so much food I thought Matthew would eat himself sick. Just being able to relax for hose three hours or so was like getting to take a deep breath after being under water for a long time. Someone asked me when the last time was that we got to do anything together, all 5 of us, and I honestly couldn't remember. It was such a treat to see the kids watching the skaters! They had a great time, as did James and I.
Easter was nice and really we did nothing but eat and sleep most of the day. We had some family over, and it was rainy out so it made the perfect day for all that resting!
We now start a new week. Katie cannot go to school until after her appointment on Wednesday. She is a little anxious about making up all the work she has missed in the last 3 weeks, but the school will work it out. We are just trying to limp across the finish line into summer so we have some time to get her stronger without the worry of homework.
We will update again ion Wednesday (or as close as we can to Wednesday) about her hospital visit.
Thanks to all of you who pray for us so often, we need it!

Wednesday, March 23, 2005 6:44 PM CST

We had a hospital visit today. We were really surprised to learn that Katie is neutrapenic. I had a real moment of panic when they said that, as her Leukemia Society Girl of the Year dinner is tomorrow night, and then in Friday, the whole family will get to go to Stars on Ice with Lisa and her husband.

The Doctor said that she can go, because her White cells are up enough that it will be OK. Thank Heavens! I couldn't bear to see her disappointed again!

Her weight was really good though – 74.5 – an all time record. We couldn't believe it!

In the disappointment category, she cannot go back to school on Monday. We will go back for another visit next Wednesday. If her counts are up, they will start chemo again and we'll pick up where we started off. Also, she turns 13 on April 3rd, and we cannot do the slumber party as we had planned – until we are sure she in not neutrapenic we can't really plan anything like that. So we will have a family party and then have the slumber party later in the month. I have pitched it to her as a birthday that will last 3 weeks....

They did do the blood work to test for the genetic enzyme deficiency today, and we should know about that in a week or so.

Please say a little prayer that it will be better for her this week. Also that I get through a speech at the dinner tomorrow without crying like a big baby!

Thursday, March 17, 2005 8:59 PM CST

Great News!!!!!

Katie was released from the hospital today (Thursday). She is home and we are all under one roof for the first time in 8 days! Hallelujah!

She has to take IV antibiotics 3X per day for 5 days, but it will be at home, so we can deal with it.

She has had some firsts this week:

1. Her Aunt Gena styled her hair with gel. Katie tells me that she was a spiked beauty.
2. Her Aunt Heather told her that she better get those counts up or she would ground her....and up they came. I will be trying that grounding thing at home since it works so well.
3. Our friend Lisa (see prior postings...Lisa, AKA the funniest person we know) is taking Katie and me to Stars on Ice, which Katie has never been to but has always wanted to see. We will get to sit in a box(!). Katie is still squealing about it...
4. Her charity is up to about $13,000.00 as far as we can tell. We just found out that the youth group from our Church (East Brentwood Presbyterian Church) is tithing to Katie's Helping Hand using the profits from a dinner they recently put on.

Finally, we actually met some folks who are getting the meals, and we are more determined than ever to keep this going. When we think of the kindnesses that people have shown us – Aunts who we voted in before this all began and have hung in there right by our side through it all; cards, letters and gifts sent to Katie in the hospital by those we know and those we do not; postings on this website that are so kind we cannot believe it – the meals are our way of extending that kindness to others.

Because of the generosity you have shown us, others will be assisted at the time when they need it most. We truly cannot thank you enough!!

Monday, March 14, 2005 11:48 PM CST

GOOD NEWS!!!!!
The issue is a sinus infection. Nothing more. You can only imagine our joy. It is truly an answered prayer.
They now have her on the antibiotics she needs to be on to fix it. She is also suffering with a nasty cough, but all of this can be dealt with.
We have had a really hard time of this one. The stress of thinking that it might be relapse disease seems to have set me back personally in terms of feeling like we were getting back to a more normal life. I had just started to breathe normally (almost) for the first time and now I feel that old sense of "something’s wrong" before I open my eyes in the morning. We (James, the boys, myself and Katie) all miss each other.We are trying to deal with some home repair issues and yet we are so tired we feel like we are getting farther behind everyday.
We are going to focus on being grateful for this admission in that it has allowed us to meet some people who are getting meals courtesy of Katie's Helping Hand. They do not know that our family is the family who started it or that Katie is that Katie. It is a real glimpse at how what one does really impact another in a bad time.
I spoke to someone today who made this worth it as they told me that they were missing time from their job and lived far away, and they were eating lunch from KHH....
Thank you Lord for putting us in a situation where even as we are in a bad way ourselves, we see and have the chance to help another.
Please pray us through this big issue and the smaller ones that have resulted. We do so want to be back on track - being able to concentrate all of our actions on raising money for the charity and not having to worry about ourselves..
We love you guys and we appreciate you
We will update the page as we get info. My guess is that she will be here until Friday give or take.
James and Melissa

Friday, March 11, 2005 7:29 PM CST

Bad news....
Katie was hospitalized again on Wednesday. She came in for a high ( 101.7) temp and they took blood and found that her counts are really low- pretty much where they were when she was diagnoised.
Her spirits are good, and she is feeling much better since she got 3 units of blood and has been on IV fluids.
Her temp. went down right after she was admitted, but then spiked again tonight.
We are now trying to find out what could have caused this. She has lost 1/2 of her red blood cells since the last labs were done. As I understand it,there could be a varity of causes for this, including;
- a genetic defect that results in not having enough of an enzyme that is necessary to break down the 6MP ( chemo pill) in her body, resulting in her counts dropping
-relapse disease which is to say that the leukemia is back in the marrow again. Needless to say, this would be a bad thing.
It could also be a virus that is dissolving the red blood cells resulting in the loss.
We will not know for several days. That is not to say she will have to stay that whole time, but we really don't know about that yet either.
They have told us that if her counts start to recover and trend upward then we could rule out relapse disease because Leukemia does not spontaneously recover on it's own...
James and I are focusing on the blessings that come with this.....we have gotten to see the results of Katie's Helping Hand up close and personal. We have met some families who have been the recipients of the meals ( they have no idea of our tie to KHH, ). It has reinforced to us that these folks are really in need and even though we didn't need another ( really big) project at this very trying time in our lives, it was absolutely the right thing to do.
We will update you as we know what is happening...

Thanks for all of you who have taken the time to call and pray..
James and Melissa

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 11:43 AM CST

A bumpy road.....
Katie has been sick for 12 of the last 15 or 20 days...we do not know if it is the chemo or anxiety (I could understand that!) The upshot is that we are taking her down to half a day of school to try and lighten her load.
For the healthiest of kids, school at this age and grade is a real trial, the days are long and hectic and there is lots of homework....hopefully half a day will not be too taxing on her.
We are also working with the Doctors to try and find out what the deal with the throwing up everyday could be. They are telling us that it is most likely not the chemo, but she starts everyday with her head in the toilet. She has lost a pound or two, down to 69.5 this morning...
We are back to struggling a bit as a family because it is always hard to see her feeling so bad. Please say a little prayer if you are of the mind to.
On the good news side, the Vanderbilt Radio-thon is this week. Wednesday (March 9) through Friday (March 11).
I know that we are scheduled to do a live interview on Friday morning at 8 am. ( Katie, James and I). I also know that they took a previously recorded interview with Katie and I and set it to music. I do not know when they will play it, but if James can figure out how to down-load it onto this site we will do it.
The radio station is 107.5 The River...
We'll keep you updated as we get info on her medical condition and what is going on...Thanks to all of you who do so much to support us emotionally, we appreciate each of you.

Melissa Mitchell

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 12:20 AM CST

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 12:02 AM CST
EXCITING NEWS!!!!!
Katie's story will air on Friday, Feb 25th at 10PM on Channel 5. I just heard from the reporter today. I am not sure of how long it is or what made the cut, but I am sure it will be lovely. The reporter, Barry Simmons, and his camera man were really nice to work with and I have confidence they will do Katie justice.
Also, Katie is now on the highest dose of chemo that they want her to be on for the rest of maintenance. This means that we just have to do the daily pills, a spinal tap once in a while, and our hospital visits are down to once a month. This is really a change for us!
Lastly, a big name country music star (I am not sure if he would want me to use his name, so I won't tell you out of respect for his privacy) donated a large amount to Katie's Helping Hand. We were introduced to him by a friend of ours, Lisa Harless. Someday I will write a whole page about that woman, as she about the funniest person I know...
In any case, it turns out that this musician is associated with the hospital. When Lisa mentioned that Katie had set up a charity, he immediately stepped up to the plate and donated very generously.
God just always puts the right folks in our lives at the right time. What that man (the musician) and Lisa will never know is that Katie had just had a spinal tap and other chemo in the port. We had been having a rough week, ( both boys sick, Katie sick earlier in the week and missing school) and then we see two people who just lift her up.
We feel blessed everyday, and we hope all of you are blessed as well.

Sunday, February 6, 2005 9:49 PM CST

We are still going strong!

Another excellant week for the Mitchells. We are starting to take deep breaths again. Katie is doing well, as are her brothers. We are now trying to adjust to having somewhat of a normal life.

She had a hospital visit this week, and it went well. The counts are fine. She doesn't even have to go back next week- we get a two week visit this time....really unbelievable.
We have been asked to participate in a radio-thon to raise money for the children’s miracle network. We will post more about this as we know the info on when it will be on the air.

Katie's school did a great job and raised funds for Katie's Helping Hand. We are trying to think of ways as a family that we can start to raise funds, now that we have so much free time! If you think of anything, post a note on this site!

We do have some sad news. A LifeWay store Manager, Tim Shoemaker, has had his 4 year old daughter, Kayley, diagnosed with Leukemia. They are at St. Jude’s, which is very far from their home. When you bless a meal or have quiet time please say a word about this precious little girl. I cannot tell you how sad it makes me to have someone I know in this club with us. Pray for them, please.

Sunday, January 30, 2005 9:16 PM CST

What a week!
Katie went back to school and it was better than anything we could think of! Her homeroom teacher made it really special by telling the class that they had a new student, Katie Vacanti-Mitchell. He went on to say that when football coaches win a game, they dump Gatorade on him as a celebration of the victory. With that, he said that Katie is a winner, and he and the class showered her with confetti. As a Mom, I have never been so touched by any gesture from a teacher in my life. Mr. Turner, our hats are off to you.
The local newspaper was there- the Tennessean, and also the local TV channel 5- We do not know if or when the Tennessean story about her charity will come out, but those guys at channel 5 are definitely doing a story on it.
We are very nervous around the cameras, and I really do not know how people in the public eye do it day in and out. In our case, it is worth it because it will hopefully motivate people to give $ 5.00 or $10.00 to Katie’s Helping Hand, which will then help other families in our position.
Today we went to Church as a family for the first time since all of this happened 8 months ago.
It was like getting water after a long stretch in the desert. I was so happy to see out Church family somewhere other than the hospital I can't even tell you!
Thanks for all of your support and prayers during these last 8 months. I hope that when you come to this page now it is only for updates on our mission to lend a helping hand. What a life lesson this has been, and continues to be for all of us. We had a choice, we could let this define who we were as a family, and Katie as a young lady- or we could use it to define what our new goals would be based on something difficult that happened to us. Thank you for giving us the strength to believe that we had that choice.
Melissa and James and the kiddos

Friday, January 21, 2005 12:40 AM CST

KATIE IS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL!!!!!!!!

We can't tell you how ecstatic and shocked we are that we got the report that we did. Just a week ago, she was in the hospital with a nutrophil count of 38. This week's visit we found out that her count had shot up to 1,150!!! I guess us telling her that she was grounded if those counts didn't come back up worked!!!

So, the doctor told us she can go back to school. Still in shock, we were thinking next week, but he in fact said that she could go back the next day. We decided to wait until Monday so that her teachers can get ready...she's going to be trouble with a Capital T...and so that we can do some school shopping. Seems strange to say that we have to go school shopping in January, but so be it. We don't care!! She's finally on maintenance!! 6 weeks ahead of the projected schedule!

Katie's got this new thing where she pulls her cap off and asks people which way she should part her hair. She has such a great attitude about the whole thing...

We can't tell you how blessed we feel for this moment in time. We take nothing for granted and thank you all for the prayers and notes and donations! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. This is a small (but hugely significant) step towards her complete healing. God Bless you. The Mitchells

Thursday, January 13, 2005 8:26 AM CST

Well here is some GREAT NEWS!!! Katie is back home!! Thankfully this time she was only in from Sunday until yesterday. (Wednesday) We weren't expecting this great news and so we are so thankful that it was a short stay this time. Her counts are still low, but the doctors felt that it was safe to send her home because she was no longer running a temp. What an answer to prayer. Thank you all for praying for her!

And for those of you who didn't get a chance to come model the yellow gowns, we brought a stash home so that you wouldn't miss out on the joy of putting one of those on. It's truly an experience that everyone should have. Words can't express the feelings that go along with it. One would have to wear one to know!! :)

Thank you again for all the prayers. I know we say it a lot, but we wouldn't make it without them. God Bless you all. The Mitchells

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 7:58 AM CST

Katie is back in the hospital with a very low neutrophil count. What should nomally be about 1000, she is at 38. We think this could be the way her little body reacts to this last round of chemo because this is the same exact time frame that put her here back in September. So, because she was over 100.4, they admitted her and will keep her until her counts go up and she has no temp. Her temp is down, but her counts have to go back up before she can go home.

We are thankful that we got to be home for Christmas instead of being in the hospital like the doctors thought that we would. It was nice to have everyone at home and together over the holidays.

If anyone would like to come by and visit, we do ask that you call first because they are having to be extra careful with visitors this time. Two other patients have come down with a virus brought in by visitors this week, so if you come, you are provided with a beautiful yellow gown and they have to spray you down with disinfectant, boil your clothes and...ok, maybe not that extreme, but cautious for sure...and if you are REALLY nice, they might let you keep that yellow gown. :) It's a real beaut!

So for now, that is all we know. Katie is in room 6414 at Vandy's Children's Hospital. Thank you so much for all the prayers and thoughts. We wouldn't make it through each day without them. God Bless you all. The Mitchells

Wednesday, December 29, 2004 11:05 PM CST

New Pictures of all of the New Hairstyles!!!

WE MADE IT THROUGH CHRISTMAS!!!!!!
We were all home, no fevers to speak of really, and no trips to the hospital. Thanks to all of you who kept us on prayer lists for this tremendous gift.
The kids had a great holiday. James and I procured what I am sure were the last 3 electric scooters in all of Nashville. This was great because Katie has not been ale to go on bike rides or walks as she used to do because she has been so tired. I didn't want to just get a scooter for her so that she felt she had to have an accommodation made, so we got them for all three. Expensive, but worth every penny. We have gone on family rides ( James and I walking) everyday since Christmas Day. Katie took only a few minutes to master her new driving skill, and then glided by me and said "I feel normal again, thank you so much"! Worth every penny.....

We also ended up shaving her head on Christmas night. She was originally going to do it the next day, but when we started talking about it as we were giving her the IV Chemo that night, she just decided to go for it. If only you could have seen the looks on the boys faces as she walked into the room the next morning. Matthew practically fell off of his chair. In characteristic total support for their sister, both boys have shaved their heads as well. We had a really big time with it, and we are so proud of them for being so supportive.

We had a visit at the clinic today. She had low counts, so she got blood then the chemo. We have only one treatment left until maintenance!!! We do have to go back on Friday of this week to check counts again and see if she needs platelets, but that is fine.

We will keep you updated as it goes. We hope that she will be back in school by the end of January. Thanks to all of you for all you do for us.
Melissa and James

Sunday, December 19, 2004 10:59 PM CST

Katie started her last 4 weeks in this round of Chemo last Wednesday. She is doing great! Her weight is up to 76 pounds, and that is without the steroids or feeding tube! This is her all time record weight-including before she was ever sick. She is really eating well, and as the Doctors have told us, it seems as though everything follows nutrition.

The last time she had this type and volume of chemo, she was quite sick. She did not eat for days. That has not been the case this time. We cannot tell you how grateful we are for that. It could change at any time, as it is the cumulative effect, and as such will build up in her system over the next weeks of treatments, but we will take every good day we get with a thankful heart.

We have had some real blessings lately. The hospital called one day two weeks ago, when she was a bit puny, and said that there was a need for Katie's Helping Hand.
Evidently, there is a virus going around, and the parents of the kids on the meylo-suppression unit could not go out to get food unless they wore a mask and gown when they came back. (This is the unit that Katie was on for 10 days in early September, when she first thought of creating the fund). This situation was causing additional stress for the parents, and ordering in food is so much more expensive than just running out to the dollar menu at McDonalds.

So they used Katie's Helping Hand to pay for food to be ordered in. We are so thrilled.
You can't imagine how difficult it was to be on that unit for just 10 days. We met folks who had been there for 10 times as long as we had, and I cannot imagine how they were holding it together. A single additional thing going wrong can just bring you to the brink of what you feel you can take.

We also had some tickets given to us for the Nutcracker, but Katie had a spinal tap that day, so we could not attend. The real blessing was that this allowed us to give them to some folks who had wanted to go for many years and could never do it. It was really nice to be able to pass that along, and we will give ourselves a rain check for next year.

We are trying to get it together for Christmas, but James and I are really just beginning to feel the effects of all of the stress, and are just not feeling it this year. We know that we need to try to have as normal a holiday as possible, especially for the boys, but we are just exhausted. The good news is that we have the week off (vacation) and so we can try to get some rest.

We will update you Wednesday when we go for another spinal tap. In case you are traveling for the holidays, please know this; during the worst time of our lives, each of you has been a blessing. You have all said or done something at just the right time to help us hold it together. This is the time of year when people sometimes give of themselves (emotionally or financially) because they are moved by the season and all its meaning. By your actions, you have demonstrated the spirit of Christmas since May 21, 2004 when Katie was diagnosed.

May God Bless you and you and yours next to his heart, as you have done for our family.

Wednesday, December 8, 2004 6:48 PM CST

Today was a hospital visit for Katie. We thought she would start the re-consolidation phase of this round, which lasts 4 weeks. When this is over, she gets to go to school again (as soon as her counts recover). Unfortunately, she is nutrapenic, which means her count of neutrifils is low, and she could not start the chemo.
We are hoping that she can start next week- because the sooner she starts the sooner she can return to school- which she can't wait for, but it is what it is, and we will wait until next week.
Her weight is up! 73.5 pounds! I do not remember her ever being that weight, so this is a pretty big event at our house.
Her hair is now about 60-70 % gone. I went and got her a wig today, and she is wearing it as we speak. It looks fabulous, but what wouldn't on her...
She is recovering from what we are guessing is the steroid withdrawal.....

Katie's Helping Hand Update!!!!!!
We recently had another really generous donation from Minnesota- A friend of mine has a daughter who gave a helping hand to Katie's charity..
She sold Livestrong bracelets to folks for $5.00 each as a promotion for Katie's charity. Her Mom matched her fundraising total. The Moms Company also had employees send personal checks to give to the charity when my friend came to visit, and the company is matching employee donations.
It was the day after my friend gave us this money to help others that Katie started feeling so badly from the steroids.
I was really in a sad and scared mood, and communicated this to my friend. I told her that it seemed that every story I read lately about a child with Leukemia ended badly...
The very next day when I came in to work, she had cut out a picture advertising St. Judes Hospital. The picture was a full page USA today ad with a beautiful 16 year old girl on it. In a small box on the bottom, it showed the girl at 10 years old, with most of her hair gone. This girl had exactly what Katie has...

Knowing my friend, she probably did not really think of this as throwing me a lifeline, but that is exactly what it did. I have that picture and look at it each time I am struggling now to believe that things will be OK.
For each of you, who have done something you think of only at that moment and not again that has helped us, know this:
There are no small gestures, no kindness that is more or less than another. It all comprises the fabric that is holding this family together, and you can bet that we know it.
Thank you so much. All of you. Really.

Wednesday, December 1, 2004 3:46 PM CST

Today Katie had a visit, but no chemo. The news was encouraging- her weight is up to 73 pounds- mainly due to the appetite from the steroids. Her counts were good- she did not need blood or platelets.
Next week, she begins the last 4 weeks of chemo before going on maintenance. We are asking for your prayers, as this is very heavy chemo. The side effects are many- but mainly that her counts will drop, and she is susceptible to fever. If she does get a fever, we will be admitted to the hospital.
Also, in terms of side effects, she has begun really loosing her hair. I have to confess that since she went so long with keeping it, I had this little hope in the back of my mind that she might not really loose it at all, but unfortunately that is not the case. I was drying her hair last night and when I took the brush away, it was everywhere. Katie, as always, is taking this very well. We have talked at length about how she has had a longer time with her hair than most, so that is a real blessing...but seeing it falling to the floor is really sad.
She is taking it very well though, and as usual we are proud of her...
Now all we have to worry about is Matthew and what he might come out with in terms of a comment, but that is not really related to just this situation and I have a feeling we will be working on that for many years to come! What a pistol that one! He sure is the perfect comic relief at the perfect moment each time.
Zack is doing well also, being that he is closer ion age to Katie, he worries a bit more because he really understands how serious this is, but he is a great comfort to her and a great son to his parents.
James and I continue to be thankful for all we have, especially all of you.
Melissa

Saturday, November 27, 2004 9:11 PM CST

Well, the check presentation was a success! (Refer to journal history)
Mr. Carell accepted the check which was great for Katie since he was the person who made her realize that we all have it in us to be an ordinary person who can accomplish extraordinary things.
Aunt Heather showed up, and that was good because I had someone to laugh at my jokes! Katie just lit up when Heather came in….

Her Doctor was also there, which was really special. He and I stood in the back of the room as Katie and James faced the reporters! (For those of you, who were thinking I was going to have to face my little problem with having my picture taken, guess again! Nice try!) It was really touching that Dr. Engle was wiping away a few tears just as James and I were.
In that moment he became my hero because he chooses to be in that clinic
everyday, and I know that many of those moments with the kids like Katie are not as sweet as this one. God bless those Doctors and Nurses who walk this path willingly.
There were 3 news channels there, and a newspaper. We were also contacted by the Tennessean about doing a story. We are so happy for her. She was so calm in front of the cameras, and got to say the 3 or 4 things she had wanted to say.
She got chemo that day as well, but when I asked her how her day was, on a scale of 1 to 10, she said 11. She said that she had accomplished another goal, that of getting the word out about her charity so that more people could help more people.
It was a nice moment- we know that people thought we were crazy to take on another project like getting this up and running at a time like this- but it has been worth it by far. Not just because she is getting something out if it, but because of the others who will get the hand they need.
It is also our hope that this will be the thing that defines this troubled time in her life, that she will look back and say that when she was 12 she started a charity, not that she had Leukemia and it was a pretty bleak 2 years.
In any case, we also met the rep. from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and she was happy to meet their Girl of the Year for 2005.
The only unhappy news is that she got sick last night, and she threw up the feeding tube. She wants to have a break from it now that it is out, but I admit that I look at it as a life line. We will talk to her Doctor on Wednesday and see what he thinks. She is ready to do whatever he thinks is best. What a trooper.
Thanks to all of you who have read this webpage and donated and sent cards and prayed for us. We pray for you too.

Tuesday, November 23, 2004 11:52 PM CST

Katie is having a big day tomorrow. It all started when businessman from Minnesota flew to Nashville to personally hand her a very generous check for Katie’s Helping Hand. A few days later the Make A Wish folks called us and said that someone had contacted them with Katie’s name, and were interested in giving her a wish. When I asked her what that might be, she said” Well, I have everything I want, and everything I need, but I would like it if Katie’s Helping Hand could have some publicity to raise funds so more people can use it when they need it.” ( At this point I asked if she thought Burt Parks would be out with the crown any second…James thought it was hilarious and I did too, but naturally I took an age blow when she had no clue what we were talking about. For those of you, who are younger readers, ask you parents about the Miss America contests from year’s gone by…) She doesn’t feel that she wants to take any wish that she would benefit from, as she feels like it could go to another who needs it more.
In any case, thanks to the hospital and Sara Horn from LifeWay, Katie is going to present the check to the CEO of Vanderbilt tomorrow, and a press release has been sent out about it. She is really excited because Mr. Carell, who raised the funds for the hospital and has made such an impression on her that she felt she could make a difference too, will be there as well.
We will also be meeting the folks from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as they will be there too. This will be the first of many meetings since she is girl of the year 2005!!!
You may wonder at this point where the medical information is. She will have chemo tomorrow. I think her weight has to be over 70, and she is feeling good in part because she is helping good things to happen to others. I have always thought that tactic was the best medicine for your heart and soul- minister to others and you will be ministered to in the process.
We do feel that the weeks directly preceding, during and after Christmas are going to be pretty hard. The chemo is really heavy then. We cleared all plans and are just going to pout our collective heads down and get through it. We are also making sure that the boys are not lost in the mix, so we are covered, but tired.
I know that this is true as well, for all of you who have, and continue to minister to us as we walk through this ordeal lifted by the fact that we are not alone, but held up by the people who love us, as we do you.
Thank You for all you do- the cards and messages.
We wish for you and yours a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday.
James, Melissa, Katie, Zack and Matthew

Sunday, November 14, 2004 10:42 PM CST

Katie has had a difficult week. She got her scheduled Chemo on Wednesday which starts us on the last of the rounds we have until she can go back to school. At that time she will be on maintenance (a lower dosage) for 18 months. She had to get an Echocardiogram prior to this dose so that they could compare it to the baseline they have; when she first began chemo in May.

The results were that there was a marked difference in her heart, and we had to get another, more definitive test done. If these results were correct, the damage could be permanent. We knew going in that this was a possible outcome for a low percentage of children, but we are busy with the big looming threat of the Leukemia, and haven't really thought too much about this part of it, until now.

Two days later, she got the second test. They had some problems accessing her port which made her miserable- but she was stoic as always. We got those results back and they are fine.

I have to admit that the stress of having this little upheaval this week was tiring for all of us. We are all dealing with it the best we can. It has left us drained as a family. We are focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel. It is now only two months away before she can go back to school (we hope). With God’s help, we will get there.

Tuesday, November 2, 2004 11:52 AM CST

Katie had her last dose of Chemo in this round on Friday and it was a doozie! She has been really puny since. As always, her battle is not with her spirit, but with her weight. She still has the feeding tube and we are so thankful for that and the nutrition that comes from the Peptomen that we use..
The only problem is that when she gets sick, up comes the tube! We have been able to put it back in at home,which makes Katie less anxious about it.
She begins her next round of Chemo in the middle of the month or sooner, depending on when her counts recover from this last round. That round will last 2 months and we have heard it can be the most difficult round yet.
Then, all things going as planned, she can go back to school, but will be on "maintenance" which is constant ( I think daily, but am not sure) chemo in a tolerable dose.

As always we thank you for your prayers and well wishes.

Saturday, October 23, 2004 0:40 AM CDT

Well we have all good news. Katie is feeling pretty good considering all the chemo. Her weight was down a bit, but she got the feeding tube again, and medically it was the right thing to do. Personally she is not real excited about it, but it is a temporary thing and will get her through the tough times when they happen. As the Doctors have told us, everything follows nutrition...
Katie’s Helping Hand is up and running. There have been donations made, and she is sending a personal email to each donor. We can't wait for the first family to get a helping hand.
The big news of the day is that the Leukemia and Lymphoma society of Middle Tennessee has chosen Katie as their "Girl of the year" for 2005. This is really exciting for her, because they have told her that she can mention her charity at each event. She is all about raising funds to help others even when she is in this rough patch!
She has 20 days left on the current round, and then she will proceed to the last of the 2 month rounds that keep her out of school. She is very excited to go back!
As usual, our friends and family have sustained us. My friends at LifeWay could not have been a better support group, and our Church family has been there every minute.
We can never thank each one of you enough, but seeing Katie doing well is all the proof you need that your efforts to help us have paid off big time!
Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. I never thought we would be here, in October, feeling so much better about this new life that has chosen us.
God Bless you all.
Melissa

Wednesday, October 6, 2004 3:56 PM CDT

Katie has been home and doing well now. She's even getting to go to a school dance this Friday. We are all excited about this event!! I am sure lots of pictures will be taken and hopefully we can get one or two posted on the site to view.

I am writing today to let you know that you can now go to the link for Katie's Helping Hands and begin making donations for family members of patients at Vanderbilt's Childrens Hospital. The link is through the hospitals page and explains in detail how you can make donations to help.

Please take a minute and go there to see it. We're all excited about this foundation and want to get the word out to everyone!!

Again, we thank you so much for all the prayers and cards, and gifts of love shown during this time. God Bless you all.

Monday, September 20, 2004 1:35 PM CDT

Katie is back home after being in the hospital for just over a week and a half. She is feeling much better after receiving plenty of fluids, antibiotics, and nutrition through the feeding tube. She went home with the feeding tube so that she can continue to get the nutrients she needs. She is also getting her appetite back and able to eat real food as well!!

Katie is excited to tell everyone about her new fund that she is establishing. It's called Katie's Helping Hands. This fund will benefit the families of children admitted to the 6th floor of Vandy's Children's Hospital (cancer floor) to help make their lives easier. It will pay for meals for the families who have to eat out and provide calling cards to make long distance calls that can't be made from the hospital. It will also help to pay for transportation for relatives in the event a child is in an emergency medical situation. She's still working out all the details, but wanted to start getting the word out about this fund.

Thank you for all the prayers and love shown in various ways. We love you all and appreciate every prayer and thought about our family. God Bless you all.

Saturday, September 11, 2004 9:57 PM CDT

Katie is back in the hospital. She got a fever Sunday ( the 4th) and had to be admitted. She was not able to keep any food down, and her counts were really low. They have done blood cultures everytime her fever spikes, and found nothing that could be causing this. The cultures would find a bacterial infection ( if it was one of the common ones they test for) but not a virus.
Matthew was sick Tuesday night, and I think he had a little virus, and so perhaps that is what Katie has. She has no immune system to speak of and so can't fight it off at all.
By Wednesday she was down in weight, and was only really getting fluids, and that was by IV.
They asked us to consider the feeding tube as an option. Katie cried and did not want it. They said we could wait until her next spinal tap in a week or two, but we really needed to consider it. The next day, Katie came to it herself, and asked to have it done right then. She had had enough of feeling weak, not being able to walk upstairs, just laying on the couch for lack of energy.
It was really sad, yet brave that she did it. She has had it now for three days. She can ( and has been told to) eat solid food in addition to the tube feedings. It has really made a difference. She is not really enthusiastic about having a yellow tube taped to her face, but the trade off is necessary and worth it.
We hope that she will break out of this joint in two or three more days.
It has been particularly difficult for the boys, as this ward is locked down, and children cannot visit ( the germ factor).
It has been a little tough for James and I as well, as we have not seen each other except for one night, outside of the hospital for a week. We all miss each other and being able to be together as a family.
We still know we are blessed through all of this though. We have friends and family who love us, as well as the love of the Lord. We have poeple that we have never even met praying for us. We thank you for all of that from the bottom of our collective hearts.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004 7:44 PM CDT

Katie is feeling very puny these days. She went to her regular weekly appointment today, and her counts were rock bottom. She is at 66 pounds, and also had to get blood. This Katie is feeling very puny these days. She went to her regular weekly appointment today, was all particularly disappointing because our family had been given tickets and backstage passes to the "Weird Al" concert tomorrow. The kids really love him and were very excited at the prospect of a concert and the potential for meeting him.
The Doctor took one look at Katie’s' counts, and told us that she couldn't go. I know this is such a small thing compared to her health, but it was such a blow!
She did get a lift yesterday when some good friends of mine sent her and the boys some gifts. Katie received a beautiful Kimono and Japanese sandals, which she looks really lovely in. For those of you who don’t know- Katie is completely taken with all things Japanese. She has a friend at school that is Japanese, and decided to teach herself Japanese over the summer to enable her to help her friend with the language barrier….she has this workbook that she writes in all the time, and she can actually speak some already!
In any event, this was the last week on this round of Chemo. She will begin another two month round in two weeks. This round, called interim maintenance, starts out with low doses and gradually builds up to high doses. The goal is to go the whole 2 month week period and take all of the chemo, but if her counts drop below a certain level, they will stop that round and not repeat it. We are praying that she will be able to have all 8 weeks, as we need all of the chemo we can get!
Thanks to all of you who call and send cards and pray for her- we love and appreciate each and every one of you.

Thursday, August 5, 2004 12:10 AM CDT

No Chemo this week again due to counts being low. It is not unusual according to the Doctor, and we accept it as such. It is difficult not to be a little worried about the Leukemia gaining ground while we wait though.
Katie was very puny again this week- down to 64 pounds. They have started her on a new medicine for her nerves, which might be the cause of the constant nausea (and who on earth
wouldn't have some nerves over all of this?). It seems to be working, it has only been one day- but we'll take it!
The other news is that her hair is definately starting to go. Even though we are really blessed to have had her keep it this long, it is still a sad reminder that this is a real thing that is happening to her body daily.
We are going to get a wig this week so that she has the comfort of knowing it is there, even if she doesn't lose all of her hair- she will still have that safety net.

Zack and Matthew go back to school in about 10 days- I am a little worried that Katie will take not going to school with them kind of hard. She loves to be in school and learn.
We are working with the school system to have a homebound teacher come to the house, but we will have to come up with a plan to make sure her social needs are met as well.

Please pray that the new medicine does the trick and that the rest of her week goes well. We also hope that she will resume the chemo schedule next week.
Thanks to all of you who visit and pray and call. We wouldn't be able to get through this without you.

Melissa Mitchell

Wednesday, July 28, 2004 9:09 PM CDT

Katie has been sick and generally puny for the last 9 days. She cannot even keep water or coke down. Last Friday, she had a bit of fever, and I was sure we were going to have to admit her to the hospital again- but it finally went back down. (Anything above 100.5 is immediate admission to the hospital, because of the possibility of infection)
Today was her regular hospital visit for the week. She was throwing up in the car on the way there. She has lost almost more 2 pounds- she is down to 67.2.
Her counts were so low they cannot give her the scheduled Chemo- so we are on hold for a week. This is most likely the result of the extra week of Chemo pills that she mistakenly got.
She also got a patch for motion sickness that seems to have helped her tonight...I told Matthew that it was the stop smoking patch. I said that she had started out innocently with "the big chew" bubble gum packs ( they look like chewing tobacco) and had moved on to candy cigarettes and we just had to find a way to stop her. The look I got from him, trying to figure out if I was serious or not was priceless....
If Katie can just start eating and drinking again, we'll be happy.
Love to all of you, and thanks for checking in on her.

Friday, July 23, 2004 9:37 AM CDT

Katie has had a very difficult time since Sunday evening. She has been very lathargic and throwing up. She hasn't really been able to keep anything down. When she went oin on Wednesday for her weekly appointment and Chemo/spinal tap, we found that she had lost two pounds.
During the visit, we found out that through some type of mix up, Katie received a week of extra Chemo. We are not sure how that happened, but it is not a good thing. The result is that her counts are down ( but only very slightly) past what we would have wanted or seen if this had not happened.
She continues to be in fairly good spirits, which is really a blessing.
We will update you all if there is any change during the week.

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 9:31 PM CDT

We are now in the second phase (“consolidation") of treatment which will last two months. In this phase, she receives 4 different types of chemo at the same time.
She is taking a chemo pill every day, every two weeks she receives a chemo IV push at home 4 days a week for two consecutive weeks, she gets a spinal tap and chemo in the spine every week, an all day chemo infusion once a week every two weeks, and a chemo shot in the legs once every three weeks. Whew!
Katie's counts are dropping. We were told that this would happen in this phase of the treatment, so at least we were ready.
She is feeling tired and we are seeing some of the signs of the drug induced anorexia that we were told would probably happen. We have been trying different foods to see what she might have a desire for. It hasn't worked well with her. I have gained 5 pounds. Where is the justice?
In any case, she still has her hair, which she is really happy about.
Thanks to all of you who have prayed, called and loved her so, we could never make it through this without you.

Monday, June 28, 2004 9:43 PM CDT

KATIE IS IN REMMISSION!!!!!

This means that she has less than 5% blast cells in her bone marrow. She continues to have none in her blood and none in her Central Nervous System which is no change from when she was first diagnosed.
She will be starting a new phase in treatment this week called consolidation. This will be a long treatment once a week, and I believe a pill each day at home. She will also have a Spinal Tap each week for 5 or 6 weeks to inject chemo directly into her spinal fluid.
She has not lost any hair yet, and that has been a nice thing. We know that it will at least thin during this next phase, but they were saying it would be totally gone by now, so we count each extra day as a plus!
She continues to have a good heart, and a good spirit. We were recently asked by a family member if we would be using the Make a Wish program. After discussing it with Katie, we have decided that as it is a limited resource, we will not avail ourselves of this great foundation. Katie's take on it was that she'd like for children who are "less fortunate" than herself to have it. Really remarkable that kid!!!
In any case, I decided that I would ask her what the wish was and just try to do it myself. As usual, this has somehow backfired on me. ( See Katie's message below.)
Thanks to all of you who have called, cooked, written, sent gifts, and prayed. We cannot ever even begin to tell you how you have helped us in this difficult time.
Melissa

And now....a message from Katie:

Thank you to all of you who have written and felt concern. And Thank you for your prayers. I wanted to tell you what my wish for my Mommy to fill is.
My wish is that Mommy must skydive. Tickets can be sold and the money can go to the hospital ( Vanderbilt), so really I am doing this for the hospital. This will also make the RDs ( Regional Directors at LifeWay) VERY happy.
I am sure they can get a few snapshots of her screaming her head off. Mabye they can even shoot a video. I'll be keeping that. Mommy says she isn't scared, but I don't believe that. And if she really isn't scared, there shouldn't be a problem with jumping off the plane.
I am doing fine. I like reading all of your messages. Thank You, love Katie.

Wednesday, June 16, 2004 11:58 PM CDT

Katie has had a really good week. Her counts are up, and she is not nutrapenic, meaning she does not have the restrictions on going out to places like the mall and the movies that she had for the previous three weeks.
She will have another bone marrow aspiration, spinal tap, and big dose of Chemo next Wednesday. The hope is that when they get all the results, she will be in remission. The plan after that is still 2 years and two months of additional Chemo, but we will take remission with any conditions.
Katie is in good spirits. She and I went to the mall last Friday with Aunt Gena and Aunt Heather, and we all tried on wigs. The deal was that she could pick the wigs we (Gena, Heather and I) would try on, and we would help her find one to match her hair in case we end up needing it.
For some unknown reason, I ended up with the short end of the stick. The wig she chose for me was neon ( yes, it actually glows in the dark so the saleswoman tells us) lime green wig.
The Docs tell us that we can expect her hair to begin to go anytime now. We have talked about it, and katie feels she is ready if it happens.
Thanks to all who visit this site, and for your prayers and encouragement.
Melissa

Friday, June 4, 2004 11:46 PM CDT

Katie has had a rough few days. On Tuesday, she had a bone Marrow pull, a spinal tap, and an interthecial ( in the spine) dose of Chemo as well as Chemo in the "port" implanted in her chest.
She was very sick for a few days until we got the right anti-nausea medicine. In spite of all of that, and in the midst of being sick to her stomach, she went ahead and got her hair cut to donate to "locks of love".

As a family, we continue to be amazed and lifted up by the absolute kindness we have been covered with from friends, family, co-workers, our Church Family, and even people we do not know. I cannot tell you how many times we have hit the bottom in the last two weeks only to have someone do or say something that we cannot help but be inspired by.

As parents, we are also greatly inspired by Katie, who is still handling this with a poise and dignity that most adults would find it difficult to have at a time like this.

We read the messages on this website often, and I will never be able to thank each of you enough for taking time to send her a message.

Saturday, May 29, 2004 0:21 AM CDT

I am Katie’s Mom, Melissa. I wanted to take a quick moment to update you, but to mostly thank you for what you have done here.

Katie is 12, and was diagnosed with Acute Lymphosedic Leukemia on May 21.
Ironically, she had been growing her hair out after seeing a television show on children with Leukemia, so that she could donate it to "Locks of Love". We were to have cut it this weekend.

You can imagine that this was a devastating event in her life, and we all had a few days at the absolute bottom, and then Aunt Heath-ah stepped in and made this web site.
I know you probably look at it like you just spent a few minutes on it, but you did so much more. Katie has been shaking her head in wonder al all of the people, some whom she knows, some whom she doesn't, that have sent her messages.
In reading them, I also see people feeling better as they have a venue to express the grief we all have had.

I do want to tell you that Katie and I have decided that it would be a shame to let this change the person she is. We have decided that we have to play the hand we are dealt, and we are ready. There will be good to come of this; I know it in my heart. This situation, (though not what I would hope for) will be a defining moment in her life, and she will come out of the other side of it with coping mechanisms and strength that she might not have had otherwise.

As for Katie, she (as always) continues to amaze me with the level of empathy she has for others. The donated most of the gifts she received while in the hospital to children on other floors who were from out of town, and did not have the comforting things in their room that she had.

She also has an appointment to have her hair cut short on Wednesday, before the Chemo can degrade the hair, so that it can still go to locks of love.
Thank you for all of your messages of support, we read them all and appreciate every one.

Friday, May 21, 2004 9:22 AM CDT

To EVERYONE's amazement (doctors included), Katie is being sent home today. She is doing exceptionally well, no more fever, and she is handling the chemo like a champ! The doctors say that it would be a crime to keep her in the hospital for any longer when she can start an outpatient treatment plan! We are so thankful to all of you for the many prayers and words of encouragement. Please know that we love each and everyone of you and love to read the messages...with that being said, please check back often here and let us know how you are doing and we will do our best to keep you up to date on Katie's progress. We know that there is still a long way to go, but we are thanking God for EVERY step towards healing that He is answering!

For those of you keeping up with the guestbook signings, we are still planning on having the Twister competition, we'll just be moving the location to the house...and Katie said something about without an IV to hold her back that Rob would be going down. Stay tuned for pictures from this great event!!! We'll be taking lots! :)

Thanks again for all the prayers. We believe in the power of prayer, to heal and to change lives! We love you all!

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