Saturday, May 30, 2009

Weekend Update - Addition

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. Psalms 28:7


5-31-09

Additional Update: I just wanted to let you know that Tucker earned his wings today. Our prayers go out to his family. Yet another precious one goes home to be with God. Blessings and prayers of comfort to the Beam Family.



Good evening! I hope each of you are enjoying the weekend. I hope wherever you are, you are having the beautiful weather that we are having here. Today has been one of the prettiest days of the year so far. Great day for outside fun and BBQ.

I will update more tonight when I get in, but I did want to go on and let you know that Reagan has a new Caringbridge site up and I have changed out the link, so now when you click on her name it will go to her new page. I encourage you to leave her and her family encouraging messages to let them know you have them covered in prayer. She seems to be doing very well. She has had a busy and fun day, for this we are so thankful. Please let them know you are here for them.

Pray for the staff on the transplant floor at St Jude.... Trevor V has been told no food until Monday.... I WOULD NOT WANT TO BE WORKING THAT FLOOR AND HAVE TO GO INTO HIS ROOM!!!!! LOL I say this in a fun way, I love Trevor and love to pick on him and he loves to clown around with everyone too. Go check out his site today.... he is a hoot!!! Now let me say this, when you go check out his site, keep in mind that all afternoon yesterday when he was begging for crackers and any food what so ever, he was watching the FOOD NETWORK CHANNEL on TV!!!! Crazy young man!!! Keep this NPO situation in prayer, no food for a growing young man like Trevor is really difficult on him, I love to play around with him, but I do truly feel for him.

Take care - more later

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS!!!

GO TEAM BELIEVE

Friday, May 29, 2009

Good Morning,

Sorry it has been a day or since I updated but there have not been to many changes since the last post. There are a couple of prayer request from some of our families.

First, Trevor V got some results back from his CT scan that was not what they were expecting to hear, and certainly not welcome news. The scan shows a hole in Trevor's colon that is allowing air to leak from his colon. This is a pretty serious issue. When Pam received the call to tell her about this, she was also told to bring him on over to the hospital, he would need to go inpatient. So, once again, the not so happy camper and his mom are inpatient on the transplant floor again. They are calling on all prayer warriors for us to storm the heavens with our prayers for Trevor's healing. Let me remind you, he is still CANCER FREE, these are just results from treatment. Please read his site, Pam explains things much better than I do. I'll let you know as I know.

Next, Mallerie is still in ICU, this is such a stressful time for them, please keep Mal in your prayers.

Next, I want to really stress to you how much Reagan and her family need prayers at this time. As many of you know over the past few days there have been some really "different" post on her page. It has not been hard to see that there have been some family concerns by the post and also by the questbook notes being left. I am going to respect their privacy and ask that you do the same but know they need many prayers and just trust that God knows what the needs are, just lift the family up in prayer to Him. Her page has been taken down and it did need to come down, I know this leaves so many of you who have loved Reagan and her family and have followed her progress along her journey, very empty. When I first brought her to you, you have been wonderful to support them. I thank you for that. I hope to be speaking with a family member again today and I will ask if I can post about Reagan's condition to you through this page. I will not be getting into family business, but hope to have permission to keep you updated on Reagan. I just ask that you storm heaven's gates with prayers for them.

I have not heard from Poppy in the last day or so, so I am not sure about our very own Carol. I am praying that she remained off the vent and is improving each day. Keep her in your prayers, and Poppy too!

Trevor T has had some very difficult days, he is just having so much pain. The doctors are thinking he is getting to a point of needing radiation and this is very disturbing to Melinda. This has been her biggest concern for Trevor. Please pray that if he does reach the point of needing radiation, that the family will have peace about it and that Trevor will do well with it and not have any major side effects or long term issues.

I think that is it for now. I'll keep you updated as I know of any changes.

Enjoy your day.... sign up for Team Believe or ask someone to donate to your goal today. Just asking one a day will add up!!!

I really want to thank you for all of the birthday greetings and well wishes yesterday. You are all so sweet and I am blessed to have each of you in my life. THANK YOU


BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS!

GO TEAM BELIEVE

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Prayer Request 2nd Update for Today

UPDATE #3
Mallerie has been moved back to ICU as I have said, but she was having trouble breathing and they have now put her on a vent. Please pray for her lungs to heal and for her heart to be able to rest some while the vent is breathing for her. PLEASE PRAY FOR HER AND HER FAMILY. As you can only imagine, this is very scary for them.




LATE NIGHT UPDATE: 11:29 pm

Lot's going on tonight....

I heard from Poppy, they did get Carol off of the vent yesterday about 3 pm. She seemed to be doing pretty well last night, but this morning her blood gases were not so good so they put her on a bi-pap machine. Poppy spoke with the doctor this morning, and the doctor told him if her gases did not improve it would most likely be necessary to put her back on the vent. They checked them again around 12:30 this afternoon and they were better, she was on oxygen this afternoon and was able to eat a little bit of a soft diet tonight. She is back on the bi-pap tonight and hopefully will continue to show signs of improvement. It is not likely she will be home at all this week. Poppy says they thank you for your concern and most especially your prayers. Please keep the prayers going up, she is not out of the woods yet, but she is getting there.

Also, just got word a bit ago that Mallerie had to go back to ICU sometime today. I don't know yet what exactly is going on, but I will try to get down there tomorrow to check on them. Keep praying, I keep you posted.

Trevor really needs our prayers. He will have some more test tomorrow, but he has tested positive for a fungus... this is not good. Yet another setback for him, and on his birthday!!! Not fair, poor guy! Please pray for him and for Pam, bless her heart, how much can a mom take? Prayers have been requested and are much needed.

Thanks guys, I know and these families know they can always count on the prayer warriors here!!!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I just got a message from Pam a little bit ago requesting our prayers. Trevor's liver counts were really high today. All she ask at this time is for us to just please start praying. I'll post more when I get a chance to talk with her.

Speaking of Trevor.... today is his 16th birthday. Please go to his caringbridge page and leave him a birthday greeting. I am sure he can use some encouragement today.

Yesterday was Mary Kate's birthday. She would have been 9. Regina and Alyson can use some encouraging comments on Mary Kate's page as well. I am sure it was probably one of the hardest days for her so far.

Our prayer warrior Carol at last report from Poppy was still in ICU on the vent but was hoping to get off the vent today, possible yesterday. Her blood pressure and vitals were looking much better. Please keep praying for both Carol and Poppy. I'll keep you posted as I hear.

I hope each of you had a safe and fun Memorial Day holiday. The kids are all either out or about to get out of school. YEA!!!! I am so ready for the summer break.

BELIEVE- PRAYER WORKS!!!!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Enjoy The Weekend ~




Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2: 4-5




HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

I hope that everyone enjoys the holiday weekend. I am reminded more this year than in the past, not sure why, of those who have given their all, their families, their lives to serve and protect our country for us to all enjoy our freedom. If any of you have served our country, I want to take this time to say THANK YOU. I know I take for granted the wonderful life I am able to live, enjoying the freedoms that we have, because of YOU. My heart goes out to the families who have lost a son, a husband, a father, a daughter, a mother, a wife to the cause of serving our country. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say THANK YOU. If you know a veteran, say THANK YOU to them. Such a small gesture for such a great gift they have given to you and I and our families.

Many of you will be cooking out, boating, camping & enjoying the outdoors in many ways. Some of you may even be enjoying the all time American past time of enjoying a baseball game! Does it get any better than a good old baseball game? Whatever your plans are, just be careful and be safe.

Keep praying for our kids here and keep their families in your prayers too. These families go through so much, they need support too. Some get to come, receive treatment, then go home to be with their families and life goes on as normal as possible with a child fighting cancer. Other families are torn apart, separated from each other for months even years at a time. Many times feeling like a stranger in their own home when they do get to go back for a short visit. Many mom's are at the hospital with the child fighting for their life, while the other family members have the task of trying to continue daily life .... school programs, ball games, dance and piano recital's, etc. The parent, who is being the caregiver at the hospital misses out on so very much of the lives of their other children. Don't get me wrong, the caregiver parent is where they need to be and does this with all the love of ones heart, but it does not change the fact that there are so many things that they miss out on that they would want to be there for to support their other children too. These families just live each day fighting a disease trying to put their families and lives back together. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Send a message of encouragement. For some, it's their only source of strength on some days.

REGISTER FOR TEAM BELIEVE AND GET YOUR FUNDRAISING GOING!!!!!

If you are a FACEBOOKER.... Target has a vote going on for a couple more days, where you can vote on how the Target Corp. spends 3 million dollars which they will donate to charities. St Jude is one of the charities that you have the opportunity to vote for. You may vote once in every 24 hour time period... SO GO VOTE FOR THIS MONEY TO BE GIVEN TO ST JUDE. VOTE TODAY AND EACH DAY UNTIL THIS ENDS IN A COUPLE OF DAYS!!!! St Jude was in the lead the last time I looked last night, but it was not by much at.

Love your families ~

BELIEVE - PRAYER WORKS!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Get Your Kleenex!!! Additional Update Added At Bottom 5-21-09













Since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

The following script was sent to me today by one of our CANCER MOMS. I hope she does not mind me sharing it with you.

The pictures above are my tribute to the Cancer Moms that we have all come to know. Please forgive me that I do not have each one of your pictures here. These are the ones that I had on this computer. I do have some more on my "crashed" computer that I do hope to revive soon. I'll try to post more pictures of our moms then.


Cancer Moms

I belong to a special group of women
My friends and I have an amazing bond.
We never wanted to be in this group,
Yet we are in, for life.
Maybe we have met,
maybe we haven’t,
Yet our love for each other is boundless.
We know the pain the other one feels,
And we share our victories small or huge.
Words like chemo, IV, Zofran , bald heads
Are always parts of our conversations,
As well as roid rage, tears, and meltdowns…
We always know where the closest puke bucket is ,
We can hold it in one hand and if necessary,
Swallow the sandwich the other hand was holding.
We can drive to the hospital,
Park in the dark parking garage
Make our way thru the halls of the hospital
And to the appropriate floor,
Settle in a room, turn the TV on,
Give instructions to the head nurse,
Silence loud beeping IV pumps,
Direct a wagon AND an IV pole
To the playroom without hitting anything
Make our way back to the correct room
And all this, mind you,
With our eyes closed at any given time.
We know how to draw blood from lines
Sticking out of little kids chests.
We can hold them down with one hand,
While a nasogastric tube is inserted in their little nose,
And be on the phone with their dads at the same time.
We can live for days on hospital food,
And on maybe only one meal a day.
We know the names of up to 20 different drugs,
Their purpose, dosage and time to be taken.
We are always on call,
24 hours a day,
Seven days a week.
We are used to not always looking our best,
Hard to do with only a few hours of sleep.
Make up, hair styling, skirts are words of the past.
We have become addicted to texting, hospital,
clinic, home, wherever…
We talk sometimes at all hours of the night,
We know we can count on someone to be up.
Then for one of us, the world stops .
She has to walk away, broken.
This job is over.
The job is over, but the fight is on.
Remember, I said we were in this forever.
We are friends, sisters, temporary nurses,
We are each others rock, each others punching bag,
We listen, we vent, we cry, we laugh together.
We share our lives and our deaths
We share our pain and our victories.
We are strong, but not by choice,
Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose,
But never are we defeated.
We are not nurses
We are not doctors,
We are cancer moms…


Mom's pictured from top to bottom:

Tina - Mallerie's mom
Theresa - Morgan's mom
Michelle & Regina - Elizabeth and Mary Kate's mom's
Regina & Ann - Mary Kate's and Ellen's mom's
Pam - Trevor V's mom
Sandy - Natalie's mom
LaDonna - Salena's mom
Patricia - Jordan's grandmom
Chancelly - Jordan's mom
Tabitha - Sully's mom

WE LOVE YOU MOM's. This is such an appropriate and beautiful script. These mom's are united in a way that no one can know unless you find yourself in that UNWANTED club.


ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Carol (Grannycad) from our Prayer/Chat room is in ICU at this time. She has been fighting her own battle with cancer and is at this time on a vent. Please keep her and Poppy D (her husband) in your prayers. Poppy is to let me know as he is able to about her condition.

I tagged this on to the current update because I do want to leave the Cancer Mom's up for a day or so to give everyone a chance to read it. If anything needs to be passed along, I will just tag it on to here. Thanks


BELIEVE-PRAYER WORKS!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Big Day Fun Day!








Just a quick update on the kids I was able to see today....

Mallerie, still in ICU. They do however now have a diagnosis, so at least now they know what to use to treat it and get her out of the unit. She is fairly weak and in general just does not feel well at all. She and her family really need all the prayers they can get. This is very stressful, when your child is so sick it really takes it's toll on you. Please keep Tina and Brad in your prayers too.

Trevor was still inpatient today, but working HARD on getting out. He was feeling okay when we went to visit, but after eating some chicken noodle soup, started not feeling so well. Poor guy... he really needs to get to feeling better. Please keep him in your prayers too. His younger brother Rudy is here and I know he is enjoying the company. Pray for Pam, she is so ready to get out of that hospital too, You should see all of the signs and notes they have painted on the windows. It's to cute!

Elizabeth was just precious, as always! She is just to darn cute! I gave her a book and some string cheese today, she was playing with her mom's cell phone at the time .... without missing a beat, she tucked the phone under her chin and proceeded with her cheese. It was just to cute. She is doing good... keep praying for her and for her family. They are trying to make some really big choices right now, please keep them in your prayers.

Heather gets the big WOOHOO for the day!!!! Her test and scans showed the ALL CLEAR!!!! Way to go Heather! She had her BMA today, so that is not back yet but the scans from yesterday are all clear. Heather and Terri are on their way to Mississippi for a few days to visit with Regina and Alyson before returning to Florida. Her next scheduled visit to Memphis will be in August. Praise for her good reports! Our God is an awesome God, to Him be the glory!

That is about it for the "around the hossy" news for today. However, CONGRATULATIONS are in order for Natalie and Nicole! They are now official graduates from Chester County High School. So college life begins for them in a few short months. Natalie will be coming to Memphis on Friday for her labs and check up. Keep her in your prayers for her to get that ALL CLEAR report too! This is such a stressful time for both patient and families, just waiting for the official word to come in.

Take care... hug your kiddo's!

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS!!!!

TEAM BELIEVE ROCKS!!!

Monday, May 18, 2009

A Lighter View of Youth

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalm 62: 1-2



This was in our church bulletin yesterday and I thought I would share it with you. I can honestly say that I can relate to this 100%. I could put at least one of my guys names on each one of these. Hope this brings a smile today and makes us appreciate our children even more.

1. From a father's letter to a son in college: "I am enclosing $10 as you requested in your letter. Incidentally, $10 is spelled
with ONE zero not two."

2. A mother was overheard talking about her teenage daughter: "She's very independent - she lives alone at our house."

3. The best substitute for experience is being sixteen.

4. Sign seen in an orthopedic physician's office: Give your son a motorcycle for his last birthday.

5. Why can't life's big problems come when we are twenty and know everything?

6. Parents of two teenagers are worried about their failing eyesight. The daughter can't find anything to wear in a closet full
of clothes and the son can't find anything to eat in a full refrigerator.

7. A community club was discussing the proposed establishment of a youth center. A youthful member of the club spoke
out in favor of having a young person oversee the center; someone young enough to know what teenagers really like to
do. "Yes," agreed an older member, "but also old enough to see that they don't."

8. As the mother said good-bye to her son who was returning to college after spring vacation, she reminded him to write
often. Another woman, standing nearby, heard the plea and gave this advice: "The surest way to get your son to write
home is to send him a letter saying, "Here's fifty dollars to spend any way you like." "And that will make my son write
home?" "Yes, indeed. but you just forget to enclose the money."

On a more serious side, Sara Teasdale wrote the following poem. Some of us who are older can vouch for the wisdom in it.

"When I have ceased to break my wings
Against the faultiness of things,
And learned that compromises wait
Behind each hardly opened gate.
When I can look life in the eyes,
Grown calm and very coldly wise,
Life will have given me the Truth
And taken in exchange - my youth."



I am not sure why this is formatted the way it is when I posted. It looks fine on the draft.. I think you can get it's meaning without me having to retype it. Sorry :(


BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~

Saturday, May 16, 2009





In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6-7




Greetings! I hope that each of you are enjoying the weekend. Of course it's Memphis so this is subject to change by the time I finish writing this, but as of this minute it is sunny and absolutely beautiful outside. I certainly hope that all of the St Jude kid's who are outpatient are able to get outside today and enjoy this beautiful day.

Mallerie is still in ICU and can really use our support at this time. Please keep the whole family in your prayers.
Reagan and family are back home from a wonderful Make A Wish trip to Disney- Thanks and praise to God for their good trip.
Salena is outpatient and showing 99% donor cells!!! - Praise God for this news.
Trevor is still inpatient and waiting on test results from scope. - Praying for his "jail break" soon! Pray for a safe trip back to Memphis for Pam as she returns tomorrow.
Elizabeth really needs prayers to just figure out what is going on and how to "fix" it. - Prayers for her entire family too!
Clay is doing so well! This is such wonderful news as his transplant was such a high risk. - Prayers of praise for this!
Morgan is still home on her visit. Prayers for her continued good health and a safe trip back to Memphis.
Christian is in Memphis, she had a port put in on Friday and was not feeling up to par last night. - Pray for her miracle.
Harley is feeling much better after the reaction to his radiation that had him so sick. - Thanks and praise for this good news.

Please keep all the kiddo's we have been following in prayer.

I had dinner with Regaina and Alyson Rushing along with Ellen's mom, Ann Taylor, last night. By the way, Ellen is the St Jude patient of the month for this month! Way to go Ellen!! Christian and her family were not able to join us, it had been a long day with Christian's surgery to put in her port yesterday. Regina and Alyson look so good. We really enjoyed our dinner at none other than Chili's!!!!! We love to support Chili's!!! Regina brought Mary Kate's drawing for our team shirt to me last night. It is adorable!! I can't wait to get the final rendering for our shirt and share it with you. There is a really neat story behind the picture that Mary Kate drew, I'll share that with you later. Please keep Regina, Alyson and the other precious families who have lost a child to this beast. As well as they seem to be at times, this is a cut so deep, a hole so wide that can never be filled and the hurt NEVER goes away. Just keep praying for God to give them the comfort they need to go on.

Please pray for the success of the upcoming St Jude marathon. The hospital depends on this money to operate. I pray that TEAM BELIEVE will be in the top ten and show just how much this group supports this amazing hospital.

If you can't make the trip to Memphis to participate but you still want to have a part in this great effort to raise money for St Jude, you can go online and just register to be a HERO. The direct link to go to registration is posted up top along with the link to the news video that was aired on one of the local TV stations in Memphis last year about our team. Check it out! If you register to be a HERO, this will give you a ST JUDE GOAL PAGE and you can set it up and ask your friends, family and anyone you know (or even if you don't know them) to donate to St Jude. It is a wonderful opportunity for someone to donate in honor or memory of someone. Please consider it.

Enjoy your weekend - Be thankful for all things!


BELIEVE- PRAYER WORKS

GO TEAM BELIEVE!!!!!!

Thursday, May 14, 2009









Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3-4


Yesterday was a good day at the "hossy". A sweet St Jude mommy labeled the hospital the "hossy" and I everytime I write I want to use it, but I had refrained because I didn't know how many of you would know what I was referring to, so now that I am explaining it... I'll begin to use it. It is much easier and quicker to type than "hospital". I am betting that is why she coined that term in her daily updates on her caringbridge page. Thanks Lindsey!! Lindsey is Gavin's mom. Gavin is on our Friend's List. Please take the time to read his page... he is one of our wonderful success stories at St Jude. They will be back in June for his check up and I'll get some pictures at that time. Lindsey and Gavin are also already registered on Team Believe for the upcoming St Jude Marathon. Way to go Lindsey!!!!

I posted a picture from Jordan's outing to the bike store on Monday. What a cutie pie and he really REALLY thinks that he is ready to ride that 'big boy" bike all by himself!!!! Ladies.... he is a real ladies man! Protect your hearts, he can steal yours in a heartbeat!!! Another wonderful success story for St Jude. Like Gavin, all the glory and praise goes to God. We are so thankful for God's healing on these little guys and patiently wait on the Lord for the healing of all of the others being treated for this awful beast, we call childhood cancer :(


Back to my good day at the hossy.... First off, when I was pulling into the parking lot at the Griz House I saw Clay and Arie sitting outside on the sidewalk. It was a great sight to see!!!! First thing I realized, I was so excited to see Clay outside, I jumped out of the car and forgot to grab my camera, so I beg forgiveness but I didn't get any pictures yesterday. It was so good to see Clay out of the hossy and outside enjoying the sunshine. He is still in isolation, so they were sitting outside of their isolation room enjoying the morning. Clay is looking so good. He is such a sweet little guy. He got to meet Trevor T. That is who I was on my way to meet up with and fortunately Trevor T and mom (Melinda) were out front waiting for me, so, they were able to meet Clay and Arie and visit for a bit. I bet Clay and Trevor would have a big time together if they had the chance to just be little boys. One day soon....!!!

Melinda, Trevor T and I walked over the the hospital and had some lunch and made some visits while waiting for Trevor's appointment with his doctor for results of his MRI he had earlier that morning. Trevor is still having pain in his rear end and has headaches at times to. The doctor was able to give Melinda some insight on both of these with the results of the MRI. I will let her explain the results in her update. In a nut shell, not a bad report. It does appear that his tumors are responding to this new chemo. Gonna take somemore time, but again... we patiently wait on the Lord to do his work on Trevor T. Keep praying. He received his chemo at the end of his appointments and was ready to go play after a pretty long day for a little guy. They are on their way back home to Texas today. He will be back for MRI again in eight weeks. At this time is seems they will come back every eight weeks to see what is going on and make adjustments and decisions at that time.

While Trevor T was in his appt. with his doctor, I ran up to the transplant unit and got to visit with Mallerie and Trevor V. Mallerie is still just not feeling very well. Bless her sweet heart! I just want to take this all away and make her boo boo all better!! Both she and Tina (mom) are so PAST ready to get out of transplant and get back to Target house. They say the walls are closing in on them. I think it' time for another party for Mallerie..... Tina said we could throw a "bustin out" party!!! I am ALL for it!!! Just keep Mallerie and Tina in your prayers, this is so hard and a few days when cooped up seems like months. Pray for her to feel better, get to the bottom of where the fluid is coming from, fix it and get out. If you have a few minutes, I know that she would appreciate a card from any of you. The hospital address is on her caringbridge site. After her name, just include "Chili's Care Center, Transplant Unit" and she will get it. The long days can be brightened by some cards from you guys. Thanks!

Now to Trevor V.... that young man is such a sweetie!!! He was in the best mood yesterday. Feeling better and hungry! He had ordered up some lunch and was just short of going down to the cafeteria to cook it himself if they had not shown up with it just as I was leaving. He was telling me that he had been up on Tuesday and walked a total of 3 miles making the circle around the hallway in the unit! He told me that he had made 22 laps around the halls before he took a break, then walked more later. I am so happy to see him up and moving, it will pay off big time for him. Pam will be trading out today with her husband so she will be able to go home for her other son's 8th grade graduation this weekend. I know the whole family is very proud of him and wishes Pam a wonderful trip home to be with him. I am sure that Trevor V and dad will have some quality male father/son bonding time while Pam is at home. There is no telling what those two guys will be up too! I did promise Pam I would "stick my head in" and check on them.... LOL Trevor is having a scope this afternoon to see if they can figure out what is going on with his tummy issues. Pray that they figure it all out and he can get out and get home for good really soon.

I did not see Morgan, she got an extended weekend pass to go home! WooHoo for Morgan and Theresa!! I know they were so excited to get a break. I certainly hope they are enjoying their weekend, just being "normal". Pray for her to have a healthy weekend, no fevers or anything that could shorten their time home.

I did not run into them, but Christian and her family are all back for her to begin her treatment. Please follow her site and keep this very sweet family in your prayers. Pray really hard for God's miracle on Christian.

I talked to LaDonna several times yesterday. Salena started the day with some off and on fevers but she was released yesterday and was able to go outpatient. They were thrilled to get out and will be back at the hospitality house across from the hospital. She has had a little bit of difficulty, but not bad considering the high risk that she was for transplant. She has done really well over all. Pray for her continued progress with no complications.

I think that about wraps it up.... please keep all of our kids on our page and all of the others that each of you follow on your own in prayer. Goodness know, prayer works, we just have to keep on praying for the kids, their families and for each other. I am so blessed by each of you and I thank you for being a part of this support prayer system.

Now, you know I can't close without saying something about the marathon..... GO TEAM BELIEVE... LET'S GET REGISTERED AND BEGIN OUR FUNDRAISING!!!! We are still in first place!! YEA, thanks to Regina, she is on a roll! Speaking of Regina, she and Alyson will be in Memphis tomorrow for the weekend. I will be getting the design from her for our shirt that Mary Kate drew for us. I can't wait to see it and get a final drawing of it so we can post it for you guys to see too! Pray for their safe trip. They will be here to visit with Terri and Heather Braswell while they are here for Heather's check up and scans this next week. Please keep Terri and Heather in prayer for a safe trip and CLEAR SCANS!!!


Have a great day! :)

Believe- Prayer Works!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Start Your Day With a Prayer For These Kiddo's :)

Good Morning!

I just wanted to give a quick update on some things going on today. I'll post more this afternoon after I know more info.
First, Trevor T. is back at St Jude for his scans and MRI. These are scheduled for this morning, I'll let you know how these go later this afternoon or tonight. Please pray for good results and that the chemo is doing it "thing" to rid Trevor of his tumors.


Also, Christian and her parents will be leaving in the next little bit from Regina's house in Mississippi to come to St Jude today. They have their first appointment at 8:30 this morning Christian has been accepted into a protocol that will begin for her today. I think she will be in Memphis for a couple of weeks, I am not sure, but I will let you know more when I know. Please keep this family close at heart and in your prayers.

Mallerie is still not feeling very well, I'll be checking in on both her and Trevor V today up in the transplant unit. Pray for good news for both of them today.

Morgan and fled the city for a few days... gone home for a nice visit. Please pray that the visit goes well and she does not have any problems or fevers while she is on her short vacation away from the hospital.

I just wanted to get a few of these things out to you first thing this morning so you could include them in your prayers today.

So far, so good with Team Believe!!! Thank you to all of you who have already registered WooHoo, we are doing great to have folks getting such a good jump on things this year. Hat's off to Regina... when she get's going... she goes!!! I am so excite about working with her this year and can't wait for all of you to meet both her and Alyson. We are all going to have a blast! I have posted a couple of links on our page... look up right over the team picture on the top left. If you want to register to join us, just click on the link to register. If you would like to follow our teams progress or MAKE A DONATION to our team, click on the link for Team Page. Thank you for your support! Let's meet our goal and then top it in a big way!!!!!

Have a good day, I'll get back with updates later.

Believe-Prayer Works!

GO TEAM BELIEVE!!!!!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Rainy Day's and Monday....

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.

Psalm 103:2-3



Why do Monday's always seem to be to trying? I certainly do not have the answer to that question, I just wondered if any of you do. Let me see... the day started off really nice, but the news through the day just went downhill. Jordan flew in this morning to come back for his post surgery follow up visit with the Neurosurgeon that removed the port from his head two weeks ago. I met up with Jordan and Patricia at St Jude, then took them out to Dr. Boop's office out in East Memphis. From there we had a wonderful lunch at Macaroni Grill ( I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS RESTAURANT TO ANYONE WHO HAS ONE IN YOUR AREA) Macaroni Grill here in Memphis is VERY St Jude friendly. Enough said!!! You get the point, and those of you who were here for our marathon team dinner last year, you know what I am talking about. :) After lunch, and a quick trip to a bike shop, we went back to St Jude for them to catch their shuttle back to the airport to return back home to Louisiana. His next visit to St Jude will be sometime in July.

While at St Jude, I visited with Mallerie. Not such a good day for her. I think Tina has posted an update, when I left they were waiting for the doctor to come by to talk with them. She had been down and they had drawn 1 liter of fluid off of her lungs. She was in pain from that procedure and not feeling well at all. I did get a smile out of her when I ask her if I brought her a prince on a white horse to take her away from all of this, if that would make her feel better and make her boo boo's go away. She seemed to think it would, so I guess I'll be showing up at the hospital with a prince and a white horse!!! I'll post pictures!
She at least had a smile on her face when I left her.

I also able to visit with Pam (Trevor's mom) and Jennifer (Alex's mom) down in the cafeteria having dinner. Trevor , bless his heart, is back inpatient. Alex is day +5 and had a good day today. I was excited to officially meet Alex's mom today. Very sweet lady and truly appreciates all of the prayers from you guys. Trevor is just basically not feeling well at all and they are just waiting for the doc's to get to the bottom of this to see what is going on. Keep the prayers going up for him and for all of our St Jude Buddies.

I spoke with LaDonna today. Salena's test came back today and shows that she is 97% donor cells. That is very good, for this early in the transplant process. This process has been very stressful for them. Being away, at a new and different hospital is also a stress factor for them as well. LaDonna does not have her support system in Chicago like she did here at St Jude. Please keep both she and Salena in your prayers, this is a very difficult time for both of them right now. Please pray.

I think that is it for today. Please keep all of these kiddo's and all of the others that I have not had a chance to check on in your prayers. I don't know about you, but I think it is way past time to make Childhood Cancer Awareness a priority in our politicians lives. Write your Congressmen and Senator's and voice your concern with the limited funding for research for Childhood Cancer. What is more important, research for childhood cancer or the study of fruit flies on Olive trees???? I'll let you answer that one! Make this letter writing campaign a priority on your list.

Registration is now open for the St Jude Marathon. Marathon date is December 5, 2009. stjudemarathon.org is the site to register, check YES when ask if you want to be a HERO and then enter Team Believe when it ask what team you want to be on. Be a part of this awesome group!!!

Have a great evening -

Believe - Prayer Works!

GO TEAM BELIEVE!!!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY - YOU ARE ALL SO SPECIAL





Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Philippians 4:8


Mother's Day Greeting from Pickwick, down on the Tennessee River in Iuka, Mississippi! When I read this verse today, it seems to fit mothers so well. Pure, lovely, admirable, nobel, right and praisewothy.... I think all of these things describe a good woman and a good mother. The verse goes on to say..."think about such things" Think about your mom and how she is worthy of this compliment. If you are fortunate enough to still have your mom in your life, make sure you tell her how you feel today. I know you have most likely done this already.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO EACH OF YOU - YOU ARE ALL SUCH VERY SPECIAL MOTHERS.

I do want to say to the mom's who do not have your babies with you this year, our hearts go out to you, my prayer is for you to feel the love from this support group and know you are thought of today and being prayed for. I love each of you, my prayers are with you.

Enjoy your special day -

Mardecia

Believe - Prayer Works

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Just a quick prayer request - LaDonna called in the night last night and said that they were admitting Salena with an infection in her lungs. This is the same type of infection that she had when in ICU back at St Jude before transplant. Hopefully they have caught it early and have started some big time antibiotics and can get it knocked out before it gets really bad like the last time. LaDonna of course was quite concerned and can really use our prayers and our support in any way right now.

I'll keep you posted as I know more.


BELIEVE- PRAYER WORKS

REGISTER FOR TEAM BELIEVE at www.stjudemarathon.org

When it ask if you want to be a hero, click YES then enter TEAM BELIEVE as your team name!!!

Friday, May 8, 2009

When One Hurts.....

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
Isaiah 43: 2-3



The St Jude family of patients is so weary and heavy hearted today. I am asking that you keep each one of them in prayer and rally up the prayer warriors in your home churches and any support groups you are involved with. When one of the families there hurt, they all hurt. When one cries, they all cry. This is a time of pain and tears for them. Three of the children have been told this week that their cancer has returned. I REALLY want you to go click on Christian's link and read Christina's update today. It says more than I could ever say. It truly shows how special these children are and how God touches them and works in their lives. We must be strong for them. Please be praying for Morgan. They are concerned about her being in rejection of her new cells. Please check all of the links and pray. We may have another prayer night to pray for all of the kids. I'll let you know when we can get it set up.

On a happier note, Reagan and her family should be leaving today to go on her Make A Wish trip. They are going to Disney. I can just see Reagan and Avery with all of the Disney Princesses. This trip will be so good for all of them.

Stand strong in your faith and your belief that God does hear our prayers and He does answer them. In His way and in His time. I pray for patience for myself to be able to wait on the Lord.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY (coming up) to each of you mom's. Hint Hint for you guys if you had not remembered!!! :) You still have time to go get a card. I will also take this opportunity to do one of my "public service announcements".... what better gift could you give to the special mom in your life than to make a donation to St Jude in her honor or memory? You can do online and do not even have to leave the house. Now that is service! Or you can make a donation to St Jude through a donation to Team Believe in her memory. That to can be done online. stjudeheroes.org go to Team Believe and you can donate in someone's name right to our team. It all goes to St Jude.

Have a great weekend!

BELIEVE - PRAYER WORKS!

TEAM BELIEVE!!!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

If They Can Fight.... So Can I!

I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." Psalm 16:2

God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3



We are so truly blessed by God, he does give us all we need, now some might think ( like my own children) that they don't get all they want, but they truly do have all they NEED. God does see to this! I am truly blessed and thankful for the many gifts, great or small, that are God given gifts.

I ask that each of you please be praying for Christian, her link is under our friends list. She found out yesterday that her cancer is back. Christian is such a sweet and vibrant young lady. Let's all please encourage her and her family and keep them in prayer. As you know, this is not good news, and the road for them will be limited. We have faith, and we will pray with faith in a much needed miracle for Christian.

Morgan is back inpatient :( Please send her notes and encourage her. If you read her CB site, you can see how discouraged she is right now. Let's be guilty of Team Believe leaving to many messages on her site!!!! :)

Clay may be getting out of the "impatient" status today!! This is a huge step for him. Continue to keep him and his family in prayer. Way to go Clay! We are so proud of him, and happy for them to "bust out of the joint".

I have not checked today, but as of yesterday we have a good start on people getting registered for the marathon for this year! WooHoo!! Keep it up! Let's raise money, money, money $$$$$$$$!!! Instead of these kid's having to fight for life, let's fight for them so no other children have to!!! How hard can it be to participate in this event and ask our friends and family and the business that we support to join us and support St Jude. When you think ...." I just can't do that, I just can't ask anyone for money" ... go read some of the links from these kids and see what they are having to do and go through, and they can't say " I can't" or "I don't want to". Think about it :) I truly appreciate each one of you who so willingly spend your own time and money to travel to Memphis, pay for meals out for the weekend, pay for hotel etc. just to come join us for this fabulous weekend of events for our team. As you know, our child to honor this year is Mary Kate Rushing and we want to make her so proud of us. Her mom, Regina, is such a wonderful inspiration to everyone she comes in contact with. She along with Mary Kate and Alyson have touched so many lives, we want to touch them back with our support. Regina is so determined to fight to help find a cure for childhood cancer. She joins so many other parents that have walked this road, let's walk/run it with them by joining them in their determination to help raise money to fund St Jude and it's research. How hard can this be for us?

More later...

BELIEVE-PRAYER WORKS!

TEAM BELIEVE ROCKS!!!!!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Have You Registered Yet?




Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him Hebrews 11:6

Good Morning, I hope everyone had a good nights sleep and is ready to tackle a new day... whatever may be coming your way today... embrace it, give God the glory, and love on your kiddo's. Here is a random thought for today, give someone you really care alot about, but have not spoken to them lately, a call and tell them hello!

The time is here for registration for the St Jude Marathon. For those not familiar with it, it takes place this year on December 5 2009. I know that seems like forever away, however it is time to get registered for it. No, you don't have to do a 26 mile marathon to participate... but you can if you want to!!! This event has a 5K (3.? miles), a Half Marathon (13.1 miles) and the full 26.2 mile Marathon. It's your choice. Time to get registered and start raising money!

As you know, our child that we will be honoring by run/walking is Mary Kate Rushing. When we first ask her if we could honor her, she was so excited. She worked on designing the design for our team shirt for this year. The design is ready and I will be getting it from Regina this weekend. Mary Kate was so excited about all of this, we are truly heartbroken that she lost her battle to Leukemia recently and will not be here with us but we know she will be protecting us and cheering us on with her team in heaven. Mary Kate's mom and sister have already registered and are ready for the big fun I promised them that Team Believe would give them. This year it will be such an honor to show Regina and Alyson how much Mary Kate is loved. Regina is a competitor, she has already been on the fundraising trail. She knows exactly how important it is to get this money raised for St Jude... the challenge is on, who will top Regina in this race to raise funds? We might just have to have a special door prize at the dinner for this category this year! GET REGISTERED AND GET STARTED!

I know that most of you are a long way away from Memphis but I did want to share a portion of an email I received from Christopher Beck yesterday. He ask me to share with you, you are all invited to join in this event if you can make it. He has ask me to speak at this reception, and I have gladly accepted the opportunity to do so. I will be talking about our team and why we do what we do. Why you guys fly in or drive from all over the states to be here for this. Why a young college student will be flying in for her third year all the way from New York! We love you and appreciate you Marcella!! Natalie Cravens will also be speaking from the perspective of a St Jude patient and a Hero's participant. This should be a very nice and informative event if any of you can attend it.


Dear 2008 Hero,
Thank you again for all your hard work and training in 2008! The Heroes program raised over $1.8 million for the kids at St. Jude; you truly are a Hero to our kids. It may seem early, but registration for the 2009 St. Jude Marathon, Half Marathon and Grizzlies House 5K opens May 1, 2009. I hope you will consider being a Hero again this year.

The first ever Heroes kick-off event is in the works and we want you to be a part of the excitement! The reception will be held in Memphis on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at the Holiday Inn Express by the University Of Memphis, from 6:30 pm- 8:00 pm. Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to Christopher Beck or Brenna O’Malley by May 22, 2009. At the reception we will cover a wide range of topic:

New St. Jude information
Session on how to navigate the Heroes site
The advantages of forming teams
General Q&A session
Patient Speaker
And more
Being a Hero for the children at St. Jude means more than running a race; it means helping over 5,100 children who are currently seeking treatment at St. Jude. These children are our Heroes-find the Hero in you! It costs more than $1.4 million a day to keep the hospital running and your involvement makes our life saving work possible.

Thank you again for all you do and we hope to see you in June!



Christopher Beck



To register go to www.stjudemarathon.org It is simple, and you can register to become a Hero right on the bottom of the application to register. When it ask you what team... type in Team Believe. If you have any problems or questions you can email me. Just put in the subject line " St Jude Registration Info Needed"

Enjoy your day!

BELIEVE-PRAYER WORKS

rebelmom528@aol.com - my email

Monday, May 4, 2009

The Race is ON!!!!




The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever- do not abandon the works of your hands.
Psalm 138:8



Good Morning! I hope everyone has had a good weekend, if you are anywhere in the middle of the states... you most likely had a very soggy, cold, wet weekend! I am thinking we may need to start building an ark if this rain does not go away! But an Ark would not be so bad, I love to go out on a boat! Find the sunshine even on a rainy day :)

OKAY.... We have been waiting since last December for this time to come again, IT'S HERE! Time to register for the marathon!!!
We are all here to following these children and offer support and prayer for them, but this is our big "thing" also. This is our time to get together and do something big time to really help these children. Team Believe is now ready for all of our participants to begin registering. This is such a wonderful way to actively participate in doing our part to help fight this beast we call cancer. Get your credit cards out and go to www.stjudemarathon.org and register NOW! When you register, it will ask you on the bottom part of the registration form if you want to be a hero... CHECK YES!!!!! This is where you register to be a team member for Team Believe. When it ask you "what team" simply type in "Team Believe" it's as easy as can be this year. I do want to remind you that last year the marathon did fill up and we had some who waited to long to register and could not get in.... PLEASE GO ON AND REGISTER AND DON'T GET LEFT OUT!!!! WE WANT EVERYONE IN MEMPHIS IN DECEMBER FOR THIS!
I have heard that they do expect it to fill up faster than it did last year because people will not be waiting, they will go on and register early. Allison and I are both registered now..... it's your turn now:) If any of you have email contact with any of the people who have joined us in the past, please send them an email, let them know it's time to register and let them know of our name change for the team. GO TEAM BELIEVE!!!!

I trust that each of you have been following the kids links and keeping up with their progress over the weekend. I did speak with LaDonna yesterday and Salena was moved back to the regular floor. They are trying to wean her off of her pain meds so she can hopefully get out of the hospital this week. She will be staying there at their hospitality house and having daily visits at the hospital to keep up with her counts, etc. Her counts have begun to come up, so it looks as if she is beginning to graft.

Reagan has returned home, she will be coming back in 6 weeks for another MRI. They are planning her Make A Wish trip now, pray for them to have a wonderful trip!!! Please embrace this family and keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Read her updates, I just can't imagine being in their shoes at this time. I hope that we can be of some comfort to them through prayer and encouragement on their caringbridge page.

Harley did get out of the hospital yesterday and from what I understand he was to go back today for his treatment. They were not sure if he would get to go home after that or need to stay at hospital or in Houston. Look for Joy to update soon. Let's keep him in our prayers for him to stay healthy and be able to keep on track with his treatment.

I just returned home late last night, so I have not had a chance to talk to anyone at the hospital yet. I am a little reluctant to go to the hospital to make visits right now with this swine flu going around. I want to keep the kids health and safety top priority. Even though I am perfectly healthy, no signs of cold, etc.... I am very concerned about any germs I could pick up and be carrying on my clothes, etc.. I would not want to put any one of the kiddo's in jeopardy with this flu going around. There has been at least one case reported in Memphis.

Ok, that's it for now.... I have some unpacking to do! Enjoy your day, do something to put a smile on someone's face. I promise it will put a smile back on your face too!

I pray that each of you stay healthy with this flu outbreak. Keep your hands washed and just be smart when you do get out in crowds. Hand sanitizer in your purse, your car, your pockets... you get my point, keep it and use it.

Go register ......

Believe - Prayer Works!

TEAM BELIEVE