Heaven has a new angel

R.I.P Danielle

You have forever changed the hearts of those who knew you. Your legacy remains. Thank you for who you were and for the lives you touch with your heart that was far beyond its 17 years. You will be terribly missed, beautiful girl.

Read Danielle's Story HERE
Look to the right sidebar to help offset medical costs for the DeLarso family ======>

You can send messages to the family on Danielle's Caringbridge site.

With Prayer,



Danielle DeLarso, you're my HERO!

I am thrilled to introduce you to my newest TEEN HERO! This beautiful 17 year old has made an impression on the lives of everyone she meets.

Not only a star athlete with dreams of joining the Air Force, Danielle is a caring and responsible daughter and sibling who LOVES her family, enjoys charity work and volunteering, youth group, traveling, sight seeing and history.

Why am I introducing you to Danielle? Why do I consider her a hero?

Danielle's story begins with having some shortness of breath at the end of May, beginning of June. She was diagnosed with pneumonia on June 15,2010, and scheduled for a follow up appt. for the following Monday June 21,2010.

At this appt. is where the concern started as the doctor felt the lung sounds hadn't changed and also having a lump on the right side of the back and sent us to the local hospital for STAT x-rays. Doctors could not tell from the xray if there was residual fluid from the pneumonia or if there was a mass. But blood work confirmed Danielle's family's worst fear... there was a mass.

CT scans also showed that Danielle's right lung was completely flattened to the front of her chest wall because her right pleural cavity (area between the lung and chest wall) was filled with fluid. That being so filled with fluid caused her left lung, her heart etc. to be pushed to the left side. And what caused her shortness of breath wasn't even the fact that she was working with one lung, it was the fact that the pressure was causing her left bronchial tube to be bent (the right one was flattened like her right lung).

The doctors where all amazed when they saw her lab work and CT scans that she was still so 'unaffected' so to speak. Her oxygenation was fine, her color was good, and her shortness of breath was not severe. They attributed that to her condition as an athlete and that left lung was so strong that it was doing the job by itself.  

Danielle was formally diagnosed on June 21, 2010 with Stage 4 Clear Cell Sarcoma. Until this family's crisis, Danielle had promising field hockey career and is still getting recruit inquiries from college coaches. Instead of scheduling those coaches' visits, Danielle received 30 rounds of external radiation and 8 rounds of Chemotherapy. The worst news for Danielle and her family was that her right lung must be removed along with right chest wall. She also had Brachy Therapy (internal radiation beads).

When Danielle first returned home from her initial diagnosis, did she crawl into bed and blame the world for what was happening to her? No, that is not Danielle's style...she decided to do something for someone else.

LOCKS OF LOVE!

When Danielle was so ill from the chemotherapy, Danielle's mom Linda recalls her daughter saying she was so glad this was happening to her and not one of her siblings, " I couldn't handle watching them go through this."

Linda says, "She is the most selfless person I know. She has a very strong faith in God and His plan for her life."

Danielle touches everyone with her sweet spirit! Nurses LOVE her!

In January, the DeLarso family prayed for a miracle as Danielle was to return to the hospital for scans to confirm her cancer had not returned. However, the scans showed return of chest wall tumors, enlarged tumor under diaphragm and tumors in additional places. With not many options available she was sent home to start a daily oral Chemo.

The DeLarso family has been put in touch with hospice care which as you know is a mountainous expense. In these strained economic times this family could use your help.

I have placed a ChipIn widget at the top of the right sidebar for anyone to literally "Chip In" to help this family with their growing expenses. This is a time when their focus needs to be on their family, not the stacks of bills piling on the counter. This is when they need to be planning trips to make special memories, not worried how they will pay for those trips.

Of course, we are INSISTING on a miracle for Danielle's health, but those bills still pile up.

My request and my hope for everyone who comes to read about Danielle is that when you are moved to donate, whether it is $1... $1,000...  or anything in between, whether it is to help fund the GIRLFRIEND Get-A-Way that Linda is planning for Danielle and her friends or to help with medical bills, I would love for you to take a couple minutes and PRAY! On your knees, PRAY! Pray for a miracle. Pray for their family. Pray for Danielle's body.

It is not unheard of for someone to return to a doctor and have them say, "I can't explain this but...you are healed... there is no evidence of your disease." THAT is what we are praying for!

That is why I have called our Chip In fundraiser, Danielle's Miracle! We will see one!

Please forward this blog address to everyone you know would take this to heart. Put a link on your facebook. Tweet, blog, email whatever you do when you have a need... do it for Danielle, for her parents Linda and Joe, for her brother Nick and her sister Sophia! Do it for their FAMILY!

ChipIn goes right to the DeLarso family by way of PayPal. It is a secure way of donating.

When you have that feeling, "I wish there was something I could do..." You can! Don't think of it as, "It's not personal, I want to bake a meal, make a blanket, etc..." Not that those things aren't lovely and I am sure appreciated, but right now, a meal won't help Linda pay for the gas to get her and the girls to their GIRLS WEEKEND destination, it won't touch the medical expenses. It is the most personal gift you can give right now. And pair that gift of money with PRAYER - that's the perfect gift!

Thank you for reading about Danielle. Thank you for praying for her family.

You can follow Danielle's story on her CARINGBRIDGE site. I will also be posting updates and prayer requests as we watch this Miracle in Motion!

Love you DeLarsos!

Sanity's Blogtober TIP Parade: 10/14 Childhood Cancer SUCKS!

About a year and a half ago I started a mission...I was going to bring smiles to the faces of every child on the planet with cancer! I started its4thekids! With some very generous artists, we formed a philanthropic organization that sold art to raise money for what I called the human side of cancer. Many people don't know that electric still gets turned off, insurance companies drop your spouse, etc, etc, etc all while you are watching your child battle cancer. I had heard enough and wanted to help. The very first child we raised money for was Jessica! She was diagnosed in 2006, at 7 years old, with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. In her own words:

"I am 7 years old and have alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer. I had a bump on my leg one day, and the next week I was at ACH having biopsies. I will be on chemotherapy and other treatment for 43 weeks, possibly longer. I cannot go to school or play sports until chemo is finished, and may lose my right leg too."

Her leg was amputated and she was fit with a prosthetic she affectionately named, Elvis!

This photo (below) was taken at the Arkansas Children's Hospital to celebrate Jessica's last chemo treatment. She was 8 years old!

On Valentine's Day 2007 Jessica got the news that her cancer was in remission. She was thrilled to get a second shot at a "normal" childhood. And she was even more thrilled when her hair grew back!

In November of 2007, Jessica was having some breathing issues and was sent to have scans done to rule out a relapse of the cancer. Unfortunately, after months of waiting and getting test results, doctors revealed that they had found a tumor in her back. Jessica underwent removal of the tumor in April 2008 and started another round of chemo almost immediately. A relapse of this type of cancer has a VERY poor prognosis.

December 3, 2008 and just in time for Christmas, Jessica was told she had achieved a SECOND REMISSION! By this time Jessica had also exhausted her lifetime allotment of chemo and could not afford another relapse.

Jessica and her mom, Teresa, put all the rebounding energy into a BIG project. A cookbook of recipes collected from across the country to benefit Childhood Cancer!

Once again her hair grew back and she was back to the energetic kid she always was. This photo is of her and her sister, Katie, goofing around! What a beautiful smile!

8 1/2 months later (August 2009), Jessica was having trouble breathing once again. The family's fears mounted.

This beautiful 10 year old's body was shutting down. Her mother reports on their caringbridge site, "CANCER BACK, wrapped around aorta and shoving heart up chest cavity, invading spine at T11-12, multiple metastases in lungs and lymph nodes." Jessica spent the next 2 weeks in the hospital.

I saw this on Jessica's facebook page (September 9th... less than ONE WEEK AGO):

"i'm home finally i got home bout 45 minutes ago and i'm here on hospice..i still have the chest tube in and an iv hooked but now all i do is lay and bed and wait till God comes to bring me home!!"

Jessica Easley turned 11 today...she blew out her candles with Jesus!

What will YOU do about Childhood Cancer?

46 children every school day are diagnosed with some form of cancer.

Only a small percentage of them will live 5 more years.

The American Cancer Society gives 0.03 on the dollar to childhood cancers.

Donate to organizations like CureSearch and Alex's Lemonade Stand where ALL funding supports research for childhood cancers.

Sign the Childhood Cancer Petition!

Leave a comment for Jessica and her family here or at their CaringBridge site!

Tips for the TIP parade?

DO SOMETHING! Don't turn away!

If you would like to purchase Jessica's cookbook, please email Teresa @ tlradke2@hotmail.com

Peace.

SWAT COP goes LIVESTRONG

There he is! He was featured on Mommy Blogger Monday a few months back and has created a bit of a FAN CLUB for himself! . Now, as if that handsome gaze wasn't enough... He is a cop... He is on the SWAT TEAM... He is a foster/adoptive dad... He is a Christian... AND.....AND.... And now he is riding a BILLION miles on a bike for CANCER! If you have been touched by cancer in some way, please consider supporting Todd on his ride! CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO TODD'S LIVESTRONG RIDE! If you can't donate - PLEASE just pass along this link so others can show their support for this great guy making a difference in the lives of so many touched by the beast we know as CANCER! CANCER SUCKS!

If cancer hadn't stolen them from us, you could ask some of my friends what they think of CANCER:

Julian

.

Coleman

.

AJ

. John Eric . Cole . Andrew . Max . Katie . Jessica PLEASE HELP! Won't you?!

Project Care...American Cancer Society

DAFFODIL DAYS! TOUCH A LIFE TODAY!

If you have been reading my blog for a while you know my passion for cancer patients. Well, I have a good friend whose passion may even outshine mine. After losing a dear friend to colon cancer last year, Becky turned her tears for Meredith into activism. Becky's passion didn't go unnoticed and The American Cancer Society offered her a job a few months ago. I am proud to introduce you to my friend, Becky Ferrier, who has a special message for anyone who has ever considered touching a cancer patient's life with kindness. Dear Friend, Each year the American Cancer Society and the residents of our county welcome Spring with the celebration of the American Cancer Society Daffodil Days. Daffodils are the flower of HOPE, representing the courage of cancer patients, the compassion of volunteers and the dedication of the medical community to finding a cure. Fresh cut bunches of daffodils, pots of miniature bulbs or specially designed Boyds™ Bears with daffodils will be distributed to donors as we attempt to paint our community “Yellow with HOPE.” A very special part of our Daffodil Days celebration is “Project CARE”. Project CARE is special edition Boyds Bears which are delivered anonymously to pediatric cancer patients at hospitals and treatment centers throughout the county. Project CARE lets these children know that someone cares about them, wants to brighten their day, and is committed to the fight against cancer. The Boyds exclusive limited-edition bear for the 2009 Bear and a Bunch campaign is Carrie N. Hope. The 10-inch plush, brown-colored bear, which has cream accent muzzle, ears, and paw pads, and brown eyes, is holding a denim bag with Daffodil Days embroidery in yellow that contains felt daffodils. As with previous Bears, Carrie also has an embroidered daffodil on one paw and the American Cancer Society logo on the other. Help to comfort children in our community by giving a special edition Boyds Bear to them in their time of need. Bring a smile to a child's face and support this effort with a $25 donation. Bears will be delivered anonymously. We thank you for all of the support that you have given to the American Cancer Society and hope to see you at an upcoming Relay For Life event. If you would like additional information about Daffodil Days or a list of local Relay For Life events, please contact your American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org. Thank you again for helping make HOPE bloom! Sincerely, The 2009 Daffodil Days Committee CLICK HERE to find a Daffodil Days venue near you! Thanks, Becky, for all you do! I'm proud to be your friend! Please share you experience with cancer, your plea for a cure, you tears for those lost to this disease and/or how many thousands ;) of Daffodils you ordered for the cause in the comments of this post. Becky and I would love to see your passion, too!

RUDOLPH'S ROUND-UP!

You are all the most incredible people on the planet! Why isn't the news filled with more of this kind of story? If the world is filled with so many selfless loving people, why is the news loaded with the CRAP people do? You all need to be on the news!

But you all need to stop patting ME on the back! That is just ridiculous. You all stepped up to the plate and almost before you finished reading my post!

I PAT YOU ALL ON THE BACK!

So, you are all patiently waiting for the announcement of PLAN B!

PLAN B has been affectionately named...

RUDOLPH'S ROUND-UP!

I am going to let Mimi hi-jack my blog and tell you all about it! I wish you could HEAR her, she has a cute Texas-French accent! LOL!

Take it away, Meems!

"Well, I want to do a "Cyber Raffle " this time , with one big prize which would include a couple of Juju things , a couple of wristbands , maybe a cancer sucks shirt ( I will figure it all out) then a couple of smaller prizes. I could sell "tickets " thru paypal or $$ in snailmail , like one for $5 and 3 for $10 . Then on a set date do the drawings online , make a video of the boys drawing the winning names. This should raise more money . And it will be for Team Larson. Call it "RUDOLPH'S ROUND-UP!" I dunno... The kids have so many toys (Peggy's and mine!!) that I thought we can still be part of their Xmas and raise enough money for them to maybe go see a show or get a nice meal delivered to their home... Just ideas...Oh and if anyone would be interested in donating a couple of prizes it would be awesome!"

So, there you go! So far she has some great prizes donated:

Creative Memories Fall Kit

Inspirational Necklace

Lap Quilt

Child's Cancer Bracelet

NAMESAKES of COURSE!

Earrings

Cookbooks

Photographs

Fresh water pearl bracelet

and much much more!!

If you would like to donate a prize for RUDOLPH'S ROUND-UP please email Mimi @ myriamtx@yahoo.com

She is hoping to have all the prizes mailed to her so she can distribute them as the winners are chosen! Easy for YOU! Just mail it to Mimi and you are DONE! Easy enough, right!

I feel so honored to be associated with so many AMAZING people! YAY ME!

The main thing I ask is that everynight when your head hits your pillow you pray for sweet Coleman and the Larson family! EVERY night! PLEASE!

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

I am off to meet Kate in the morning! Will have pictures for you tomorrow! Will be giving her 8 NAMESAKES for her kiddos! I hope she likes them! Dawn and Mimi have told me that they have bail money scraped together incase Kate calls security on a CRAZED CRAFTY WOMAN wearing a "Kate's MY BFF" T-shirt approaches her with a large gift bag! Relax girls! I am going to be sweaty calm and fidgetting collected!

Until tomorrow! Goodnight AMAZING PEEPS!

Somethin' else...

Head over HERE (then click on Four Diamonds Fund, then click on 2008 Holiday Cards) to order your HOLIDAY CARDS all the while making a donation to The Four Diamonds Fund which is solely for CHILDHOOD CANCER! All the artwork on these cards was done by children being treated for cancer @ Penn State Hershey! And while you are at it....check out PENN STATE'S DANCE MARATHON. My sorority was a part of this event my senior year! It is a 48 hour dance marathon, there are teams and you get sponsors, etc. The 47th hour they bring out the kids! The cancer kids! And they dance with the team that personally sponsored them! Last year THON raised $6,615,318.04 for the kids! You can even hold a mini-thon in your community! Check it out! OK...now I feel better! JOHN DEERE may not help but YOU CAN! And this is just ONE way! I hope the 2,000 people who clicked over to here today, come back and see some options and get involved again! Thank you soooo much to all of you who wrote in to JOHN DEERE! Don't stop the momentum! Plan a Mini-Thon! Donate! Buy your holiday cards!

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

THE BAD NEWS: The Director of Public Relations from JOHN DEERE emailed me today with this response: Thank you for taking the time to contact John Deere. Although it is always difficult to learn about the struggles of a young person with serious illness, we were encouraged by the information available describing the strong spirit of Coleman Larson. Deere provides millions of dollars annually through corporate donations and the John Deere Foundation to non-profit organizations that address world hunger, community betterment and education. Each year, John Deere is asked by hundreds of worthy organizations and individuals to help their cause. While it is clear that nearly each request is worthy, we must decline many of the opportunities. Our charitable-giving guidelines do not allow donations to individuals or to organizations in honor of an individual. In addition, our guidelines do not provide financial support to health care research. Through our considerable tax contributions annually, we believe we help support significant government-funded medical research that someday might find a cure for cancer and other deadly diseases. We appreciate the well-intended effort to initiate company support for this family and we hope you understand how our guidelines simply do not allow Deere to assist in this way. We encourage you to help where you can and we will remain hopeful for a positive outcome. I know, I know. You just threw your keyboard across the room and you are pacing and mumbling in a tone that makes your family members back away. ....KEEP READING.... Let's just re-group. Put on a new attitude and move on. There is something out there that can be done for TEAM LARSON! I have always said, "Out of every negative comes a positive." We may not always SEE it right away but at some point you can almost always look back and say, "Ooohhhhh, that's why..." So, JOHN DEERE saying no just means we had to get them out of the way so the REAL idea/event/inspiration can get to us quicker! And Mimi is already in the planning stages of Plan B! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT send emails to JOHN DEERE telling them ....well, saying the words you are thinking right now...let's be growED ups :) and move on...FOR COLEMAN! THE GOOD NEWS: Curt McCormick from WWW.CURESEARCH.COM contacted me also today! He was very excited about what we are trying to do and will be doing what he can to point us in the right direction when we DO (I said WHEN, not IF) find a company that will support Childhood Cancer and donate in COLEMAN'S name! Check out the CURESEARCH blog tomorrow - I think you will like what you see. This was Curt's email: Michelle, What a great idea! This is Curt McCormick from CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation. I saw this on Google alerts, and just had to write in.I'd like to feature your blog today on our CureSearch blog. I hope this helps you with the John Deere initiative, and helps direct more people to sites like yours, which are so innovative and thoughtful regarding curing childhood cancer.You can check out the CureSearch site at http://curesearchnccf.blogspot.com/...and PLEASE KNOW what an inspiration you are to us. Folks in the childhood cancer community are so wonderful. We know who we work for at CureSearch, for you and for all these kids!Congratulations and good luck with your idea. Email me offline if you want to talk more. Best regards, Curt McCormick So, let's keep plugging away! Let's keep smiling! And don't stop PRAYING...FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!

Let's see what JOHN DEERE can do!

**(scroll down and read previous post about TEAM LARSON if you haven't visited in a couple days! They need you now more than ever!)

Alright readers...here is the plan, after speaking with Lori H (one of my readers), Christina M (a friend from church) and Mimi, like SHE needs an introduction (carepage: JuliansWorld) :) we have collectively agreed that although it would be great to bombard TEAM LARSON with oodles and oodles of John Deere merchandise for Christmas, what would make the biggest impact would be this:

LET'S SEE IF JOHN DEERE WILL CONSIDER MAKING A LARGE (like their combines-large) DONATION TO WWW.CURESEARCH.ORG in COLEMAN'S NAME!

FOLLOW THIS LINK and make your voice heard, for Coleman! DO IT NOW! Go tell them how Coleman has touched your life, tell them how you cry for him, tell them how they can help by donating to WWW.CURESEARCH.ORG in his name. Leave the carepage.com link and ColemanScott page name for them to read about him! Then, leave a comment here that you "did the duty" and we will keep track of how many of you pitched in for Coleman!! Now.....FORWARD THIS to everyone you know!! Let's see if we can crash their site! (just kidding) Let's just strive for filling their mailbox! :) Thanks and may you be DOUBLY BLESSED for all you do in spreading the word! Above all PLEASE PRAY FOR TEAM LARSON! WE LOVE YOU TEAM LARSON!

Something BIG for Coleman...

Don't click on anything else on the internet until you read about my precious little friend, Coleman Larson. And, if you have ANY connections to the "powers that be" at John Deere, I emplore you to contact them and see what they can do. PRAY! PLEASE! We all have one BIG contact in Heaven...call on Him. Pray for a miracle! If you do NOTHING else...just pray! Coleman Larson is 4, he will be 5 in early December. His twin Caden has been a trooper for the last 2 1/2 years that Coleman has been fighting a beast known as Medulloblastoma... BRAIN CANCER! Together they are TEAM LARSON! Coleman has endurred brain surgery, chemo, radiation, CT scans by the dozen, MRIs that he no longer has to be sedated for...he is a pro, multiple lines, port-a-caths, a stem cell harvest and transplant and two relapses. His fight is getting harder and there are less and less options for him. How can a doctor look into these eyes and say, "We are out of options."?

I am on a personal mission to bring the BIGGEST SMILE ever to this little face. His beautiful Mama, Peggy, gets some HUGE smiles out of him and so does his Daddy, Scott, and brother, Caden...but if we all come together and see what we can do...I think we can beat them all!

Coleman and his family are in IOWA. But they are "regulars" at the Ronald McDonald house in NYC. I need YOU, those of you who kept reading even though tears are streaming down your face, to help me come up with an idea, give me a connection to make this Christmas one Coleman and Caden will never forget! THE BESTEST EV-A! Cause if TEAM LARSON has taught me ANYTHING it's to NE-VA DIV UP!

Coleman and Caden will tell you exactly what they think of Cancer if you ask.

I did.

This is what they said:

Coleman explains, “It’s hard to be hooked up to a pole all day when it’s a sun-shiny day, ann be in your hos-pita woom all day when yoa don’t wanna be there ann wish ya tould be outside in-said, but NO, ya tan’t. I wish that no more tids would det tancer, tuz it's tewwible to haffa do all-a the suff what ya dotta do. If no more tids dot it, then we tould all yust be no-mal wif no more pokes."

Coleman’s twin Caden chimed in and gave his two cents, “Cancer is the worse day of my wife (life) because you don’t getta pway wif your brudder when ya weally want to. Sometimes the hospital is fun …if ya aren’t froe-in up wike Coleman does sometimes. I wish that no tids ever det tancer, so they tan haff fun all-a their days until they be daddies."

WON'T YOU HELP ME DO SOMETHING?! PLEASE?! DON'T TURN AWAY.

LEAVE YOUR IDEAS, CONTACT ME, FORWARD THIS LINK TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. COLEMAN NEEDS YOU NOW! Thanks for hangin' in there and loving Coleman already!

For more info on Coleman Larson and his family, go to http://www.carepages.com/ and register (it's FREE and takes seconds). Click on Visit and type in ColemanScott (all one word). Be prepared to fall in love. This is ONE AMAZING FAMILY!!!!!