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,
I am a blogging mom of three who sums up her chaotic days with humorous rants in between cleaning peanut butter off the ceiling fan and keeping my youngest occupied in the lazy Susan. Put your feet up and laugh at me. My neighbors do!
This photo (below) was taken at the Arkansas Children's Hospital to celebrate Jessica's last chemo treatment. She was 8 years old!
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.
You know what?
I think I saw 3 people looking at these kids...my kids...the kids I cry for... the kids who deserve that attention...YOUR attention...EVERYONE'S ATTENTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On the left panel of my display were 46 of the most beautifully precious children, there were stars placed on the photos of those children who have passed through the gates of Heaven. Why 46, you ask? Because 46 children are diagnosed with cancer EVERY DAY! EVERY DAY!
The center of my display was Coleman, his story and my favorite quote from him,
“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."
Julian's story and pictures of Mimi, Ken, Sam, Alex and William without him were under Coleman.
COOLCOLE and Jessica Easley and their struggles were at the bottom in a "Before & After Cancer" segment that showed the effects cancer has on our children.
The right panel was a collage of children who ALL passed away in one weekend a couple months ago and information about its4thekids.
I also had The Childhood Cancer Petition available for people to sign. 2 people signed. 2! If you haven't already signed the petition, you can do it online - it is easy and simple...name, address, email. The email address is used as a verification tool not a way to fill your inbox...you WON'T get any emails. Bob Pinewski (carepage: AJspace) started the petition with a goal of 1,000,000 signatures because that's what it takes to get media attention...there are roughly 17,000 signatures so far.
I even had JuliansWorld, SuperBay, Team Larson and John Eric bands sprinkled across the table.
It doesn't bother me that I spent a large number of hours preparing for the event and putting the display together...
What bothers me is people see the word "Cancer" and see children's photos and they run the other direction.
"It's just too hard to look at."
"It's too sad!"
Maybe this is why these sweet kids who fight for their lives, LITERALLY, every frippin' day only get 1% of the money raised for cancer research. Because NO ONE WANTS TO SEE IT!
1%
Is that what they are worth to you?
it's 4 the kids is a non-profit organization made up of artists who sell their wares to supports cancer families in need by helping to offset bills, sending gifts to siblings after the passing of a sister/brother, donate to CureSearch, etc.
If you can't bear to look, can you at least FWD the its4thekids link or this post to everyone you know. Christmas is coming. Wouldn't it feel good to spend money that you know 50% or more is going to a child who may not see another holiday?
Can you at least do that?
And it's kids like THIS that I do it for...
Inside: Happy Birthday, big girl!
Inside: know I am here for you