Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Today is Hannah's first day of yet another attempt at stopping the stomach aches and throwing up. The doctor has doubled her one medicine which is an antihistamine and often used for anti-nausea and anti-anxiety. He also started her back on a double dose of her previous anti-nausea medicine also. We'll see if this stronger dose and combination of two medicines works any better for her.

She has had two pretty good days yesterday and today. She said that her stomach still hurt, but I didn't get any calls from school and she actually ate breakfast without too much prompting! That is really something for her!

So yes, it's time to start our focus again on Relay for Life. I looked back at my posts from last year, and I made this pretty strong post about the American Cancer Society and how their money is spent. They spend less than 3% of the money they raise each year on pediatric cancer research. That's just not enough. The ACS spends more money on administrative costs, fundraising costs, executive salaries and a lot of other things than they do on pediatric cancer research. With that said, they do a lot of good work too. For us, Relay for Life is about much more than the money raised. Here are a couple photos of Hannah after I came home from the meeting last night. I got her a couple glow sticks, so here she is with a little light, and without!!




Hannah really had a good time last year at her very first Relay as a survivor, even though the night was cut short because of the bad weather. Hannah is a cancer survivor! To see her walk around that track last year in her purple survivor shirt with that big smile on her face, waving to everyone was just incredible. It was inspirational! I do think that she really got a kick out of the event last year. She liked to be recognized and honored as a Survivor.

Our focus again this year for our Relay for Life will be on offering luminary bags in honor of a special person in your life touched by cancer. These bags have so much significance during the Relay. Here is a description about the luminaries:

Help us shed light on the fight…

Whether it’s a parent, a sibling, a friend or a neighbor, we all know someone who has been touched by cancer. Relay For Life is one way of recognizing loved ones who are surviving cancer and remembering those who have lost the battle. At dusk, we quietly remember those whose lives have been touched by cancer. Luminary bags line the track, each bearing the name of a loved one. This ceremony of light symbolizes the hope and courage with which we all continue to fight cancer. For a donation, you can remember someone who lost his or her battle to cancer, or honor someone winning the fight.

In total silence, all of the luminaries are placed and lit around the track and everyone walks the track by the light of the candles. Last year there was a bagpipe player who led us while playing. The luminaries are decorated in support of someone with cancer, or in memory of someone who passed away from cancer or just something in general. Last year this was such a special part of the Relay for us. What a sight it was to see all of the beautiful bags that we and other friends decorated last year. There were so many luminary bags with Hannah's name on them. She loved it! And to see all of the bags that the girls decorated for our friends, warriors and survivors was wonderful.

So, we are open for sales! In fact, we got our first order today for 5 bags, thanks Grandma K! The luminaries are $10 each. If you are interested in purchasing any, please let us know. We will decorate one for you-I have all the bags here or you are welcome to decorate them yourselves also if you like (I will get you the bags). Our Relay is May 30-31st this year. Let us know if there is anything in particular you would like on your bag and we will decorate it specially for you. If you would like to email any artwork or photos, we can also include those on the bags. We will send you an email with a picture of your bags once they are completed. We'll see if we can get enough to complete one entire circle around the track this year!

Here is what we need if you are purchasing a bag:

Your name and address
Who is to be honored on the bag (in memorial or in honor of)
Any photos or artwork you would like included on the bag
Anything additionally you would like us to include on your bag
Your check made out to American Cancer Society-bags are $10 each, send to us at the address listed on the blog page.

I'll leave you with some photos of luminaries from our Relay last year, GREAT!!!

Thanks for your support. ♥Kim