Journal History

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Tuesday, February 8, 2005 10:57 PM CST

It has been a long time! (sorry) Things are as busy as ever, life out of treament is so busy. This is a good thing I know.

Alexis just celebrated her 6 birthday on Febuary 2nd and is getting older by the second. She has really become quite independant. Her teacher says that she is a delight and they get along really well. We did have a CT SCAN in January with no change in status. Our next one will be in about four months. Both Dr. Salvi and Dr. Hayani are trying to ween me from the every 3 month scans.

Joey is doing well also. He is looking forward to his first season of playing baseball. Of course he has already signed up for football which is his true love. He even has our little Zachery holding on to a football now and again. Our Zachery is already 4 months old and is such a joy. He makes me want to nap and snuggle. Babies make heat they are like little furnaces!!

Both Larry & are doing well. Enjoying the kids, planning a ski trip in a couple of weeks with Larry's cousin and their family. The kids are going to try to learn a new task. I am going to just enjoy watching them try to learn while Zachery and I stay warm inside.


I want to mention one more thing before I go. Last year my husband shaved his head bald to help raise money for the Childrens Oncology Group. His did this in conjuntion with St. Baldricks Day. This year he and his firefighting friends put together there oun event in Naperville which if anyone has ever tried to organize anything you know how hard this is. I am very proud of him for doing this. So if anyone is interested in shaving there head for this great cause sign up online @ www.stbaldricks.org. You can also make a donation at this sight.It truley is a wonderful event.


Love to all,
Thanks for checking on our little girl.

Dawn & Family

Sunday, August 8, 2004 7:47 PM CDT

Well, I thought today would be a good day to put in an update to everyone. Alexis, our very independant child left myself,Larry and Joey to go and spend the next 6 days at Camp Quality, which is a camp that is filled with kids such as herself. She will stay with her companion Melisa until next Saturday doing many different activities throughout the week. We met her companion last month and she is a childlife major in college and is also very outgoing, just like Alexis. Both Larry and I worned her that she would have her hands full this week, but she seemed very excited and willing to take on the challange.

Eventhough, Alexis was very excited about attending camp, I would have to say that Larry and I are excited for her, but in the same thought going to miss her so much, My mom only thinks that she will make it until Thursday, I do not doubt that she will make it whole 6 days. She can come home anytime and they will also let her call whenever she wants. Lets just say I will be waiting everynight by the phone.

I have also forgot to mention a couple of things in Alexis' past journals. I don't know why, but I have. We are expecting a new addition to our family in October. October 30th to be exact. Alexis and Joey are very excited and waiting patiently for the baby's arrival. Alexis has been so sweet about the whole pregnancy eventhough I have not felt my best these last 2 trimesters. She spends lot of time asking when is it going to arrive and that I do not have to worry that she will stay with me at the hospital, just like I stayed with her. I tried to explain that they
probably would not let her stay, but she has not accepted that awnser quite yet.

Alexis has started cheerleading as of last week and Joey has started football as of 2 weeks ago, so this has kept us very busy. We have also been preparing for school to be starting, Alexis will attend full day classes and Joey will be going into 2nd grade. Joey is much more excited about his upcoming birthday then he is school and he is even more excited about his birthday present which he recieved today, just by chance. He is the proud owner of a yellow female lab, just as Alexis was the proud owner of a male yellow lab for her birthday when she was 3. This will also be a big surprise for Alexis since she has no idea that we got a new puppy. We figured this would give Joey some one on one with the puppy.

Just a couple more things, 1st to everyone who has heard me talk about POPS. It is the support group at the hospital, we are having a fundraiser on October 30th to anyone that may be interested in a candlelight bowl, by the way we picked the date for the fundraiser, before I became pregnant, if you noticed that they are the same dates. Just e-mail me for more information.

Also if you could say some extra prayers for Alexis for she has a CT Scan coming up this month, Also if you could say some prayers for Alexis' friend Jordon who reciently relapsed with Luekemia in her spinal fluid. She is back in remission, but will have to continue doing chemotherapy for the next 2 years. She is about to be six and has spent more than 1/2 of her life on treatment.

Well, I have to go wait by the phone. Just kidding, but I will probably be doing that by the end of the week.

Much love,
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!!
Dawn and Family

Monday, May 24, 2004 9:44 PM CDT

Hello to everyone,


Just thought that I would let you know that today Alexis had her Port-a-cath removed. She is very happy about this, she laughed and played with Dr. Loeff her surgon for about 20 minutes before they took her back for the surgery. She was as if it was no big deal. I dont even like to have my blood drawn. She is so brave. Now that her port is out we will only visit Dr. Salvi and Dr. Hayani every other month. If we can stay away that long.

Alexis and Joey are getting ready for summer, Alexis has completed school for the year, performed in her dance recital last week and is practicing her cheerleading routines. Joey on the other hand is counting down until school is over, I think 4 more days and 1 hour to be exact. He will be having his draft for football soon and can not wait to start playing. Joey is all about the sports, sorry John, but Larry has both kids boo'ing the Cubs.


Well, enough for the moment. I will write soon.

Much Love and Thanks for keeping track of our little one.

Dawn and Family

Sunday, May 9, 2004 9:16 PM CDT

I know that it has been quite awhile since our last update, I think that I may have an excuse for this one which I will explain later.

First of all I would like to wish everyone a HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! Mine was wonderful, we just enjoyed some time together with my mom and my sister and ofcourse all the cousins. Larry missed out on our festivities, but we went and saw him at the the firehouse afterwards. Both the kids love going to firehouse. Alexis always wants to have a sleepover when we go their, she figures if Daddy can sleep there why can I. On our drive home from Naperville, we hit some rain that opened up the sky for us to see three rainbows, the kids thought that was really neat and it was quite the sight.

For everyone that keeps track of our every three month CT scan I am sure that you have noticed that it has passed, Lexie had a clear set of scans at the end of April, I have just been having a real hard time lately finding the strengh to write in the guestbook. We feel so lucky that she is doing so well, but this is not true for some of the other families that we know. In the past month we have had two children that also had Wilms tumor pass away and this has been hard for both Larry and I to face. We feel so much sadness for both of these families. Both these children were treated at Hope and in some way became part of us and our family. I guess that you could just say that fear is very hard to live with. Both Savannah and Cassidy will always be in our hearts, they were both very unique and special girls.

Well enough for right know. I will try to write again soon.


Love

Dawn & family

Tuesday, February 17, 2004 9:55 PM CST

Hello to Everyone,


A new year has begun and we have to consider ourselves very lucky. We started our year with a wonderful trip to Flordia, which was blast!!! We had a repeat CT Scan of the Lungs which was CLEAR!!! Who knows what they saw on the last one, but it THANK GOD!! was nothing. Alexis has just celebrated her 5th Birthday which we were able to spend at the Wilderness Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells. This is the first time in 3 years that we have been able to go to a public pool setting. Lets just say that Alexis had a blast. Larry was so nice that he even gave up his Superbowl Sunday for Alexis to be able to spend a couple of days there. I almost forgot Joey likewise had a wonderful time.

That was only the begining of our celebrations. Alexis finished off her Birthday week with an all girls Party that we had our local park district, about 13 little girls had a blast playing in the Jungle room and after all that fun she was able to spend the rest of the night with the family at a party at our house. Alexis does enjoy her parties. In fact she enjoyed the festivities late into the night. Alexis is quite the social butterfly.

Besides all her trips and Birthday fun, she is back at school and attending her dance classes. Larry and I were very nervious about how bad the flu season was going that we kept her home from school for about 5 weeks, but she is back and being a very pleasant student. She is into writting on very small pieces of paper and giving them to us as special gifts. Even puppy Swiper recieves these works of art.

Thanks to everyone with your patience on our updates. Our computer has been down, but I think it maybe up and ready to work for a while, I hope.


I will try to update soon,
If you can please try to send some extra thoughts and prayers to the Olson Family, there daughter Savannah is fighting her battle with Wilms Tumor.

Love to you all,

Dawn & Family

12/23/03 5:15pm

Hi everyone,
Figure its about time for an update. Tommorrow is Christmas Eve what a great time of the year, the kids have been counting down the days. They are so excited I just love it. Once again they are getting so many presents but thats ok because well it's Christmas.
Lexi's ct scan showed a shadow on her lung, at first we thought the worst(that tends to happen) last time they told us there was a shadow on her lung it was 12 tumors. This time after metting with the oncologist they do not think it is a tumor but maybe fluid or scar tissue we are very optimistic. She will be having another scan in Jan so we will let you all know.
Alexis is still not in school the DR. said to put her back in, but with this flu we are not so sure, but she really misses it so maybe after the holidays she can go back.
Joey and I went to the Bears game Sun, his first one, we went with my cousin and my Godson (joey's cousin) we had a blast Joey loved it. Lexi said it wasn't fair that joey got to go and not her, so I guess a preseason game will be in order next season.
We would like you all to pray for our dear friend Savannah Olson who is fighting this monster.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Larry,Dawn,Joey and Alexis

Sunday, September 28, 2003 10:18 AM CDT

Well can you believe it has been another 3 months since Alexis' last scan. She had her scan on Friday morning and Dr. Salvi was nice enough to let us now the results right away. He said everything looked great. Those words remove the large weight from my chest and I feel as if i can start breathing again. We are coming up on our 6 month mark since our last chemo treatment and life seems to be settling down a little bit.

Alexis started school about 2 weeks ago. I can only say one thing about her and school. I hope she always wakes up and says,is it time to go to school yet? Alexis has always enjoyed her cozy morings laying in bed with blankets and lots of pillows(she takes after me on this one)but now she only has one thing in mind, her teachers and friends. She is doing very well and I have already noticed that she is singing more school like songs around the house and trying to spell her name every chance she gets.

On top of school Alexis' has been having a great time at dance as well as being a cheerleader in training. Alexis is to young for cheerleading this year but next year she will be ready. We have been spending all of Sunday afternoons watching Joey play football. The love that he has for this game is amazing and Larry & I are just so proud of him. This year he is only playing flag, but next year he keeps telling me it will be tackle all the way. For anyone that knows me, you know that I am not excited about that at all.

Well, that is enough for now. It is time to go and make some warm drinks for todays game. Attendance for Joey's games have been good. Both Larry and my family come to visit and watch, believe it or not it does get exciting. Again, a big thanks for everyone who checks on our special liltte girl and our family. She has come so far and yes she is getting a lot of hair lets just say it is brown & wavey. I will try pictures soon.

Much love,
Dawn & Family

Friday, August 15, 2003 9:13 AM CDT

Hello to everyone,


I hope that everyone is enjoying thier summer as much as we are. Life is just starting to calm for us. We have been trying to spend as much time as we can just enjoying summer. Alexis has an amazing tan and her blonde highlights are really showing through. She appears to look so much older with hair and of course she is maturing by the second. Joey has just started football practice and games are to start soon. He is so excited!! He is also looking foreward to school and Alexis is preparing for pre-school. Other than school shopping, work and all the exciting parties to attend we have not much planned for the rest of the summer. I forgot to mention Alexis has been spending quite a bit of time with my sister new puppy. They recently purchased a chocolate lab and Alexis being the animal buff can not get enough of it. Well enough for now.

Much love,

Dawn & Family

Thursday, June 26, 2003 8:26 PM CDT

Hello to everyone,

I hope that everyone is enjoying there summer vacation. I know that we are. We have been extremely busy. First we had our Wish Trip!!! It was an amazing time with everything and much more than we could have imagined. Alexis and Joey felt so important with the front of the line service and all the extra attention that they both recieved. We stayed at Give The Kids the World for the first 6 days and than at Hard Rock Hotel the last 3 days. Believe it or not I still have not gotten our pitures back, but I am working on it. As soon as I can I will post some pictures.

After we came home we started preparing for our Relay for Life which was on June 7 & 8th. Our team raised $2000.00 and our entire Relay raised over $70,000.00. I would like to thank everyone on our team for the continued support and effort.

Over this last past weekend, Larry and I attended his nephew Eric's wedding. This was the first wedding in a long time and I think Eric is very lucky to have meet such a wonderful person. Janice and Eric had an elegant ceremony and a touching reception. I think this is the first time a father of the bride has made the guests cry with his wonderful words about his new son-in-law. Larry & I wish them the best. It was also a busy weekend because Larry's brother David for Arizonia came to town with his daughter Christina. All the family came over on Sunday for a barbecue
and some swimming. Alexis and Joey enjoy spending time with the cousins and they both thought it was great that Auntie Dave and Christina spent the night. It has been a couple of years since we have seen them and they have always been a favorite of the kids. For some reason Alexis has been calling him Autie Dave, we all have gotten a kick out of that.

Last but not least!!! Alexis had her CT Scan today and Dr. Salvi has given us the tumbs up. He was sweet enough to give us the results while we were waiting for Alexis to potty. We are so lucky to have such wonderful nurses and doctors. I want you to know that LeAnn (one of our favorite nurses)was able to get Alexis to drink her contrast without a fight. Just like it was no big deal. Trust me that it has been a big deal in the past. So we are just so proud of our little girl. Well it is getting late so I should go.

Thanks for all entries, Alexis just loves for me to read them to her.


Much Love,
Dawn & Family

P.S. Rosa & Danelle we missed you. Hope to see you soon.

Thursday, May 8, 2003 0:15 AM CDT

Well, I bet that everyone is wondering how life with less medical attention is? It is truely still not settling with me yet. I still feel the need and the want to talk to Dr. Hayani and Dr. Salvi quite often. I will say that I made it past the first 2 weeks without to much difficulty, but this next month is going to be a rough one.

We are leaving for our WISH TRIP to Disney World in just a little over a week and I am nervous. Dr. Salvi, just told me Monday that Alexis does not have to see him prior to our trip, I wanted to reply by saying ok, but will you see her before we leave to give her the tumbs up, but I did not say anything we just left.

We are still hoping that Joey will have his cast removed in time for our trip. His cast has been on for about 7 weeks now, so hopefully all the extra milk he has been drinking has done it job. I probably will not post prior to our trip, so you will just have to wait and see.

By the way, our pancake breakfast was a blast, we were told our pancakes, sausage and our coffee was great. We were very pleased with the turnout and I do have to say the fireman are just wonderful for allowing us to do this for the kids. Larry is lucky to work with such a great group of people.

I would just like to thank everyone for all the support with this fundraiser the kids are going to enjoy all the great stuff that we will buy with the donations.


Well that enough for now.

I will write after our trip.

Much Love,
Dawn & Family

P.S. Kathy & John it was so nice to finally me you and Alexis was wearing your outfit today, it was a perfect fit.

P.S.S. David if you see this, were did you find such a wonderful friend? Please write and let us all know.

Friday, April 18, 2003 3:15 PM CDT

Dear Family & Friends,


We went to the hospital on Monday with the hopes of being admitted for our next 5 day stay. We arrived with our things, you know pillows, blankets, suitcase, a cooler of Alexis' favorites and some toys of course. When we arrived we did our normal procedure. The twist to this story is that it did not go as scheduled.

After Dr. Hayani reviewed Alexis' lab results, he noticed that we are now at week 6 since our last admission and still have only 69 platletts. With this information he gave us some very surprising news. Dr. Hayani & Dr. Salvi have both agreed that Alexis has done enough treatment. They have consulted with the Dr. that is in charge of the protacol and the new studies show that less time is need to achieve cure. They always want to do the least amount of treatment to help prevent short & long term side effects. The scariest one of these is secondary cancer.

Larry & I have very mixed feelings. I think that we are both so very happy for Alexis and Joey, this has been so hard for both of them. We are so excited to know our daugtherwi be soon doing what everyother 4 year old does. Things like go to school and to have hair. She is really excited that she will be growing her hair back.

As I write this my eyes have welled with tears. I think that Larry & I both are afraid of the future. I know that we can only take one day at a time, but I think that Alexis getting all this medicine has made us feel safe and now she will get it no more.

It has taken me days to actually face up to this news, but both Larry & I know that the doctors do their best to make the decisions that they have too. The job that they have is not an easy one.

I do know one thing, Alexis is a fighter, she reminds me of my grandmother. She fought hard these past 2 years and I hope that she now will be able to enjoy being a kid without all the extra medical activities.

I would like to say thank you to everyone who has been here for us. Without the support of our family & friends I do not know how we would have gotten through this. I would also like to thank all the wonderful hosptial staff, the nurses,pca's, residents, childlife department, social workers, maintence staff and I am sure that I am missing someone. But let everyone know that we are very blessed to have you in our lives.

I would also like to mention one more thing. On May 3rd, we are hosting a Pancake Breakfast to raise funds for the kids. The event will be from 7:30-11:30 a.m. at Naperville Fire Station No. 3, 1803 N. Washington. We would love
to see you see you there.

Much love,

Dawn & Family

P.S. John is this close to you?

Saturday, March 22, 2003 6:32 PM CST

Hello to everyone,

I know still no pictures, but some are to follow someday. We were admitted on Thursday with 148 platlets which is wonderful for Lexie, she had her CT scan late last night with just perfect results. We are down to 3 more treatments and probably 2 more fever admission. These next few months will go by so fast. It is still hard to believe that we have been doing this for 2 years and 1 month. I do not think that we could be in better hands. Hope and it staff has become family to us. Dr. Salvi & Dr. Hayani are just wonderful.
I almost forgot to mention. Joey had a fall over this past weekend. He broke his left arm in 2 places. I am hoping to download a picture of his broken arm soon. I had a hard time dealing with the looks of this break. This happened on Saturday night and by Tuesdays he was acting as if he never did anything at all. Joey thought that it was neat that everyone loved him so much to bring him some pretty special things to make him feel better.
We'll I have to get back up stairs we are waiting for Aunt Babe to arrive with pinapple. Lexie latest favorite food. I will write soon.

Dawn


P.S. Please mark your calander on May 3rd. We are having a pancake breakfast in Naperville. I will write about it soon.

Monday, March 3, 2003 11:37 AM CST

Hello to everyone,


Well, things are going well. No news is good news. We are just waiting for her counts to make it back to admission levels. We should be going in next week for a 5 day stay. I have to say this next admission is a stressful one. Alexis will have CT SCANS. I alway get really nervous and I make myself crazy. I should say that I make myself & Larry crazy. I am sure that Alexis will not be bothered one bit. She does get mad about the contrast that she is going to have to try to drink. If she wont drink it the nurses will have to put that tube in her nose. They hate doing it as much as Alexis hates having it done. It so sweet how much they care for her.

I almost forgot. Tonight is the night that two very special people from Make A Wish are coming over to meet with us. Alexis is very excited and I am curious how she will act with them. Anyway, I have to go. I will update after her tests.


Thanks for all thoughts and prayers!!!


Much Love,
Dawn & Family

P.S. If you read this please leave a guestbook entry for Alexis she loves to her them. Thanks

Tueday, February 11, 2003 8:37 PM CST

Hello Everyone,


Well, our little girl is now 4. Her Birthday was on Febuary 2nd. We had a terrific party with lots of family and friends. Pink was the color of this birthday party and Barbie was the chosen theme. Alexis is also in love with Dora the explorer right now, but we could not find enough Dora to decorate with, so Barbie won.


We had a wonderful birthday weekend, it started Friday with a trip to see Princess on Ice. Alexis,Ashley and Jordon(some friends from the hospital) all went together. Lets just say everyone enjoyed there cotton candy,popcorn,drinks and lets not forget the visit during the intermission from one of Alexis' favorite nurses Fran. She was kind enough to come over from the other side of the building to say Hello to our children. She is so sweet!!! On Saturday we had this wonderful party with birthday cake, presents and lots of candy from the pinata. Alexis just loved all her presents. Some of her favorite things were the baby station, earings,books,shoes,doll cloths and doll carrier. She loved everything some things just got her attention a little quicker than others. On Sunday Alexis and I went over to Aunt Karen's for a Partylite Party and Alexis was able to visit with Rachel and Carly her cousins. Lets just say Alexis fell asleep on the way home and slept late on Monday morning.

Alexis has been doing great we have not been in the hospital for the past month an are awaiting patiently for her counts to reach the level for her next admission. We still have 5 more to go. I have been trying to download pictures without any sucess. Larry keeps saying that he will try, but has not had much time. Thanks for the continued support, we just recently past our 2 year mark. Alexis has been doing treatment for yes 2 years believe it or not. I will keep working on the pictures and will write soon.


Much love, Dawn

Monday, January 20, 2003 at 06:51 PM (CST)

It has been awhile since our last update. The news is all good and Alexis is doing wonderfully. We have been admitted 4 times since our last update. Three times for chemo and 1 time for fever.

We had a very nice Christmas. We were lucky enough that Larry could be home on Christmas morning thanks to someone holding over at the firehouse a couple of hours. So he left for work at around 10:00am. Even Christmas Eve was very magical. Alexis and Joey just loved the snow falling just in time for Santa.

I am using my sisters computer so time is limited. I just thought I would write something quick to let everyone know thing are going ok.


Much love,
Dawn & Family


P.S. 5 more rounds of Chemo to go.

Wednesday, December 04, 2002 at 05:14 PM (CST)

Hello to everyone,


Just a quick update, Alexis was admitted on Monday for another round of chemo. Just 7 more to go. Some more good news. Alexis had her CT scans done & so far so good. They were clear. I watch her and what she has to go through and sometime I wonder what she is thinking.
This time Alexis has been having a hard time tolerating the chemo and started throwing up today, but her spirits seem to be good and some of her special nurses have been able to cheer her up. She also has made friends with a specific resident named Dr. Canner. Ofcourse that is not what Alexis calls him, I think she has named him Shrek and he calls her donkey. They are all so wonderful. We are truely blessed!
I will try to write again soon.


Much love,
Dawn & Family

Thursday, November 28, 2002 at 11:54 AM (CST)

Family & Friends,


I have just a few minutes. We want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving,our update is long over due. Things have been busy as always.
Alexis is doing good. We are preparing for our next 5 day stay. The count is on. We have 8 more rounds to go. We are hoping to complete 2 more this year. Since our last update Alexis was exposed to the chicken pox( and is know in the clear), Joey tested and recieved 2 red stripes in his karate class that he has been taking since last spring, Pepper Construction & Lisa threw us the best Halloween party I think that POPS (Pediatric Oncology Parents Support)has ever had. They put a lot of smiles on so many childrens faces and raised money for a great cause. Lets see what else happened. Larry & his dad had a Birthday along with Larry Godson Kevin, 2 cousins Alan & Kenny, his sister Karen and Swiper turned 1. November is a busy month. Well thats enough for now. I will try to write soon.


Much love,

Dawn & Family

Thursday, October 17, 2002 at 09:25 AM (CDT)

Family & Friends,

This update is long overdue. I do apoligize. We really do look forward to reading your journal entries. Alexis' last round of chemo which was almost 2 weeks ago went very well. The stay was only 3 days & went by quickly. With our recent stay also being the chemo that does not give her a fever we have been able to do some of our favorite things. Alexis has been able to go to her ballet classes & we have been able to visit with some family that we do not see as often as we use to. Alexis & I went to see our friend Lisa from Pepper Construction. Lisa has something that Alexis loves. Dogs! I almost forgot to mention that both Alexis & Joey recently spent the day with Aunt Debbie (Larry sister)& had such a wonderful time. It is nice to be able to spend more time at home than at the hospital and the clinic. But, I have recently discovered that I was wrong about something. I thought that Alexis had 10 more rounds of chemo left, but she really only has 9 & with our next chemo right around the corner we are really closer to 8. This still means about 8 more months, but we are starting to see an end.


We are looking forward to a very special Halloween Party that Lisa & Pepper Construction are sponsoring for the oncology kids at Hope. Games,clowns,taffy apples,cotton candy and so much more. And what kid really does not look forward to Halloween. Joey once again wants to be Spiderman, but we are still talking about it & Alexis wants to be Tinkerbell and a Kitty too.

I almost forgot to mention a couple of things. Dr. Salvi & Dr. Hayani just before Alexis last admission were able to break ground on there new Pediatric Oncology wing. This is very exciting for us. This new building will give the Dr's & nurses room to do there thing and will also keep our children safer from the everyday germs they get exposed to at the clinic they have to use now. We were very excited to be part of it. Also that night a very wonderful family gave Alexis a special collection of beanie babies. Check out the pictures, because she did love them.

I should go Alexis wants to go shopping. Her friend Ashley has a 3rd Birthday coming and she has not picked out her gift yet. Alexis & Ashley are like partners in crime. Usually if you see one the other is near by. Alexis has also been seeing more of our friend Savannah. Say some extra prayers for Savannah and her family they are going through a very difficult time or you can send them your thoughts at www.caringbridge.com/il/savannah. We have a connection with Savannah both her & Alexis were diagnoised with Wilms just about 2 months apart. I can still remember meeting Amy. I know that it sounds strange, but it has bonded us. All us Wilms parents try to stick together.

Thanks for all the support,
Love Dawn


P.S. Hi, Anna & Haley it was nice seeing you the other day!! See you at the Halloween Party.

Friday, September 27, 2002 at 09:10 AM (CDT)

Well, I did say that I would update after we came home. So we are home. We actually came home last Friday night. We had a couple of problems with our labs on Monday the day of our admission and they actually sent us home thinking that her counts were no good when actually they were just fine. So, ofcourse we had to turn around and go back to the hospital. It was a long day to say the least. It really did not bother me that we had to go back I was just happy her blood counts were acting normal. I worry about every little thing. Our hospital stay went uneventful and we are home for the time being.


I know that I said that I would update with some exciting news when we came home, but today is not going to be the day. The past couple of weeks have been hard.

We have been dealing with some very difficult news about other families in treatment or with other families dealing with the loss of their child. It is very emotionally draining. I have actually be able to escape to work a couple of days this week. This is about the only place that can keep me so busy that I do not have time to think about anything else. I think Alexis is glad to see me go and it is nice to have her be so happy to see me when I come home. Larry gets thoose welcomes everyday. Well, thats enough.


Thanks to everyone who continues to send thoughts and prayers our way. It is one of the ways that helps us get through our hard days.


Love,
Dawn & Family

Sunday, September 15, 2002 at 01:04 AM (CDT)

I can not believe that 3 weeks have past since my last update. As usual things are busy. We have not gone in for our next round of chemo due to platlet delays. Which seems to be the story of our lives lately. I can't blame Alexis' bone marrow for not being able to keep up.


Things are good. Alexis has her good & bad days, but for the most part good wins over the bad. She has been very excited about Joey birthday party which is later today. I think that she thinks that all parties that we have at our house are for her, but its not. Our little Joey is growing up so fast. He is offically 6. He turned 6 on Friday. Yes, Friday the 13th. He was also born on Friday the 13th. We are not superstitious. Well we are, but not about that day.

We are hoping for admission tomorrow and after we come home from that admission I will write about some exciting stuff that we did last week. Just to much information & it is late. I am atempting new pictures tonight & that is another reason for the short update.


I will write when we come home.
Much love,

Dawn


P.S. John, Lexie says Thanks for the HUGS!!!

Friday, August 23, 2002 at 10:41 PM (CDT)

Hello to everyone,




I just wanted to type a quick entry. Today is the day that Alexis had the CT Scan that officially gave her remission status. This day will be forever a day of true happiness. Those words mean so much to us. We still only take one day at a time, but having 365 days behind us is quite the acomplishment.

On another note, we are just getting ready to leave for Hope. Alexis started running a fever yesterday and it finally has decided to go up to 103+, her counts are very low at the moment so this admission is no surprise.

Alexis will one day read these entries and probably ask how many times did we stay at the hospital? I have never counted, but we are there a lot.

I will write soon,


Love,

Dawn & Family

Friday, August 09, 2002 at 02:15 PM (CDT)

Hello Family & Friends,

It has been so long. Our computer is back and so far so good things are running smoothly. Thanks to our good friend and computer specialist Kevin.

Alexis is doing well. We are currently delayed for our next round of chemo and are patiently awaiting our next admission. We have been waiting for her platlets to return to 100. Last week they were still in the 30's. With our next admission will be staying for 5 days and we will also be having our next round of scans. I get very nervous about them and on top of being nervous we are delayed. That is usually how it goes.


I hope things are well for everyone and that like us everyone has been enjoying summer as much as we have. Winter seems to last so long and summer just flies bye. I will update after our scans. Thanks for the thoughts and always for the kind words.


Love,

Dawn & family


P.S. Att: all golfers September 3rd will be our first outing through Hope Hospital. Anyone interested e-mail for more info. The outing will be at Tamarack in Naperville $100.00 per person & that includes Cont. breakfast,lunch, 18 holes of golf, raffles & open bar.




August 13, 2002 at 3:30 p.m.


Just a quick update Dr. Hayani gave us the good news today. Alexis had her scans this morning and everything is still clear. We are always greatful to hear those words. Way to go Alexis! Her 1 year mark for her remission is this coming August 23rd.

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 at 08:04 PM (CDT)

Have you been waiting for an update? We have been experiencing some computer difficulties, so I am doing this from the hospital. Well, our little ANGEL is doing well. We are in for 1 more day and so far so good everything is going as planned.

This summer is just one fun day after another. We have managed to stay out of the hospital for the last month and a half except for chemo visits. Alexis & Joey have been busy with parties, picnics, fireworks and much more. Did I mention that we had a pool installed. About 3 weeks ago. (due to the fact that Alexis can't swim in lakes or public pools,too many germs!) Both of them love it. You would have never thought Alexis would take to the water so easily due to the fact she was not able to swim at all last year due to her central line. Since our last update Alexis has started dance. Tap to be specific. She is doing a wonderful job and looks forward to every class. Dr. Salvi said that she can only attend classes in the summer, the germ thing again. To many sick kids in the winter, but thats ok hopefully when she is done with treatment she will still have the interest. She is also trying to copy some of her brother Joey latest Karate moves. He is too taking a summer class. We are in the process of having our computer repaired so maybe soon some updated pictures.


Well, I should get back upstairs. I wanted to thank everyone who participated in our Relay they all did a wonderful job. We have such devoted family & friends. The Tinley Park relay raised $54,000.00. Good job done by all.

John & all fellow golfers. I wanted to let you know about an upcoming golf outing on September 3rd. It's at Tamarack in Naperville, all the proceeds will go to the Oncology Department to start construction of there new wing. Dr. Salvi & Dr. Hayani need more room and need a better facility to treat our children. They have very little room were they are now. But, if anyone is interested e-mail us and we will give the info that you need. I think Larry is still looking for a team.

Well, I could go on forever. We have been on the go so much lately. I will write when our computer is back.

Much love,
Dawn, Larry, Alexis & Joey

Wednesday, June 05, 2002 at 12:19 AM (CDT)

Hello to everyone,


Sorry that it has been so long since our last update. Since mothers day Alexis has gone in for another round of Chemo this was a 5 day stay which always brings us back in for fever within the next 10 days. That chemo round went well and her weekend hospital stay also went well. We were admitted on Saturday afternoon and went home Monday morning. This last fever had us worried her temp. went as high a 103.8. That is a scary fever for Alexis, usually she never runs above 102.5.

We also have good news to report about her cough. They seem to have it under control. She has been doing so much better and she is begining to relize that she has to be a little bit kinder to her body. It has been through so much and it needs her to take it easy every once in awhile. It could also be that we have been doing chemo for 1 year 5 months. It's starting to wear her body down, but ofcourse not her spirit.

Well, our walk is right around the corner and I know that Alexis is looking forward to spending the day with the team members. She loves spending time with family & friends. Lets keep our fingers crossed for nice weather.

It is late and I should try to sleep. I recently tried to figure out when Alexis would be finishing her chemo treatments. If she stays on schedule and is admitted every three weeks we will complete her treatment in March of 2003. As you know she hardly ever gets admitted on schedule so we will hope by May 2003. Remember these are just things that we think about to pass the time at the hospital. We always just try to take one day at a time and that is hard for me, I one of those people like to plan. I will write next week to let everyone know how our walk was. Thanks for all the support.


Love,
The Ehrharts

Tuesday, May 14, 2002 at 01:28 PM (CDT)

Just a quick update. Well, we are home and still trying to get her cough under control.
Alexis was going to be admitted on Monday, but her platlets did not make the grade. We needed 100 & only had 75. So we will probably go in on Thursday instead. Both of Alexis' oncologists agree that her cough is probably being caused by the damage the radiation did to her lungs. It sounds bad they have been calling it Obstructive Airway Disease. Dr. Hayani said just yesterday that the lungs are capable of regenerating, how long will it take is what he was unsure about.

I hope that everyone had a nice Mothers Day and that nicer weather is on the way. Maybe if everyone starts thinking Spring it will come. Well, my Uncle is coming in from out of town next week. Maybe he will be kind enough just to bring some Arizona weather with him. Wouldn't that be nice no humidity. Enought for now thanks for all the prayers and thoughts. They really do help and the past few weeks have been very trying for lots of different reasons. I have been told that I need to update more. I will see what I can do.

Love to you all,
Dawn & Family


P.S. Thanks again Lisa for all your support and effort with our Relay & don't forget to tell everyone at Pepper Construction THANKS!

Sunday, May 05, 2002 at 10:37 PM (CDT)

Hello everyone,

This is going to be quick update. Alexis is doing well. She & Joey are loving this warmer weather. Anything is better than spending time at the hospital. Yes, last week Alexis was admitted for 3 days for what turned out to be fever induced by a low white count. The 5 day stays usually do follow with fever within 10 days of the first day of admission. Is is just one of the small prices that we pay to stay in remission.

Well, next month brings us to our Relay for Life which I think our teams are really looking forward too. The walk is sponsed by the American Cancer Society and will be on June 8th & 9th. The walk consists of teams of 10-12 people and each team memeber is asked to walk throughout different times of the day. The walk starts at 1:00 pm on Saturday and finish up on Sunday at 8:00am with the closing ceromony. The first lap is walked by cancer survivors and there families. Lets just say that it is very emotional to say the least. If anyone is interested in sponsoring Alexis, Larry or myself please e-mail us & let us know.

Well, it is late and I have said enough for now.I will write again soon.

Much Love,
Dawn & Family


P.S. check out our new pictures.

Saturday, April 27, 2002 at 02:31 PM (CDT)

Well, we are home & the news is good! Her CT scans have remained clear. It is wonderful news. Of course Dr. Salvi was on this week & I drove him a little crazy. It always seems to fall on his week. Both of the oncologists are wonderful in very different ways. Dr. Salvi,we will just say is not a worrier like me. We always wonder what they are thinking. Another mother & I joke about what they think. This week when Dr. Salvi was asked if we were bothering him, he replied on lines of the kids are never a bother. Ya, but what about the parents. Anyway, this weeks stay was a good one. Alexis did not have any side effects and other then her mood swings things went well. We were lucky enough to spend this last chemo round with another little girl named Ashley. Alexis & Ashley are like two peas in a pod. Both very demanding & lovable all at the same time. Both of them can bring a smile to most anybodys face.

Well, last weeks stay was good and last Sundays paper was a honor. I viewed the paper on Saturday afternoon. The article and pictures brought tears to my eyes. Lisa asked me recently what was next Oprah? Lisa is one amazing person, I am not sure if she even knows what all this has ment to us. And why not Oprah I think she would be a wonderful person to help us spread the word about childhood cancers. It is said that about 43 children a day are diagnosed with cancer. If you picture 43 kids all together it's a lot!

Before I finish, I wanted to thank everyone who said extra prayers for Eion. (www.caringbridge.com/page/eion.riley)He is such a wonderful child and has also brought a smile to so many peoples faces. His family has fought so hard & so long. Eion & his family will always be in our prayers & forever in our hearts.


I will write again soon.
Much love,
Dawn & family

Tuesday, April 16, 2002 at 12:06 AM (CDT)

To our Family & Friends,

We hope that everyone is enjoying this wonderful weather. Both Alexis & Joey are.
Alexis' next chemo round is waiting ever so patiently for her platlets to reach the 100 marker. Yes we are delayed. So far only two weeks. Dr. Salvi & I spoke last week about these last couple delays in her treatment. They make me nervous. Since her chemo has been delayed so have her CT scans which will be done during our next admission. We have not had any done since last November. It seems so long ago. Dr. Salvi also informed me that he will decreasing her chemo dosage on our 3 day stays. He says that because of the radiation that she recieved to her lungs her spinal cord also recieved some which is were platlets and bone marrow are produced. Her poor little body just can not keep up. For anyone who knows her you would not think that by the way she acts.

Well, here is some exciting news as you may have read in guestbook entries. Yes, Alexis was in the Daily Herald again. She hase been in there quite a bit thanks to Lisa at Pepper Construction. A couple of weeks ago Lisa was given her very deserved award for making a difference in our lives. I can't tell you what a wonderful and caring person Lisa is. I am looking forward for her to meet our family this June at the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Tinley Park. But, I almost forgot to mention. Yes, this coming weekend in the USA Today Weekend Magazine.(April 21st edition)You might see some familar faces. We feel so honored that Lisa & Alexis' story was chosen out of so many entries. I think I forgot to mention that we also were able to meet some very interesting Bears team members at the award breakfast. Lets see Dick Duron and Brian Urlacher. I hope I spelled those right. Anyway, it's getting late and I should attempt to sleep. Thanks for checking up on our girl.

Love,
Dawn & Family

P.S. John,Larry & Joey say go Sox!!

Saturday, March 30, 2002 at 10:32 AM (CST)

Just a quick note about Alexis. She is doing very well. We found out what was causing her to be so sick and the day we did she started getting better. It was something called Rotavirus. She probably picked it up at the hospital during our last chemo admission. Well, now that she is feeling better and eating again she has decided to start preparing for the Easter Bunny. All her rabbits are starting to find there way out of her room and we had fun decorating eggs for the bunny too. We hope that everyone has a Happy Easter and we will update with some Easter pictures next week.

Much love,
Dawn,Larry,Joey & Alexis

Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 05:56 PM (CST)

Hello Family & Friends,

Just a quick update. Not to much going on. Alexis has been very sick since her last chemo round. We were admitted Tuesday and went home Thursday afternoon. Everything went well until Friday morning about 1:00 a.m. she started throwing up and this is still going on. Not as bad, but its still there. Just when the vomiting started to slow down she started with diarrhea and this is much worse than the vomiting. Lets just say her biggest complaint is that "my butty hurts". Are you thinking flu. We were especially since all of us have had some sort of symptom over the last couple of days. Anyway we saw the Dr. today and she recieved another round of hydration and he decided to do a couple of stool tests. Lets just hope they are not positive. There are some pretty bad things out there that can cause these symptoms.
Anyway we want to wish everyone a HAPPY EASTER and we will write again when we have better news to report!!!Hopefully.


Love,
Dawn & Family

Thursday, March 14, 2002 at 09:33 AM (CST)

It has been about a month since our last update and we have quite a bit of news to report. The most important news is Alexis is doing great. Since our last update she has been in the hospital twice once for a fever that turned out to be just a virus and the most recent one was last Sunday. On Saturday Alexis' central line broke and Dr. Salvi determined that it should be removed. For you who do not know what a central line is its a small round plastic tube that comes out of Alexis chest cavity and is secured with a sterile dressing. Our wonderful surgeon Dr. Leoff scheduled her surgery for Monday moring and everything went as planned. We were home by Monday afternoon. They are hoping that Alexis will be going in for Chemo on Monday if her platlets are good enough. (keep your fingers crossed)We are already a couple of weeks late.

Well, hear is some different news. Remember Lisa from Pepper Construction. The wonderful person that arranged a raffle last year for Alexis. It turned out that she entered her into something called Make a Difference Day. It is sponsered by USA Today, The Paul Newman Foundation,Henderson Inc. (you know kermit) and the Daily Herald. As if Lisa did not do enough already. She wrote a 500 word essay about Alexis and what inspired her to have the raffle. And they won they were one of ten winners out of six thousand entries! Lisa is a very special person and we have become very fond of her. Just last Friday we went Downtown to a Photo shoot at Marc Hausers Studio. It appears that he has taken some pictures of some very famous people Michael Jordon just to name one. It was truely an expierence that we will remember. Anyway the neatest part about this whole story is that thanks to Lisa and her story being choosen. The Paul Newman Foundation awarded Lisa $10,000 to donate to a charity (Lisa was sad that Alexis could not recieve it) and the story will be in the April 21st issue of USA Today Weekend magazine. I know you are wondering where the money will be donated to. Actually Lisa let us choose. We were able to divide the money between 2 charities. We are going to give $5,000 to Hope Hospital for the new Pediatric Oncology Wing that is about to break ground in April and the other $5,000 to our Parent Support Group they hold events for the kids throughout the year and the kids really do look forward to them. We can not thank Lisa enough. We also recently visited Lisa at Pepper Construction in Barrington for a photo shoot for the Daily Herald. An article went out on March 2nd about what Lisa has done and why. Alexis was able to meet a few of the wonderful people that donated to her raffle. If you have not figured out we really are excited about this and we are looking forward to seeing the article.

This is a long update and it will be followed by new pictures. Also for any of you attending the South Side Irish parade Look for us we will be walking with some our friends from Hearts for Hope. I think the float is like #56 or something. I will write when we have some more news.

I do not think that I have ever mentioned a little boy that is also fighting cancer his name is Eion Riley. He is going in for a very important surgery on Friday and if you can say a prayer that this is going to be his miracle. You can find his web page at www.caringbridge.com/page/eion.riley


Thanks,
The Ehrharts


P.S. Lou Thank You for helping Lisa & I the past couple of weeks. Keep in touch.

Sunday February 10, 2002 10:38 AM CST

Well, Alexis is now three and we managed to stay out of the hospital for her birthday.We had a wonderful party at the house with most of our family. She had a great time and she loved seeing all her cousins. We also hired Sassy the clown for a couple hours of entertainment and that was a big hit. All the kids had there faces painted and she did some magic. We could not have asked for a better day. I think the adults even enjoyed her show. Both Larry & I wanted this birthday to be extra special. When you see that pictures I think you will agree that she had fun.

We were scheduled to to go into the hospital on Febuary 4th, but due to Alexis' counts being low it will be delayed until this next week. When we mention counts we mean her CBC usually it's her platlets that prevent us from being admitted. Her platlets have to be atleast 100 and last week hers were still at 40. So,we will begin hopefully on Monday. This next stay is only 3 days. We will be home before we know it. After this one we will have 17 more treatments to go.

Alexis' spirits are good and she loves her new puppy. The kids named him Swiper. Lets just say the name fits him. We will try to write soon.

Dawn,Larry,Joey & Alexis

Friday, Febuary 1, 2002

One year ago today, Alexis was diagnosed with a mass on her kidney. I can remember that day as if it was yesterday. I can still hear the words coming from Dr. Lin's mouth. (Alexis' very wonderful pediatrician)I remember being upset when he told me she might have a bruised kidney from a fall or something & that was why she had blood in her urine. We would have gladly taken that.

We now have 18 more rounds of chemo to go and almost sometimes wish it could go on forever. That way it can never come back. We know thats not possible. Well, enough about this. We are actually thankful to have this treatment and that Alexis is doing so well.

As this day goes on we will not be thinking of what this day brought us last year, but we will be thinking of everyone who has been with us this last year. All the prayers, donations,thoughts and most of all kindness.

Thank you for being there!
Love, Dawn,Larry,Joey & Alexis

Sunday January 20, 2002 8:58 PM CST

Hello Everyone,

We have Great news! Lexi as you might already know had a CT scan during her last inpatient on 1/16 and the results showed all clear which is fantastic! We know there is still a long road ahead but we'll take all the good news we can get. They were going to make alexis npo (no food) before the scan because of the sedation needed. But they didn't know that alexis is such a good girl that she layed still for the test with no sedation and drank 6 1/2oz of the 8oz of nasty tasting contrast that was needed for the test not to bad for a 2 year old or should I say 3 year old. Thats right she is going to turn 3 on Feb 2. Its hard to belive that we have been going through this for an entire year.
Well a few weeks ago she told Dawn that she wanted a puppy for her b-day and Dawn said oh you want another puppy like Softie and Big Dog (two of her stuffed animals)and Lexi said no I want a real puppy! She has also stuck to her guns for about 3 weeks by repeating that answer to anyone who asks her what she wants for her B-day. So today 101 dalmations came on the tv and she started to laugh, Dawn asked why she was laughing and she said because she was going to get a puppy for her B-day. What do you think? Is she confident or spoiled? If you answered both your right. We have been spoiling her and Joey both, oh well. So you have all figured out that we are getting her a puppy most likely a yellow lab (I want a chocolate but Dawn doesnt want to see the hair so a yellow will do).
Well anyway her spirits are still up and she feels well most of the time except for the vomiting the last couple of days and she is eating ok as long as its waffles and root beer.
Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and support and to everyone who has visited Lexi at the Hospital and made her very happy and took her mind off of being in the icky hospital if only for a little while.

Love,
Larry, Dawn, Joey and Alexis

January 14, 2002

Hello Family & Friends,

It has been a while since our last update and this update is going to be short with no new pictures, but I will update soon. Aleixs is going into the hospital tommorow & is having testing done this round of Chemo, so we will have news. Please keep the prayers going for spotless scans. We are being admitted two whole days ahead of schedule. We were not sceduled for admission until Thursday, but her counts look good and Dr. Salvi gave us the go. Have I ever said how lucky we are to have Dr. Salvi & Hyani. They are so good us. Anyway, everything about the Holidays were great. We had our health, our families and eachother. I will download pictures next time. Promise! Well enough for now. I have to pack. You can only imagine what we bring. It's a lot!

Much Love,
The Ehrharts

Ps. John, I hope you know that we were worried about you. We were glad to see your entry.

Saturday, December 22, 2001 at 10:00 AM (CST)

Hello Everyone,

Christmas is almost here and Alexis has just yesterday decieded that Santa can come to her house. Why the change of heart, I do not know. It sure did make Joey happy though. We went to see the doctor yesterday and they are planning her next admission for the 27th. This will bring us home just in time to celebrate the New Year. How wonderful,we would like nothing more.
On December 15th, we had a visit from something called Tinley Wish. Look at Alexis' new pictures. These wonderful people came to our home with gifts, cookies,turkeys and of course our wishes. Santa & his elves came via Fire Trucks along with many Firemen,Policemen,City Officals and thier Families. They told us it would be big. They should have said Huge! All these people came into our home to wish us a Merry Christmas and to let us know that we were in thier prayers. It is bringing tears to my eyes just writing about it. Alexis & Joey loved all the gifts they recieved along with us. We will never forget that experience.
We have had so many wonderful people reach out to us these past 10 months. Larry & I hope that everyone knows how much this has meant to us. It has given us our strength. We truly feel blessed and all the prayers and thoughts really do make a difference. Well, I should get back to the kids. We thank everyone again and would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

All our love,
Dawn & Family

Ps. Happy New Year too!

Sunday, November 25, 2001 at 10:35 PM (CST)

Dearest Family & Friends,

We hope that everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving. We did. It is always nice to have a dinner with the family. And as you know we have a lot to be thankful for. This past week has also been the week of the Ehrharts Birthdays. Larry celebrated a Birthday along with his sister Karen, father Gordon, cousin Alan and I think his cousin Kenny too. All in the same week. Enough about that, Alexis is doing better. We are still trying to recover from the last Chemotherapy round. Her blood counts have been bad. Bad enough for us to spend Larry's birthday in the hospital getting blood and platlets. By the time Alexis and I made it home he was fast asleep. It is becoming a tradition to spend not only Holidays, but birthdays in the hospital too. I am hoping that we will start breaking this tradition soon. For everyone that has caught on to Alexis' chemo schedule, yes we should be going inpatient tommorow. Her chances are slim. So it is official we are off schedule. All that matters is that she is doing well. She can be as off schedule as she likes. Well I should go. Thanks to everyone for keeping our sweet little girl in your thoughts.

Much love,
Dawn

Wednesday, November 14, 2001 at 12:27 AM (CST)

Hello everyone,

It has been awhile since our last update. Things have been busy,busy,busy. Halloween has past and that was ofcourse fun. Alexis went as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Joey as Batman & Spiderman. He could not decide. This was the first year that Alexis was able to pass out candy to our trick or treaters. Everytime she gave someone candy, she would look at me like why am I giving them my candy. It was cute. Her and Joey have more candy then they know what to do with. Lets just say it is going to last a long time!
Lexi went for another round of chemo last week. We have 21 more rounds to go. These last 9 weeks have gone by quickly.She has been doing very well.
I would like to mention someone who until a couple of months ago we had never known. Her name is Lisa and she works at Pepper Construction. She heard about Alexis from someone at her church and she decided to have a raffle fundraiser for Alexis. She held the raffle on October 26th. She came out to our house the next day, with gifts for both Alexis & Joey. She also brought a banner,ballons,t-shirts and a news paper article. She orginized the raffle in conjunction with Make a Difference Day. Which I had never heard about until now. Lets just says, she worked very hard and we can not Thank her enough. Pepper Construction also was very generous by matching what she raised. So many wonderful people. To everyone who donated to Alexis we Thank you.

Much Love,
Dawn & Family

Wednesday, October 17, 2001 at 04:49 PM (CDT)

The good news is in. Test results are good!!!! We did not recieve them until about 1:00 today, which makes Larry & I very nervous, since the test was done yesterday afternoon. We never know if no news is good news or no news means bad news. I think that something should be developed to make all test results instant. Alexis is in good spirits and all is well. We have 2 more days to go until we go home. Joey & I went on his school field trip to the pumpkin patch, which was so much fun. We recieved the good news phone call while we were on the way, so Joey insisted on picking out the perfect pumpkin for Lexi. He has really been dealing much better with our situation. He has changed back to the big brother that has such a passion for his little sister. Last night he came to the hospital (eventhough he knew that she was sleeping) crawled up into her bed with her and ever so gently gave her a kiss goodnight. It was the sweetest thing, it brings tears to my eyes. Thats all for now.

Much Love,

Dawn

Sunday, October 14, 2001 at 10:48 PM (CDT)

Today we arrived home safe and sound, Alexis has been doing so well since her last fever that the Dr's gave us the OK to take a trip. We went to Arizona for 5 days to enjoy the heat and to visit with family. Alexis, Joey and I had such a great time. We went for lots of walks, blew lots of bubbles and just relaxed. We even were able to see David (Larry's brother) and his family. We were there to celebrate David's daughter Christina's Birthday which was a treat. For being such a last minute trip it turned out wonderful. The only thing that was missing was that Larry could not go, but we were all happy to see him when we got home. It was so cute, everytime Alexis would talk to him she would say that she wanted to come home and that he should come get her in his truck.
Tommorow starts our next round of chemo. After this next one we will have 22 more to go. Alexis will also be testing this week. I think they will be doing a lung and abdominal CT. It has been almost 3 months since our last testing, so its time. I will write after our results come in.

Love,
Dawn & family

Friday, October 05, 2001 at 12:32 AM (CDT)

Hello friends,

Well, we have been home since last friday and everything is well. Alexis has been doing great up until today. She is running a low grade fever, probably just low counts.(We hope!) We are scheduled to see Dr. Salvi tommorow anyway. She has been such a trooper through all her hospital stays and this last one really seemed to get to her. She asked everyday if we were going home. She even unhooked her IV a couple of times. She keeps the nurses on there toes. We cant blame her for trying. I was thankful that Alexis had her friend Ashley in the room next to us. That was a first, they walked there babies in the hall and played together in there rooms. It was also nice to have Ashley's mom to talk to. Well it's getting late, I will write again soon.

Dawn

P.S. Thanks for all the love and support. It means so much to us!

Monday, September 17, 2001 at 01:40 PM (CDT)

To our Friends & Family,
Just as we all thought that 2001 was starting to turn around. Our nation was devistated by such a senseless tragedy. Our country has lost so much! Our lives will be forever changed. Larry and his fellow firefighters have lost 300 of their brothers in New York. Our prayers and thoughts go out to FDNY, NYPD and the other innocent victims. America has pulled together and shown love, strength and courage during these trying times as so many have for us. We are lucky enough to have the opportunity to fight, when so many did not get that chance.

Today should have started our first of many maintance chemotherapy visits. We are officially starting behind, but thats OK because Alexis is just starting to rebound from her last chemotherapy treatment which was three weeks ago. Her platelets are at 36 and we can not go in for chemo untill they reach 100. Dr. Salvi says that maybe next week! Last week was a bad week for us overall, Lexi recieved 7 units of platelets over a 5 day period. Her lowest platelet count was 4 last week, she looks like she should be a boxer with all her bruises. Larry & Joey went away camping for a couple of days and this made Alexis very sad. She was not well enought to go. It was good for the boys, they fished, hiked and went swiming(burr). The good thing about her counts not making the admission is that we will get to celebrate Baby Ashley's 2nd Birthday on Saturday and will be able to walk the Light the Night luekemia walk on Saturday night at Grant Park. (If it's warm enough for Alexis to go)Yes, another walk to raise money to fight cancer! Of course alexis is most looking forward to Ashley's party. Baby Ashley is one of Alexis' favorite friends at the clinic. After Alexis' kidney was removed we could see Ashley from across the hall. The friendship started there. We will not be going in for anymore diagnostic testing for atleast another month. This will make Alexis happy also. I know what everyone says. We should update more often. I will try.

Love to all,
Dawn

Wednesday, August 29, 2001 at 10:02 PM (CDT)

This is the entry from hell I was done again with another entry when I slipped and hit escape (note to self dont hit escape it erases everything). Lexi's two spots are gone, they were tumors, she doesn't need any more radiation. Its a long story that I tried to tell twice before. But its great news anyway.
The benefit was awsome we had about 750-800 people and I think everyone had a great time everyone whos anyone was there, well almost. Lexi woke up Monday and said she liked her party and that she wanted another one (haha). It was great to see that Kevin Mathews of 94.7 zone and Dave Fogle of 101.9 the mix made it. I cant thank everyone enough who was involved, so much hard work by so many people went into this event and it paid off, I dont think it could have went any better. Thank you everyone who attended, sold tickets, sent cards and donations or donated items for the raffle or donated food or liquor. You all made this a great sucsess.
Lexi came home from the hospital tonight, only a three day stay this time, but we found out today that we have another 18 months of chemo, she will be all done April 2003. There will be a big party when this is over so keep your calenders open.

Thanks,
Larry

Sunday, August 26, 2001 at 11:57 PM (CDT)

I just spent the last two hours entering an update then went on a call (I'm at work), came back and it kicked me out and deleated everything. I will try again tomorrow.
Goodnight.

Saturday, August 17, 2001 at 12:59AM (CDT)

Hi Everyone,
Once again its been a while since my last update, what can I say I've been busy. Alexis seems to be feeling great her blood counts are good and her energy level is up(way up). So that keeps us going also. Lexi has finished her 8th day of radiation of her lungs and next week they are going to boost the radiation to the two remaining spots after a ct-scan to locate them. She was such a good girl last time and laid so still I hope she does it again.
As you all probably know Lexi has been in quite a few Newspapers and on Radio Stations and TV she is going to have a big scrap book of cards and letters from wonderful people all across IL. It is amazing that there are so many caring people in the world, we have recieved in excess of 300 cards and letters and each and every one of those people have taken the time out of their very busy lives to make ours a little bit better. I wish there was some way to thank everyone personaly but that wont be possible. And to all the people involved with her benefit you are amazing it blows my mind every time I see all those raffle prizes that have been donated by so many people, and companys. But I'll be glad when it's over because stress levels and tension is high the closer we get to it.
If you havent heard Kevin Mathews from 94.7 the Zone has talked about the benefit on the radio and said he will be there from noon till about two, thats awsome. Also Dave Fogal(?) from 101.9 the Mix will be there with some station stuff and has also talked about it on the radio.(I hope we have enough food), and Lexi feels good.

Well I am spent!

Good Night,
Larry

Sunday, August 05, 2001 at 10:33 PM (CDT)

Well it was a hot one in the old town today! Alexis had her benefit concert today and although the heat seemed to have kept a lot away we had plenty show up to have a good time. I cant thank everyone involved enough for what they did, the music was great and so was the company. Also thanks to all my family, friends and fellow firefighters who braved the heat with us. What a fantastic group of people.

Alexis is a star she made the front page of the Daily Herald on Saturday and also the NBC 10:00 news on 8/3 and again on the Sat morning news. A Chicago Tribune writer and photographer were at the benefit today and are going to do a story on Lexi this week in the trib west section. She was also talked about alot on US99 (a country radio station)which is why I didnt hear any of those ads.
Alexis(and us) had a long week last week with the stem cell harvesting(which hopefuly she wont need). And shes not going to be to happy tommorow when she goes back to the hospital for five days for inpatient chemo and radiation which will also start this week and go for 14 days outpatient. But other than all that She looks good and feels good (I think). Her blood counts are good except her platelets are kind of low but they will come up with time.

Im sorry if anyone thought that I shouldnt have put the benefit info on her web page. But I was asked to by the organizers and although I wasn't to sure about it, how could I say no with all the hard work and time they have put into these wonderful events for my beautiful little Alexis. And they also want me to mention the $10 raffle tickets are almost gone so get them soon. The $50 tickets are moving but not fast enough its a 50/50 raffle so half of the money will be given away and only a thousand tickets will be sold so call Tina if you would like any raffle tickets or addmission tickets for yourself or to sell at 708-444-1545.

Forever grateful,
Larry, Dawn, Joey and Alexis

Saturday, July 28, 2001 at 12:48 AM (CDT)

Hi,
It's saturday night and I'm at the firehouse missing Lexi,Joey and Dawn. It's so hard being away, even if only for a day.
Joey spent the night at my sister Karen's house Thursday night because we had a big day Friday. Lexi had another CT Scan to see if the tumors were gone. She was such a good girl she layed on the table with no sedation and put her arms behind her head like they said and didnt move, until I told her how nice and comfy she looked, thats when she turned around and told me to come and lay with her. She is so sweet.
So nine hours later after blood work, the CT and a blood transfusion the Dr. informed us that she still had two spots, one on each lung about half the size of a pea. He said they were too small to do surgery on or biopsy and wasnt even sure they were tumors but had to assume they were. He felt very optimistic that the next two cycles of chemo(back to the 5 day inpatient chemo) and the 14 radiation treatments will get rid of the tumors. I pray they do.
Well we have a busy few weeks coming up Lexi will be doing stem cell harvesting next week if her counts are right for it, then her benifit concert in Naperville on the 5th, I hope she is able to attend, then Monday she will go in for five days for chemo and to start the radiation treatments. God I hope she doesnt get sick from all the poison. She still has the energy and spirit of a two year old thank God, but Its going to hurt so bad if she loses that.
She did have her infected portacath removed on the 16th the surgeon said the tissue looked like mush and the culture showed sudonomis(?) a very nasty bacteria that she had once before. She is on IV antibiodics every 8 hrs to clear up that infection. The surgery left a hole the size of a nickle in the rt side of her chest, they could not close it because it had to close from the inside out, and we had to keep it packed with wet steril gauze changed twice a day. That was the worst thing we had to do so far as parents because it hurt her so bad, it took three of us to hold her down and change the dressing with her fighting and crying the whole time then when we were done she would just hug us and cry. I am so glad that is over with now we just have to rinse it with warm water(no packing). She will probably need plastic surgery to fix that scar because its a bad one, but we'll worry about that later.
Well once again We cant thank all of you enough for all you have done and are doing. Ticket sales have been good for the $1 and $10 raffle tickets but slow with the $50 ones well because thats a lot of money but you can win $15,000,$5000,$2500 so if anyone wants any to buy or sell or knows anybody who might like to buy some raffle tickets for the Aug 19th Love for Alexis benifit please call myself at 708-532-4590 or Tina at 708-444-1545.

Hope to see you all there,
Larry

(Lexi in a cubs shirt will be coming soon John so you dont have to send any northsiders down here)

Thursday, July 12, 2001 at 09:52 PM (CDT)

I bet you all were wondering when I was going to update the site. Well time has been flying by and its not because we are having fun. Lexi had her other port put in to harvest her stem cells. This one is external and has to be kept very steril. But I must say it is much easier to access. We have been giving her IV antibiodics for about the last two weeks because her portacath (the first one,under the skin)is infected. They might remove it next week if its not cleared up, that will be her fourth surgery.
Chemo was supposed to be Mon the 9th but her blood counts were to low. So now the 16th,17th and 18th are the new days for chemo.
A lot has happened in the last 3 weeeks,we had the American Cancer Society Relay for Life on 6/30-7/1 Dawn and her sister Tina each had a team of walkers that walked for twenty hours and raised about $3500 for the American Cancer Society through donations. Thank you to all that donated your money and time to a cause that is very close to our hearts,finding a cure for cancer so other familys dont have to go through this.
I am starting to fall asleep as I write this so Im going to cut it short,but Ijust wanted to say thanks again to everyone who has been helping us because we are spent,our lack of sleep and the stress are taking their toll,but with out your love and support I dont know where we would be
so Thank You !
p.s.Lexi feels great and is keeping our spirits up

New pictures are coming !

Thursday, June 21, 2001 at 10:48 PM (CDT)

Hello everyone,
So here we are back in for chemo. Alexis got out Mon only to go back Wed. She was sad but not for long. Her spirit is amazing, yes she has her crabby moments but not as many as you or I would. Last night we were being silly and she was just cracking up for about an hour, it was great. She is what keeps me going. So far all of her tests have come back negative. They seem to believe that she might have asthma and or allergies and that the coughing caused the liver and spleen to enlarge. Sounds silly to me but what do I know. She gets to come home tomorrow. Its only a three day stay this time because the chemo that she was on is very hard on her so they change it to give her body a rest. I just hope she stays healthy for her 18 days off.(not counting clinic Tues & Fri)
My sister Karen took Joey yesterday to play at her house. On the way home she asked him how he felt about mommy and daddy always being at the hospital with Lexi. He started to cry and said that he didn't like it. It's hard to ask a four year old to understand something like this when we barely can. But Karen told him as we do that we do not like to be their either but Lexi has to get all better. Everybody and their brother has offered to take Joey and I cant thank you all enough, but it's up to him. We dont want to make it any harder on him than it already is.
Thank you everyone for all you have done. And please know that we love every entry
in her guest book know matter how short or long or how many times you sign it or even if your a cubs fan. We love reading them and laughing at Johns(cubs heaven).So please dont not sign in just because you did once already. She is going to read all these some day.

Love Larry,Dawn,Joey and Alexis

Friday, June 15, 2001 at 09:48 PM (CDT)

Hello everyone,
Today has been quite the day.
But first let me fill you in on her CT scan on Monday.As you might have guessed from reading the guest book entries things went well.All but three of the tumors in the lungs are gone on the CT scan, and the remaining ones are very small. Lexi's Dr. told us things are looking excellent.
Now the bad news.
Because it seems with all our good news we have bad news also.Last night Lexi had a fever of 101.4 the Dr. told us to give tylenol and come into the clinic in the morning. At 5:30am her fever had spiked to 103.5.After a cool bath and a page to the Dr. and another dose of tylenol we were on our way back to the Hospital.
It only gets better, during her exam he informed us that her liver and spleen are enlarged and that he is very concerned. He then informed us that he would be removing bone marrow to test for lukeimia (which is a possible side affect of chemo & radiation). Well thank God that came back negative. We are still waiting on the results of the blood cultures to check for a virus or a bacterial infection. Also since she has recieved blood transfusions they need to rule out HIV,TB,Hepatitis and anything else they can think of.
So I guess we will just have to wait and pray for a good out come.

Larry

Thursday, June 07, 2001 at 01:08 AM (CDT)

Hi Everybody,
I am at the Fire Station right now and cant sleep so I thought I would fill you all in.
Alexis spent 5/29-6/2 in the Hospital. Dawns Birthday was 6/1 so we were able to spend another B-day at the Hospital. Lexi did ok she accepts the fact that she is stuck in there for a while. The nurses are wonderful and they all love Lexi. The stay was fairly uneventful. She received a blood transfusion on the 2nd and is going to receive platelets on Friday. A friend of Dawns donated platelets today, a two hour process,what a wonderful person. Of course Alexis is AB- which is very rare I think less than 1% of the population. Our Dr. said platelets are universal but that he wanted to use AB- donors to lessen the chance of problems. So if any of you are AB- and would like to donate blood or platelets E-mail me. Platelets are only good for 5 days so we have to get a few people ready to go on short notice.
Well the big day is coming on the 11th she will get another CT scan of her lungs to see if the tumors have shrunk from the chemo. She is also going to be getting another port put in called a Broviac to harvest Stem Cells in case she needs a Stem Cell Transplant. They will be frozen until needed,hopefuly she won't need them!
Lexi tonight on the phone you told me that you missed me and you wanted me to come home I felt the same way. I love you and will do anything for you if you just get all better for me.

Tuesday, May 29, 2001 at 06:54 AM (CDT)

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope that everyone had a nice Holiday weekend. Alexis,Joey & I did, but Larry worked at the station for alot of it. Alexis missed him very much, everyother word was about Daddy,Daddy,Daddy. She sure does love her Daddy.
We have had a great last week or so. She has been doing wonderful and her blood counts recovered well. She was getting daily shots of Nuepogen since her discharge on May 11th and the doctor stopped them last Tuesday. She has not missed them one bit. The shots help her blood counts recover faster from the chemotherapy. Well today will start her next round of chemotherapy. She is not going to be happy about going back to the hospital, but Larry and I are both GREATFULL that we have such wonderfull family and friends that come to see her. She loves the visitors and the attention. It really keeps her spirits up and makes the days go by faster for us too. After this next hospital stay Alexis will be going in for a CT scan of ther lungs to determine what her tumors are doing. The doctors seem positive that the chemotherapy is working and we are praying that it is.It has to be. Alexis has started to loose alot of her hair, but it does not seem to bother her one bit.
Hopefully, Alexis will be well enough to join me and my teamates on June 30th - July 1st at a walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society. I am really looking forward to being at the walk, I think it will be theraputic for me and some of my teamates.If anyone would like to donate,please e-mail me for more information.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and support.
Love, Dawn & Family

Monday, May 28, 2001 at 04:13 PM (CDT)

Hello to everyone and We hope that you are all enjoyed your Holiday Weekend. We have and Lexi has been wonderful for the last 5 days or so, she has just been so full of energy and her appitite is huge. She has been eating anything and almost anything she can get her hands on. We have had a busy week, we went for additional treatment options at Childrens Memorial Hospital and we decided for the time being that we are going to stay put with our current doctors at Hope. Both of visits with Dr. Salvi this week went wonderfully. She hasn't needed any blood and she seems to be doing great. She has lost alot of her hair but is still hanging on to some. She has not been bothered at all by this. We are going back into the hospital tommorow for the next 5 days, which I am sure Alexis is not going to be happy about, but luckly we have great family and friends who stop up to see us. This really keeps her spirits up, she just loves the attention. After this next round of treatment Alexis will be going in for a CT Scan of her lungs to see what her tumors are doing, the doctors are very positive that the chemotherapy is doing its job and with all our prayers I hope they are right. All the journal entries are very special to us and THANK YOU to everyone that has written to us.

Love, Dawn,Larry,Joey & Alexis

Thursday, May 17, 2001 at 11:12 PM (CDT)

First we would like to thank everyone who has signed Lexi's guestbook from their heart. It is so great to read the entries from all over the U.S.A.,some from people we dont even know. I would like to call you all personally and thank you but I'm not very good at returning calls much less making them(in case anyone didn't know).Although I do want you all to know how much it means to us, and someday to Alexis.
It's been a while since the last entry because Alexis is home and keeping us running. She came home on Sat the 12th, what a nice Mother's Day for Dawn. She is still so full of energy it's amazing,but we were warned on Tuesday to expect her energy levels to decrease and hair loss in the next 5-7 days.It is going to be very hard to see her lose that beautiful curly hair of hers.
We had clinic on Tuesday and got to meet Savannah her Mom and Grandma.Savannah met with the Make a Wish people and wished for a Disney Cruise.I hope you get your wish.What a great charity.
Lexi had blood drawn and as expected her count's were down. She will be receiving a blood transfusion tomorrow at clinic.
We asked to the Dr. about the Bone Marrow Transplant and told him we were looking into other Hospital's.He informed us that we could go anywhere we wanted and it would be about a two week stay in the Hospital.He said he would like us to go to Children's Memorial Hospital and see the Chief Pediatric Oncologist.I thought it was very unlike a Doctor to refer a pt. to another Hospital, but as I'm finding out they are unlike any other Doctor I have ever met.Dr.Hyani said that Children's has more experience and might want to do the BMT sooner,we will find out Monday.

Here's more pic's of daddy's little girl

Thursday, May 10, 2001 at 11:46 PM (CDT)

So here we are three months later.Things were going good, blood counts were good,no fevers that required her to be admitted into the hospital.The effects she had were aches and pains that would wake her up crying,constipation,and dietary changes,like her love for BBQ Ribs.We had no reason to think anything but the best.The Doctors told us that if there was any cancer a child had to get that this was the best one and most treatable.Studies told us Lexi had about a 90% cure rate.Its still cancer but we were very optimistic.
Then on the night of april 28th Lexi began to run a fever along with a cough that she had for a few days.The next day she was about the same,Dawn paged the Doctor,he said he wanted to see her first thing in the morning on Monday at the clinic.Blood cultures taken on Monday showed bacteria growing by Tuesday.The Oncologist contacted Dawn and told her to bring Lexi to the hospital for IV antibiodics.A chest x-ray showed spots on her lungs thought to be the bacterial infection or a fungal infection or possibly tumors.Well you guessed it tumors,12 of them.What the hell is going on? She was getting better! Why is this happening! As Dr.Salvi told us the horrible news we tried to be strong but it was impossible, we cried and Lexi handed us tissue then she wiped her own eyes.
She is so strong and brave she will fight and she will win.
She has to,we need her!

Wednesday, May 09, 2001 at 12:00 PM (CDT)

I am about to head up to the hospital, but I wanted to tell a little bit more first.

After finding out Lexi had a form of kidney cancer called Wilms tumor, stage 3/favorable. We were informed of the following treatment-removal of the rt kidney,7 days of radiation,6 months of chemo weekly with blood tests,x-rays,ultra sounds and ct scans to name a few of the thing's that she would be going through.
Surgery went great, they were able to remove all of the tumor which had also entered into her inferior vena cava.They had also inserted a portacath under the skin which is used to draw blood and give her the poison they call chemotherapy.This portacath is attatched just below her collar bone and is a direct line into her subclavian artery.To Lexi this is her owwie and "the doctor's did it".
I wish it was sweetie.

Wednesday, May 09, 2001 at 12:00 PM (CDT)

I am about to head up to the hospital, but I wanted to tell a little bit more first.

After finding out Lexi had a form of kidney cancer called Wilms tumor, stage 3/favorable. We were informed of the following treatment-removal of the rt kidney,7 days of radiation,6 months of chemo weekly with blood tests,x-rays,ultra sounds and ct scans to name a few of the thing's that she would be going through.
Surgery went great, they were able to remove all of the tumor which had also entered into her inferior vena cava.They had also inserted a portacath under the skin which is used to draw blood and give her the poison they call chemotherapy.This portacath is attatched just below her collar bone and is a direct line into her subclavian artery.To Lexi this is her owwie and "the doctor's did it".I wish it was.

Wednesday, May 09, 2001 at 02:04AM (CDT)

Hello,
My name is Larry,I am a Firefighter for the city of Naperville,IL.I have a wonderful wife Dawn, a fantastic son Joey(4)and the most beautiful special little girl you would ever want to meet, not to mention the most supportive,loving and caring family,friend's and coworker's anyone could imagine.
Alexis was about to have her second birthday at Chucky Chesse's, but instead one day before her b-day on 2/1/01 Alexis was admitted to Hope Children's Hospital with what was assumed to be Wilms tumor.Our live's shattered and forever changed.
Why,why Alexis,why a beautiful innocent 2 year old little girl,why any child,why anyone? I can't figure it out.

Lexi,
I Love you,
Daddy

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