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| Some of our Helping Hands 4 Morgan team members from last year! |
Saturday
November 23, 2013
Bethpage Ballpark
Central Islip, NY
Our Helping Hands 4 Morgan team is once again participating in the St. Jude Give Thanks Walk on Saturday, November 23, 2013! Last year, we were the #1 fundraising team on Long Island, this year we want to be #1 in NY!! We are reaching out to family, near and far; friends, new and old; and our wonderful North Fork Community to help us reach our goal and to help St. Jude and help other kids just like Morgan. If you are unable to donate, we would love to have some new team members this year to help us fundraise or if you would like to help out by simply spreading the word about the walk through social media or even hang up a flier in your office/workplace, we would so greatly appreciate it! Hunter and Morgan are actual fundraising participants this year!
It is truly difficult for us to put into words just how much we LOVE St. Jude and to describe how truly spectacular they are. Words just don’t do it justice. It is, without a doubt, one of those places where to see it, is to believe it but we have tried our best to express how awesome they are and to share a little glimpse of our journey so far. I apologize in advance for the length of this entry but we hope you know how much we appreciate you taking the time to read it!
In the early part of September 2011, at the age of 2 ½,
Adam and I noticed Morgan’s right eye occasionally turning inward. At the very worst, we worried that she would
need glasses; then on September 16, 2011 we were given the devastating news
that our daughter had a brain tumor. One
day later, we were given even more earth shattering news. Morgan had a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma
(DIPG) and, because of its location in the brainstem, it was not only
inoperable, but terminal. There is no
cure for DIPG; the average life expectancy of a child with DIPG is only 11
months after diagnosis. We were told
that we would have no more than 2 years max with her.
With the help of Peconic Pediatrics we quickly began
researching our options; St. Jude kept rising to the foreground. Once a place only seen to us on TV; St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital would soon become a beacon of hope. The hardest part was being away from our,
then, nearly 5 year old daughter Hunter who had only just started Kindergarten
at the time. We made the difficult
decision to have Adam stay home with Hunter while Morgan and I stayed at St.
Jude for 7 weeks.
We, naturally, had reservations about making the right
choice; we were scared to be so far away from home, from everything and everybody
we knew and loved, but after the first day there, we never revisited that
thought again. The Doctors and Nurses
that take care of Morgan are PHENOMENAL! She is not just a patient to them, but
a little girl that they truly care about.
It is a hospital that treats catastrophic illnesses, a hospital that
could be filled with sadness and fear, but it is not; St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital is a hospital full of incredible people and inspirational
families that make you want to smile and fight rather than lay down and cry but
most of all, it is a hospital full of HOPE.
By the end of the 7 weeks, we were scared to go home, we were scared to
leave the comfort of St. Jude and everyone there we grew so very attached to.
Everyone we interact with at that Hospital is so kind and
I mean EVERYONE! What makes St. Jude so
unique, what makes them stand out from the rest is not just the extraordinary medical
care but the little things that go on at the Hospital on a daily basis. It’s the head maintenance man in the
Grizzly House who always stops to say hello and see how we are doing. It’s the workers in the Kay Kafe who know
Morgan by name and always try to talk to her, even though she won’t say two
words to them. It’s the child life
specialist that always makes time to have a special appointment for our older
daughter Hunter when she visits. It’s
the Doctors and Nurses you pass in the hallways who will actually stop to give
you a hug and say hello. It’s the
friendships we have with other families and the unspoken respect we have for
one another, it’s that common bond that nobody else will ever understand. We have come to appreciate every person
there. We’ve been in and out of
hospitals through the years and we’ve never experienced the kindness and care
that we get at St. Jude. St. Jude is
truly a special place like no other.
Here are just a
few more reasons to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital:
1.
The daily operating cost for St. Jude is $1.8 million, which is
primarily covered by public contributions.
2.
During the past five years, 81
cents of every dollar received has supported the research and treatment at
St. Jude.
3.
St. Jude pays ALL medical expenses not covered by insurance;
families at St. Jude will NEVER receive any sort of bill from them! We recently had to switch health insurance
plans and our new plan does not pay for anything out of state or out of network,
meaning, we would have had to sell everything we owned to have Morgan treated
there!! Morgan is under the best care in
the world thanks to St. Jude and thanks to contributions from supporters like you
and we are so very thankful!!!
4.
Research findings at St. Jude are shared freely with doctors and
scientists all over the world. You are
not only helping kids at St. Jude but you are helping kids everywhere!!
5.
In 1962, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia
(ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, was 4 percent. Today, the
survival rate for this once deadly disease is 94 percent, thanks to research
and treatment protocols developed at St. Jude.
6.
St. Jude has developed protocols that have helped push overall
survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent when the
hospital opened in 1962 to 80 percent today.
7.
Parents magazine named St. Jude as one of the top children's cancer
care hospitals in the U.S. for two consecutive surveys.
THANK YOU!!!!
All our love,
Nikki, Adam, Hunter,
and Morgan
I had my TL a little more than a year ago when my third child was born via c-section. I was not told ANYTHING about the possible side effects of having this procedure. Since then I have experienced heavy bleeding lasting sometimes 3 weeks out of the month, weight gain, severe mood swings. Severe cramping, changes to my libido, severe depression accompanied by suicidal thoughts, headaches, migraines, many new symptoms & older issues are now exacerbated. The father of two of my children doesn't want me anymore. I've become too much of a pain in the ass I guess. We don't talk. We don't sleep in the same bed. I think he might really think I am crazy... & maybe I am. I feel crazy a lot of the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm unpredictable. I feel so angry about the whole thing & now what was once a mild fear of doctors has exploded into full on white coat syndrome that causes me to have a panic attack/hypertensive emergency (severe increase in blood pressure) whenever I have to deal with them. I'm not sure what to do... I fear the next time I have to see a doctor I'll have a stroke or a heart attack from the stress & anxiety of it... what do I do? I take my time and keep searching on internet looking for natural healing that how I came across Dr Itua herbal center website and I was so excited when Dr Itua told me to calm down that he will help me with his natural remedy I put my hope on him so I purchase his herbal medicines which was shipped to my address I used it as prescribed guess what? I'm totally healed my cramp pain is gone completely I also used his Anti Bacteria herbal medicines it's works for me very well I want anyone with health problem to contact Dr Itua herbal center for any kind diseases remedies such as Parkinson, Herpes, ALS, MS, Diabetes, Hepatitis, Hiv/Aids,Cancers, Men & Women Infertility, I got his email address drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com he has any kind of herbal remedies for women & men also for our babes. I really miss my Hunni...he's a fantastic father & a good man. He doesn't deserve this. I feel like an empty shell of who I used to be...