Meet Skylar from Hollister, MO

May 15, 2008 will be a day that we will never forget. This is the day that we found out that our son, Skyler, had a brain tumor. Skyler was an energetic kindergarten student that never had any health issues. In a matter of 2-3 weeks he would be fighting for his life. Skyler was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor called a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Our journey started out at a couple of different hospitals trying to come up with a game plan of how to beat this tumor. Typical treatment for this tumor is 6 weeks of radiation and chemo. Statistics show that this tumor has a 90% chance to grow back within 9-12 months after radiation. We know that each child is different and we did not see why Skyler could not be part of that other 10%. This is when were lead to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. As soon as we walked in the doors we knew we were in the right place. At St Jude we were given and continue to receive such a sense of hope. Their game plan was similar. We were to have 6 weeks of radiation and take a daily oral chemo. We would soon find out that the next 6 weeks would be the hardest 6 weeks of our lives. We would also find out that St Jude is full of the most amazing and caring Doctors and nurses in the world. We were treated like family.

As Skyler started his radiation treatments, the tumor reacted and started to basically shut his body down. He fought hard and never gave up. He took a road that not many take with this tumor. Our 6 year old son could not walk, talk, or drink. Skyler would end up in a wheel chair whereas three short weeks earlier he was out on the soccer field running around. After three long and hard weeks of treatments and being in ICU, not knowing what the next minute held, we were finally released to be outpatient to finish our treatment plan. At St Jude, Skyler had to work hard to get back to where he once was. We are very thankful for everybody that pushed him to the limits to regain his strength. He would do occupational, speech, and physical therapy day in and day out. He slowly progressed each and every day. We were witnessing a miracle in progress.

We came home at the end of July 2008. Skyler was still in his wheelchair, but he was determined to get out of it before school started in just a short few weeks. And he started 1st grade without the wheelchair! Skyler’s faith, strength and determination are what have helped him get to where he is at today. We know we were lead to St Jude to care for our son. Without St Jude and all of the amazing people there, I’m not sure where we would be today. We are very grateful to be part of the St Jude family. That is what we are, we are all a family. We made several friends with different families from across the nation. We are all on level ground going through the same thing. Some more challenging than others, but we are all there for each other.

Skyler is now 8 years old and in 3rd grade. He goes to school all day long and has excellent grades. He is now 2 years out of radiation and going against the odds we were first given. We have an awesome support team of family and friends that have helped us get through. We have learned to live one day at a time and to lean on the Lord for guidance and strength. We believe that the power of prayer is an amazing thing and so are the people at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Meet Abby from Springfield

Diagnosis: Glioblastoma Multiforme Grade IV brain tumor... her mom tells the story:

Abby's tumor was found after her birth in the newborn nursery. She had trouble breathing soon after her birth, which combined with her large head size made the nurses suspicious. They ordered an ultrasound to check for a brain bleed. They found the bleed along with a large malignant tumor taking up much of the right side of her brain.

We heard about St. Jude's through the Dream Home Fundraiser. We had bought a ticket just a month or two before.

The first trip, we were overcome by the kindness and hopefullness of the doctors, as well as the family environment in the waiting room. We were all there for the same reason: to fight for our babies lives. The parents that have been there for a while make it a point to introduce themselves to new families. It makes for a sort of cohesive community inside and outisde of the hospital walls. We have friends through St. Jude's that will always be as close to us as our own families.

St. Jude's gave us the hope that our daughter could beat this disease, that she could come out on the other end a healed, happy and independant woman. They also reminded us that the love of God is alive in the world. There is so much good, so many people that choose to give out of their own needs to help those less fortunate. How could you have anything but hope for our future, when you see the work of St. Judes?

Abby is the first child of her age treated for this type of cancer, so no one really knows for sure the odds of her prognosis. The doctors estimate that she has between a 20-50% chance of remaining cancer-free. But we don't put too much weight in their estimates. Abby is healed!

St' Jude's charged our insurance, but they never made us pay a penny. Even now they take care of all of Abby's cancer related medical needs. Last week, through the local St. John/ St. Jude affiliate, Abby's eye surgery as well as two pre-op and one post-op visit were completely paid for by St. Jude's.

Meet Macy from Ozark

Macy's story as told by her Mom...

After 8 months of having a healthy, loveable, and enjoyable baby, I had to find a way to live with the fact that Macy’s Daddy was being called to serve our country in IRAC. The time of war in our lives that I NEVER thought, as a wife, I would have to face. Knowing my husband Brian and his sincere dedication to our country and his loyalty to the National Guard, this was something he has trained for and nothing would make him prouder than fulfilling the mission to preserve peace in our country. I never thought as a wife or mom that I would have to say goodbye and farewell to someone I loved the most and to witness three children having to let go of their Daddy for a Year. It was time for me to step up and be strong and continue our family traditions. Goodbyes are hard to do but a goodbye to my grandfather was harder to accept, as that also happened at that same time.

I took Macy and her sister Madison to the doctor for a snotty, runny nose to make sure we were all well enough to make their great-grampa’s funeral. A runny nose turned into my detecting a lump popping out of Macy’s side. That was not what we were at the doctor’s office for, but a concerned Mom and a diagnosis from the doctor lead to further scans of that area. The news the next day revealed Macy had a tumor of her Kidney. Most people would think they’d just take it out and we’d go on with life. Well, NOT WHEN YOU ARE TOLD IT IS CANCER!!!!! With the shock of that diagnosis, we were ready to sell the house and everything we own to save the life of our daughter. But we didn’t have to…

Macy’s Pediatrician recommended St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. We had no clue what St. Jude was about or even meant. And after driving all night and arriving at St. Jude, we were greeted by the most highly trained individuals a hospital could have… I have never felt such gratitude in my life! Macy was seen that day by so many doctors and nurses… underwent many tests that finally revealed, late that evening, that she had Whilms Tumor (cancer of the kidney). A cancer that was already at stage 4… 5 being the worst… and it had spread to her lung. We couldn’t understand how this could be in an 8 month old, healthy child that hadn’t had any sign of problems!

After 6 months of Chemotherapy and radiation we were relieved to find out her final scans showed that she was cancer free! But then they found another spot in her lung. Relapse is not something we were prepared for. Extensive Chemo and more radiation required us to be in Memphis for 6 months. During that time, St. Jude provided housing, an expense card and anything to make our day easier… GOD BLESS St. Jude. Now, Macy is home and doing well. We go back to St. Jude every 6 months to reveal the greatest news ever. NO SIGN OF CANCER!!!!

We are so thankful to St. Jude for taking our fear away and for allowing our little girl to be with her family forever. We could never have accomplished our mission without St. Jude and you, their supporters. We Love You and Praise you everyday of our life. By the way, we support St. Jude, and everyone that works there… I see the bills come in and because of St. Jude, we are bill free and today, have a beautiful, healthy daughter!!!

Another precious life saved thanks to YOU and St. Jude... if you're not a Partner in Hope, you can become one at any time... see the link at KTTS.com. Thank you.

Meet Cross... a St. Jude patient from Springfield, MO

This story is told by Cross's parents:

Our journey at St Jude began on August 24, 2005. Cross was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma ( a central nervous system tumor) cancer that originated on his right adrenal gland.
He is cared for by a team of phenomenal health care providers led by Dr Wayne Furman at St Jude. We felt so blessed to be at St Jude at the exact time that a brand new protocol had just been approved for Neuroblastoma in the summer of 2005. Cross was actually the first child on this new protocol and received 2 different rounds of an experimental drug exclusive to St Jude. In addition the this agent, he received 13 rounds of intense 'induction' IV chemotherapy, a 12 hour surgery, stem cell harvest and transplant, 17 rounds of radiation, and 16 months of oral maintenance accutane and chemotherapy.

He is doing remarkably well ,as we continue to visit Memphis every 4 months for scans. He endures CAT scans, MIBG scans, PET scans and bone marrow biopsies at each of these follow up visits. He has been without evidence of disease for almost 3 years. He is amazingly strong and has no fears thanks to St Jude and looks forward to each and every visit.
We owe his life to God's healing hand and the wisdom of St Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

One of the MANY reasons so many people give to St. Jude... they truly DO save lives... the lives of people we know and love, right here at home... Please, become a Partner In Hope... you can do it easily at KTTS.com. Thank you... from Cross and Today's KTTS.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Wow, seems like yesterday I was writing about Christmas! Where does the time go? And aren't we tired of wondering that? Okay, so another year has come and gone, we're another year older, another wrinkle has settled on our faces, another pound around the middle? OR are we better than we were a year ago? Have we loved a little stronger? Taken a little better care of ourselves? Taken a little better care of somebody else? Are we more grateful for our blessings this year?

I know I've shared this little bit of wisdom before, but it bears repeating... gratitude is the secret to happiness, health, wealth and all things good! The best prayer we could ever utter would be simply "Thank You." And, even when things seem to be at their worst, there is still plenty to be thankful for... I've learned a lot about that this past year myself. Seems like everything that could go wrong in several areas of my life, in fact, did... I was very tempted to give in to the distress, stress and depression. But then I was reminded that 'this, too shall pass' and if I am open to it, that there was bound to be great good just waiting for me! So I chose to be thankful... and there's no better way to increase your good than to be thankful for what you already have... kind of like putting Miracle Grow on it. And you know what? It really works!

I also want to express my gratitude for our wonderful listeners at KTTS... again, this year, they've dug deep and stepped up to share their blessings with literally hundreds of children, families and senior citizens in order to provide them with Christmas gifts through our Christmas Crusade. It's truly a blessing to witness the REAL reason for the season... mankind's love for his neighbor in need. What a gift it is to be able to be a part of that... THANK YOU! And Merry Christmas.

Antiques Are Useful Too!

I know, I know, I know... it's been awhile... I've just been BUSY! And if you're a single mom with two teenagers, you know exactly what I mean. And no, the oldest hasn't got that driver's license yet, so I'm still doing chauffer duty. (at least there have been no 'mishaps' in traffic... what time consumers those are!)

So, back to my subject... antiques. I've been taking a lot of crap lately about a certain antique that NOBODY uses anymore... but me! AND, I've been taking quite a bit of pleasure in telling those who criticize just how much money I'm saving that THEY are NOT. I'm talking about my cell phone. I don't have the new Iphone or Blackberry or Palm... (had to ask a friend for some names of the new fangled ones out there...) Anyway, my phone is so old that I can't even remember what YEAR I got it! (I know, most people would simply DIE if they didn't upgrade at least twice a year...) All I know is it's only the second one I've had since my original... get ready for it... BAG phone in 1995! I know it's shameful!!!

So... my phone is an old Nokia... no flip top, no touch screen... the buttons are on the OUTSIDE of the phone. It's pretty big and when I wear it on my belt... yes, I do occasionally do that... it impedes my freedom of movement. I can't send or receive emails or surf the internet... OH NO! BUT, I do believe I can text... not that I've ever tried. I do, however, make PHONE CALLS when they are absolutely necessary! You see, I got my phone to be available for my kids, in case they were bleeding or throwing up or something and I needed to come get them. I didn't get my phone so I could chat non-stop or text non-stop or check my emails when I'm away from my computer... or be a distracted driver... but that's another soap box.... I told my boss that he could have my cell number when he agreed to pay my phone bill... so no work calls.

So why don't I upgrade and get one of those phones that can even wipe my... uh... nose for me? Well, I've had this phone so long that my "Freedom 40" plan (where I only got 40 anytime minutes each month) has turned into 250 anytime minutes and 500 night/weekend minutes... all of which I will never use... AND I'm still paying only... wait for it... TWENTY DOLLARS a month! Now, if I ever DO upgrade that phone, that number will change A LOT... Let's see, how much money do I save a year that YOU don't? Yep, I'll keep the antique, thank you VERY much! Happy texting... or whatever it is you do.

And I thought the school year was tough!

So, it's been awhile... my excuse? CHILDREN!!!! I thought toddlers kept me busy, but I've changed my mind... teenagers are much more time consuming! Or maybe it's "mind consuming!" I've heard this before, but now that I've reached this point in my boys' lives, I have to agree: teenagers are really just "terrible twos" that are taller and more vocal than their shorter, younger versions. I mean, they have to be fed every two hours or they're cranky beyond belief! They whine when they're bored... which is all the time! The word "no" will send them into a tantrum! And you have to constantly watch them to keep them from breaking things or hurting themselves! It's exhausting! Nothing like the lazy days of summer...

Then, there's the driving thing... still going through that. I had this brilliant idea to take the boys on a little road trip to Illinois so the "student driver" could get in some extra hours behind the wheel. Well, that was a great idea except for the back seat driver! Mr. 14 year old, "I know it all," was only too eager to critique every mile... for 5 and 1/2 LONG hours!!! The arguments were non-stop! So, not only were my nerves shot, but my patience as well! I'm truly surprised I didn't leave them in Illinois! HOW did my mother raise SEVEN children without beating us all to death?! Well, she DID spank us... a few times... but it worked... if only my boys didn't tower over me and out-weigh me by several dozen pounds!!!

Okay, okay, okay... I get a little carried away. They really ARE good kids... I'm just hoping this teenage stuff passes quickly... or that I find more patience... or the secret to the universe... It sure makes me appreciate my job!!!

Have a fun summer... go frolick!