Treatment Update: Delayed Intensification begins!
March 24th, 2008 | by Emily | See all Treatment Update entries |
Maddie’s chemothereapy vacation ended today. It’s with a combination of dread and anticipation that we greet the day today. We drew Maddie’s blood yesterday afternoon after we returned from Forida. The call came in this morning that, indeed, after three weeks of trying she had finally made her counts, so treatment could resume. I kept telling myself all day that this was a good thing, as it would get us closer to the ultimate finish line, but I will readily admit that I have enjoyed this break on our leukemia treatment marathon. No meds for 3 weeks reminded us of what life was like before the diagnosis; Maddie was engaged and energetic, she slept well, her moods were less erratic and more predictable, and, most striking to us, she could not have been picked out of a crowd as the sick kid.
Also, delayed intensification has loomed in our minds as a daunting 6-week period. The steroid, dexamethasone, rears its ugly head in high doses for three weeks. Brad and I now become short order cooks at all hours of the day and night and develop endless patience as we deal with an emotionally labile child. Truth be told, we struggled with the intial 28-day steroid phase, so we begin this phase with some trepidation, but also having learned some lessons from round 1.
Delayed Intensification brings other medications that Maddie has had before, such as vincristine (IV) and methotrexate (intrathecally), and PEG Asparaginase (IM). It also brings several new medications, such as Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, and Thioguanine. In addition to the side effects of the medications she’s had before, she may experience some new ones as well.
Today, we “put tubey in” at 9am and headed off to Maine Med for her lumbar puncture. Maddie has become a pro at this routine in a short amount of time. Last night, we talked about the LP and the fact that she couldn’t eat or drink before the test. I’m always amazed by the way in which she deals with it. Her LP wasn’t until 11:30am and, while she said she was hungry or thirsty several times, she never threw a fit. I wanted to throw fit; I was hungry, too. Instead, with much anticipation, we planned what we would have after the test; she wanted either a bagel with cream cheese or a grilled cheese and french fries. We wheeled her into the procedure room without a peep; she held onto her blanket and had her baby next to her. As I talked with her about what we would eat afterward, the anesthesiologist put the propofol through her port and she was off to sleep.
The LP went well and without complications. At the café, she opted for the grilled cheese with french fries. Our next stop was clinic where she was due for IV vincristine and IV doxorubicin. Maddie visited with Daisy briefly, although Daisy seemed a bit sheepish due to a bad hair day. We talked with Bambi, Liz and Dr. Eric. We hadn’t been to clinic in a few weeks, so it was nice to check in with the folks there. Maddie added a few beads to her beaded journey, and then she received her meds. After taking “tubey” out, we were done.
She’s due back on Thursday for 2 intramuscular injections of PEG Asparaginase. Maddie hates the PEG injections, but we’ve been talking about the shots and she’s not so fearful of them anymore. I think our open, honest communication with her has really served her and us well throughout this entire experience.
One funny note about today’s clinic experience…one of the side effects of doxorubicin is that it can turn your pee pink. I guess it usually last for about 48 hours after the treatment. So, tonight when Maddie went to go pee, I told her that her pee might be pink and that she shouldn’t be worried if it is. She absolutely died laughing. She thought it was hilarious that her pee would be pink (it is her favorite color, you know). Just picture this, she’s sitting on the toilet looking down with anticipation to see what color her pee would be. To her disappointment, it was just regular pee color. I tried to temper her disappointment with the news that perhaps next time she peed it would be pink!
March 24th, 2008 at 8:07 pm (#)
Ha ha ha, I’m glad that the trip went well, and hopefully she gets to see her favorite color for a short time before it goes away again.
And I probably would have gone with the grilled cheese myself, that’s a good choice. (Woulda skipped the fries, though.)
March 25th, 2008 at 11:40 am (#)
Good luck to all of you during this phase of treatment. I hope that things go as well as possible for all of you and, most of all, that it does what it’s supposed to do. This is a terrible thing to have happen to any kid, but Maddie is very lucky to have you and Brad guiding her through it.
Good luck with the treatment, fundraising, and the remainder of your Trials training.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:32 pm (#)
My advice is carry some red food coloring and sneak drop it into the potty. A little white lie, in my opinion, is always excused if a child’s disappointment is the alternative.
I saw the article on you in Runners World and have been checking it out from time to time. Best of luck with the upcoming trials and, more importantly, with the upcoming treatment. Hope all is well with you and Brad- haven’t seen you since Bowdoin.
If you’re ever down in the Rhode Island area, we would love for you to visit us. You can check out info on us and the kids on one of our many websites (www.jimlemire.com, ljej.blogspot.com, attleborobio.blogspot.com).
March 26th, 2008 at 7:00 pm (#)
Everyone at Bowdoin hopes Maddie’s next phase of treatment is going as well as possible. We’re thinking of her as she begins the next 6 weeks, and we wish the best of luck to Emily as she continues to train. We’re confident that all will go well for both of you!
March 26th, 2008 at 7:13 pm (#)
Although geographically far apart, our thoughts are with you all here in Tokyo!
The Tyler Foundation had a successful fund raising event around the recent Tokyo Marathon. Over 70 runners participated on our behalf lead by Mara Yamauchi, British Olympic marathon runner.
Best wishes for the next treatment phase and the training!
March 28th, 2008 at 7:13 am (#)
Emily and Maddie,
Thank you for coming to our school and talking to us. Life must be really busy with all the treatments and just trying to live with day to day life, and it really means a lot that you could come and say hi to us and talk to us.
I hope Maddie is doing well, and I hope the shots that she got didn’t hurt too much.
Emily, I really hope you do well with the trial, and if you make the Olympics you can bet that I am going to be watching you every second of them. That is kind of my dream to, to make it to the Olympics.
I hope both of you are doing well with the fundraiser and are getting closer and closer to your goal every day. Thanks again for visiting us.
Best of Wishes,
Catiee
March 28th, 2008 at 7:15 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you for coming in yesterday. It was very nice to see somebody that was so energetic and still have a sickness like Maddie’s. Emily, I think that it is great that you do so much to help Maddie with whatever she needs no matter what time or where you are.
Thank you for coming in. It was great. Oh and Maddie good luck with the pink pee next time.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:18 am (#)
Dear Maddie,
I hope your treatment went well yesterday . Thank you for coming to the Bath Middle School and seeing us. We all really were happy to see you. It was nice to see that you were feeling better and I hope that you will come and see us again.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:20 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you so much for coming in yesterday. I think that you two are so brave. Thank you so much for making a special trip in to see us. The red house was so happy that you could make it with your busy schedule. Maddie is the bravest little girl that I know. She is handling having cancer so well. I think that you, Emily, are handling this really well too. I just wanted to thank you so much for coming in to explain her condition to us. Thanks for coming in to talk to us.
Sincerely,
Kaitlyn
March 28th, 2008 at 7:21 am (#)
Dear Emily,
Thank you for coming in to Bath Middle and talking to us. We enjoyed listening and asking questions about leukemia. It saddens me that some kids and adults who are diagnosed with leukemia are unable to receive quality healthcare because they cannot afford it. You have one of the cutest and bravest daughters I’ve seen. I can’t imagine experiencing such a life changing event and being able to be happy and positive about it. You are a very lucky mother, and it’s a shame this world doesn’t have many mothers like you. I hope you exceed your goal of $52,400 and continue receiving donations from other generous and kind people. I will be sending all of my friends and family who don’t live nearby an e-mail about your foundation and a link to your website. I hope my family (who sadly don’t live close at all) will also donate money to your wonderful foundation, and that it will helps hundreds of other leukemia patients at the hospital. I hope your Olympics tryouts go well, and we’re rooting for you here at Bath Middle.
Best of wishes for a speedy recovery for Maddie,
Scott
P.S. I hope Daisy’s bad hair day is over!
March 28th, 2008 at 7:21 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily;
Thank you for coming in to see us. It was great seeing you. We hope you will come in again sometime. I hope Maddie’s treatment goes well. Maddie will still have fun, no matter what. She must like Daisy a lot! It sounded like Maddie has fun with Daisy. I am glad that you two came in to school and spoke to us. Good luck!
Sincerely,
Codey Musolff
March 28th, 2008 at 7:22 am (#)
Dear Maddie & Emily,
Thank you so much for coming yesterday to BMS. I had been looking forward to your visit ever since the teachers told us you were coming. Before you came I wasn’t quite sure what leukemia was and what the side effects were. Now that you came I am fully aware of what it is and want to in help people who have it. I never realized what a serious disease it was. Maddie, you are a really brave girl and I hope that you get over this with just as much as a smile as you have now. Good luck always!!!!!
Luv, Jen
March 28th, 2008 at 7:23 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you for coming in yesterday to our school. My class and I read the article and we are so happy to hear that you both are doing so well in treatment. We think that this is the greatest news you have received yet. I also think that qualifying for the Olympics is going well too. Maddie’s a brave young girl, because I was a woos back then but you make us fell good inside. I think that this web site is a great way of telling people what Maddie is going through. It’s almost like she’s a celebrity because first she’s in the newspaper and then she came to our school, and now there’s a web site, that is such joy. We hope that you get to your goal for the fundraising for Maddie, Emily. Maddie makes us cheer up and she also makes us think about those people who are like Maddie, but Maddie’s like everyone else. I hope she knows that. See you soon!
March 28th, 2008 at 7:25 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you, for coming in to our school and talking about how hard it’s been battling leukemia. I hope that everything went well at the clinic. I’m amazed at how brave Emily is in doing everything like getting all the shots. I hope you can reach your goal on getting $52,400 and doing well in the Olympic trials.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:26 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you for coming to our school and talking to about what Maddie has. I hope everything went well at the clinic for her, and I hope Maddie got to see Daisy. I also hope the shots and treatment went well. Your life must be really busy going to the clinic and then having to help her out. Good luck with everything that comes your way.
Best of luck
Lexy Fowlie
March 28th, 2008 at 7:29 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
I am very impressed and amazed at how much you two can take. I mean, there is so much to do with Maddie’s leukemia, I was on the brink of crying when I saw how sweet and caring Maddie was, and to think,she ‘s sick with a deadly disease. Maddie would not be here if people had not donated blood. I really wish everyone could donate blood. Maddie, you are one brave little girl. Emily, I can’t imagine the pain and fear you and your husband must have felt, when you found out that your little girl had leukemia. But, it also must give you a chance to let people see the reality of a disease like this. I hope that Maddie and you can touch other people in the way you two touched me. After you two left, every one was saying how adorable Maddie was, and that they all want to just squeeze her. I know, I did. The students also wanted to go to all of the blood drives and bring lots of people to donate blood. I hope som day I can be as strong as you two. For such a cute little girl, you sure can put up a fight against this disease. Thank you both for coming to Bath Middle School and telling us about your journey, I loved your bead journey. It was quite beautiful. Maddie, I know you can beat this. Get better soon.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:30 am (#)
Dear Maddie,
Hey, how has your day been so far? I am writing this letter to you to thank you and your mom for coming to BMS. I am very happy that your blood pressure stayed up so you can keep taking your treatment! I hope that you are staying in a good mood to make your mom and dad’s lives a lot easier. I hope that all of tour treatments go the way they’re supposed to, and that you can get through all of them. I bet you were kind of upset when you didn’t get to see your pee turn pink. I really hope you guys reach your goal for fund raising for the children that have cancer.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:52 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
I hope you had a great time here at the school, and I hope your appointment went well. It was very cool to see you guys here and see how wonderful you two are. You two are very strong in this time. Emily, you have a very cute and very smart little girl. She seems very aware of what she has for cancer. I know that she is going to be good and make it through. Maddie is funny, very funny. She knows what needles go where and what she has to do whenever she goes to the clinic. I hope you have a great day!
Good luck with the fund.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:54 am (#)
Maddie,
I hope your treatment went well yesterday. I just wanted to thank you and your mom for coming to our school yesterday. You are a brave little girl and I don’t think I would be able to go through what you have. Your mom is a wonderful person with everything she has done for you, and what she is going through. Emily, I was grateful that you could come to our school on such short notice, and be open to talking about Maddie’s cancer. I think it’s great that you are still reaching for your goals even with Maddie having leukemia.
Oh and, Maddie, I hope next time your pee turns pink!
March 28th, 2008 at 7:58 am (#)
Dear Maddie,
I was so glad that you and your mother could come in to our school and talk about what you are going through. You were so cute when you said butterfly when your mother was holding you up in the air. You were very brave letting your mom tell everybody about your cancer. I wish that I could give blood to you, but I can promise this to you. When I get older and if you still have your cancer, then I am going to give you some of my blood. You must have gone through a lot lately, and it must have been very difficult to get up in front of a lot of people that you do not even know and talk about your cancer. I really wish that you did not have leukemia. I think that you should not be put through all of this trouble. I wish there was a way for me to help you. Well, I have one last thing to say THANK YOU!!!
March 28th, 2008 at 8:01 am (#)
Dear Emily,
Thanks for bringing Maddie to BMS. It was very interesting to learn about leukemia. Good luck with the marathon, Emily. I am so glad that Maddie is holding up. She is a very strong four-year-old. It was really cool that you took time our of your busy schedule to come to our school and teach us more about this awful disease. I really hope you will be in the Olympics.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:02 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you for coming to BMS yesterday. My class learned a lot about leukemia and what its like to live with it. I hope things went well at the clinic after you left my school. I was really surprised how well Maddie handled the fact that she has cancer. My class is glad that Maddie is feeling better. I hope that you guys raise enough money for Maddie’s treatment and that you do well in the Olympic trials, Emily.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:06 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you for coming to our school to talk about Maddie’s cancer. You taught me the bit of information I was missing. Emily, I don’t know how you can juggle it all. I think it is amazing how you and Maddie fight through leukemia everyday, especially while you are training for the Olympic Trials. Maddie was so cute! She brought smiles and laughter to the room. Maddie, I loved your beaded journey, which was really cool. It was kind of surprising to me how much knowledge Maddie has about her cancer and the equipment that she has to use. I wish you all good luck, I hope you reach your goal for the Two Trials, and hopefully the red house donation helps you fulfill your goal.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:06 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you so much for coming to our school and sharing with us. Maddie was adorable! We all enjoyed listening to you. Maddie, you are a very brave girl, and I was suprised to see you being so comfortable talking to so many people. Emily, it must be tough having to take care of Maddie, and train for the Olympics. I am really impressed with how you guys can handle all this at once. I loved seeing your bead journey, Maddie. It was really pretty. I was surprised when I saw Maddie being so comfortable with all her equipment and how much she knows about cancer. Maddie is so cute and she brought a smile to everybody’s face. I really hope you reach your goal for the two trials fund. I am glad I got to meet both of you. Thank you for teaching me about cancer. I wish you the best of luck with training for the Olympic Trials and fighting cancer.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:10 am (#)
Dear Emily And Maddie,
I really wanted to say thanks for coming. Maddie, you were really brave for coming and talking to all of us and telling us about your cancer. And, Emily, you were great you have a lot going on for you right now like training for the Olympics and doing everything that you need to do for Maddie. You seem really confident about talking about Maddie’s cancer. I know that if I had a child with leukemia, I wouldn’t be strong enough to talk to anyone about it. I think that because you talk about it, it is helping other families that have something going on that is similar to your family. Another reason why I think that it is a good thing is for health reasons like you help people understand what leukemia actually is. I was really surprised that you didn’t start crying because like you said, without the blood donations, Maddie wouldn’t be here today. I think that it is really great that you and Brad sit down and explain to Maddie about her cancer. And I think that Maddie understands most of what a little girl her age with leukemia needs to know. Emily, I am so happy for you doing all of this with Maddie and still the Olympics. It’s great that you know how to take Maddie’s blood at home because I think it makes thing a lot easier for your family and makes Maddie more comfortable.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:14 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
I want to thank you so much for coming to our school. We all enjoyed it and hope the best for her. I am happy your blood counts stayed up for all of your treatments. Emily, I am glad you were so open to talk about Maddie’s leukemia. I hope you do well in your Olympics, Emily. Thank you, Maddie, for being such a good sport and coming to BMS. We appreciate it. I hope your reach your goal for the cancer campaign!
Next time i hope your pee turns pink, Maddie!
much support,
Zamara Grant.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:37 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
Thank you so much for taking your time to come to Bath Middle School. We know you’re really busy, and I think it’s awesome that you came here and taught us about leukemia, and how well Maddie is doing on her journey. You’re extremely brave, Maddie, and I’m really impressed that you’re only four years old! There are many four-year-olds out there that wouldn’t be able to handle the treatment you’re going through, and you’re very lucky to have all this support. Emily, I think it’s great that you’re raising money to help other families! It’s really kind of you to do something for other families while you’re on your own journey with Maddie’s illness.
Best wishes & much support,
Sophie.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:39 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you so much for the visit at our school yesterday. We learned a lot about your cancer, leukemia, and what you are going through. Maddie, you are so brave, and the way you brightened up the whole room and made everyone laugh was fun. Your beaded journey was cool too. Emily, I don’t see how you can manage your schedule between training and Maddie’s leukemia. You two are amazing. Thank you for coming to our school and giving us your knowledge. Good luck with the fundraiser and my best hopes to you Emily with the Olympics. Maddie, I hope your pee turns pink!
March 28th, 2008 at 8:41 am (#)
Dear Emily,
Thank you for coming to school and telling us about Maddie and her illness. I hope that everything was all right at the treatment yesterday. Maddie was very calm in front of so many other, bigger kids. She must have done that before. There was a lot that I didn’t know, but you guys explained it well. Maddie was very cute, especially when talking about Daisy. Is Daisy the “treatment dog’s” actual name? I hope that you guys can reach your goal of $54,200. I know you’re close, and I’m sure you’ll get there soon.
Support from,
Sam Leeman
March 28th, 2008 at 8:42 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
Thank you for coming to our school on Thursday and talking to us about childhood leukemia. I was really happy to see that you had a really open relationship with Maddie about her disease and what she would have to deal with. She is the bravest four-year-old I have ever seen, and I would know. I have a baby sister who is four. When I have to go to the doctor for shots I still cry like a baby, and I’m 13. I hope that you do well with your Olympics training, Emily.
P.S. Maddie you look so cute in that pink princess dress on the site. I want one!
Much support and care,
Liz Bergeron
March 28th, 2008 at 8:46 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thanks so much for coming to our school and explaining what it has been like with Maddie and her leukemia. It made me realize how lucky I am to be alive and healthy. Also, it made me glad to be running a blood drive which will probably save many lives like blood donations helped save Maddie’s. I remember when my friend had leukemia and how scary it was for everybody, but I never knew all of the different medications and places she had to go, I was also very young at the time. This shows that you guys have a strong and supportive family with lots of courage. I hope that the treatments went well and continue going well. Tell Daisy I said hi!
Much Support,
Amanda Morton
P.S. I plan to be watching the Olympics this year and hope to see you there, Emily!!!!!
P.P.S. You are very lucky to have a beautiful, bubbly, cheerful, cute little girl as your daughter!!!
March 28th, 2008 at 8:46 am (#)
Dear Emily,
It was nice of you to come to our school with Maddie and explain what leukemia is. I thought that it must be hard coming in telling people who you don’t even know and explaining what you and your family had to go through. I am writing this letter to you because I appreciate that you came and talked to us. I also thought that your daughter was cute and you could not even tell she had leukemia. I also hope you get the money you need for the fundraiser. I also hope you get to go to the Olympics and compete for a medal.
3/28/08
Sincerely,
Cody Schooley
March 28th, 2008 at 9:00 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
Yesterday when you came into our school, you shared some of the stories of leukemia and what things that you went through while you had leukemia. I liked the beaded journey that you passed around. I thought that that was really cool. I hope that yesterday your trip to the clinic went well. Also I liked the stories that you told us like the one where when you went to the clinic and you weighed the dog Daisy before you weighed yourself. So I hope that you do well with your leukemia and you grow out of it soon, and, Emily, I hope that your running time is fast for the trials.
From, Nathan
March 28th, 2008 at 9:05 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you for coming in and telling us about Maddie’s illness and what it is like living with leukemia. I hope that you don’t have to battle it much longer and you are leukemia free. I learned a lot and hope you come back to teach us more.
PS. Hope you meet your goal of $52,400.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:11 am (#)
I’m glad to see that Maddies treatment went well and I hope the run goes just as well!
March 28th, 2008 at 10:30 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
Thank you for coming to our school, the Bath Middle School, on Thursday. I learned a lot from what you and Maddie told us. I’m glad you two were able to come yesterday. Maddie looked like she had a really fun time while she was here. I think that it is really sad that a four-year-old and her family have to go through this kind of experience. It was really funny when Maddie stood on your lap and started to pretend that she was a butterfly. I’m glad that Maddie was hyper and energetic. Maddie really looks like a four-year-old kid that doesn’t have any kind of disease. At first I thought that she didn’t have a disease, but then she knew all these facts about leukemia, and I was really surprised at how much a four-year-old could know about a disease. Maddie is really smart, and she is really funny. I hope that you and Maddie are able to get all the money you are trying to raise. At our school we have a person who is trying to raise one hundred dollars for Maddie and she is about twenty dollars away. I hope that you, Emily, make to the Olympics. Thank you for coming on Thursday.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:30 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
I think it’s amazing what you two do every day. I, personally, hate getting shots, but Maddie just goes and gets them. I’m very impressed by how brave Maddie is about it. Also, running 13.5 miles is a very long time to run, but Emily, you run that much practically every day. I could never run that much! Anyway, I want to thank you guys for coming to Bath Middle School and talking to the red house students about your disease, Maddie, and your Olympic running, Emily. It was very thoughtful of you two to come to our school, and it was also a great learning experience. I learned a lot of new things about blood and cancer like how when you get a cut, your body forms a type of bandage called a platelet. Also, it was very cute to hear what Maddie had to say. She knew a lot about leukemia, which impressed me because when I was her age, I didn’t even know that there was a disease called cancer! Thanks again! I hope you two reach your goal of earning $52,400 for children’s cancer. I also hope that you will recover, Maddie, and Emily, you will get to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:31 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
Thank you so much for coming to Bath Middle School yesterday to talk to us about Maddie’s condition. Emily, you are so lucky to have such a brave, bubbly, little girl as your daughter. I learned a lot of information about leukemia, and everything that you have to go through if you have cancer. I think it is great how well you guys are getting through this. I’m glad Madie’s treatment went well the other day, and I hope they continue to go well. I also hope, Emily, that you get to do the Olympic running and that you do a good job in the races. You are both extremely brave people for going through with everything that has happened. I hope you reach your goal of $52,400 and, again, thank you for coming to my school to share what you’ve been through.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:32 am (#)
Dear Emily & Maddie,
I am one of the students you talked to at Bath Middle and I really appreciated it. I didn’t say much because I didn’t know what to say. I’ve never meet someone who had a illness like this, so I worried that I might say something offensive. But as you explained things to us, I understood that you two didn’t quite mind what was happening. It might have been like a new experience for both of you. I learned a whole lot from the talk and I think everybody else did too. Maddie seemed to enjoy coming here. We’ re working hard to help raise money and do the blood drive for you two. I think that both of you set a really good example of never giving up.
Sincerely,
Nathan Rivera ✭
March 28th, 2008 at 10:33 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
I think it was cool that you guys could have the time to come over to our school and share with us about Maddie’s disease. We at Bath Middle School thank you and to show that, we made a donation box for the 7th Grade Red house to donate just to the Two Trials. Our goal was $100. We are still working on the goal for now, but we are determined to make that goal within today. Thank you again for coming. I hope you can raise enough money for your goal and I hope our money helps.
Sincerely,
Alex Page☺
March 28th, 2008 at 10:37 am (#)
Hey Emily & Maddie,
How have you been doing lately? It was so nice of you two to come and visit us yesterday. I loved seeing you both so into talking to us about your cancer problem. I remembered some of the words like: leukemia and chemotherapy because my grandmother had cancer about a year ago. She wrote a very interesting book (more like a diary) on each day of her cancer treatment. But anyways, I was very happy to see Maddie in her happy mood when she came in to see us. I wanted to thank you, Maddie, for being such a good show-and-tell person with your beaded journey (very pretty) talking about Daisy the dog (I would love to meet her), and being a funny little butterfly in front of the class. Also thank you so much, Emily, for being a good sport and sharing with us what your daughter’s cancer problem was. It was very interesting and understandable for someone my age. So thank you so much for both coming to our school, and good luck on your two trials!!!!
See ya soon,
Tessa Lindsley
March 28th, 2008 at 10:39 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
Thank you for coming to our school to talk about Maddie’s illness. Maddie, I hope they can get rid of the leukemia and that you are back to normal soon. I hope you can come back after Maddie is done with her treatment to show us the the beaded journey again. That was cool. I hope you make it to the Olympics and win the gold.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:40 am (#)
Dear Emily & Maddie,
Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to come to B.M.S. and share your story with us. Maddie, I think it is so amazing that you, being four years old, have the ability to be so brave! I know that if I was in the very same situation, I would not be nearly as composed sitting in front of thirty people to talk about my illness. I loved seeing your beaded journey, hearing about Daisy, and your daily routine. I hope everything continues to go this smoothly. Emily, it’s so awesome that while taking care of Maddie and working, you are able to train for the Olympic trials. I didn’t know it was possible for one person to have so much courage. Good luck in treatment, trials, and the two trials fund raiser.
Best wishes,
Sierra Meszaros
March 28th, 2008 at 10:43 am (#)
Dear Emily & Maddie,
Thank you for taking time off your day to come into our school to teach us about leukemia. I think it’s awesome that you are doing a fundraiser to raise money for chemotherapy. And I hope that things go well.
March 28th, 2008 at 11:43 am (#)
Hey Emily and Maddie,
How was the clinic yesterday? I hope everything went well. Thank you so much for coming yesterday. I learned a lot from you two. How is the training going, Emily? I bet you will make it to the Olympics. And how are you, Maddie? I think you are so brave and strong. I like your beaded journey. It is really pretty. How is Daisy? She sounds really fun to be with! Well GOOD LUCK to the both of you. You two are incredibly amazing!!!!
Love,
Rene
March 28th, 2008 at 11:45 am (#)
Dear Emily,
Thank you for coming to BMS with Maddie. It was very interesting to learn about Maddie’s leukemia, and I really hope she gets better. Good luck with earning money for the Two Trials fundraiser. It’s a very good cause and it’s great that you support it. I hope that everything keeps going well with Maddie’s chemotherapy. It’s amazing that she is four years old, and is so brave. I wish you good luck with your marathons, and hope Maddie’s treatment continues to go well!
March 28th, 2008 at 11:46 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
Thank you so much for coming and talking to us yesterday. Taking time off of your “double life” was really generous of both of you! I really enjoyed when you and Maddie talked so openly to us yesterday. Hey, Maddie, is Daisy still your favorite thing to see at the clinic? Maddie, I already miss your bubbly personality! I wish the best to both of you with Emily training for the Olympics and Maddie getting treatment for leukemia!! You guys are real troopers!
Sincerely,
Hannah Rossetti
March 28th, 2008 at 11:49 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you so much for coming to BMS to talk about a very important topic! It was brave of you to talk openly about a very serious subject, and to share it from a first hand point of view. Maddie, you are amazing to be able to handle such a difficult problem at such a young age. I admire your courage a lot. I learned about the importance of giving blood, and how it can save lives. I had heard of leukemia, but didn’t know much about it, so it was new for me to learn about. And I think that it’s a great thing that you are doing this fundraiser. 7th grade Red House is working hard to make a contribution. I hope you make a quick recovery and that the treatment goes well. Good luck in the Olympic trials, Emily! I hope to see you in the Olympics.
Sincerely,
Clare Tolan
March 28th, 2008 at 11:50 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
Thank you so much for coming to our school and talking to us about Maddie’s horrible condition. When I was about five, my grandmother had cancer, so I kind of know what you are going through, with all of the worrying and chemotherapy treatments that are needed. Maddie is adorable and the way that she acted yesterday didn’t seem like she had cancer at all, I’m happy that it is that way for her. I think that it was wonderful that you were able to talk openly about this tragic time in yours and Maddie’s life. Not a lot of people would be able to do that. Maddie, my classmates and I are thinking about you and we hope that you get better soon.
Sincerely,
Devon
P.S. Emily, Good luck with the Olympic trials!!!!!!!!!!
March 28th, 2008 at 11:52 am (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
Thank you for coming to our school. I really enjoyed having a chance to hear about leukemia because we don’t learn about it in school. Thank you for telling us about leukemia. I imagine it must be hard to talk about that. When you came to our school and told us about leukemia, I learned what leukemia is. I wish the both of you good luck in your fundraising. I hope you make your goal! One other thing I learned that I didn’t know is that both treatment and radiation can make your hair fall out. I thought it was only radiation. I hope Maddie’s treatment helps her get better.
March 28th, 2008 at 11:53 am (#)
Dear Emily,
Thank you for coming to our school to tell us about Maddie and what leukemia does to the body. I think Maddie was brave to go to our schools and help explain her illness. I hope her treatment went well too. Maybe in the future they can find an even faster way to cure leukemia, and when Maddie grows up, she can go to other schools telling students the importance of donating blood.
Good luck at the trials,
Michael Alvarez
March 28th, 2008 at 11:53 am (#)
Emily and Maddie,
Emily, good luck in the Olympic try outs and thanks for coming to our school. It was so much fun and I hope Maddie had fun too. You did a GREAT job talking openly to the red house. If you don’t quite remember me, I was the one in the front row who was with Brian and picked you guys up and showed you where to go. Again, thanks for coming to our school. I now know all about Maddie and I hope she is doing well!
Maddie, thanks for coming, sweetheart. I had a VERY fun time with you. You are the most ADORABLE little girl in the world. I know this might be hard for you, but you are are doing a wonderful job dealing with it. We all enjoyed you being here with us and talking openly about what is going on with you! I hope you had a good time with your check up today and we hope you feel a lot better and good luck……COME AGAIN!
P.S. Good luck with your pink pee!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Lots of luck,
Destinee Barter
March 28th, 2008 at 11:56 am (#)
Dear Emily,
I want to thank you for sharing some of the personal things that you and your family have to deal with every day. I learned a lot more about leukemia than I had ever imagined possible. This was a very important and educational lesson for me because my great-grandfather died of cancer a couple of weeks ago, and I never really talked about it with him because we weren’t very close. When you came to my school and talked about the treatments your daughter gets every day, it helped me see the things my great-grandfather went through. When you first came in to our class, I didn’t know what to expect because
I thought that you would be kind of sad to really talk about things openly, but you were amazing! If I had a daughter, I would have never been able be as strong as you were yesterday. I was really surprised that Maddie wasn’t scared or nervous to show or talk about her problem. She was so inviting and friendly. Again thank you, Emily and Maddie, for giving me a better understanding of cancer.
Your Admirer,
Quiara Lessard
P.S. Good luck with your two trials!!!!!!!!!
March 28th, 2008 at 11:58 am (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
I think you are both really amazing people. Maddie, when I heard about and how she had leukemia, I thought that she might be really down and sad. I thought it was great when I saw what a trooper you were. You are quite possibly the most adorable toddler that I have ever seen. Emily, I admire how you could speak so openly about her disease. Many people, when confronted with such a topic, would break down in tears. She is truly an amazing little girl. I think you are great, too. I think that it is wonderful that you qualified for the Olympic Trials. I love to run just like you, so I can imagine how happy you must be. You might get the chance to match your skills with those of athletes from all over the world. That’s pretty awesome! I really enjoyed it when Maddie insisted on passing everything around for people to see. I could tell that she wanted to share her beaded trail [which obviously meant a lot to her] with us. If you win, great, if you don’t, I’ll still be cheering for you. Maddie, you are so brave. Get well soon.
Sincerely, Bryn
March 28th, 2008 at 12:00 pm (#)
Hi Maddie and Emily,
My name is Megan! How are you feeling about all of this? Our whole school thinks that Maddie is so cute. We all love how open you were to all of us and how happy you looked. So Maddie, are you the cool type of girl that loves to play with dolls and animals, and go to fun places to see all your friends. That’s exactly the type of person I am. I would hate having to take shots every week. I would probably fall down crying. But you are such a trooper and I really respect that coming from a four-year-old. I’m just wondering how you really feel, Emily, about having a child that has leukemia and having everyone know about it. Does Maddie realize that it’s a serious disease to have? And how do other people reactwhen the see a little girl who has leukemia? I know these are questions that many people have asked you before, but Maddie seems like a real sweet girl and that you should keep fighting and always know that you are such a wonderful person. I hope that you, Emily, will go into the Olympics and Maddie will fight out of leukemia as champions!
From,
Megan Hixon
March 28th, 2008 at 12:05 pm (#)
Hi Maddie and Emily,
It was so cool to see you yesterday. I had a great time listening to you because I did not know anything about your illness, but now I know a lot about it. I thought it was really cool that you knew a lot about your illness. It was great to here what you knew. You are really funny and cute. I hope we raise a lot more money to put it into your fundraiser. I also hope your treatment went well yesterday. I hope you both reach your goal for the fundraiser, and I wish for you to get better, Maddie.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:10 pm (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
I thought it was nice that you would share that stuff about how you deal with the illness because most people I know don’t really like to talk about it. It was cool that you, Maddie, knew a lot about the disease. Emily, I am hoping that you make it to the Olympics. That would be so cool! Good luck to both of you.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:12 pm (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
I thank you for coming to our school to tell us about Maddie’s leukemia. I think that it is so brave of Maddie that she doesn’t complain about all the shots she gets and how she has to get blood drawn sometimes. I hope your shots didn’t hurt too much yesterday. Emily, I think that it’s really strong of you to open up and be able to talk about Maddie’s blood disease. Maddie, I’m sorry that your pee didn’t turn pink. Emily, I hope you reach your goal for the Two Trials Fundraiser and do well in the Olympic trials. I really appreciate that you came and good luck.
Sincerely, Arianna
March 28th, 2008 at 12:20 pm (#)
Dear Maddie and Emily,
I’d like to start off by saying thank you for coming and talking to us about Maddie’s leukemia. Maddie, you were very lionhearted and fearless for talking to the small crowd about your beaded journey and about your leukemia. Emily, I hope you can fit in training enough so you can qualify to get to the Olympics. It would be awesome to have that feeling of accomplishment after running the marathon. I can’t say I know or have been through what Maddie is going through at the moment, but I truly was heartbroken to hear what happened. Sometimes I think to myself there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, almost like there is always something to look forward to. I hope Maddie gets healthier from now on.
Sincerely,
Kyle W.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:27 pm (#)
March 28th, 2008 at 12:28 pm (#)
Dear Emily and Maddie,
I hope your checkup at the clinic was all right and that those shots didn’t hurt either. I hope you got to see Daisy. You are one brave little girl. And, Emily, I’m anxious to hear how you do at the Olympic trials. How can you run so fast? The only sport I’m really good at is skateboarding. I’ve been skating since I was six. I hope you make it to the Olympics. I can’t wait to watch them.
Sincerely,
Alec Murray
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:33 pm (#)
losers