I hope that you could understand...that this is not what I had planned..

Today has been such a weird, heavy hearted day. I found out this morning that Madelyn Beamon passed away yesterday. She was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma just a few months before Liam was, and I've been reading her website and keeping up with her for over 3 years. If you've seen any St. Jude's commercials lately, then you've probably seen her! There is one where she's sitting on Bernie Mac's lap. She has fought so incredibly hard over these four years, and on her birthday (which happens to be mom's as well - Dec. 17) the doctors told them that there was nothing else that could be done. She was given two weeks to live, and of course, in true Maddie fashion, she lived for six!

It breaks my heart into a million pieces...

Through the Neuroblastoma community, I always find newly diagnosed children that I begin reading about.. and I have so much hope for them, that their children will not relapse (relapse mostly likely = a downhill spiral..) And almost every single one has relapsed and passed away. I hate this cancer with ever fiber of my being. Rest in Peace Madelyn, Liam, Stanton, Emma Grace, Nick, Austin, Laura, Lucas, Jacob, Brent, Lillie, James, and all the rest...

On another note, if you watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, then last fall you probably saw the season premiere, which featured BOEY. (That's actually her nickname) Boey was a fantastic little girl who I started keeping up with over a year ago. She had rhabdomysarcoma, a nasty pediatric cancer. I didn't even know that they were going to be on Extreme Makeover, Em and I turned the show on and there she was - and I started squealing and screaming, "I KNOW HER!! THAT'S BOEY!!" Unfortunately, she passed away the day after Christmas, completely unexpectedly. Another heart break. In case you want to see her - the episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with Boey is coming on TONIGHT! At 7pm on ABC.

Sorry for the sad post. It's just one of those sad days. A team mate of ours ended up in the hospital last night. During our game she hit her head so hard on the ground that she had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. She stopped breathing on the way to the hospital, and was posturating (sp?) which is where your brain misfires and makes your body clench up in odd ways. When she got to the hospital, she was taken in for emergency brain surgery to relieve the pressure in her brain, from the swelling. She was put on a breathing machine and put into a medically induced coma. During surgery, the doctors removed a blood clot that was pressing on her brain, and were successful in relieving the pressure. This morning, they removed her breathing tubes and they are waiting for her to wake up. It's been a rough evening/night (especially for Em, who went straight to the hospital with her while we finished our game). Please keep Heidi, as well as Maddie's family, in your thoughts/prayers/whatever you do to send good luck to people who need it.

Thanks..

Love everywhere,
Kris