A FAMILY UPDATE & SOME GOOD NEWS!

HELLO EVERYONE!

It has been some time since I have updated Lia's blog, and for that I apologize. Often, when there is a cancer patient in the household, we tend to forget about the other children in the family and focus on the baby and her needs.....

But we are trying very hard to keep up with the interests and needs of the other kids in the house too. It's been hard, having 2 more little ones move in with their mom and dad. 9 people in the house makes for a lot of work! But it is worth it.

Delanie, our 4 year old, has been a real champ about having her 2 nieces move in and she is devoted to Lia. She is sharing her bedroom and toys with Zoe who is now almost 3 years old! They have their spats of course but for the most part the kids have really adjusted well to the changes in their daily lives. We could not be prouder of Delanie, who went with us on the recent trip to colleges for her big sister, Lacie. Since Lia had chemo and and MRI scheduled we didn't want to burden Cassie & Ed with having to babysit for a week! She sat through info sessions and did all the campus tours right along with us and was on her best behavior the whole time. So many of th staff members at the schools complimented her on her excellent behavior!

Cody is 16 now, and a high school sophomore with all that brings with it - girls, dirt bikes, and hunting season! He is even showing an interest in the high school wrestling team these days, and was on the homecoming float building crew for the sophomore class. Cody is enjoying having his brother in law live with us - since he and his father Norman are seriously outnumbered by females in this family! Ed spends a lot of time with Cody, and for that we are thankful.

I also have to thank Cody's favorite uncle, Scott, for all the time and attention he has shown Cody all summer and now into the fall hunting season.

Cody is particularly attached to his Uncle Scott and spends as much time with him as possible. Scott is always available for Cody, even though his own work schedule is daunting. Thanks, Scott...it means a lot to us.




Another BIG thanks goes to my mother, Anna, for the assistance wherever needed. She has been helping us when the money gets tight with the grocery bill! She has been helping Jessie when she can too, and we want you to know how much we love you and appreciate what you do for us!

Thanks Mom!!!!

Lacie is now 17, and we have been gone for a week visiting with admissions and coaches at three colleges out of state. This is why the blog and website for Lia have been behind in getting updated! It was a whirlwind tour, and we had to do it on a shoestring budget- but Lacie never complained about the lack of funds. She is excelling in academics (National Honor Society) as well as in her sport, fastpitch softball. As a pitcher on both her varsity high school team and her travel ball team she has a full schedule. In addition she is a member of AVID, is taking advanced placement (AP) courses for college credits, and is on the yearbook committee. Add to that the pressure of choosing a college and applying for scholarships and you can imagine how much stress she in under (not to mention US!). Lacie has a college recruitment website here:

http://nsr-inc.com/profile.idc?id=120410

Cassie & Ed...Lia's mom & dad, are still looking for work- ties are not good to be without a paycheck. But Ed has successfully completed his training to be a corrections officer (just in time for the hiring freeze) and also got his Commercial Driver's License. Hopefully a job will come through for him soon, before he goes stir-crazy hanging around all these babies and women all day! He's been great though- helping me with the house chores and he is devoted to his 2 little girls. Ed goes to every one of Lia's doctor's appointments and chemo treatments. Cassie of course is there too, and she helps me entertain Delanie and Zoe all day too. That's no small job!


Then there is Jessie! She lives on campus at Stetson University. Most of her education expenses are paid for because she earned academic scholarships. She has been the hardest working student I have seen. Any additional expenses that we can't afford to pay for Jessie earned herself. She is a resident assistant in her dorm, works in the library, and also scribes for another student who is handicapped. She is Sigma Tau Delta President, OSAPE President, Kaleidoscope Secretary, Omicron Delta Kappa, Theta Alpha Kappa, & 2009-2010 Resident Assistant (Emily Hall). Jessie just received the results of her LSAT test (law school entry test) and she scored a 156! We are VERY proud of her, and we need to figure out how to get her to law schools to see which ones she will apply to.

Norman, well.... Papaw to Lia and Zoe, and father to his own 5 kids. That ought to be enough pain in the neck, right? HA HA! He's got some serious health issues of his own. He's diabetic, and is in stage 4 kidney disease waiting to be put on the transplant list. He's taking 6 medications now. Yuck. But he is loosing weight to take the stress off his kidney and hopefully delay the imminent kidney transplant. He's afraid to loose the considerable time off work for the recovery period after a major surgery like that, since he is the sole income earner right now. I make fun of him when he puts on the mask for his breathing machine at night - he sounds like Darth Vader! Hee hee hee. Norman also volunteers his time as the pitching coach for Taylor Middle-High School's Lady Cats softball team, provides private and group pitching lessons for up and coming players from 4 to 18 years old, and coaches Lacie's travel ball 18 & under softball team. I think I may have forgotten what he looks like!

Me? Well, I still design the occasional website and logo graphics, but business has been pretty bad lately with most small businesses and farms hanging onto what little extra income they have. I also had to sell out most of my livestock on the farm. I liquidated the llama herd, and all but 4 of my dairy goats just as I was getting to a very good level of genetics in my herd. We made some amazing strides and won several championships, not to mention having earned multiple milking stars and impressive milk records registered with the USDA and ADGA. I was so sad to see my goats leave, and for some, I couldn't watch when their new owners loaded them into the trailers to leave. But, you have to do whatever it takes to survive. Maybe some day I can start over.

Now on to what you REALLY wanted to know! Baby Lia's progress report!

Lia has just completed her first round of chemotherapy. As you probably know already, she is on a drug combo of Carboplatin and Vincristine. An MRI was scheduled upon the completion of this first round of treatment, and we were waiting, not so patiently, for the results.

THE TUMOR HAS BEGUN TO SHRINK!

Before the chemo treatments, the tumor measured 2.8 x 1.9 x 2.9 centimeters.

AFTER the first course of drugs, the tumor now measures 2.0 x 1.3 x 2.1 centimeters!

YIPPPPEEEEEE!

This treatment seems to be working, and now Lia has a 2 week break from the drugs. However, her doctor appointments continue. She has blood work to do, an eye specialist appointment, and a regular pediatric check up. She can't have her regular shots due to the chemo drugs, and we have to get the oncologist's opinion on the flu shot. But she is doing well so far, and we hope she continues to respond postively to the therapy with a minimum of side effects.

Now we have to do our once a month DEEP cleaning, to make sure the house stays as germ free as possible for Lia. So we will be using the hospital grade santizer that we special order, and steaming cleaning all the rugs. The tile floors and bathrooms will once again be sanitized with the special cleaner and we'll be all set for her 2nd round of chemo. Oh well.... the windows needed washing anyway! HA HA! Maybe I'll even have the energy to pressure wash the outside of the house!

And please don't forget about the benefit for Bowl -A-Thon for Baby Lia coming up this weekend, October 25th from 1 to 3 P.M. at the Airport Lanes in Sanford, FL. You can get the flier or more info on this website, or visit http://liawarrensfordfund.weebly.com and take the link to the fundraisers page.A HUGE thanks to my high school friends (GO Seminole!) - especially Connie LaRosa-Nance, for spearheading this fundraiser for Baby Lia. It is very timely too, as the latest hospital bill before insurance is applied was a little ove $44,000! YIKES!

I hope this update finds each and every one of you well, enjoying your families, and we wish you the best in all that you do. Thank you so much for your prayers, kind words, and continued support.

Coni & Norman (Lia's Nana & Papaw)