A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Eight months ago today, Georgia turned 10, and we went to the pediatrician for a blood test to see why she had been so tired the past two weeks. Today, after many steps in an incredible journey, she walked through the gates of her beloved Parkside victorious, back into the waiting arms of the friends and teachers who have supported her and encouraged her all along the way.

The promise of returning to school has been the driving force behind Georgia's success up to this point, and for her to cross that finish line this morning was the answer to many prayers and the granting of a heartfelt wish. She's back where she belongs, and boy, does she have a story to tell.

In preparation for this momentous occasion, we had a grand feast last night, after which Georgia discovered that another of her wishes had been granted. Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Mighty Cougars of Casis Elementary, Georgia will spend her 11th birthday at Walt Disney World AND ... the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! She got her Hogwarts "admission letter" by owl, naturally, and we celebrated and made great plans over delicious chocolate cake.

We're all very excited and so grateful for the opportunity - I'm sure it will prove to be a magical adventure. Almost as amazing as the feats we've been witnessing daily around here.

Back In The Swim

She's ready for action! After a fabulous swim party with her class yesterday, Georgia is literally counting the minutes to the first day of school. To think, just 24 hours before she was diving in yesterday, she was having her first maintenance day surgery! Mind over matter, and all that. A great time was had by all - even Ivy got in on the fun, choosing to dine "al agua," assuming there is such a term:

We've got a few more details to attend to and a special feast to plan for tomorrow night, but I know Monday can't get here fast enough for Georgia. Just keep swimming ...

P.S. Two weeks 'til the CureSearch Walk! PLEASE support The Peachy Keens!
P.P.S. Two weeks 'til the Ice Cream Social! PLEASE come join us!

And You're All Invited

Really! ALL of you!

And Away We Go?

With all the excitement of Thursday, I forgot to mention that Georgia may be starting maintenance as early as this Thursday! She's been taking it easy and looking and feeling better every day, so if her numbers are high enough this week, we're going for it. I'm still not clear on what the whole maintenance schedule will look like, but I do know that whenever we do get to do the first day surgery, she won't have another one for THREE months! Won't that be nice?! So powerful prayers and good thoughts for a "Go For Launch" on Thursday would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Also much appreciated? Your support, as The Peachy Keens walk for a cure! Please consider donating to the team by clicking on the link in the sidebar - we're just a little over two weeks away from the big event on September 11th. Which means we're also that close to the other big event - Georgia's Back-to-Health Ice Cream Party! We'll post more details soon ...

And finally, the World's Best Billboard has now moved to South Congress, right above Jo's. Check it out!

CELEBRATE!

Georgia, Ivy, and Super Nurses Dina and Melissa (with her fab new 'do!)

It's a banner day around here - Georgia has finished Delayed Intensification and is moving on to maintenance! No more shots! Giant cupcakes for everyone!

Even though she wasn't feeling too well this morning, she's thrilled to be through with this part of treatment. We've got about two years to go, but she can look forward to increased energy, better appetite, and the return of those lovely locks in the coming months. We couldn't be more proud of her or more pleased with her care. There are angels working in that clinic and hospital - trust me - and we thank them and all of YOU for helping Georgia get this far. Prayers and good thoughts are wonderful medicine, so please keep them coming! Now bring on the ice cream!

The Dynamic Duo - Dr. Neff and The Amazing Georgia

Save the Date!

Georgia in the Amy's exam room at the clinic

With Georgia's fourth set of shots for this series done today, she's got two sets left and should be through with Delayed Intensification by Thursday! That means, she's moving on to maintenance! And we're having ICE CREAM to celebrate! So many exclamation points!!!

Even though we've learned to be very flexible with our plan-making throughout the last almost-eight months, we feel pretty confident that Georgia will be starting maintenance in the first half of September, so we want to invite everyone over to see her, hug her, and gobble up some Amy's Ice Cream. And since we're already marking this momentous occasion by participating in the CureSearch walk on the morning of September 11th, we thought we'd keep the party going and cool off with some ice cream at 3 pm that day. SO, mark your calendars and we'll post more details soon!

And don't forget, we'd love for you to join us when we walk for a CURE, so please consider making a donation in honor of Georgia and/or walking with the Peachy Keens on September 11th! Click on the button in the sidebar for more details. Every little bit, every little step goes a long way - thanks, y'all!!!

Hey! We're Walking Here!

The Peachy Keens are at it again! We're dusting off our walking shoes and hitting the road on Saturday, September 11th for the Austin CureSearch Walk. CureSearch funds the lifesaving research of the Children's Oncology Group (COG), which is conducting the clinical trial Georgia is participating in. COG treats more than 90% of children with cancer at more than 200 hospitals in the United States, so if you know a child who's gone through cancer treatment, it's highly likely that COG had a hand in their care.

The CureSearch Walk celebrates and honors all those whose lives have been affected by children's cancer, while raising funds for research. We know that there are (unfortunately) many cancer organizations out there that can benefit from our fundraising efforts, but we've chosen to focus on those that have directly impacted Georgia's care - COG (through this walk and St. Baldrick's) and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (through TNT events, Pennies for Patients, and the Light the Night Walk). We so appreciate these groups and the strides they have made in treatment and cure rates, and we want to do our part to further their work to the ultimate goal - a CURE!

So, to you, our dear, generous Friends of Georgia (FROGs?), we invite you to join us on our 5K walk! Click the link in the sidebar to learn more about COG, the walk itself, or to donate to our team! Or better yet, sign up to walk with us! How awesome would that be to have a bunch of FROGs walking in honor of Georgia and all other kids in the fight against cancer? Registration is $10 for adults, and free for kids under 16 - hear that, Parksiders? : ) You can set up a page to fundraise and help us reach our goal of $1000, or just come walk with us. It's a great event and the perfect way to celebrate the end of Georgia's primary treatment and the kick-off of maintenance! Let us know if you have any questions, and THANK YOU again for supporting our amazing girl!

Also, a special thanks goes to Zel, who managed to add 53 units to Georgia's tally with his blood drive! Spectacular! Keep up the good work, blood donors!

P.S. Until Blogger cooperates and I can put a button in the sidebar, click HERE to get to our team page. From there, you can go to individual team member pages (not all of which are set up yet) to make a donation. Hope to see some of you out there on the trail!

World Premiere

So, we didn't quite make it to the big screen premiere of Georgia's claymation project, but we can proudly present it to you here, on the small screen! "Love Stinks" is the romantic tale of an orange who falls in love with a shadow hand, to the great disappointment of an apple and a worm. Georgia is the voice of the orange, and everything you see and hear was created and produced by her and her team of fellow fledgling filmmakers. We give it two Hook 'em Horns up!

We spent the better part of seven hours at the clinic today, but thankfully, Georgia is now through with 20% of the last round of Erwinia shots! She was also pumped up with two units of generously-donated blood, so those counts should be coming up soon - just in time to knock out the rest of this Delayed Intensification phase. Bring it on!

Home Stretch

Really - it is! Georgia completed her last 4-day treatment yesterday, so it's all downhill to maintenance from here. Pretty much. There is that little business of the last round of Erwinia shots, but they are the LAST round, so she's keeping her eye on the finish line and powering through.

The past two weeks went much smoother than the last time she had these medicines, but it wasn't exactly a walk in the park. She got her first (and hopefully, last) spinal headache, which lasted nearly a week, but it seems to be subsiding finally, and her appetite is coming back. Rest is the best medicine, so we're making sure she's taking it easy, especially since her numbers are pretty low across the board. That said, just being this close to the end keeps her motivated and energized - as do other special goings-on ...

Like? First of all, if you've seen Will Ferrell on television lately, you'll notice that he is wearing his Georgia bracelet! STILL! He's been promoting his new movie, The Other Guys, and several folks have told us they saw him with the bracelet on, so we've been keeping an eye out, too. It's been the cause of much excitement around here, I can tell you. How cool is that?

Also cool - Georgia was invited to pose for the cover of LIVESTRONG Quarterly with some other kids from the clinic and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's on the board of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and besides being a world-class physician, he's also a really nice guy. Georgia was very honored to be asked, and luckily, she felt great this morning and really enjoyed the photo shoot:

Georgia and Dr. Gupta LIVESTRONG!

Sunday is the "world premiere" of Georgia's claymation project from film camp earlier this summer, so if she's up to it, we're headed to the theatre to see it on the big screen. Then we're headed back to the clinic on Monday, and if her counts are good, she'll start the last round of shots and get some IV medicine, too. Little by little, we're crossing things off the treatment plan, and she's feeling better and getting stronger every day - thanks, in big part, to her treatment team and to all of you.

Plus, our girl can move mountains.

Weekend Update

Well, once again, we have some very GIVING folks out there - as in giving blood and time and positive vibes. The blood drive was a huge success! Zel did an amazing job of getting the word out and recruiting so many donors, many of whom had never given blood before and were inspired by his passion and his generosity in organizing this event in honor of Georgia. When we get the final numbers, we'll post them here, but I have a good feeling Georgia is very close to her goal of 100 units! Thanks SO much to everyone who turned out on Sunday and much love to the whole Hurewitz family - we really appreciate it!

Georgia had a great visit with her cousins over the weekend, and we had a short and sweet appointment at the clinic today. She's a little low in the tank on all fronts, so there may be some generously-donated blood coming her way later this week, but other than that, she's doing well. Three more appointments this week, and then we'll really be in the home stretch. I can't believe it's been seven months since we started this journey! Our girl is quite a warrior, no?

Georgia love to everyone!