Friday, April 29, 2016

Four


Today marks FOUR YEARS since Georgia's last dose of chemo
and here she stands, healthy, happy, and poised for her incredible future. 

Over the next year, as we countdown to her Official Cancer-Freedom, we'll be sharing moments from the past six-plus years - 28 moments, to be exact, in honor of the 28 months Georgia was in treatment. So many of you have been with us since Day One, and we know that you share our joy, relief, and hope for Georgia's continued good health.  You played a huge role in getting all of us to this point, and again, we are eternally grateful. Our fondest wish is that all kids fighting cancer can survive and thrive just like Georgia is, so we ask that you consider helping us make that possible with your donation to the St. Baldrick's Foundation on this very special day. It means the world to us!

T minus 365 - the countdown begins tomorrow!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

In The Bag*

If this bag could talk ... It's been to every appointment, every surgery, every everything since Georgia was diagnosed - including today's survivorship appointment, where her counts were deemed, "Super! Beautiful!" Just like her. 

The appointment went very well, and pending the results of her EKG and echocardiogram this summer, she can move to annual visits! This will be the longest she's ever gone between oncology appointments, but with all signs pointing upward and onward since she's been off treatment, we all feel comfortable with that schedule. So, fingers and toes crossed, we won't be back to the clinic until her fifth year off treatment anniversary ... when she'll officially be cancer-free. THAT visit will definitely merit a party! 

We are gearing up for that day starting Friday, when we'll celebrate Georgia's fourth year off treatment, and then the BIG countdown will begin! Stay tuned ... xo

*Thank you, Kelly's Team, for The Bag and for all that you do to support area families.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Giving Back, Giving Books


It's that time again! Our annual blood drive! If you can believe it, this will be our 7th drive, and to date, we've collected over 300 units. The day Georgia was diagnosed, she had the first of eight blood transfusions, and we were very grateful that there was a safe supply available for her. So many people going through treatment depend on that availability as well, so we've done our best to pay forward what was so generously given to Georgia. 

If you're local and can join us, the blood bus will be pulling up to the house on Sunday, May 15th from 2-5 pm. We'll have Georgia and Ivy's World Famous Lemonade, as well as treats and treasures from the neighborhood kids to raise money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, and as a special treat, we'll have an ice cream truck stop by from 3-4pm. And as an EXTRA special treat, we will be cutting the ribbon on our long-awaited, very special project: a Little Free Library! We are so excited to finally get this started, and our in-house library experts have been helping to pull books to stock it up for the neighborhood. So come on by to give a lifesaving donation and pick up a book while you're at it!

To donate, you'll need to sign up for an appointment slot, either by clicking here:

https://ww2.inyourhandsonline.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/45373

OR

1) Go to www.inyourhands.org
2) Click on "Donate Blood Log-in" on the bottom left of the page
3) ** The donor log-in website has been recently upgraded, so read and follow the revised log-in instructions **
4) After completing the donor log-in step, you will be directed to your Donor Home Page
5) Select "Donate Now" at the top of the page
6) Under the Quick Links Column, select Search by Group Code, and enter B766 (Georgia Moore Replacement Drive)
7) Select an open appointment slot and follow the sign-up instructions

If you have any questions, please let us know, and spread the word! And if you can't join us, please consider donating at your local blood center. Thanks, y'all!

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Stop the Presses!

We were given the most wonderful creative writing challenge by the fabulous Becky from the Loving Libbie Memorial Foundation: What would the front page of the paper look like the day a cure for cancer is found? Incredible to even think about, much less write about, but we did and had a fantastic time doing it. 

First, we decided that it would take the whole world coming together to finally find the cure, and maybe that would be one team of doctors from each continent. Georgia drew the team captains on her own, and then we created specific backstories for each of them. We researched different languages and named our doctors translations of words like Hope and Warrior - some are even childhood cancer survivors! We also chose cities that had research centers that might participate in a project like this. And then we dreamed up the cure itself. And like Becky told me, now that we've written it down, we can manifest it and make the dream come true. It's coming, y'all. It really is.

CANCER CURED!

Regardless of geography, culture, politics, or religion, all citizens of Planet Earth can put aside their differences today and celebrate this unprecedented moment of hope and joy. For the past 10 years, seven teams of researchers, one from each continent, have been working together in labs and hospitals across the globe to put an end to cancer once and for all – and today, they have done it. With the literal shot heard around the world, Team Seven For One announced that they have found The Answer to cancer and have cured every patient in their clinical trials. The Answer, also known as 741, uses aspects of immunotherapy to treat each patient according to their specific DNA. It is administered in a short series of seven shots, thus eliminating the need for patients to have ports implanted or undergo hours of IV infusions. The teams have achieved complete eradication of cancer cells of all types without damage to healthy cells and without surgery or radiation to remove or shrink solid tumors. There are no side effects from 741 - during or after treatment - and patients will return to their healthy lives within seven days of completing the seven shot protocol. In her remarks to the world press, Seven For One’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Valentina Esperanza Guerrero, said “Cancer is a global epidemic, and we knew that to finally defeat it, we had to come together as a global team with our minds, arms, and hearts wide open. We have shared ideas, triumphs, and failures, and now we can celebrate this incredible victory – for our team, for our patients, and for the entire human race.”

Joining Dr. Guerrero (Caracas, Venezuela) for today’s long-awaited announcement were Continental Team Captains: Dr. Donovan Neal (Boston, Massachusetts); Dr. Ekon Akinyemi (London, England); Dr. Amal Yilmaz (Ankara, Turkey); Dr. Kwizera Ntwali (Kigali, Rwanda); Dr. Bouddi Thomas (Sydney, New South Wales); and Dr. Daisuke Hiroyuki (Tokyo, Japan – for Team Antarctica). Drs. Neal and Akinyemi were especially motivated to participate in this historic project as they are both survivors of childhood brain tumors. Dr. Neal was diagnosed with medulloblastoma at age 5 and lost 70% of his hearing as a result of his treatment. At age 2, Dr. Akinyemi was diagnosed with a bilateral optic pathway glioma, which caused blindness in both eyes. In addition to saving lives with 741, Drs. Neal and Akinyemi were focused on eliminating the harsh effects traditional treatment caused patients and the late-effects that surfaced months, even years after patients were deemed cured. Joining them in this concentrated effort was Dr. Thomas, whose twin brother, Luka, died at the age of 6 after a four-year battle with neuroblastoma. While acknowledging that all cancers are the enemy, Dr. Guerrero closed by saying, “In curing childhood cancers, specifically, we are ensuring the health of our future innovators, researchers, and solvers of global problems. That, in itself, is an invaluable gift to the world, and one that everyone associated with Seven For One is very humbled to give.”


Continental Team Captains (L-R):
North America – Donovan Neal (Strong fighter, Champion)
Antarctica – Daisuke Hiroyuki (Great helper, Widespread happiness)
Europe – Ekon Akinyemi (Strong, Fated to be a warrior) 
South America – Valentina Esperanza Guerrero (Brave Hope Warrior)
Asia – Amal Yilmaz (Hope Dauntless)
Africa – Kwizera Ntwali (Hope Hero)
Australia – Bouddi Thomas (Heart Twin)


Thank you, Becky!

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Full Circle

Happy April! We're closing in on the last six weeks of the school year, and then we'll have a JUNIOR and a 7th grader on our hands! A very tall 7th grader, by the way, who grew four inches over the last year! I'm going to be the shorty of the family in no time!

We spent today at the University of Texas for a St. Baldrick's event, and I was honored to be asked to speak about our experience. It occurred to me that back when I was a student at UT a million years ago, I could have never imagined being there now, talking about childhood cancer - and certainly not about my own child having cancer. But we've chosen to find and focus on the positive every day throughout Georgia's journey, and I hope I conveyed that by being involved in events like these, we are all making a difference for kids fighting cancer. We met another family who shared their story as well, and it was a very familiar one. Lance is in treatment right now for ALL, and Dr. Neff is his doctor. We hope that he continues to have the same success that Georgia had and that he enjoys playing tricks on the good doctor as much as she did. : )

We're so grateful to be where we are and to be able to give hope to other families still in the thick of it. And getting to watch brave folks go bald and raise nearly $100K for research on top of that? Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

Hook 'em Horns!

Happy National Siblings Day!


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