Childhood cancer awareness walk

I am organizing a childhood cancer awareness walk in our area. It's called K9's love for kids because a child's and an animals love to each other are amazing. If you live in our area pack up your pooch and head on over to the walk on Sept 12th, 2009. The money raising part comes from a registration fee of 5$ for each dog (bring lots of dogs!!) Humans walk for free :) So far Arvest Bank is supplying 200 hot dogs and I am hoping to add several more sponsors to the bottom of the flier.
I have a website set up too. www.k9sloveforkids.com. You can register for the walk online or the morning of the walk at the park.

100% of all the money raised will go to juliansworld.org. I know you all know King Juju.

♥Lisa♥

Coleman Scott

Coleman Scott Larson

Sweet C-man passed away last night.
I'm so heartbroken for the Larson family. He should be here with Caden. How is this possible?

Caden, I'm so sorry sweetie.

"UTUBE is going to pull this video because of the song used, so I thought I'd try to post it and see if it's still viewable...Cman and his bunny foo-foo. That bunny helped him through many hard times, and he still twirled the ribbon even on the high doses of morphine. A story of LOVE..."

Coleman update from his Mom

Is it 2009?

Posted 26 minutes ago

Updating from the Hospice House-

On New Year’s Eve Coleman woke before dawn with a lot of pain…he whimpered for hours in spite of the morphine I was able to get into his mouth through his clenched teeth. Scott and I were doing our best to keep him comfortable, but it was obvious we needed more than what we were able to do at home. Each time he would move just a little, he cried out in pain. It was a long few hours.

Our hospice nurse arrived and worked on getting some new meds for us that wouldn’t have to be oral…after much discussion, we decided to bring him to the hospice house where he was able to have his port accessed and they could give him the morphine through that- it made things so much easier. That drive was not a happy one, and we did our best to fight back a lot of tears on the way. Caden wondered WHY we were packing our bag AGAIN and WHERE we were going. We tried our best to explain- and stay positive about the whole thing for his sake.

The staff here couldn’t have made the transition any easier… THEY ARE WONDERFUL! They took Caden right away and got him set up with a snack and showed him the toy room. He told them, “This house is nice, your toy room is very organized.” And after coming from the mess of Christmas still all over our floors, I’m sure it DID seem really organized to him! He still cracks us up and is the BEST medicine for us all. He's made himself right at home.

When we got here Coleman was pretty out of it…and unresponsive most of that day. He’d open his eyes and stare up into the corner of the room as we held his hand. We were just relieved he was at least resting comfortably. Since then he has rallied again- he never ceases to amaze us…as he used to say, “I’m one tough tookie- wight mommy?” The kid really does have the “Neva-div-up” attitude!

He’s slowly begun to eat- at first soft foods, but moved up to cheese pizza (tiny bites) and watermelon, and is drinking like a fish. He’s only able to say a few words here and there, and a lot of times they don’t make sense, but sometimes they do. Talking is a struggle for him, but he pushes on. He even wanted to color a picture last night! We keep telling him how proud of him we are and how much we love him. We’ve had a lot of visitors, but a lot of time he pulls the blanket over his head…he says he doesn’t like everyone looking at him! :)

I swear each place we go the angels just keep coming! The staff here is beyond awesome! We can’t say enough about how much we appreciate each and every one of them. They came in and asked for a grocery list for the boys, cooked Coleman pizza, bought and cut up his watermelon, have played with and entertained Caden and wait on us hand and foot. It's a beautiful house. A couple of wonderful ladies even came to do hand moldings we started yesterday…one of me holding Coleman’s hand, one of Caden and Coleman, and Daddy and Coleman. They take a few days to get finished, but I’ll post pics when they are. We have a beautiful room, (actually rooms), and are all very comfortable.

Caden is able to come and go with family and friends we have close, so he gets out a little during the day, but wants to make sure he comes here to sleep with US at night. He didn’t want to go with anyone today, so decided he wasn’t going to get dressed this morning- he thought if he stayed in his pajama’s all day he wouldn’t be able to leave! Which was fine, because it’s been kind of an ice storm here today, so pretty slippery out there- I'm glad we’re safe and warm and not driving in this.

We continue to take one day at a time- THANKING GOD for ALL of our many, MANY blessings and always trusting in Him, as we enjoy our time together. Each moment is a gift. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know God is carrying us.

Again, the support showered on our family is overwhelming. Scott and I will never have enough words to say THANK YOU. Please know how much we appreciate your prayers and positive messages. I haven’t been on the computer much- most of my time is spent laying with Coleman, holding his hand, or playing with, snuggling and talking to Caden. He’s handling things the best he can…Scott and I are doing our best to answer his questions and remind him how much we love him.

So that’s about all from here. Oh before I go, Please know that we’ve gotten MANY suggestions of things to try- remedies, places to take Coleman, etc.…it’s overwhelming to sort through them all, but we do appreciate everyone caring enough to share them… a lot of them are things we HAVE done, some are new, but Please don’t be offended if we haven’t gotten back to you on the suggestions- it isn’t because we don’t appreciate them- it’s just a time factor right now.

Okay, I’m back to snuggling and praying…not just for Coleman, but for all the families riding this rollercoaster. Way too many kids- too many families. WE NEED A CURE.

Until I get back on,
Happy New Year and Blessings to you all,
Team Larson

She also has two videos on her carepage post

Coleman update from Peggy

Wow, here I sit at my laptop- right where I left it Christmas Eve night when I last updated…

When I typed that last update, I didn’t know what would happen, but I fully intended that I would be updating the next day after the boys woke up- Scott and I were so excited for Christmas morning and watching them open everything…OR I at least thought I’d be able to update after our ER visit. In true Team Larson fashion though, a NEW plan unfolded, and this is the first I have been back to type it out. Our house still sits as it did Christmas morning.

So I guess I’ll jump right in here and start from Christmas morning-
Caden came down the stairs and was overwhelmed with the generosity of Santa! (Thanks to so many of you, and to so many secret Santa’s they had- GOD BLESS YOU!) He stood there in a daze, not knowing which way to turn…(kind of like his parents) He started ripping into things, and Scott and I did our best to put our happy faces on, knowing that we were going to give him an hour or so and then be heading back to the ER with Coleman.
Cade didn’t get through opening everything, but we had him choose two favorites and got him dressed to go to Aunt Sherri’s who met us at the ER. (THANK YOU SHERRI!) Coleman was pretty unresponsive as he didn’t have the best night and was still not talking or swallowing much. He was unable to talk and mostly slept. We were very worried.

While we were in the ER, the doctors called DesMoines, and we were given the choice to either come home with him, or come there to have him looked at. We knew we couldn’t take him home again on our own without doing something, so Coleman and I got a helicopter ride to DesMoines while Scott drove to meet us. Oh how I wish Coleman would have known he was riding in a helicopter. He would have LOVED telling Caden all about that. He slept the whole way.

Once we landed in Des Moines, they got us a big room and kept Coleman comfortable. We can’t say enough about the kindness and compassion shown to us by the staff at Blank Children’s Hospital. They were so wonderful to us.

They gave Coleman a drug called Manatol (?) and after a day of sleeping, he did come to a little and we got a few more words out of him…even a dirty look or two, which I considered a gift- it was nice to see him responding. He picked up his hunger right where he left off after not eating anything by mouth for three days.

Unfortunately it was short lived and he is back to the mostly sleeping and maybe a word here or there, and just a little food…but with all the of the pain meds, he’s pretty out of it. Even doped up on morphine though, bunny’s ribbon gets the twirling, same as always.

We came home today and met with a couple of awesome ladies from hospice, and we went over many options. For now, we are home. That may change, but we want to try it at least. Also Coleman is on a new oral chemo, because…. Well… “Team War-sin NEV-VA divs up.” We aren’t finished yet…
we know in our hearts we need to keep praying and trusting in God’s love for Coleman and for us all.

We have a new set of meds to keep Cman comfortable. That's our main goal, we DO NOT want him to be in pain, and so far he doesn’t seem to be. We pray that continues. We’ll take one day at a time and see how everything goes. The one thing, the only thing, that’s for certain right now- God is with us and giving us strength to keep going.

Caden was able to come to the hospital and spend the past few nights with us in the room. It was a wonderful gift to all four be able to spend time together, even if it was in a hospital room.

We’ve been having talks with Caden…I can’t begin to explain how difficult it is to answer his questions, hold him as he sobs, and says he needs to “help Coe-man fight harder.” It brings to mind the quote we have on Coleman’s home page here- "“There's nothing that can help you understand your beliefs more than trying to explain them to an inquisitive child.” -Frank A. Clark
How true it is.

The bond between Caden and Coleman is something we’ve seen all along, and that in itself is hard for us to comprehend at times, yet it’s there. I think we’ve given Caden as much as he can handle each time we talk, and we take his cue of when he needs to quit talking about it & go back to being the bouncy little boy he is.

Small steps.
I’m going to end there as I think I need to take this in small steps as well.

I can't end with out saying...
WOW- how blessed we are! The messages of support- what can I even begin to say? it’s overwhelming, and I find it hard to explain how touched we are. We thank you for the amazing support of our family, and for your prayers. There are so many people I’d like to personally thank, but I would be sitting here all night- please know how much it means to us.
We’re hanging in there, and doing what we’ve always done…taking one day at a time, (sometimes one moment) and thanking GOD for all He’s continues to provide us in helping us make it through.

Blessings to you all,
Team Larson

A brothers love, a twins connection.

if i kiss you hard enough, you'll get better. Right.
Look at Cadens brows.

Coleman update from Mimi

"As of last night Team Larson was spending time together. All 4 in a hospital room still, enjoying every second of it as again time is not a luxury they have ."


Keep praying for Coleman

Coleman update

Mimi did a small update earlier today on Coleman on Julians Carepage. Just keep praying for this little guy.

we love you Coleman

As far as I know , Coleman was airlifted on Christmas day to the hospital and things didnt look good , he was not able to swallow nor talk .
Caden joined them yesterday .

Coleman

This was Coleman's moms post on Christmas Eve. Please pray for Coleman. Here are some recent pics of Coleman and Caden.

I debated on updating tonight, as I didn't want to bring anyone down on Christmas Eve...
But I figured you've been such prayer warriors for us, and we could really, REALLY use them right now.

Our big family Christmas was not to be. We didn't get to go to my family's. This morning Coleman woke up fine. By 9:00 he was having slurred speech and droopy right hand.

I called Scott who hurried home right away and we rushed to the ER.

They did a catscan which showed two new spots on his brain and very enlarged ventricles. He was given a boost of decadron through his port and we came home around 2:00.

He's slept pretty much all day and has not eaten or drank much. We'll be going back to the hospital tomorrow I'm sure. He's having trouble swallowing and is drooling a lot. I'm don't know exactly what they can do. He's unable to talk much and when he does it's really hard to understand him. He gets frustrated and goes back to sleep. This is so tough...

Since he's not able to swallow very well, I only managed to get the steroid down him tonight, but we weren't able to do any other meds-the others are just too big.

Caden has the cookies out, reindeer food on the porch, and is ready for Santa. We've read the Christmas story about the birth of Jesus and have been praying...A LOT.

Scott and I are exhausted, but the three guys are all asleep on the couch and I suppose I'll wake Scott up soon so Santa can make his delivery- for Caden's sake at least.

Not the Christmas we hoped for...but we're still giving thanks for what we do have, we feel God right here with us.

Thank you for praying for Coleman and our family.
Pastor Kent and Rebecca, God bless you for coming out between services tonight. It meant a lot to us.

Okay, I'm going to end here, mostly because I'm just too tired to type more.

I'll update again when I can-
Blessings to you all and Merry CHRISTmas,
Team Larson

Christmas is not whats under your tree

From Mimi, Julian's Mama-

So did everyone get what they wanted for Christmas? Big screen TV, new camera, Ipod,new puppy,blankets, cell. phone?
Today ,I will tell you how ,today, december 25th 2007 , I got the most unexpected gift of all.
I woke up this morning to my child, my terminally ill 4 year old baby boy, talking ,smiling , wanting kisses, and best of all wanting coffee and donut holes... I swear he was meant to be a cop(no offense!)
This has to be the best Christmas ever... Who needs gifts when you have the smile of a child? A child ,whom,I truly believed just less than 24hours ago, wouldn't see Christmas...
He was a chatter box off and on all day , wanting love from his Papy and Mamie, wanting hugs from William( ok ,William, that's enough now) ...Just a wonderful day ...
And I owe it all to our Lord,to our Lord and to you all...Amazing friends who prayed for a Christmas miracle...THANK YOU !!!I will forever be gratefull...
So here is for you ...My beautiful child smiling peacefully ,feeling on his face how soft his new blankie is...Thank you Papy and Mamie...


I wanted to share a poem I wrote a year ago, before our world was completely changed...Has an even greater meaning this year...
Hope you had a wonderful day....
About Christmas...
What is it about Christmas that reminds us how much we miss someone?
what is it about Christmas that reminds us how lonely we are ?
What is it about Christmas that reminds us how selfish we can be?
What is it about Christmas that reminds us how unfriendly we can be?
Christmas should be about giving
Christmas should be about helping
Christmas should be about loving
Christmas should be about remembering
Remembering on Christmas Day that it is all about Him,
Remembering on Christmas day that it was all about us,
Remembering on Christmas day how little He was
Remembering on Christmas day how great He is
Never forget on Christmas day that someone is in our heart,
Never forget on Christmas day that we are not alone
Never forget on Christmas day to be giving
Never forget on Christmas day to open your home and your heart.
Because It was on Christmas day that God sent us His son
Because it is on Christmas day that we forget most about God
Because it is on Christmas day that we should always remember
that love , hope ,peace and trust dont only exist on Christmas day...
Mimi(12-19-2006)

Button For Coleman

Please grab it! thanks.



<br /><a href="http://www.carepages.com/carepages/ColemanScott" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/lvelasco/colemancadenbutton-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />

♥ Lisa

Coleman and Caden

Here is an update from Coleman and Cadens mom

I do have some sad news to report…and it breaks my heart to type this, but Coleman can no longer walk...not even across the room. We have been carrying him to the bathroom, to the tub, to the table, etc. He’s not a bit happy about it, and with the steroids he lets us know it! I try to make him hold my hands and get around, but he’s not having ANY of that, and says if I make him, then “NO HUGS FOR YOU MOMMY!” He’s just afraid to fall, and his balance just isn’t there. It’s tough to watch, especially when I know it makes him angry and I’m sure scared. With the steroids he goes from giggles to tears to anger all within a couple of minutes sometimes, but I think about how I’d feel if all of the sudden I couldn’t get around and I can’t say I wouldn’t have all the same feelings.

Then there’s the other half…Caden… who’s been worried about Coleman. He wants us to pray over him…as he says, “don’t touch him, juss put your hann over him and wepeat after me… “PWEEZE GOD… PWEEZE MAKE MY BRUVER ALL BETTER! Ann fank you for wuvin EV-wee-body in the world. Amen.”
I’m so proud of Caden and my heart breaks for him at the same time. He’s been extra bouncy, if you can imagine that, but I think a lot of it has to do with nerves.


*** Notice how Peggy says "Then there's the other half" that is because twins are one soul with two bodies.
This is just so wrong and beyond my comprehension. Cancer doesn't just suck. It sucks, bites and blows! Children should not have cancer.
Pray for Coleman. Pray for his complete healing.
♥ Lisa

Coleman update

I just read a heartbreaking update on Coleman. Please go stop by and leave them a message. Coleman really needs your prayers.

Caden and Coleman

Coleman Update

I'm going to leave you with Coleman and Caden over the weekend :)

They are back in NY and Cman has gotten another battle wound, but went through it like a champ.

Here is what his Mom posted today............

Coleman got released this afternoon and is feeling fine. He says his head hurts a little when he laughs too hard, but he keeps giggling anyway.

It seems like we have a change in our game plan once again...
We met with Coleman's doctor this morning. She said after reviewing the 2 MRI's from Wed. and Thurs., we've lost some ground with his disease in the past month. It has spread some in both Coleman's brain and spine.
*Deep breath*

She also said it wouldn't be good to go to the 3f8 treatments at this time because we have one shot at it, and we need to try to reduce the disease again before starting.

*2nd deep breath*

So here's what she proposed...
We try another round of cytoxin with topetecan and try to get some reduction, with the 3f8 to follow.
Not sure if our insurance will cover it here, Scott's working on that, but she wanted us to come in Monday morning and we'll get started with the chemo.

You can read the rest at his carepage. (colemanscott)

Eat at Chili's Tonight!!

They will be donating 100% of their proceeds to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. You can also create a pepper. how adorable is that?

♥For Coleman♥

♥ For Kennedy♥
♥For Julian♥

^j^

Some Childhood Cancer facts

I have been very busy these last few days with Codys party and now that it's all over I'm trying to play catch up. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and Sept 13th was Childhood Cancer awareness day. Peggy, Colemans Mom posted this on his page today.
I don't understand how these kids are being overlooked. Children are our future. All these numbers are way to high EXCEPT the funding number.

*Each school day, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer.

*On the average 12,500 children and teens will be diagnosed with some form of cancer each year in this country.

*One in 330 children will develop cancer by age 20.

*Although the 5 year survival rate is steadily increasing, one quarter of children will die 5 years from the time of diagnosis.

*Cancer remains the #1 disease killer of America's children - more than Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Asthma and AIDS combined.

*In the U.S. almost 3,000 children do not survive cancer each year.

*Over the past two decades, only ONE new cancer drug has been approved for pediatric use.

*Currently there are between 30-40,000 children undergoing cancer treatment in the U.S.

*As a nation, we spend over $14 BILLION (that's with a B!!!) per year on the space program, but only $35 MILLION on Childhood Cancer Research each year.

*There are 15 children diagnosed with cancer for every one child diagnosed with pediatric AIDS. Yet, the U.S. invests approximiately $595,000 for research per victim of pediatric AIDS and only $20,000 for each victim of childhood cancer.

*Research funds are scarce as most money is diverted to well-publicized adult forms of cancer, such as breast and prostate.

*Right now, this second, somewhere in America, there are 7 children fighting for their lives who won't live through the day.

Continue to pray for Coleman

They will be heading to NY for more tests and treatment. Coleman says “nev-va div up” Never Give Up.

Here is a piece of what Coleman's Mom wrote-

So here are some focus areas for prayer:
Coleman’s eating, restful sleep for him- (he’s still struggling some with the bad dreams now and then), easing of both Coleman’s and Caden’s fears as we take off to the Big Apple. (they also heard me use that reference and it brought up a whole lot of questions too!) And of course Coleman’s complete healing! Thank you soooooo much to our prayer warriors!!!

Light a candle for Coleman

Please go light a candle for Coleman and let the family know your thinking of them.



Mimi has another painting up for auction on eBay. It is in Coleman and Caden's favorite colors. John Deere green and yellow. It only has 1 day left.


Here is just a little bit of what Colemans mom posted today. (CP-colemanscott)


Coleman has told me several times, “mommy? It may be a tway-zee wife, but it’s OUR wife!” (it may be a crazy life, but it’s OUR life…if you watch Jon and Kate plus Eight you know where he got that!) how true THAT is, and it cracks me up every time I hear him say it!

We got their preschool papers in the mail this week. Oh how I wish I was taking them to buy new book bags,supplies, etc. (so many parents are complaining of that, I’d GLADLY trade places with them! I wish THAT was our “tway-zee” life right now)

Who knows how it’s all going to go, but Coleman keeps insisting he’s going to SOOL! I pray he gets the chance- he’s been looking forward to school for so long, talking about how much FUN it will be. Couldn’t you just see him in the classroom? He would be what we teachers call a “monitor” making sure EVERYONE ELSE was doing exactly what they were supposed to!

Please go visit Colemans care page.

Coleman

Keep Coleman in your prayers. His mom just updated and they were told that there was 7 tumors that they could see and that there are probably more that they can not see. They are working on a plan for Coleman. Coleman says NEVER GIVE UP and they won't, he won't.

INTERNATIONAL {{{{{HUGS}}}}} COLEMAN DAY

Please - I am asking all of you out there to send everything you have (prayers, hugs, thoughts) to Team Larson on this Friday at 11:00am. The power of prayer (collectively) can help them right now. Please pass this message along to everyone. And remember to hug your children or anyone close to you !! Thanks for your help


Scott and Peggy - we are right here with you !!

Anyone is welcome to post this on their CPs CBs or blog ,thanks...
Mimi

Coleman Scott

Please sign the Childhood Cancer Petition