6-21-03 thru 11-3-03

6-21-03 - Not a whole lot of news this week. We took a trip to the toledo zoo. It
was beautiful weather and a great day was had by all. We went to the "Relay for life"
in Fenton yesterday evening. Boy...you dont really understand how many people are
affected by cancer until you see all those luminary bags lit in tribute of survivors and in
memory of those whose lives were taken. And that is just a number that is fairly local!
Bethany had a great time. She was given a purple T-shirt and ribbon banner that said
"Survivor" on it. She walked the opening victory lap with all the other survivors that
were there. There were tons of survivors which bolstered by confidence in the fact
that this disease IS beatable!!!! Beth's white counts are a bit low so we kind of
cheated by going out but it was really something that Beth wanted to do. Check the
pics page for a few new pics from the Relay. As you have read above...I have
archived the prior entries to another page so you dont have to scroll a mile down to
view the latest word on Bethany. Beth is scheduled for inpatient round three of chemo
on 7-2-03. I have my doubts that they will be able to give her the chemo because I
don't think her counts will be back up to an acceptable level by then. If they are then
Beth will get out of the hospital on the morning of July 4th. If she feels up to it a
Fourth of July picnic / party is scheduled in the evening at the neighbors
house.....Thanks for the invite Jackie! I will keep you posted on what happens with
the chemo. Have a great Fourth of July!

6-27-03 - Well, Beth had her drive in movie party tonight. It's after midnight right
now and they finally crashed. We only stayed for the first feature (Finding Nemo)
which was really cute! I folded the back seats down in my Jeep Liberty and backed it
in so the girls (Bethy, Lacey, Erica and Sam) could snuggle up and watch the movie.
They made me take three trips to the snack bar before the movie even started! I had
to laugh. I heard lots of giggles and tee hee hee's coming out of my car as I sat
outside in my lawn chair. They had a blast! So afterwards we came home and they all
crashed on the living room floor in their sleeping bags. In the morning we are all going
to get up and go out to breakfast at a great Coney place in Clarkston. I posted a
couple of pics from today on the pics page. Oh....by the way....you may have
guessed that Beth's counts sprang up like crazy so we are able to do anything we
want right now........Beth is loving it.

7-4-03 - Beth was in the hospital Wednesday and Thursday for the inpatient part of
her third round. She did great! Got a little homesick and a her tummy was a little
troubled a couple of times. All in all she did very well. We suprised Jen and made it
home at about 8:30 this morning and then we all went to the parade in Clarkston
where we sat with some good friends of ours...the Ganronski's. This evening we are
going to a party with a few of the neighbors on our street which will be at Sammy's
house. We will do the eating, laughing and fireworks thing over there. Beth is
spending the afternoon there swimming while Jen and I do our best to contain our
little Incredible Hulk! Pray for us this week. Bethy has her brain MRI on Monday and
her spinal MRI on Thursday. We are optimistic and very anxious about the MRI
scans......a little scared too. Have a great Fourth of July everyone!

7-8-03 - Great news! Bethany's brain MRI scan was clear! The doctor phoned me
this afternoon and told me the results. Thanks for everyones prayers. Keep them
coming for her spinal MRI which will be this Thursday. Bethany will go for her
outpatient chemo tomorrow and an eye exam on Friday. So....the next three days will
be consumed by doctors in Detroit. Jen and I are sharing the trips. Jenni has a
birthday on the 12th. Bethany, Mikey and myself went out shopping for her today
and they picked some really cute things for her. Bethany has been doing really well
and loves to eat out....every meal!!! We gotta stop that. My wallet is getting smaller
and my butt is getting bigger...heh heh. We will keep you posted reference Thursday's
MRI.

7-11-03 - Got the official word from our doctor this afternoon reference the results
of Bethany's spinal MRI. It looks perfect!!! Yeeeeaaaaa!!!!!! The doctor called me
on my cell while I was in the grocery store and I had a really crappy connection....but
she said that the MRI looked great and that they didn't see anything on it that is out of
the ordinary (unlike last time...yeeesh). I was so happy....I called Jenni immediately at
work and gave her the awesome news. More prayers answered! I felt in my heart
that it would be ok. Thanks so much to everyone for all the thoughts and prayers. It
means so much....and above all else....it worked :) Please keep it coming. Bethany
has been battling stomach pains and nausea for the last couple of days. The inpatient
chemo usually kicks in around a week or so and makes Bethany feel yucky. Even
double doses of Zofran are having trouble beating it. I fear that it's only going to get
worse as we go on, as I hear the effects of chemo are cumulative. Bethany's weight
has dropped to 60 pounds. If she goes down any more we will be exploring an
appetite stimulant called Megace. We would give this to Bethany during her three
week break in between chemo rounds when she is feeling good to bolster her weight.
It's not a definite but something we have been considering. Take care until next post.

7-16-03 - Beth went in today for her last vincristine injection to complete her third
round of chemo. Due to some constipation Beth has been having for the past few
days the doctor opted to skip this injection. Bethany is now officially down to 58 1/2
pounds. That's 12 down from when this started only six months ago. The doctor did
give us a prescription for megace which is a steroid that stimulates the appetite.
Unfortunately on of the common side effects of it are head aches. That will send Jen
and I through the roof with worry....but we have to fatten her up a bit...she's getting
too skinny. So........another three weeks and we do it all over again! Woo hoo!!!
Keep Beth in your prayers please. Take care until the next post :)

7-23-03 - We sent Beth's latest brain & spine MRI films to Dr. Gajjar at St. Judes.
For those of you who don't remember, Dr. Gajjar was our second opinion when we
were told Beth's cancer had come back in her spine last April. He replied via email
and said that he personally reviewed the scans along with his neuro- radiologist and
both agreed that the scans looked great. We also inquired with Beth's neurosurgeon,
Dr. Sood, reference the brain scan to see how the ventriculostomy procedure is
holding up. He said that Beth's ventricles have reduced in size since the last scan in
April. This is a good thing! It means her brain has learned to handle the cerebrospinal
fluid more efficiently because of the procedure. So...nothing but great news all
around! Pray for it to continue please. Beth is off with her grandmother (Mimi) to
watch her cousin ride in a horse show this afternoon. She is excited and should have a
fun day. She is feeling well but her white counts are low so we have to be careful of
what she eats and also crowded places. Beth's platelets and hemoglobin are
borderline right now so she may or may not need a transfusion soon depending on
what the levels do. After the next round, Beth will be 1/2 through with chemo!!!!
Can't believe it. All of the doctors appointments, needles, chemicals and running
around have actually reached a twisted state of normalcy for us just as we were told it
would by other parents in similar positions. Thankfully I'm on afternoon shift and have
my mornings and early afternoons free. I don't know how we could have made all of
this work if I was on any other shift. Looks beautiful outside this morning. Have a
great day!

7-29-03 - Beth has had an excellent weekend. She's been feeling great and playing
with friends! We got the lab report on her blood draw from this morning....her counts
are up! They were down only for a very short time from her last chemo round and
shot right back up unbelievably fast. Beth is eating well thanks to the Megase. This
stuff is great! We went to visit Boblo, Beth's favorite horse in the world. Stuffed his
belly with carrots and gave him lots of love which made Beth very happy. We go in
for round 4 of chemo in a couple of weeks. That's the official half way point folks. I
just cant believe it. Hope everyone is having a great summer! I will post again soon.
Please keep the prayers coming for Beth and also a little friend of ours named Jordan.
She is only three and is going through proton beam radiation right now. Pray it works
and that she stays comfortable during the long weeks of treatments. Thanks guys!

8-8-03 - We've had a great couple weeks off from chemo. We've been eating out A
LOT...that along with Beth being on a new appetite- increaser medication, megace,
has contributed to a weight gain of about four pounds already! She is looking and
feeling a lot better. We have done a few fun things....Beth and her friend Kyle had a
great time at the local 4-H fair...Beth rode some rides and even did some flips on one
attraction! (yes, I was biting my nails the whole time!) She was proud that her
gymnastics came back to her. Twice we have gone to local hotels and spent the night
just to enjoy the pool and some quality family time. It's so good to see her smiling and
having fun again. We've done some school shopping-she is already looking forward
to school starting. Beth and her friend Erica painted ceramics the other day. Today
she met up for lunch with a friend she met in the oncology unit at Children's Hospital,
Mariah. Mariah just finished chemo and has been a real inspiration to Beth (and us!)
It's been good for Beth to realize she is not the only one going through hard times.
Speaking of that...we went to another Relay for Life, which she really enjoyed.
Because we can't plan ahead much, we try to do things spur of the moment. Beth's
organization skills really amaze me. Every morning and night, she gets her own
medications out (about five meds) and logs them in a book. She knows all the names
and uses of the medications. Check out some new pictures. Please keep praying that
"it" doesn't return and that her side effects will be minimal. Next week we will be
inpatient chemo-we will let you know how it goes. Keep the prayers coming! Thank
you so much.

8-13-03 - Beth is currently inpatient receiving her fourth round of chemotherapy. We
are half way home folks!!! She has been experiencing a bit of nausea but is doing
great other than that. Jenni relieved me for hospital duty with Bethany this morning
and told me that the resident doctor told her that Beth was all done and that he was
discharging her. Well....Jenni told that poor exactly what was going to happen and
that Beth was staying the extra night for an even longer system flush because of the
nausea. Is Bethany staying until Thursday morning...heh heh...do bears poop in the
woods? I love how aggressive jenni can be. Hey now.......how YOU doin??!!

8-21-03 - Beth made it through the inpatient chemo ok and didn't get released until
about 8 P.M. on Thursday because of the power outage. Had her blood checked on
Monday locally which showed that she was dehydrated...so...off to Detroit on
Tuesday where they gave her five smaller bags of fluid and two blood checks. Had
blood checked again yesterday and she was within range on the really important stuff
but at the highest tolerances. So......you guessed it.....Jenni and Beth just left for
Detroit this morning for more fluids. Man this stinks! I've never been so tired in all my
life and I know I can speak for Jenni when I say that as well. The wind has been
taken from my sails a bit lately. In the circles of medulloblastoma there have been
quite a few recurrences recently, one of which being the 3 yr. old daughter of our
California friends (Keep praying for Jordan please!). Don't get me wrong, we are all
doing very well...it's just that living day to day is harder than I thought it would be. I
guess I used to like dreaming about the future!

8-25-03 - Beth has been having a lot of stomach pain in the mornings which are
starting to last well into the afternoon. I spoke to our nurse who says she is sure it is
being caused by the vincristine she is receiving. So Beth is just laying on the couch
right now (1:00 P.M.) with a heating pad on her stomach. If this pain persists we may
have to discuss lowering the dosage of the vincristine. Unfortunately, Beth goes in the
Wednesday for the final vincristine injection to complete round four of chemotherapy.
Holding my breath to see what happens afterwards. Beth was supposed to goe to a
meeting at her school today with her teacher and some other pivital staff but didn't
feel up to it. So Jenni went by herself to meet with them. Bethany's first day of school
is tomorrow. I pray that she feels up to going. Last year this beast hit it the middle of
the year. Bethany was already well established as a bright kid which pretty much
guaranteed her passing to the fifth grade. This year she is starting the fifth grade with a
deficit and I worry that she won't be able to keep up. If she doesn't pass fifth grade it
will devastate her. Pray for her wellbeing...mentally and physically.

9-5-03 - Sorry this update is so late. Beth has had to make several trips to the
hospital in the past week and a half. She has been a bit dehydrated and depleted in
platelets, potassium and magnesium. So they have been pumping her full of fluids
which always seems to make her feel better. I spoke to her doctor and her vincristine
doses will now be reduced by 50%, as Beth was experiencing toxicity with the
former amount. I'm very happy to have it reduced......hopefully she wont have such a
violent reaction from now on! Beth's white counts were actually down to
0.0%..........you got it........that means she had absolutely NO defense against
infection / bacteria. Beth has not attended one day of school yet. We are waiting for
her counts to come up so it will be safe for her to go. Mrs. McDowell (Beth's fourth
grade teacher) will be coming tomorrow (Friday) for home schooling to keep Beth in
the loop until she can go back to school. Beth is on break until 9-24 which is the date
of her next in-patient chemotherapy. This last week has been murder on me. Not only
did I have to take Beth to Detroit several times, I also had to take Mikey to Detroit
for some tests....he's fine! The whole family finally got a day off together
yesterday.......can't believe it! The day pretty much consisted of yard / outside work
for me and house cleaning / laundry for Jenni. We cheated and took Bethy out to eat
at Damons in Grand Blanc. It was nice to get out as a family. It was funny........we
were seated in the no smoking section. I happened to be looking at Jenni at the time
and she threw a furious glance to her right that scared me. I couldn't help but turn to
see what had induced this evil glare. The lady in the booth next to us pulled out a
cigarette and put it in her mouth. Well......she must have caught the heat of Jenni's
glare because she put that bad boy right back in her purse. It's crazy how protective
you get through something like this. Thanks sooooooooo much to the "Dinner Angel".
Someone left a package of food and drink for us. Whoever you are.........it was much
appreciated, not to mention yummy!!! Well, signing off for now. I will try not to be so
late on the updates. Thanks for looking!

9-8-03 - Beth went to school for the first time today! She was excited. She could
only do a half day though because of a routine follow-up appointment with her
neurosurgeon. I walked in the classroom and there sat Beth at her desk next to her
friend Leah. Beth had opted not to eat lunch in the cafeteria and Leah stayed with her
and must have hugged Bethany about four times while I sat there waiting for her to
finish her lunch. A good friend of Beths named Cory who sits next to her in class sent
me an email. In it he said how much he missed Beth and hoped she could come to
school soon. He also said "She will be sitting by me and I will take care of her for
you. I will protect her as long as I can.". It actually brought a tear to my eye. I am so
thankful that he is such a good friend. Thanks Cory!!!!!!!!!!!! The neurosurgery
appointment went very well. Beth got all A's from the doctor who was VERY
pleased with her progress! I thank God every day for everything. I hope those of you
who have healthy kids and family members dont take it for granted. I'm ashamed to
admit that I believe I did..........but not anymore! Thank God for everything in your
life, good and bad....for without the bad the good wouldn't be appreciated.

9-12-03 - Beth went a full day of school on Tuesday and had a great time. She was
whipped by the time she got home and said that she just wanted to sleep. This told
me that her borderline low hemoglobin needed to be transfused. So, on Wednesday
morning we got up bright and early and shot down to the hospital. Things were
running a bit slower than usual down there for some reason. I was there until about
2:30 in the afternoon until Jenni came and took over so I could go to work. I actually
hated to leave, as I was really engrossed in a game of Harry Potter Uno with Beth,
another medullo patient and his father. Anyway, while at the hospital we learned that
Beth's white counts are still down at 200. The doctor has, as you know, reduced the
vincristine (stuff that makes her stomach hurt and body ache) by 50%. Bethany has
had a very hard time recovering after round four. We did a creatinine clearance test
(collect urine for analysis over a 24 hr. period) which came back a little low, meaning
that her kidneys are not filtering at peak performance. The big gun chemical that she is
getting is called Cisplatin. This is the one that really bombards the fast growing cells
and blasts the bone marrow as a side effect which causes the low counts. It's the
same chemical that can be detrimental to the kidneys and cause renal problems. This
chemical is now being reduced to 50% as well. I think that's a good thing! I believe
that Beth has already been taken care of. Beth will hopefully be able to go back to
school early next week if her counts are back up. Well, Beth is begging me to come
watch TV with her on the couch under the electric blanket. It's a tough job but
somebody has to do it!

9-20-03 - We emailed a status update to our favorite doc, Dr. Gajjar, in TN. We
informed him of what a hard time that Beth had bouncing back from round number
four. He said that a study of Beth's protocol in which patients got half the total
recommended Cisplatin for the protocol are doing just as well in the long term as
those who have received the whole amount. So.....Dr. Gajjar says that the Cisplatin
can be safely stopped if necessary. He also recommended a lumbar puncture with
every other MRI (6 months) during chemo just to be sure the CSF is clear, and then
with every MRI for the first year after chemo (every three months). He also
recommended a chemical switch from CCNU to Cytoxin which is a little easier on the
bone marrow. Dr. Gajjar has been corresponding with us via email.....WHILE HE IS
ON VACATION!!!!! The funny part is that we faxed our doctor the above concerns
three days ago with a request to hear from her the following day to discuss
things.........still no call! Our doctor seems to be more of the reactive type....kind
of....wait until something happens and then try to deal with it. I don't like that! Beth is
scheduled for her next in-patient chemo this Wednesday. Beth and I went to the
Michigan Renaissance Festival today and took her friend Sammy. We all had a great
time. Beth ate like a cow and got a henna tattoo on her hand of bats....since
Halloween is coming soon. All in all she has been doing pretty well. Beth has been
attending school in the morning and leaving mid-day. A whole day just tires her out to
badly. She is ahead of her class in homework and one of the teachers says that the
class will have to catch up to Beth.......no big suprise there! She has iron clad work
habits. Well........that's all for now.....will try to post again soon. Keep the prayers
coming!

9-26-03 - Inpatient part of round #5 is complete! Beth did really well and only got
sick a couple of times. This is the first time that the medications have been cut in
half...so I am anxious to see how her recovery goes this time. Followup MRI scans
scheduled for 10/1 (spine) and 10/4 (brain). Please pray for clean scans. MRI scans
are our best friends but I'm sure you can understand how a parents stomach churns
waiting for the results which could either continue a happy day or completely
devastate you're world! When we left today we stopped at McDonalds where she
proceeded to chow a good portion of a quarter pounder! After we got home Mikey,
Beth and I went to a cider mill. Mmmmmm......Doughnuts (said in my best Homer
Simpson voice). We got the hot ones right out of the fryer....so tasty! We had a good
time. Then Jen brought home Beth's favorite dinner.....Boston Market Chicken.
Needless to say, Beth ate well today. She has gained a few pounds by the way......up
to 62 lbs. now and looking great. It's late so I'm going to bed.....Nite!

10-1-03 - It's about 11 AM and Jen and Beth just left for Detroit to get her
vincristined and spinal MRI. Beth has been a little scared of the MRI this time....not
sure why. Maybe because the MRI nurse screwed up when she accessed Beth's port
last time and she had to get poked twice with a really big needle. Beth has been
having some stomach pain early in the morning which fades a couple of hours later.
I'm convinced it's the vincristine because it always starts a couple of days after she
starts getting it and ends a few days after her last injection before her three week
break. She attended school on Tuesday but called a short time after school started to
have me pick her up because her stomach was hurting. I talked to Beth and decided
that, while on vincristine, we will do the usual half day at school but I will take her in
at lunch time (after her morning stomach problem) and will pick her up at 2:30 which
will still give me enough time to drop the kids off at the sitters and get to work. Then,
during her three week break she can go to school in the morning. The last time I was
at Beth's school a teacher came up to Beth and told her that she was doing an
excellent job on her homework and that she was way ahead of the rest of the class
who would have to catch up to her. Beth cant just sit and do the days homework
assignment. She has to do it for the whole week!. She loves school. It's Halloween
season now and the favorite time of year around the Simsack household. We have
the house decorated pretty well outside complete with a coffin standing on the front
porch! It looks awesome. Have a great fall season everybody! Please pray for
continuous clean MRI scans!

10-4-03 - Beth did not get her spinal MRI done on Wednesday as planned. The
MRI department called me at about noon, just after Jen and Beth left, to tell me that
they were running two hours behind because they had a couple of emergency cases
which delayed all the scheduled appointments. I cant really complain because I'm sure
that a few people were delayed because of us when this all happened. Beth has been
really apprehensive and scared about this set of MRI scans. She says she knows its
(cancer) coming back. It just breaks my heart to hear her say that and to see the
dread in her face and hear the fear in her voice. A ten year old just shouldn't have to
deal with this kind of pressure and know more medical terms and concepts than most
adults. Don't get me wrong....I am actually very upbeat but I get knocked down a
peg or two every once in awhile. It's late on Friday night, actually early on Saturday
morning and we have to be in Detroit for her MRI scan of the brain at 9 A.M. Beth's
spinal MRI has been rescheduled for this coming Wednesday afternoon. I will post as
soon as I have some results. By the way, I took Beth and a friend to see the new
movie "School of Rock" today. It was hillarious and we all recommend it!

10-8-03 - Just got the word this morning......Beth's brain MRI was CLEAR!!!!!
Great news! Jen and Beth are heading down in a couple of hours for her last
vincristine of round #5 and then for her spinal MRI directly after that. Thanks for all
the prayers and well wishes......please keep them coming for the spinal MRI.

10-10-03 - CLEAR spinal MRI !!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the continual prayers from
everyone! Beth is very relieved. I knew it would be fine but the official results are
nice! Please excuse the halloween colors of the paragraphs.....Just got a little shot of
the halloween spirit!

10-16-03 - Beth had to go into the hospital on Tuesday to received some IV fluids
with Magnesium because it was a bit low. She has been doing so much better since
her chemo was reduced by 50%. No more writhing in pain on the couch holding her
stomach! Her blood counts are doing much better this time around as well. As you
probably recall her white blood count (infection fighters) went down to absolute zero
after her fourth chemo round. She also required transfusions of hemoglobin and
platelets as well. Beth completed her 5th round a few weeks ago and the lowest her
white count fell to was 1200 (has to be 1000 or more to do anything you want).
Beths white count is climbing again and was 1800 as of this morning. So.......she has
been able to do pretty much whatever she wants. Yes......this includes all the fast
foods and eating out at restaurants. I swear, I'm gonna be a huge pig by the time this
is all done! Oh well....we are all happy and that's what counts! Beth's weight is
climbing and she is currently at 63 pounds....Woo hoo! Beth, Mikey, Jen & I went to
a haunted forest this evening and then on a hayride. Afterwards we had donuts,
french fries, hot chocolate and cider they were selling. What a great time. Beth stayed
glued to my arm the whole time. It was a family friendly haunted forest but on the
upper extreme. They had guys with running chainsaws chasing you and people in
costumes jumping out.....I kept looking down at Beth and she had this big smile on
her face! What a blast!!! Mikey enjoyed it too and literally climbed up Jenni's back
when the chainsaws came out. A lot of laughs! Thanks for checking in :)

10-22-03 - Hi everybody! It has been a good couple of weeks for Beth. Her counts
have remained stable enough for us to do anything we want which makes life much
more enjoyable. I finally got the garage cleaned out so we can decorate for her
halloween / birthday party. It's fun to do it outside (garage is heated) to get into the
true halloween spirit. A lot of Beth's little friends are coming. Not much new on the
homefront for now. There have been a few children on the medulloblastoma
newsgroup who have had relapses recently.....their names are Tazmin, Jordan and
Maurice. Please remember them in you're prayers. As always......please keep the
prayers coming for Beth as well. Yikes.........this page is getting long again.....looks
like I'm going to have to add to the archive again!

10-27-03 - It was a great day for us today. Jenni didn't have to work so I took the
day off as well. We started with lunch at a nice restaurant and then went to Upland
Hills Farm where did a lot of fun things. First we saw a magic show. Mikey was
picked by the magician to participate......VERY funny stuff. Next Mikey and I milked
a cow which proceeded to take a huge dump.....WHEW! We pet baby pigs and fed
tons of ducks. They had the best warm donuts and hot chocolate. We also took a
hayride which stopped at a fall walking trail. Beth rode on my back most of the time.
Afterwards we stopped at a halloween outlet which was great fun and then headed
over to Mimi's (Jenni's mom) house for dinner. We sat by the fire and drank coffee,
watching a scary movie before dinner. Now I ask you...........is that a perfect October
day or what?!! Beth is doing really well and is eating like crazy. Thanks for all the
prayers.........they are working! Sometime in late February or early March is our
target for completion of the chemo. Afterwards there will still be more doctors such
as an endocrinologist to evaluate, monitor and possibly stimulate Beth's growth.
These visits will be far fewer than the chemo and certainly less taxing. I thank God for
this excellent day!

10-29-03 - I finally got around to making another pics page. Those of you who have
a dial up account will be happy.....no more waiting for all the pictures to load.....at
least for now! Beth rode Bob the horse again today for the fist time in about a year. I
think she was a little nervous on the way to the barn but as soon as she started
working with Bob all the anxiety melted away and she found her groove almost
immediately. Special thanks to our best barn friend Jackie. She has been so great
through all of this. Sending emails and keeping up on Beth has been very appreciated.
Jackie led Bob most of the time while Beth rode but let Beth go on her own for just a
bit......I'm glad because I think that Beth finally felt in complete control of something
for the first time in a long while. Needless to say it was an awesome day. Beths
halloween / birthday party is tomorrow (10/30). We have been busy decorating and
getting things ready. It should be great fun and I will post pics on the new page
probably tomorrow night or possibly Friday morning. Beth is feeling good and eating
well. Things are great right now. Thanks for checking in. Happy Halloween!

10-31-03 - Happy Halloween everyone! Beth had her party last night and you can
see some pictures on the new pics page. It went really well and everyone that was
invited showed up....quite a crowd! There were messy party games, music, pizza &
cake and tons of other cool stuff. Beth had a fantastic time and still cant stop talking
about it. Tonight we will go trick-or-treating in a nearby town that goes crazy about
Halloween. Everyone decks out their yards and porchs and wear costumes while
handing out treats. Afterwards there's a big bon fire where everyone gathers which
sounds fun. Then...we head over to Jenni's mom's house for our traditional post trick-
or-treating chili fest! Everyone here is doing great.....hope you are as well!

11-3-03 - Well....looks like we are approaching turkey day now. Where has the year
gone?!! Beth is feeling and looking great. We went on any excursion to the mall today
and took a friend of hers. We turned them loose (with a cell phone of course) and
they had a blast. We will be inpatient for round #6 on Wednesday. Continued
prayers are appreciated in hopes that Beth tolerates the chemo well. There is another
little girl, 9 yr. old Adovia, at Childrens Hospital who had a medulloblastoma (same
as Beth had) removed last week. I spoke to her mom on the phone and remembered
what a whirlwind it all is in the beginning. Her mom & dad are in the process of
deciding what facility to have their daughter's chemo and radiation treatments at.
Please pray that they make the best decisions for the health of their daughter.