Wrap Up

The Student of the Year Campaign for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society ended about two months ago, and I think we may have now finally recovered.  What a ride it was - frustrating, fantastic, annoying, rewarding, disappointing, surprising  and "the best decision I ever made," according to Francesca.

After all the totals were in, Team Kings for a Cure more than doubled its goal with a grand total of $31,866.76.  We can still hardly believe it!  Amazing!  Those numbers could not have been reached without the generous support of friends,  family and the local community- THANK YOU!

The campaign ended with a big gala held in downtown D.C.  Team Kings for a Cure was fortunate enough to attend with 15 of our closest friends...

 Student Candidates appeared on banners and posters throughout the venue.

Francesca is the 2nd from the left on the bottom row.

 One of Francesca's biggest fans with a Francesca spirit fan....

 In the end, Francesca did not win "Student of the Year", she did however, win one of 5 awards given to various teams.  Team Kings for a Cure won the MISSION AWARD for excellence in advocacy and awareness during the campaign.  Here is Francesca accepting the award and getting her picture made with Eileen Whelan of ABC7, who was host for the evening.

 Then a picture with sponsors, the LLS campaign director and honored hero Andrew (center) who has just wrapped up treatment for leukemia.

Most of the team together (minus Lindsey) for a group picture in their fancy duds........great work guys!

6 weeks was all it took for local high school students to raise serious money in the fight against blood cancers!

Hats Off to all the candidates and their teams!

Campaign Mania!

The Kings for a Cure Student of the Year Campaign benefiting The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is in full swing now.  Francesca has organized a total of 8 local events and seen four of them to completion.  All while managing finals at school, championship season in swimming and her diabetes! 

Our goal of raising $15,000 before February 26th is in sight, but we still need your support.  Attend events, like and share our team Facebook posts and, most of all, donate HERE.  Every little bit helps. 

Here is a recap of what we've been up to since January 15th.

Restaurant Night at Argia's in Falls Church that raised $450.

Super Bunco Night!  Door prizes and donations of $1,000!  Thanks to our hostesses Patti, Maite and Amy.

Carson gets in on the act!

On January 30th, the Nikola Paskalov Benefit Piano Concert and Silent Auction raised nearly $3,000 and was covered by Voice of America Macedonia.  You can see the press coverage HERE, where you'll see a few familiar faces and find out that we now speak Macedonian!

Family shot with our good friend Anna Maria.

L to R:  Pianist Nikola Paskalov, Jacqueline & Leon Bruner (the hosts of the evening) and Francesca 

And finally, Box Before the Bowl on February 1st at Title Boxing Club Falls Church.  More door prizes, a great work out and another $400 raised for the cause.

This week will be another restaurant night on Tuesday, Feb 10, at Mad Fox Brewery followed by a proceeds night on February 13 at Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt.  Saturday, the 14th is the Regional Swim Meet and then we head into States the following weekend in Blacksburg.  In between those swim meets is Clean for the Cure sponsored by our local dry cleaner Potomac Cleaners.

So, come out and join us, check out our team news and events on Facebook, or Twitter @Kingsforacure.  Please spread the word and the donation link as well.

Thanks to those who have supported us so far!  With your help we're sure to reach our goal!

The Time Has Come

The Time Has Come - It's time to make some serious noise about blood cancer and raise some more awareness.  Francesca and her team have been working hard to do just that.  Can we count on you to help our team FLY past our goal of $15,000?

Read more at this link

Follow us on Twitter: @Kings For A Cure

Facebook:  Kings For A Cure:  LLS Student of the Year Campaign.

Like, Share, Retweet, Invite and Donate!

 

Hard at Work

Happy New Year! 

Francesca and her team, Kings for a Cure, are hard at work with planning for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Student of the Year Campaign that begins January 15th.  We are so proud of her hard work!

She has spent most of her winter break like this:

She's been contacting local businesses, planning events, writing her campaign letter and organizing her team.  We are on the look out for businesses who would like to donate auction items to the end of campaign GALA, businesses who would like to advertise in the end of campaign GALA Program and businesses who might consider sponsoring the end of campaign GALA.  Let us know if you have any contacts that would like to support a very worthy cause.  Watch this blog for more information on how you can help as an individual too!

Also, if you're local, you won't want to miss this event that was recently featured in the Falls Church News Press.  Get your tickets today and tell your friends.

Be sure to check out the campaign on her Facebook page and LIKE it.

We look forward to all the excitement that this campaign will bring in 2015!

-Jennifer

Quick Catch Up

Yes, I know, overdue for a post again.

So let's catch up.  Summer continued at its break neck speed until mid August when we went on vacation.  It was another vacation that one needs to rest from after they get home.  4,000 miles, 5 states, 2 weeks.

Here was Francesca's favorite thing from our time away:

Here is Carson's:  (maybe they CAN agree on something!)

The only exception to "the favorite" was when I pretended to undo the passenger cars.  That didn't go over too well on those mountain passes.

After school started, the pace continued, but at least at a predictable schedule.

Then in October, Francesca was presented with a great opportunity.  She was nominated for and accepted the challenge of being a part of the Student of the Year Campaign with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.   This is a six week fundraising campaign where high school students throughout the area compete against each other for the title of "Student of the Year".  (Basically, that means whoever raises the most money is Student of the Year). 

Of course, winning is not the objective here.  Funding research for a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma is what it is all about.  Our entire family was effected by cancer and LLS was there to help each of us.  We're excited and proud to see Francesca participate and take on this exciting role.

We'll be telling you more about her campaign as it is about to kick off in early 2015 - we will need your help to make it a success!   In the meantime, if you're on Facebook, you can LIKE her page and GET NOTIFICATIONS.  Click here to learn more about it, or just watch this blog.  I promise I'll post more often!

 "The Candidate" at the Student of the Year Kick Off Party

Every candidate needs a great team, and Francesca brought two of her team members to the party.

That brings us to November.  We watched Carson pass another milestone in his post treatment - 2 years with no chemo, and no sign of disease.  Clinic visits will now move to once a quarter!  God has been good to us indeed.  We are ever so grateful, as many of our closest cancer friends have not been as fortunate.

We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.  We are certainly thankful that we're all healthy and all together another day!

-Jennifer

Summer Sneak and Take Off

Summer snuck up on us and has taken off.  Now that I've finally gotten a little bit used to the new schedule, it's almost over and I'll have to start thinking about school schedules!!

What has happened in the last 2+ months?  Let's start with the baseball game.  The Diamond Dreams baseball game did finally happen after 4 weather delays.  Wow, did we have a gorgeous day for baseball when we finally did have it!  Carson did well, despite suffering from his itchy rash.  He walked right out to the pitching mound and threw the pitch in front of everyone just like he'd been doing it all his life.  After he pitched, the George Mason High School players gave him a ball they had all signed.  It now is housed next to the Bryce Harper signed baseball in his room.  All in all, the team raised $5,000 for Kyle's Kamp which supports pediatric cancer research.  How awesome in that?

 Waiting for his introduction!  Carson had a special jersey made just for him and the players also wore golden jerseys.

Carson and the Team Captain

 

 

 

Team Shot!

 

We went through a round of IEP (Individual Education Plan) meetings regarding Carson and his schooling.  He was found eligible for special services, went through rounds of testing with various specialists, and then we all met back to determine exactly what will be most helpful for Carson when 3rd grade begins.  He needs more help in math, more help with multi-step directions, more help recalling information, accommodations for testing, some more work with an occupational therapist and summer school.  Yes, we still have a lot of work to do to counteract the chemo and radiation.  We are so thankful though that there is so much assistance available for Carson.  How many kids in Carson's situation have 8 or 9 people meeting multiple times a year to discuss what's best for them and how to help them?

After all that, we made it to the end of second grade and then a whirlwind of activity began along with a visit from Paul's mom.  Carson spent 1 week at baseball camp, started swimming for the summer swim team and then began summer school 4 times a week.

Between Francesca and Carson swimming, plus summer school the week is packed - thank goodness Francesca can drive herself to some of this and even shuffle Carson around some.  How?  Chuck and Grandma brought her a car on Memorial Day weekend.

A 2006 silver Imapala belongs to her now!

Here is the bare bones schedule:

Monday:  Carson Summer school, Francesca swim practice, Monday evening swim meet
Tuesday:  Carson Summer school, Francesca swim practice, evening swim practice for Carson
Wednesday:  Carson Summer school, Francesca swim practice
Thursday:  Carson Summer school, Francesca swim practice, evening swim practice for Carson
Friday:  Morning swim practice for both kids
Saturday:  Swim meet for Francesca
Sunday:  church and collapse

Somewhere in there we are supposed to also be going to Tae Kwon Do, but that has not happened yet.  I'm not including piano lessons in here either or the hours I work at church, or the hours Francesca is putting in taking a class this summer; I'm not sure I want to see all that schedule in writing.

Earlier this month we made a visit to the clinic.  Carson's counts were great - no need to return until September.  After the September visit, we will have one more visit to the clinic in November and then we can..... (wait for it) start going to the clinic once a quarter instead of every other month!!  Both kids will be on a quarterly schedule - wow what will that be like!?  And isn't it nice that we can talk about going to the clinic less often?  Others in recent weeks and months have not been so lucky.

Carson's diagnosis anniversary on July 10th came and went more quietly this year than in years past.  No tears shed this time.  It was a happy time to catch up with people at the hospital as we delivered lunch.  Carson celebrated by playing video games and staying up until 9:00!

5 years since diagnosis and we're still standing.  Thanks in part to these guys!

After my hospital gown "modeling" experience at my MRI in May, I got word from my oncologist that I continue to remain cancer free.  Thank you tamoxifen!!  That means no doctor's visits for me until December.

Paul continues to work hard, leave work early to watch kids swim and ride his mountain bike.  He had a bad cold a few days ago and stayed home.  Someone was glad....

We hope you are having a great summer and don't have to get sick to get a little bit of rest like Paul!

-Jennifer

May

Spring has brought an interesting mix of things to our plate - and I mean that literally.

Carson was chosen to throw out the first pitch at the Highschool baseball game because they were doing a fundraiser for Children's National Medical Center and Kyle's Kamp.  Due to weather, no pitch has crossed home plate.  The game has been rescheduled 3 times, but tomorrow it may finally happen as the forecast calls for sun and pleasant temperatures.

On to other plates. Carson has decided he will eat grilled chicken.  He has not taken a bite of chicken in anything other than nugget form in his entire 8 years.

We had a visit to the pediatrician for an ear infection in April.

We went to the clinic last week.  Counts are good.  Oddly enough, the clinic visit was the shortest visit to a medical institution we've had in the last few weeks!

We have been to the pediatrician twice this week for rashes of unknown origin.  The first was confined to his arms and behind his ears.  Yesterdays new rash, or further worsening of the first one, gave us hive like spots all over the body.  Itchy and miserable and nothing to be done other than doping with Benadryl and slathering with cream.  Some have even coalesced into one big hive.....

I am considering using the recording app on my phone to play "stop scratching" on a continuous loop.

Francesca has started swimming with a new team and is loving it.  More than that, she loves driving HERSELF to swim practice.  

In other news, I had an MRI yesterday and did bloodwork for the endocrinologist.  I'll find out about all that in June during appointments at both Dr.'s offices.  About all I learned yesterday is that I must remember that heels DO NOT look good with a hospital gown and I should bring socks or flip flops.  This is now my 4th or 5th MRI and I find that I tend to forget everything about it (or blot it out) each and every year.  After changing into my hospital gown yesterday, my memory was jarred in a most unpleasant way regarding the shoes.  I walked down the long hallway to the imaging rooms - click, click, click went my heels and all the other bored people in various states of dress turned to see what was making that noise.  I should have acted like I was on the catwalk....but was too horrified.

Here is a pic of the game program to close out this post.  I will spare you the picture of his rash - yep, saved that one for the grandparents to view this morning.    If you can't read the "bio", I've posted it below the picture.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Carson King is 8 years old and a 2nd grader at Thomas Jefferson Elementary in Falls Church.  He was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in July of 2009 at 3 1/2 years old.  He was treated through Children's National Medical Center and underwent chemotherapy for nearly 3 1/2 years before finishing treatment on his 7th birthday in November 2012.

Carson is an active boy who enjoys legos, video games, riding his bike, swimming, bugging his older sister Francesca and, of course, playing baseball.  His favorite subjects at school are lunch and recess.  He hopes to begin his own baseball career in the near future...that is if a career  as "professional video game player" doesn't work out.  Carson and his family wish to thank George Mason High School baseball team, Kyle's Kamp and all those here supporting pediatric oncology research.