We Can Do This!

It has been so great being home!  Nate has really made great strides.  It took much longer for him to bounce this time...but, bounce he did.  He's not 100% by any means, but he is doing so, so well.  Yesterday, he was riding his tricycle, running around and playing hide and seek with the neighbors.  Really, it is all I dreamed of and more.  I had almost forgotten how beautiful it is to see him play.  We've tried to shove as much fun in as possible and Nate has been living it up.

We started the transplant process on Monday.  I met with Nate's transplant doctor, who I love, to go over the process again and to sign new consents (the previous consents I signed are not valid now that we have dropped out of the study).  We have heard nothing but awesome things about the whole transplant team, and I believe it.  Nate's doctor makes me feel like we can do this...like it won't be as bad as I fear it will be.  They will take great care of Nate, I know it.  After the meeting, Nate had some blood drawn, then received a medication called palifermin that should help decrease the severity of the mucusitis (mouth and GI sores).  Unfortunately nothing can prevent it completely, but I hope and pray that Nate's mucusitis will be as minimal as possible.  He already had such a rough time with it during rounds 4 and 6 of chemo.

Tuesday, I took Nate to the dentist.  Nate had gone to the dentist a month ago for his pre-transplant exam and everything looked good.  Then on Friday, I noticed that all 6 of his bottom front teeth have extensive decay.  It just happened so quickly.  We had to have the dentist take another look to make sure that none of the decay could cause an abscess any time soon.  Nate can not have any known risks of infection, going in to the transplant process.  Luckily, he is not at risk for infection, but his bottom front 6 teeth are destroyed from the chemo and vomiting.  The enamel on the rest of his teeth isn't great either...they aren't far behind.  Just another gift cancer treatment is leaving behind.  I am trying not to let it get to me.  I am trying to concentrate on the task at hand...transplant.  But it's hard not to dwell on those sweet little teeth that I watched come in and brushed so carefully, begin destroyed so quickly and completely.  We will do our best to slow the progression of the decay so that it doesn't decay his adult teeth, but the hard truth is that his adult teeth are most likely already affected.

After the dentist, we went to clinic for Nate to get another injection of palifermin.  He also had to have both of his sinus cavities swabbed for viruses.  Certainly NOT one of Nate's favorite things to have done.  I then took Nate over to the "big hospital" to get an xray of his abdomen.  He has been having a lot of abdominal distention and bloating since he has started eating again.  This has been worrying me, in the back of my Mommy brain, because his abdomen is where the tumor was.  I got a call from his doctor last night saying that the xray was normal, except for an "emormous amount of stool".  I've never been so happy to hear the we have and enormous amount of stool coming our way!  The doctor assured me that the chemo he gets for transplant will give him such bad diarrhea that it will clear everything out.  Wes had a half day of school on Tuesday.  So, after the xray we went home and got Wes and Grandma and went to Jambo indoor amusement park.  Nate had been asking to go there and had a blast playing goofy golf, riding the train, bowling and playing skee ball.

I worked today and Grandma took Nate for his last palifermin injection.  Tomorrow after lunch, Nate and I will check in to PCH for an indefinte amount of time.  They say to plan on 4 to 6 weeks.  I will write a post tomorrow that will better explain what a stem cell transplant is and the process we will be going through, over the next 4 to 6 weeks.

I am so thankful for this fun time we have had at home and the strides that Nate has been able to make.  Nate is up to 15kg, which is still a couple kg below where he should be, but is really incredible considering where he was.  I really wanted to see that "15" number on the scale before transplant...and there it was!  I know we have a really tough road ahead over the next few weeks (all of us, but especially Nate), but I know we will make it through.  God has brought us this far and we have faith that he will continue to carry us (especially Nate) through the storm.

I would like to ask for some prayers for our little buddy RJ and his family.  We met RJ when we were in New York for surgery.  RJ's disease is progressing through treatment and his family has been told that there are no treatment options for him and that he has days to weeks left.  RJ just turned 2 and his family was forced to make the decision today to take him home on hospice care.  You know, I have now been introduced to this world of childhood cancer.  I have heard many stories of progressing disease and children not doing well.  I just can't help to think that...I rubbed this little boy's head...I hugged his parents.  This is just too real, and my heart is broken.  I believe that there could be a miracle out there for RJ, I will continue to pray for that miracle and for peace and comfort for him and his family.

46/7

Today is World Cancer Day, a day for the world to unite in the fight against cancer by raising awareness, educating the public and lobbying for change.  No one needs this more than the littlest fighters who can't speak up for themselves.  I wanted to share this beautiful video that a mom to a fellow little fighter made...keep an eye out for Nate.  Do you know what 46/7 means?  It means that every single day 46 parents hear the words "Your child has cancer", and every single day 7 of those children lose their fight.  These babies need us.

What a Difference a Year Makes...

Nate wanted Valentine's Day cookies.  I brought home a cookie decorating set that I found at work after I got off last night.  He was very excited and as he was decorating and eating his cookie, I realized that we had done this same activity last year.  Honestly, it is very painful for me to look at the picture of Nate from last year.  I am grieving the loss of that little boy, and have not had adequate time to do that.  For the last 7 months we have been on a crisis freight train, that we will continue to ride for almost the next year.  We are constantly pushing forward, trying to get Nate to the next step so that we can be through this nightmare.  We keep moving forward and somewhere in the back of my mind, I have these thoughts that we just have to get through this treatment and Nate can go back to normal.  The hard truth is, though, that we can never go back.  That life...is gone.  That little boy...is gone.  He is not a baby anymore.  He is growing up...in a cancer world.  Last year, Nate didn't know any more of a hospital than coming to visit Mommy when his baby sister was born.  Healthy boy that he was, he barely knew a doctor's office.  Last year, none of us had ever stepped foot on the oncology floor of a children's hospital...now, it is home.  It is hard to look at that picture and see what cancer treatment has done to Nate's body.  I am sure that Nate weighed the same or more, in that picture one year ago, than he does now.

Don't get me wrong.  I am grateful for my son and where he is, in this treatment right now.  This morning, he came in to the bathroom 3 times during my shower to tell me things.  THAT...is the Nate I know and love.  I have never loved and appreciated his feistiness more than I do now.  We have also met some of the most beautiful, incredible people through this process.  I don't think I would have EVER known the amount of beauty and strength that exists on the 7th floor of PCH.  I am grateful that my eyes have been opened to the world of childhood cancer.  These babies NEED US!  They need awareness and they need money.  They need less toxic treatments.  They need treatments that won't ravage a small child's body the way that Nate's has been ravaged over the last 7 months.  They need a cure!

I am grateful...but I am still grieving.  This is the life of a cancer mom...I don't think I'm alone.  I hope and pray and BELIEVE that next Valentine's Day, I will have a photo of Nate decorating another cookie...cancer free, chubby, and with a full head of hair.

A Good Day

Today was a good day.  I woke up to Nate at the foot of our bed, hollering for food...music to my ears right now.  He apparently gave up while I was getting Ellie up, because when I returned to our room to find out what Nate wanted to eat...he was gone.  I found him coming out of the kitchen, eating cinnamon toast crunch.  Apparently, he decided I wasn't moving fast enough and he needed to take matters in to his own hands.

We had made plans to go to Liz's to play with Jack and Lucy.  I told Liz we would be over after 10am.  At 8am, Nate said he didn't want to watch any cartoons.  He wanted to go to Jack's house, right now.  I explained that I had to take a shower and get dressed first.  He told me he would wait in the car for me.  Haha!

By the time we got to Liz's, he was too tired to walk in by himself.  I carried him in and set him on the couch.  I went in to the kitchen to put his milk in the fridge and by the time I got back to the living room, he had hopped off the couch and was playing with Jack.  I even saw him attempt a little bit of a run.  He's basically like a baby deer, walking on his skinny little legs, but he's trying.  He climbed down into their "toy pit" on his own and even shot some basketball.  I pretty much had tears in my eyes all morning.

He would get tired every now and then, and say that he needed to take a "little rest".  I set him up with a blanket and pillow on the couch.  He would lay down for 15 minutes or so, then pop up and say his rest was over and he was ready to play again.  Oh, my sweet boy!

As you can see from the video, Liz taught Nate how to wink.  So cute!  He also got to take a spin around in Jack's electric jeep.  Ellie sat in the passenger seat, while her big brother took her for a little ride.  As weak as he is, it was truly an answer to my prayers to see Nate "run" and play a bit today.

Blessings

Thursday morning, Nate went in to surgery to have his line put back in.  He kept telling everyone that he pooped on his line and it had to be washed to get the bugs out.  He then talked about getting scissors and putting the clean line back in himself.  Yikes!  Most parents have to worry about their kid getting a hold of scissors and cutting their own hair...we have to worry about ours trying to insert his own central line!  He was such a card this hospital stay.  I think it was because he was feeling pretty good.  He's always funny (when he's feeling good), and he had all the doctors and nurses cracking up, all week.  The surgery was quick and easy.  He was a little nervous before, but the happy medicine (Versed) helped.  I told the anesthesiologist that I needed some too, unfortunately, he did not agree. When I went to see Nate in post-op he was sitting up (with his eyes closed), asking to get back to his room.  He was happy to have his line back...and boy, so am I.  I think I missed it more than he did.  Poor kid had to get stuck so many times during those 2 days without a line.  Thank God for the Broviac!  We had to sit around the hospital for a few more hours, so that he could get his afternoon dose of antibiotics.  On the way out, we swung around the other side of the floor to give Nate's favorite nurse "knuckles" before we left and we were told that there was a Diamondback in the play room.  Nate got to meet and get an autograph from Paul Goldschmidt.  He was pretty excited to meet a "real baseball player".

Home health came Thursday night to show us how to give Nate his IV antibiotics every 8 hours.  It's pretty amazing how easy they can make things, these days.  We don't need an IV pump, or anything.  The medication is in this contraption called an Eclipse (or "party ball").  We flush Nate's line, hook up the "party ball", unclip it, and it goes into his line over an hour via compression, then we flush his line again.  The only pain in the butt part is that it ends up being a 2 hour process because the medication is refrigerated, but needs to be taken out of the fridge an hour before we hook him up.

Home has been great for Nate.  I knew it was a good sign, when we got home and walked in the house...he saw one of his stuffed animals on the kitchen table and let go of my hand to walk and grab it.  Those were the first unassisted, unforced steps he had taken in a month and a half.  Later that night he actually got off the couch to do a floor puzzle with Linde.  He has been eating well and moving a little bit more every day.  This morning, Chris got out of the shower and was surprised to see that Nate had gotten out of bed and walked to the couch in the living room (carrying the "party ball" he was still attached to)...he hasn't gotten out of bed by himself in almost 2 months.

We've been basically doing anything that Nate wants to do, which means eating at all sorts of random places, chosen at the last minute.  Friday, Nate wanted to go to Costco for lunch and Chick-fil-a for dinner. We went to a friend's birthday party at the railroad park on Saturday and had friends over for dinner.  Sunday, Nate wanted to go to Dilly's for lunch and Chris and I went to dinner and a concert that night and left the kids with Grandma and Linde.  Nate wanted Chick-fil-a again and they remembered upon driving over there that they are closed on Sundays...he then decided on McDonalds.  Today, Linde took a half day off at work.  She works near the airport, so we headed down to meet some of Linde's work friends who have been very supportive.  Linde, then had the idea to go to Friday's Front Row at the ballpark and Nate thought it was pretty cool to watch the men cleaning the field after the monster truck rally they had over the weekend.  Tonight, he decided on Corleone's cheese steaks for dinner.  I know he still has Chuck E. Cheese's on his agenda, so we will fit that in somehow.  Wes asked tonight, why Nate always gets to pick what we are going to eat.  I explained that we need to get Nate whatever he wants for little while, until he gains more weight, and Wes was very understanding.  He has been such a great big brother to Nate.

Nate finally finished his neuro psych evaluation, after no less than 5 visits from the psycologist.  He really just wasn't in the mood to deal with her questions most days.  He started calling her the "pointing doctor" because she mostly went through these big books and asked him to point to different pictures.  After 5 days of testing, she came back with her final evaluation.  Nate is very, very smart.  Well, duh!  We could have told you that 5 days ago.  I have the full written report but basically it says "very advanced" and "very superior" all over it.  Nate's IQ came up as 135, and on the IQ assessment she administered, 128 and above is considered "very superior".  What can I say?  He's pretty special.

We have an official transplant date now.  The process will begin on 2/6.  He will be admitted on 2/9 and the chemo drugs will start on 2/10.  We have decided to drop out of the study and only put Nate through one transplant.  We truly feel this is the right decision for Nate and will never look back.  We just don't want to put his little body through any more of these drugs than he truly needs to beat this.  We really feel that one extra round of high dose chemo with stem cell rescue (stem cell transplant) will only do Nate more harm than good.  If Nate's disease had a different presentation, we would possibly be making a different decision, but we are making what we feel is the best decision for our son, in his own unique situation.

So now, we are trying to feed Nate as much as possible and build up his strength as much as possible in the next week, and also have as much fun as possible.  Nate has big ideas, and unfortunately no energy to go with it.  This is what Nate would like to do this week.  Play baseball, basketball and tennis; play goofy golf, go to Chuck E. Cheese, see a movie in the theater, and climb to the top of a tall mountain.  Right now, Nate can barely walk from one end of our house to the other before he tires out and needs a nap.  So, we hope to go to Chuck E. Cheese, see a movie, and maybe play goofy golf with the help of a stroller. This morning Nate told me that he isn't sick anymore and that he doesn't need to go to the hospital anymore.  I explained to him that he will have to go back to the hospital soon because there could be tiny cancers in his body that we can't see and he has to get more medicine to find those cancers and get them out.  He repeated this several times today, to different people.  He's just so smart and cute, we can hardly stand it.

I watch Nate struggling to move and it kills me.  Then, I count my blessings again.  The neuroblastoma world seems to have exploded with bad news over the last few weeks.  My heart aches for these families and children (some I have met, some I have not) who I have come to love.  With all that Nate has been through, he is smart and strong and he is beating this.  He may be completely beat down compared to what he was two months ago, but he is so far ahead of where he was, even a week ago.  Wes is thriving in Kindergarten (the picture above is him dressing up as a 100 year old for his 100th day of school party) and Ellie is just the happiest, sweetest baby ever.  Chris and I have been able to take some time for us, we are all home together right now, and I'm going to enjoy every single minute.

No More Bugs!

We're still here...waiting for negative cultures.  Every day they have taken cultures and every day they grow bacteria.  The first cultures that sent us to the ER grew out of both lumens (his central line has two tubes...or lumens)...both gram negative rods.  They identified the bacteria as e. coli, which wasn't surprising at all.  Nate has been having such bad diarrhea for almost a month that caused him to poop all over himself, literally from head to toe...no, I'm not kidding...at least once a day, sometimes more.  His lines got pooped on, over and over again.  We cleaned them of course...we cleaned them well, but apparently not well enough.

They have Nate on antibiotics and every day they take cultures.  Every day, they have been growing...but only in one lumen now.  So, it is pretty obvious that the infection in his blood is being treated well, but there are still bacteria stuck in his line.  Many times they are able to knock out the bacteria stuck in the line by running the antibiotics through the line, but sometimes the bacteria form a thick "biofilm" on the plastic of the line and hang on tight.  It seems that these bugs are hanging on tight.  So, after five days of positive cultures, they decided to pull his line today.

They placed a temporary IV in his arm, which took three tries...poor baby.  Then, this morning Nate went in to surgery to have his line removed.  We've told Nate from the beginning of this hospital admission, that he had to go to the hospital because he had little bugs in his line that could make him sick and the doctors had to give him medicine to get rid of them.  Chris told Nate last night that they had to take his line out and clean all the bugs out, then put it back in a few days.  Chris said Nate was pretty upset about the thought of his line coming out.

This morning he woke up asking for food and couldn't have any because of the anesthesia.  He was upset but I was able to distract him until transport came to get him.  He then started to get upset about having to go downstairs to have his line removed.  I think it was a combination of the thought of this thing that has been a large part of him for the last 6 months being removed...and leaving the comfort of his hospital room (he always gets a little nervous when transport comes to take him somewhere for some test).  He was a little mad at me in pre-surgery, telling me he didn't want his line out and he wanted me to go home.  The anesthesiologist gave him some happy medicine, he started smiling and was wheeled away.  The procedure took about a half an hour and as the volunteer was walking me back to see him, I could hear him screaming.  He was P-I-S-S-E-D that his line was gone, and it was all...my...fault.  He wanted me to go away and for Daddy to come.  He didn't want his nuk, he didn't even want poor Softie...he didn't want "ANYTHING!".  The nurse gave him a tiny bit of dilaudid and we went back to his room.  He was much happier settled back in his familiar room.

Then he began to eat.  He ate a breakfast bar, 12oz of milk, popcorn, drinkable yogurt, a bite of cheese, some fruit loops, some little sprinkle cookies, a fortune cookie, part of a banana, half a bag of chips, some bites out of his muffin snack tray and an entire PB and J sandwich...over about 2 hours.  He's been eating so great since we've been here.  It's a bit of a challenge because he doesn't like the hospital food, so we are keeping a steady stream of outside food coming in, but it seems to be working.  He is up about another 0.5 kg from being weighed at clinic on Wednesday.  Some of that is probably fluid weight that you gain when being on IV fluids in the hospital.  He is also weighing in a diaper and hospital gown, as compared to jeans and a sweater at clinic, so I'm hoping it evens out.  He is up to 14.1kg.  His ideal weight is 17kg but he has never been above 16.5kg.  His lowest, earlier this month, was 12.7kg.  If we can get him near 15.5kg before transplant, I will be over the moon!

Right now, his line is out.  They took it out this morning, gave him a few more doses of antibiotics and drew cultures out of his hand 6 hours later.  Really, there is no reason these cultures should grow anything.  Assuming they stay negative (which they should) for 48 hours, Nate will go back in to surgery on Thursday to have a new line placed (he thinks he is getting the same one back...after it goes through the dishwasher).  He can then come home.  Hooray!!  He will come home on IV antibiotics that Chris and I will be able to give him.  I'm kind of happy that the antibiotics will be IV, because the poor kid is already taking 17 doses of oral medication a day (not counting his Flintstone vitamin and the Culturelle I put in his milk)...and he hates every drop of it.  He is a very good boy about taking his medication though, he kicks and screams for a second, then takes it like a champ.  I think I'd kick and scream a bit if I had to take 17 yucky medicines a day too.

What's that?  You wanted to know about Nate's poop?  I knew you did!  Nate has had three...count them three...solid bowel movements over the past few days.  Remember that head to toe diarrhea at least once a day for a month I was talking about earlier?  Chris and I have never been so happy to see a solid poop in our lives.

I have Nate up and walking the halls several times a day and the whole floor knows when this is, because he screams at the top of his lungs the entire way.  It also tires him out pretty quickly, but I am determined to get this boy as strong as possible before transplant.  He really wants to go to Chuck E. Cheese (because the Peter Piper Pizza that is right by our house that he has been asking to go to...closed), and I promised him that we will take him before transplant admission.  A little NED celebration...but it's not going to be much fun if he won't walk.  So, we will just keep walking...screaming and all.

I found out that we have no worries when it comes to the timeline for antibodies.  So, that is a huge weight lifted.  I was not succeeding at the "don't worry until there is something to worry about", and was quite literally losing sleep over it.  As of right now, we still don't know when his transplant will start.  The earliest will be next week, with admission a week from Thursday, though it could be pushed back another week.  Infectious disease and transplant are discussing and deciding.  It is a balancing act between starting transplant ASAP and not giving any hidden cancer cells a chance to grow, and making sure Nate's infection is completely gone.  The biggest risk to transplant patients is infection, so we need to make certain that he enters the process, infection free.

Overall, Nate is doing pretty good.  I just can't wait to get him home, so we can be home for almost a week before transplant.  He's eating and pooping and walking (sort of).  He's getting stronger and stronger every day.

I want to ask for some prayers for a little friend of ours.  A couple weeks ago, we met a little boy named Jake at clinic.  Jake has been battling Neuroblastoma for 6 years, from the age of 2.  Jake does not have a Facebook page, blog, or Caringbridge site.  His family has been quietly and privately fighting this war for years.  Jake's battle is coming to an end.  He has been in the hospital since we met him and his family has been getting one piece of bad news after another.  They have been told that there is nothing more that can be done for Jake.  Anything more would cause more harm than good.  On the outside, Jake looks great.  On the inside, Neuroblastoma is quickly taking over his body.  The doctors have been preparing his family for what will take place over the next couple weeks or months.  Jake's mom says that sometimes he says he wants to fight and sometimes he says he is done fighting.  Unfortunately, the disease is now making this decision for him.  Please pray for Jake and his family.  This is not something that a little boy and his family should ever have to go through...it's just too much.

Super Date for Super Nate

Wow!  Really, wow!  I will never be able to express in words how Chris and I (and the rest of our family) feel after Nate's event last night.  It was nothing short of completely incredible.  There were SO many people there...I guess the final count was over 300!  The line to get in was wrapped around the building and there was a constant line all night for dinner.  There were so many people that we knew and that we did not know...all there to support a sweet little boy fighting with all his might.  Miss Arizona was there and she is a beautiful person inside and out, who truly cares for and does a lot to support children with life threatening illnesses.  The parent's of another little fighter, Elizabeth (the family who delivered the Elf on the Shelf), were there and we were finally able to officially meet.  High school friends, who I haven't seen since high school and my good friend Stephanie even surprised me and came from Houston.  So...many...people.  Thank you so much to everyone who came out to support Nate.  There were so many people that I don't think I could have said hello to and met everyone, but your love and support means so much.

It took so much work and love for this event to come together, I don't think I even know the extent of it.  There were so many people involved that we don't even know where to start thanking people.  Coach and Willies was completely amazing.  Not only did the owner, Eric, selflessly donate the restaurant time and space for the event...but, the manager, Jason, helped our family and friends in an endless number of ways to put this on.  He helped plan, sat through meetings with them and fed them.  Have I mentioned that the food is delicious!  Really, an incredible business with some REALLY incredible people behind it.

There were SO MANY raffle and silent auction items that I really wasn't able to look at every single item.  There were just too many...and they were all incredible.  I was told that everyone who gave an auction item, gave without hesitation and without question.  Such complete and total generosity, like I have never seen before.

Then there is the Super Crew!  All the people who spent endless hours planning and preparing for this event...have I said incredible yet?!  Everyone couldn't believe how well run, professional, and most of all FUN, the event was.  They did the most phenomenal job!  I only have an inkling of how much work this was to put together. Emily, Alison & Joe, Lily, Taylor, Gary & Sandy, Mary & Dave, Donna & Ray, Kim & George, Liz & Chris, John & Barb and Shay...you are all, simply the best!  We also want to thank Sean & Jen, for their love and support and for getting everyone together at the very beginning.

I tried to thank everyone at the event and I got most of my words out, around my crying, though I'm not sure if anything made sense around all the blubbering.  The fortune Nate is holding, in the picture above (the best of the bunch) says, "Focus on your long-term goal".  That is precisely what you all are giving us the privilege to do.  Focus on Nate's long-term goal...being CANCER FREE FOR LIFE.  As we've learned over the last 6 months, the road to this goal is twisty and turny and rocky as hell.  At the beginning of this journey we had so many questions.  How were we going to get Nate through this?  How were we going to continue to work, pay the bills, take care of our house, pets, our other children?  How were we going to be able to make sure that Nate got the absolute best care, to ensure that he would beat this forever?  Getting Nate through these treatments is hard, really hard.  It's more than a full time job.  You all have taken so much of the burdens, big and small, from us.  Everything from meals, to laundry, childcare and finances.  This event raised so much more money then Chris or I could ever have hoped or dreamed for Nate's care.  We really feel like we can now financially handle any curve balls this treatment throws at us.  This frees up so much of our head, heart and soul to now solely concentrate on Nate.

Our sweet little boy was well taken care of at the hospital last night by Tracy, who once again selflessly offered to miss the event and take care of Nate, so that Chris and I could attend.  I wished that we could have brought him, for everyone to meet.  Once again, cancer treatment had other plans.  He would have liked seeing his face everywhere, but honestly would have had no idea what the night truly meant.  Can you imagine, Nate as grown man, fully comprehending the love and support he received as a 3 year old child in the fight of his life?

I will tell him this story every day.  The story of an entire community of people who came together to love, support and lift up a special little boy and his family in their time of need.  An entire community of the most giving, kind hearted, generous, truly caring people I've ever met.  I hope he will grow up knowing how special he is and how important it is to take care of others, in any way possible.  There have been times in my life that I wondered if there was any good left in the world.  After this experience and especially seeing and feeling it all together in one place last night, I will never question the good in the world again.  There are so many beautiful people out there.

We are truly blessed to have so many of you beautiful people in our corner.  The love and support we feel from all of you every day, and especially feeling it all in one place last night, is just what we need to help us get Nate throught this next, most difficult part of his journey.

I know that I am not adequately expressing our gratitude to everyone who came, gave and helped plan this event last night.  Words can not express our feelings.  If you were there, I think you know.  You could feel the love in the air for miles around.