Sierra

Sierra Rayn was an amazing child. She was born 7 weeks early at 3 lbs. 13.8 oz. and 16 in. long. She spent 3 weeks in the NICU on 2 vents, and then got to go home on oxygen. She was on that for about 2 months, and then was a healthy
child, or at least we thought she was.

At her 18 month old check up, everything was great. She had no problems. But when she was 21 months old, she started to vomit and her stomach looked a bit distended. Her Dr said it was the stomach flu, so we followed his instructions.
Sierra was back to normal for a couple of days and then it began again. At this point I knew that the stomach flu did not go away and come back like that. I took her in and her Dr wanted an xray done of her stomach. Turned out she had an
enlarged spleen, or that is what they thought. The Drs wanted to investigate it more in detail, and that is when everyone discovered a mass. A softball sized mass on her kidney. As they proceeded to investigate it further, she had a
total of five masses - the softball sized one, one on her rib, two in her thighs, and one on her shoulder. She was stage IV neuroblastoma cancer, one of the worst stages and most aggressive cancers a child can get. Survival rate for
stage IV is 30-40%.

To make a long story short, Sierra endured 3 1/2 months on a vent, she was on 2 strong narcotics that were so high in dosages that it could kill an adult, she had 6 chest tubes, 1 belly tube, she coded twice, she had pneumonia, 7 rounds
of chemo, 2 massive blood infections, 9 1/2 hour surgery, was on oxygen for months, endless scans, xrays, and IV pokes.

Addyson

Addyson was diagnosed with medulloblastoma (a cancerous brain tumor) in March 2007 at age 4. She has underwent numerous Chemo treatments, stem cell transplant, radiation, and surgery. She is currently battling it for the 4th time. She
started having seizures in January of this year. We just found out that the chemo protocol she was doing is not working. We are currently waiting on a new treatment.

Addyson is an amazing little girl. She does everything that a healthy child does, which is not usual for a child with her cancer and all the treatments she's had. She goes to school everyday, rides her bike, swims and just loves to have
fun. She is always laughing and playing. Her spirit is what I believe keeps her going and doing as well as she does even with her diagnosis. All the doctors are amazed with how well she's doing. I am told everyday by people how she
inspires them.

Addyson's caringbridge site www.caringbridge.org/visit/addysonbrankle and also a website people can go to donate and help us with expenses as we will be traveling out of state which will end up taking even more money out of our tight
budget. http://wecarecard.com/campaigns/addysons-journey-with-cancer/forum/

Jake

The last time we saw “normal”, it was the morning of July 12, 2011, and we had to get the kids ready for Camp and go about our day. Jake, came in to wish his soon to be step-father a Happy Birthday, and gave him his signature HUGGY! (He was awarded “Best Hugs” at camp the year before – He makes peoples’ day all the time like that… Walks up, introduces himself, and gives them hugs and noogies. That’s how he rolls.)

Five minutes later, he was kneeling on the floor and said, “What’s that SMELL??” We checked for something blowing in under the door, but nothing. Five minutes more, his head hurt, and he threw up. Five minutes after that, he was unconscious and non-responsive. Completely out of the blue, he had had a seizure.

Within 30 minutes of that hug, we had Jake in the local ER where he had a CT scan. We were told that it showed a brain bleed in his right Temporal Lobe. They immediately transferred us to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA, where he had an MRI and a spinal tap. The MRI showed that there was no bleed, but that he either had a mass or swelling in his brain. They ruled out several viruses but we still had no answers. We were sent to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for a second opinion. On July 22 he had a brain biopsy during which they expected to remove a 5 cm sample from the most affected area. They ended up removing more than that, based on what they saw once they were in. On July 27 we met with doctors to receive the final pathology results and diagnosis.

John

John was diagnosed with high-risk infant A.L.L. when he was just 3 1/2 months old and will be in treatment until he is about 2 1/2 years old.Cancer has changed our lives so completely that it's hard to even explain how different everything is now, but the one thing that remains constant is John's supreme ability to laugh through it all.He is still a little boy who loves to play, and smile, and dance. He learns something new everyday, and right now, he is working on learning to walk in his Neet Feet.

His unique shoes tell the story of his brave battle, and when he wears them, people always want to know more.

They give us a way to talk about his journey with joy, rather than sorrow. Cancer is scary, but that doesn't mean we have to live in fear, and John's Neet Feet are a visual expression of his determination to beat this thing.

Facebook: John Cancer-Slayer Austin
Fundraiser: email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. about purchasing a tshirt