46 Mommas Need Airline Tickets

Hi there!

Have you heard about 46 Mommas Shave For The Brave? We are a group of 46 mothers,  from across the nation, who have all heard the words, "Your child has cancer.". Why 46? On average, every weekday, 46 families hear those words. We 46 Mommas represent the complete randomness and diversity of childhood cancer. We have partnered with St Baldrick's Foundation, who funds childhood cancer research. In 2010, they funded $14 Million in childhood cancer research. This is done, primarily, through head shaving events.

Our event, where we will shave our heads in Washington, DC on September 21, 2011, requires all of the Mommas to travel to Washington, DC. Many of us are in the general area and plan to drive down, but many will need to fly to the event.

One of the harshest realities of pediatric cancer is the financial impact on families. Medical care, travel/food/lodging/parking during lengthy hospital stays and multiple clinic visits, expenses to care for children left at home who need daycare/babysitting, and the list goes on-including the loss of one income in many dual income households.

So today we are asking if you can help us to find generous people who can donate any unused airline miles that have accumulated and/or to sponsor an individual Momma by providing her with an airline ticket.

Many of us have dedicated a large portion of our time and energy to raising funds to support St.Baldrick’s research efforts. To change the face of pediatric cancer we hope to raise 1 million dollars! With roughly 13,000 cases of childhood cancer diagnosed every year in the US, we cannot compete in the world of obtaining adequate research funds. Childhood cancer is severely underfunded by the US government. The pharmaceutical industry does not invest in childhood cancer research. There has been only one new drug created specifically for childhood cancer in last 25 years.

We rely on donations from people like you to support research and create change. Our call to action is clear: we cannot wait for the government and industry to pay attention to childhood cancer. These kids need us and we need your support to make a difference.

"Curing childhood cancer is the equivalent of curing breast cancer in terms of productive life years saved." ~ Dr. Eugenie Kleinerman - Head, Division of Pediatrics,
Children's Cancer Hospital at MD Anderson Cancer Center Source: People Against ChildhoodCancer (PAC2)

www.stbaldricks.org/events/46mommas

So now we need your help.

Can YOU provide wings to a Momma and fly her to DC?

-- 
Mindi Finch
Momcologist & Team Leader, 46 Mommas 2011 Campaign
Spokane, WA
Mommy to Curtis, AnnMarie & Gregory
mindithemagnificent@gmail.com

Our family's Odyssey with Gregory's diagnosis of Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML):www.mindithemagnificent.com

"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth."  ~ The Prophet.  Kahlil Gibran*Won't you help me fund a cure? Do it now. Make a donation to fund Childhood Cancer Research.

Childhood Cancers are the #1 disease killer of children under the age of 15 — more than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined.

www.46mommas.com/mindifinch

Awareness=>Funding=>Research=>Cures

"Curing childhood cancer is the equivalent of curing breast cancer in terms of productive life years saved." ~ Dr. Eugenie Kleinerman - Head, Division of Pediatrics, Children's Cancer Hospital at MD Anderson Cancer Center

Burzynski ~ Antineoplastons

I watched this, today. Curious to see what my Brain Tumor friends/community think about this. Especially those affected by DIPG.



Burzynski: Cancer Is Serious Business from BurzynskiMovie on Vimeo.

Milestone

Sixth Grade Graduation.

Nine years ago, Curtis began is sojourn through education in a classroom of peers.


I couldn't find a picture from Fall of '02. This is Fall of '03. He's 4 years old.

To say that he has "....come a long way, baby!" would be a huge understatement. The social/emotional/behavioral growth that he has achieved over the last nine years is breath taking.

I've been spending much of my time, lately, thinking about this child that I call "My wish come true.", "My Eldest", "My Firstborn". This is the child that I dreamed about from the time that I understood that I would someday be a Mommy. This is the child that will/has receive(d) the blunt force of my learning to parent. This is the child that I do/will ask to grow up quicker than he should. This is the child who is NOT neruo-typical. This is the child that has taught me that it is MY responsibility to be their champion. This is the child that is quickly turning into a young man.

Curtis is unique, smart, snarky, loving, sensitive and sometimes a major PITA. My mantra, through these years, has been "He'll be a dynamic adult." His quirkiness will bode well as he becomes an adult. Yet, it is up to his family and community to help guide him along the way.

The Montessori community has been an outstanding fit for Curtis. He has learned many coping skills and been surrounded by teachers and students that give him the space he needs and gently encourages him to cross his very rigid boundaries. They have been his lifeline, whether or not he realizes it.

In September he will be entering a new and strange environment. Middle School. Standard, public Middle School. I am in the process of creating a welcoming environment for him there. Working with his new counselor to help him adapt and learn to navigate the gigantic changes he has ahead.

This is the poem that his teacher, that he's had for the last three years, wrote for the graduation ceremony, to Curtis:

Spurts

Sudden bursts of energy, effort, and activity

Divulge unbridled intellect

And glimpses of your unrealized potential.

You catch the concept

And catalog files of facts,

Absorbing the ideas around you

With breakneck speed.

We witness your growth

In body

Self-understanding,

Social connections,

And wait for a steadying force

To quell your restless mind.

This was taken while Mrs Bowman was reciting Curtis' poem. The glance between us when she read the line "We witness your growth/In body". 


Part of the ceremony is for every student to read a letter that they have composed in advance, to their teacher. As we got closer and closer to Curtis' turn, I began to wonder what was going to come out of his mouth. Writing something like this is NOT his cup of tea. It was not a required writing. There was not to be a consequence if he did not write it. True to form, he had not written anything. Yet.....

Curtis stepped up to the mic and very bluntly stated that he had not written or prepared anything in advance. He announced that he was going to "wing" it. He proceeded to state that he had really enjoyed his years at Jefferson and his teachers. He got a little tongue tied in trying to explain his feelings/emotions. He stated: "I just can't explain it. In the words of Albert Einstein, 'If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.' I can't explain it, I don't understand it." He floored everyone, especially myself. Curtis is not only going to be a dynamic adult, he simply is dynamic.


I love this kid from the very depths of my soul. He is "My dream come true.". 


Here's to beginning an entirely new chapter in his and our lives. 


~Mindi
Momcologist

Diagnosiversary ~ Listen To Your Mother Show Spokane 2011

Here it is. My reading from Listen to Your Mother Spokane.

All of the videos can be found here