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Journal Entry: July 21, 2008
Hello Everybody,
It turned out that Jessica could
not travel to NY with us last week because her counts were still pretty low and
certainly not worth taking the risk of her getting ill and ending up in the
hospital in NY. I went with just the boys so I canceled her PET scan and it
will take place during her next test workup which should be before the end of
September. Jessie is feeling better and her counts are starting to rise
again. Her last round of chemo during the first week of July was cut short
because her liver enzymes were very high. This was due to one of the meds
she was one so the doctors advised to stop the chemo and remove one of her oral
meds as well. Her liver enzymes came down as a result.
I took Jessie to see WALL-E and
she really liked it. Now, she wants to see the movie, Mama Mia, and has
been listening to the ABBA soundtrack. She loves the song, Dancing
Queen…what girl doesn’t? Yesterday, she watched Phantom of the Opera…the
musical version that came out a couple of years ago. She watched it twice
and we also have the soundtrack CD and she listens to it in the car as well.
I told her the show is coming to Tampa’s soon and we’ll go see it just like when
we went to see Lion King on stage which she still talks about.
Recently, we got the Wii Fit
game and for those of you not familiar with it, it’s a fun way to exercise.
It has options for sports games and different types of exercises. Jessie
has been using it almost every day. She loves the jogging and actually
does beats me every time. She keeps a steady pace and wins the race…I’m
huffing and puffing by the end. I always hated jogging.
Jessie is looking forward to a
few vacation days with me and her brothers in about two weeks. We’ll be
going to the beach in St. Pete for about 5 days. Afterwards, she’ll be
starting another round of chemo so for the next couple of weeks, she should be
feeling pretty good.
That’s about it for now.
I will update more as soon as I get the chance. Thank you all for your
continued support and prayers!
Love, Maureen & Jessica
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June 27, 2008
Hello Everyone,
I spoke to Dr. Kushner at length this week regarding preliminary MIBG results.
I'm still waiting to hear about the bone marrow biopsies but I'm optimistic they
will be negative as they were 3 months ago. Once again, her MIBG scans still
show Neuroblastoma. The scans do show improvement over the last set from March.
Some bone sites are still "lighting" up, however the density is less. When the
path report is available, I will get a copy of it. Because the protocol she is
on seems to be chipping away at the disease,
Dr. K. wants to continue with another 3 rounds over the next 3 months with the
irenotecan/temodor combination. She will begin the next round on Monday and we
will administer it over 4 days rather than 5 in order to finish before the
holiday weekend. She's still not catching the break she needs but Dr. K. is very
pleased at how she continues to rebound after each round of therapy and he is
optimistic and hopeful because we are still seeing progress down the right path.
I plan on flying to NY on July 11th with all the children to attend my nephew's
christening that weekend. I am the Godmother and my oldest, Robert, is the
Godfather. The boys are looking forward to going and Jessica will be happy about
going to NY with mommy and her brothers and my parents are also flying up that
week so we'll all be together on Long Island. Dr. K. wants to do a PET scan
which Jessie has never had and I told him about our mini-NY vacation so he
scheduled us to go into Manhattan on the 14th for the PET scan--at least it's
only one day in NYC. A PET scan will provide different information to the
doctors separate from an MIBG scan. They might be able to tell better what is
actually going on with the NB sites that keep lighting up.
I have a special request of all of you--our family and friends! PLEASE take a
moment and go to the Nikon web site and vote on a candid picture of Jessica and
me taken at a fundraiser in Feb. 07 shortly after she was diagnosed.
http://www.ashtonsd60.com/gallery.aspx#/?category=all&sort=finalist&page=1&image=26425
The link will probably prompt you to download an application that Nikon uses
called "flash" which I did and then the picture loaded right up and you can read
the description of the picture to the right and also cast your vote and you receive a
response from Nikon letting you know you should vote for your favorite picture every
day.
The photo was taken by a co-worker, Paulo Kujawski, who works here at CA and
does photography on the side. Out of many photos submitted to Nikon's worldwide
Moving Moments contest, this photo of Jessica and me titled "Love and Stress" is
one of the finalists. I am so NOT pleased with how stressed my face looks in the
photo and wish you could see Jessica's face more, but the photo tells a story
and speaks for itself. Jessica can be anyone's child and I believe it shows the
love, strength, passion and resilience children have even when the odds are
stacked against them. Please vote every day until 7/15 and let's help get the
word out about pediatric cancer and how it significantly effects the lives of
all those it touches. If you sign Jessie's guestbook after reading this journal
entry, please let me know that you voted. thank you! Maureen and Jessica and
Paulo
Below is a copy of the email Paulo received from Nikon:
Congratulations, Paulo.
You are a finalist in the Moving Moments Photo Contest!
Out of tens of thousands of submissions, your picture, "Love and Stress"
captured something special and distinguished itself from the rest. Well done!
Your picture can be viewed here:
http://www.ashtonsd60.com/gallery.aspx#/?image=26425
Feel free to share this link with friends and family so they can vote for you.
Remember, you may cast one vote per day per picture, and voting ends at 11:59am
on July 15th. The 60 contest winners will be announced at 12pm ET on July 23rd.
So be sure to visit
http://www.ashtonsd60.com to see if you're one of them. Nikon
Thank you,
Maureen
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June 20, 2008
Hello Everyone,
The past few weeks have been pretty standard (all things considering) around the
house and the clinic. Jessie did better this week with actually not needing any
platelets or blood. The recovery from the last round of chemo has been slow but
steady, so far. Jessie is going to NYC on Monday for the week for a full workup:
MIBG scan, CT scan, marrow biopsies, urine markers. I realized that as it gets
closer to the week of her tests, I am more on edge and understandably so. Next
week, will I get a call with really good news, really bad news, so-so
news...what will the next steps or protocol be, will it be in FL or in NY, etc?
It's difficult to keep your mind from running in many directions and the worst
part is--you have no control over the outcome. Nothing you do will make a
difference--so why worry, right? Worrying will not change the outcome and if you
could control the situation, you would...so why worry? Simple--because that's
what parents do, especially if you are the parent of a child with a
life-threatening disease. We hope for the best but consistently fear the worst.
At times, the fear becomes overwhelming so you try to distract yourself with
other things--sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Last week, a little girl named Marissa Monroe lost her battle to NB. I knew her
from meeting her in NY and her dad, Randy, was one of the fathers who rode in
the Loneliest Road cross-country bike campaign to help raise funds for research
and awareness for this horrid disease. The Sims' family knew them well. Marissa
was to turn 3 on July 10th. Her mom, Tracy, documented Marissa's last moments as
well as the funeral and how they have been doing over the past week. It is
filled with emotion and is extremely heart-wrenching to read. This family needs
prayers to live every day without their precious little angel.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/marissamonroe
So, a couple of weeks ago I visited the Sims at their home in FL to say good-bye
to Sydney and Michelle and brother, Drew. They moved to SC just after school
ended. I will miss them for sure. They lived about 10 minutes from us. I guess
we'll get to see them when we are both in NYC at the same time for workups and
when the Sims' come to FL for Disney. Sydney looked the best I'd ever seen her
with a full head of hair. It's not quite as long as Drew's yet but it will get
there! :) Sydney is stable so let's continue to pray that she remains stable and
that one day the "hot" spot in her leg miraculously disappears. It's still
there--4 1/2 years later.
That's all for now...I'll write an update as soon as I get some results on
Jessie's tests which I'm thinking will be about a week from now.
Thank you,
Maureen
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May 19, 2008
Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to give you all a quick update. First, Jessica is starting another
round of low-dose chemo today, May 19, for the next 5 days. This is the third
and final cycle before her next round of tests in NY which should be within
about 3 weeks. Today, her platelets were below the minimum that the doctors prefer
in order to administer chemo. However, they opted to move ahead this week
regardless so as not too wait too long in between cycles. Dr. Kushner said that
she will most likely need more platelet infusions that normally as a result. She
has been doing ok so far. She got passed the shingles but did end up in the
hospital as a result for 2 days because she needed stronger IV meds which did
the trick. She’s still scratching in the initial breakout area on her back due
to residual nerve damage that shingles leaves behind. Hopefully, that will go
away in its entirety soon.
Our home elementary school in Fishhawk Ranch, Colleen Bevis Elementary, is
having a fund raiser for Jessie this Friday. It’s called Jump For Jessica. The
proceeds will be sent to Children’s Cancer Center in Tampa for Jessica’s account
to help pay for medical expenses not covered by insurance.
It’s hard to believe we are a year and a half into her treatment. It’s been a
long road and something tells me that the road will continue for some time to
come and not without it’s bumps and turns…but as long as we keep moving forward,
there is still hope. In the past few weeks, there have been 3 children of Band
Of Parents’ families who lost their battle to this disease. Each valiantly
fought for a few years in and out of relapses. It’s incredibly sad to read the
journal entry leading up to their last minutes on this earth and how the rest of
the family is trying to cope with such a great loss. Although anyone and
everyone wants to share their concerns and expressions of sympathy and words of
comfort, the truth is—there is nothing anyone can say that can ease the pain
that runs so deep and forever will. There is no handbook that can prepare you
for the greatest pain you can experience in life. Please continue to pray for a
cure for Neuroblastoma and all pediatric cancers. Pray for these very special
children chosen for a reason and for their parents who are chosen to care for
them as no one else could.
Jessica had her Princess Day on May 3rd. A white stretch limo picked us up at
the house. She was shy as usual when it first arrived but warmed up rather
quickly…especially when she saw the “bar” inside the limo. She was all about
pouring me and Grandma some soda and sipping her soda from a champagne glass. We
picked up Karen and her daughter, Sarah on our way. Jessie was a little
chatterbox all the way to the Disney Princesses On Ice show. At the show, she
sat on my lap the whole time which was no surprise and she kept her hands in
front of her face ready to cover her eyes in anticipation of one of the
fairytale witches coming out. After a while, she trusted the situation and
removed her hands. After the show, we went to channelside (Port Of Tampa for
those not familiar with channelside) and we had dinner. On the way home, we
stopped at Dairy Queen to get Jessie’s favorite ice cream…vanilla dipped in the
cherry shell. Kris Sperando (our dear friend and owner of DQ in Brandon on 60)
met us at the car with Jessie’s ice cream order. Thank you, Miss Kris!
That’s about it, folks…this pretty much catches everyone up to date with what’s
been happening. Thank you for your continued support.
Maureen
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April 24, 2008
Hello Everyone,
I know it’s been a while since I last updated Jessie’s web site. I assure you
we’ve been plugging away at consistent treatment with low-dose chemo, checking
counts three times a week at the clinic and receiving transfusions when needed
(blood and platelets). Her counts are not going significantly low but they are
low enough to keep her out of school most of the time. She did end up in the
hospital again over a week ago for two nights due to a fever but she recovered
quickly. Right now, Jessie has shingles. She had chicken pox when she was a baby
when all of her brothers got it in NY about 4 years ago. It was a mild case. She
woke up this past Sunday with a spot on her back that she said was “itchy” and
the clinic confirmed yesterday it was shingles which is the same type of virus
that lays dormant in your system and sometimes due to stress or a compromised
immune system, it can be activated. She’s feeling fine though overall.
It took five weeks for her counts to come back up before she was able to move
forward with another round of chemo which took place last week. She finished on
Friday, April 25 so now it’s the “up and down counts” game again for the next
four weeks or so. She is due for another low-dose round hopefully by the end of
May and then to NY around mid-June for tests. Her spirit and energy are doing
well. She weighs more now than ever—about 41 lbs. When she’s in the house, she’s
busy playing and driving her new little plasma car around the house and trying
to keep her brothers off it. It’s a great toy if you haven’t heard of it. It
holds a lot of weight so I can actually ride it too. She parks it in my room at
night so her brothers don’t ride it after she goes to bed.
I took the kids to a local carnival twice over the weekend and they all wanted
to win a live gold fish. So the carnival worker fell in love with Jessie and she
made sure she won the biggest gold fish in the tank. It was about 3 inches big
and Jessie named it Goldie. It’s last name is “Locks”, of course. This is her
first pet—other than Snoopy which the boys take care of. She checks on Goldie
frequently and cleans the outside of the tank a few times a day and feeds him
once a day in the morning. This morning, she told me that she “made a mistake
with Goldie” because she gave her 2 flakes instead of one. She was very
concerned if she overfed her. Jessie is so nurturing and is a great caregiver
herself. Last night I wasn’t feeling well and laying in bed after work and she
was checking in on me like every half hour and asking me how I felt and bringing
me juice, water and the thermometer—regardless of her being the one with
shingles. Of course, the boys also got a fish but there’s was about an inch big.
They were SO jealous but they know Jessie is special and wouldn’t have it any
other way.
The boys and I have been busy also the past 2 weekends trying to get a lot of
landscaping and planting done for the spring so we don’t have to bother with it
during the summer and enjoy more free time over the weekend. I brought them to
the beach in St. Pete about 2 weeks ago and they loved it and can’t wait to go
back.
I’m bringing Jessie to see Disney Princesses On Ice this weekend and plan on
having her be Princess for the day. I rented a limo for us at a special price
and we’ll go out after the show. She also said recently that she wanted to go
see The Lion King so I have that on our agenda for some time in May later in the
month. Life is too short to not treat yourself and your children and enjoy as
many wonderful fun experiences. Yes, most things cost money and the economy is
horrible but don’t let that stop you from enjoying what is within your means.
Having friends and family around is “free”, right—unless, of course, they hit
you up for a loan…lol.
Anyway, I certainly hope everyone is doing well and please continue to drop in
on Jessie and the family and leave us guestbook messages…your continued support
is most appreciated and still very much needed.
Thank you,
Maureen and Family
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March 24, 2008
Hello Everyone.
We hope you had a good holiday weekend. Jessie had a fun
Saturday morning during our Fishhawk Ranch annual Easter egg hunt and brunch. My
cousin, Denise and her daughter, Jackie, came to visit from Friday to Saturday.
Afterwards, we went to see Mikey and Nicky play baseball. Then, we took a ride
to the mall…nothing like going to the mall with a 15-year old girl. Denise and
Jackie headed home Saturday afternoon.
Last week, I told you all that Jessie’s MIBG scan showed some improvement,
finally for the first time in like 9 months. In addition to that good news, Dr.
Kushner sent me an email late last week and I can hear the excitement in him as
I read it: “I am VERY happy to tell you that Jessie’s bone marrow results show
no Neuroblastoma.”--two pieces of good news from the same round of tests. The
cancer on her bones has lessened although it’s still there and the cancer in her
marrow is gone. Of course, she is not disease-free but perhaps on her way to
being disease-free. Make no mistake, this can change. In the world of
Neuroblastoma, results can change by the day/week/month. We need to always be
prepared for that.
They want her to continue with the low-dose chemo and she finished a round on
Friday so this week will consist of going to the clinic for blood checks and
probably some platelets. Her counts dropped so quickly this time. She wasn’t
even done with the week of chemo and she already needed blood and platelets.
After her chemo finished Friday morning, she got platelets and blood. She ended
up having a reaction to the blood. She broke out in hives and had a fever of
about 102. The fever went down eventually and she came home Friday evening from
clinic. Last Easter, she spent in the hospital in St. Pete having chemo. We’re
very glad she was able to spend this Easter weekend at home. She’s been waiting
for Pop-pop’s lasagna since she had it last on New Year’s Day. After dinner last
night, we went to my friend, Melissa’s house for a “flashlight” egg hunt. My 3
boys hid over 200 eggs in her backyard when we got there for all the younger
children to search for. Melissa had desserts for everyone. Jessie found LOTS of
eggs, of course, especially since she had 3 brothers helping her.
The Fishhawk Ranch Relay For Life is this Saturday, March 29th and it kicks off
at 1pm. Jessie and I and the boys are supposed to ride in the survivor’s lap at
the opening ceremony. The event is a 24-hour event but you can come and go
whatever is convenient for you. I created Team Jessie so anyone interested in
being a part of our team, please let me know. You can join our team at this
link:
Click here to view the team page for Team Jessie. It will bring you right
to Jessie’s page. You can check out these events at
www.relayforlife.org
and search for local events and pull up the one in Fishhawk Ranch by searching
under the zip code of 33547. If you can’t make the event, you can make a
donation on line through Jessie’s page. Donations go directly to American Cancer
Society and Team Jessie will get the credit for raising the funds. If you plan
on attending and are already part of a team, please stop by our canopy. We will
be selling some goodies and hopefully a raffle or two to help raise more monies
for ACS. Hope to see you there.
One more piece of good news. Sydney came home from NY and her tests results are
good. They are clear with the one exception of the “hot” spot that has been
stable for years. Her headaches are subsiding but still come and go a little.
She looks great. Coincidentally, we ran into them at the mall on Saturday Her
hair is growing and growing and she looks adorable.
That’s about it for now. Have a good week…and please help us to RELAY FOR
LIFE!!!
Maureen & Jessie
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March 17, 2008
Hello Everyone,
I know it’s been a few weeks since a formal update was posted. Jessie is doing
ok. She went to NY on March 11 as planned for the CT scan, MIBG scan and bone
marrow aspirates. The CT is negative as it has been and the MIBG scan is showing
some improvement. Dr. K. looked at it and has not seen the actual report but he
said “…it looks like there’s some improvement and it’s encouraging.” He wants
her to do another 3 rounds of low-dose chemo starting Monday, the 17th. Each
round is every 3-4 weeks depending on the platelets coming back up. She will be
due to return to NY for another round of tests some time in May. It seems odd
that the cancer would respond only so much to high dose chemo like the first 5
rounds a year ago and then no response to 4 more high dose rounds consisting of
a combination of the same drugs and also stronger and different drugs. Now, it
seems to be responding to the low-dose chemo. I asked Dr. K. why is that and he
said high dose chemo is most effective early on and in some cases when it
doesn’t do the trick and kill all the disease, many times, they see low-dose
chemo bringing about a response. They cant say for sure why, but it seems at
some point the cancer’s responsiveness can just kick in. We certainly hope it
stays this way and that every round of tests shows less and less disease.
This protocol will be easier on her marrow and her blood counts. She should
continue to rebound as well as she has been. Unfortunately, she’s losing her
hair again. She came back from NY with less hair but she’s still cute as a
button or should I say “bunny” and excited for Easter. She told me though she’s
not meeting the Easter bunny cause she doesn’t like people dressed up in
costumes. Nicholas was scared to death of costume characters when he was her age
and Jessie doesn’t seem to be too scared of them because she knows it’s just a
person in dressed up, but she doesn’t like to see them anyway. We went to a
craft show on Saturday and Sunday and the Easter bunny was there Sunday. She
told me she doesn’t want him near her. When we got home, she stuffed a bunch of
plastic eggs with candy and walked around the house hiding them and giving some
out.
Sydney Sims just went to NY Sunday for her tests this week. She’s been having a
lot of headaches so Michelle’s been very worried. Right before they left, Syd
had an MRI in Tampa so I will keep you updated on how she’s doing. Please say a
prayer that all her tests are negative and that her headaches get better. They
are due to come home by the end of the week.
Have a good week and a very Happy Easter!
Maureen
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March 3, 2008
Hello Everyone,
Jessica had a "normal" past two weeks, as normal as normal can be for a child
battling cancer. She got platelets last week. Her spirits are still up and her
hair is still coming in slowly. It seems the low-dose chemo has not affected its
growth much. This can be a scary thought though because it makes me wonder if
the chemo is not strong enough to kill the good cells that bring about hair
growth, is it strong enough to kill the cancerous cells??? Her stomach aches
have increased this past week which we expected since the chemo was the week
prior. These drugs tend to have delayed side effects on the digestion/intestinal
system and usually hits the week after chemo is completed. Naturally, we
increase her meds including some pain med for the stomach cramps. Yesterday, I
brought her to the park and then we went for an hour-long walk. She rode her
little bike and I walked. We were both exhausted afterwards. The weather has
been absolutely beautiful here lately…low humidity, sun shining, blue skies.
One of Jessie's favorite new things is to visit me at work after her clinic
appointment if she gets out around lunch time. I told her she can do this once a
week and we can go out to lunch with some friends from work. She's met most of
the people I work closely with but still prefers to eat lunch while sitting on
my lap. She loves her cheeseburgers and garlic bread at the restaurant and then
likes to stop into my office and pretend she's working. She told me I have to
keep some crayons at my desk for when she comes to visit. She has asked me a few
times when can she work at CA. I told her to start working on her resume
beginning with learning to read and write and that she needs to focus on
graduating preschool first which is this May. Thursday, I am bringing her to
Kindergarten orientation night. She’s actually counting the days till then.
February was not a happy month for a number of Band Of Parents families. Earlier
in the month, I told you all that one of our families lost their child, Carter
Moore. Over the past two weeks, two more BOP children lost their battle with NB.
Eden Brunskow was diagnosed in June, 2005 when she was 7 years old. This
precious girl had extensive skeletal disease and the disease spread to some
major organs. Initially, the cancer was responsive to treatment and between her
home hospital and Sloan Kettering, she became disease-free. She relapsed and
aggressive treatment continued. It ended up progressing again through her spine
and to other organs and eventually to her lungs. Eden passed at home hours after
becoming symptomatic. You can read her story and leave a message for the family
on Eden's CB site at:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/edenbrunskow
Many called Harrison Nichols a "legend at Sloan Kettering". He was diagnosed
with stage IV NB at 3 years old in 2002 and pioneered through many treatment
protocols...with an "unbreakable spirit". His will was so strong and determined
that he valiantly fought the disease for almost six years. You can read his
story at:
http://www.caringbridge.org/nc/harrison/
The new treatments that I and many other NB families are waiting for are most
likely about a year away. We need to treat our children with whatever options we
have left. For some of us, there are still options. Jessica has not had every
treatment option yet--such as MIBG therapy and whose to say the doctors don't
opt to try 3F8 again. Although it is risky due to the allergic reaction she had
the last time, I believe the doctors learned something from it and would be
better prepared next time to prevent the reaction in the first place. Many
families are waiting for the newly developed Neuroblastoma vaccine by Sloan
Kettering which seems to be consistently delayed.
The first candidates are those are achieved remission and have relapsed from
what I was told last. Jessie will be going to NY on March 11 for 3 days of scans
and tests and I should know the next course of treatment by the end of that
week.
Below is a news report/video from CBS News in NY. They interviewed the Witt
family who have been very active in the media within the tri-state area. Their
son, Liam, is currently disease-free but the Witts remain very active with the
Band Of Parents mission for the sake of all children diagnosed with NB. Please
watch the news report and forward it to everyone you know. It's great awareness
not only for the disease but also exposure for the Band Of Parents. You will see
Jessie's doctor, Dr. Kushner, as he is also interviewed by CBS News. At the end
of the report, the news reporter is so moved by the determination of the Witt
family that she can't control her emotions and breaks down:
http://wcbstv. com/video/ ?id=109818@ wcbs.dayport. com
My grandfather passed away on February 21st. He was 93. Mom flew to NY with Aunt
Marie the next day for a few days. Grandpa’s name was Americo Yannotti. He was
named after Amerigo Vespucci whom our country is named after. Amerigo sailed for
Spain in the early 1500’s and was the first to identify South and North America
as being separate from Asia. My dad had a watch from years ago that Grandpa had
given him and last week he gave it to Robby. I told Robby, although it’s not an
expensive piece of jewelry, it was your great-grandfather’s and to cherish its
sentimental value and one day, he can pass it on to his son. My only living
grandparent now is my dad’s father in NY who is about 97.
The boys got to see the Harlem Globetrotters perform at the St. Pete Times Forum
last Thursday evening. They said it was a great show—extremely entertaining. I
knew it would be cause I grew up watching them on TV including the animated
Saturday morning shows. The boys came home so excited. Each of them had a
Globetrotter basketball with lots of autographs from the team on it. They said
it was crazy and they had to crawl on the floor through legs to get to the team
during the signing. Yesterday, all three of them went to see a Yankees spring
training game at Legends field in Tampa. They played the Phillies. The game
ended in a tie. The Yankees don’t do signings at these games from what the boys
told me when they got home. They brought their mitts and baseballs and were
hoping for some autographs but they had fun regardless.
There is a Disney Princesses On Ice show coming to the Forum in May. My mom and
I brought Jessie two years ago to the show and she loved it so I ordered some
tickets for us and am keeping my fingers crossed that whatever treatment she has
next will not prevent her from going. It’s on a Saturday so I plan on making an
extra special day out of it for her. I already told her she’s going to be a
“Princess For A Day”. I’ll let you know what I come up with.
Last night Karen and I went to see Paul Potts perform at the Tampa theatre. For
those of you not familiar with him, he’s the winner of last year’s Britain’s Got
Talent show which is the equivalent to our American Idol show. I was not aware
of him until a few months back when my brother, Sal, sent me the You Tube video
link to his audition for the show. I was blown away as all are when you see it.
You don’t need an appreciation for opera to not only enjoy for a moment the
beautiful voice this man has but also seeing the reaction of the audience and
the judges when this man begins to sing. Only a year ago he was a cell phone
salesman in a retail store in Britain. He always loved to sing and became a
contestant for BGT last year. He walked on stage and of course, the judges
didn’t expect much of anything from this frumpy-looking guy. He belts out
Pavorotti’s “Nessun Dorma”. It sends chills up your spine. He brings the
audience to their feet and tears in one of the judge’s eyes. He’s gone on to
perform for the Prime Minister, the Queen and came to America a couple of weeks
ago and has performed now in Las Vegas and has an album out. Last night, his
repertoire consisted of operatic songs as well as “Maria” from Westside Story; a
song played at many wedding ceremonies called “Eva Maria”; “Music of the Night”
from Phantom of the Opera and of course, his encore was “Nessun Dorma”. He
addressed the audience between almost every song and talked about his past life
and told some funny stories. He’s personable and quite humble…a real Cinderella
story. We got lucky and ended up with front row seats. He’s worth going to see
again and if you get the chance just Google his name to view the You Tube BGT
audition video.
Lately, I’m more determined to see that the children have more fun times as well
as myself regardless of our very busy and hectic schedule of obligations and
appointments. There never seems to be enough time to either relax or socialize
or just have fun so what’s the difference, right? Children always manage to have
fun no matter what’s going on in their lives so I might as well as follow their
lead. Giving Jessie the chance to do just about whatever she enjoys and the
opportunity to experience as much as her mind can take in is very important to
me. I’ll update you all next week once Jessie is on her way to NY.
Have a great week!
Maureen
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