Glamour, Lightning, and Pokies

Some parts of yesterday were definitely better than others.

Peyton was given her very own pair of [url=http://www.glamourflops.com]Glamour Flops from Dana Bertoch[/url]. Her’s aren’t the Swarovski crystals, but they are “my prettiest shoes EVER!” Dana is a precious person with a huge heart for the kids of the Children’s Cancer Center, because just a few years ago she was one of them. She is one of the walking inspirations that make going there such a joy for the parents. Being able to hear her say the words “I’m a survivor” strengthens our hope and makes us dream of the day that our kids can say the same.

Don’t you wish you had a pair?? You can at [url=http://www.glamourflops.com]www.glamourflops.com[/url], for little girls and grown up girls!

We were invited by All Children’s Hospital to be a part of a big press conference to announce a huge gift. Vinny Lecavalier, one of the top NHL players and a Tampa Bay Lightning team member, has made a commitment through his foundation Vinny4 to the construction of the new hospital. He’s donating 3$ million dollars to the new cancer floor and they will be naming it the Vinny Lecavelier Center for Pediatric Oncology and Hemotology!!! How phenomenal is that?

The Lightning players are huge supporters of the pediatric cancer community, their players have to be some of the most compassionate and generous people in sports. From Brad Richards who hosts numerous families in his suite at the Forum to the players that adopt families for Christmas through the Children’s Cancer Center to this new amazing donation from Vinny, we have been constantly awed by the way that the Lightning gives back the community.

In the afternoon we went to the Forum where the kids were gifted with lots of fun swag and then we got the chance to be a part of this tremendous announcement. Peyton had some sweet photos taken with Vinny, she smiled and charmed as per usual, she laid her little fuzzy head on his shoulder and just grinned. After the families had a chance to meet Vinny, there was a press conference where he told everyone about the most generous contribution to the hospital with the children sitting on the floor around his feet. The families included one who’s daughter was also diagnosed with ALL Leukemia at 2 ½ years old and she is now well out of treatment and is just a vibrant beautiful 4th grader now. Again, a spirit of a cancer warrior who beat her disease lifts our spirits and hopes.

The kids took many pictures, Nathaniel and Rachael were totally included in this event, which was so fun for them. There was a contract that was signed by all the bigwigs, including our own Dr. Barbosa (head of our oncology department), Vinny and each of the kids. Peyton signed the board all by herself, all the practice finally paying off.

“Ok, seriously about this bow, mom!”

Erin Kisielewski, Leukemia survivor and her dad

Rachael’s ready for her close-up

Peyton showing off her autograph

After the “warm-fuzzies” wore off and the grumpies set in

Leave it up to Nathaniel to find the only snowball in Florida!

After all that, the kids got teased by the chance to get out on the ice, but the safety issues of lots of kids running wild on a thick sheet of ice ended up nixing that idea. Instead, they played with the goals and got to see the bottom tiers of the arena. Peyton was freezing in the colder areas, and she was tired and grumpy towards the end of the day, but it was a blast for all and we are so lucky to have been a part of it.

Check out any or all of the many news reports on the day, but Channel 10 has a really nice video of the piece that was on TV last night.

Vinny4 – Vinny’s Foundation Website

The Lightning website

The St. Pete Times

Tampa Bay Channel 10 Video

Pictures from TBO.com

And the kids and Vinny made the front page of the Tampa Tribune

We got home and Peyton promptly decided that she really needed a break from it all. Her drippy nose and grumpy disposition led to a fever that ended up with us going down to the hospital for our customary 3 day stay. She’s resting, she slept well last night after a knock down, drag out fight with the nurse who came to access her port. The poor family who rooms with us had to listen to her scream her head off when they came in to do the peripheral blood culture. She really feels that if they’ve accessed her port, they shouldn’t have to poke her arm, but they do to make sure that there’s nothing bacterial going on in her system. She made sure everyone in the building knew exactly how she felt about it….with vehemence…involving large amounts of freak out. It took 3 of us to get that blood, I had to practically lie on her, the strong little mule, but they got it and she recovered from her trauma quickly.

We wait for a few days to see if anything grows in her blood cultures, and if not, we go home with a simple virus. Pray for clean cultures and a clean bill of health for her. In the meantime, we’ll eat room service, watch TV and enjoy the quiet.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
–Anissa

ps. I wanted to share the news that IronMan Tim Lee finished in the 14 hour range! That just blows my mind. He went to the hospital after with some dehydration and fatigue…oh, really?….I would be in a coma…but he’s doing much better now and celebrating his amazing feat.

He wrote me this sweet message about Peyton after the race…

” I taped her photo to my bike and I absolutely could not have
done it without her help. We did the race-not me. I talked to her, did a
whole lot of praying, and everytime I started feeling pain I would look at
her smiling face. What an inspiration.”

Ok, is that the very sweetest thing ever?

Lots of love for Tim Lee, his big heart, his commitment and dedication and this tremendous accomplishment.