Been A Long Time!

I hope you had a Merry Christmas!



Well...here we are the end of 2012! Remember when this crazy life changing event all started? Mother's day 2007. Yikes! I either want to barf (thinking the horrible things my little girl had to go through) or SMILE! I think smile. The horror remains but finds a nice hiding spot deep in your memory.

With God's healing touch, the love and prayers of many, Avery continues to do well. Thank You God!!! We have had our struggles with things but for the most part no complaints from us. She is becoming a sassy little girl full of eye rolls, hand jesters and door slamming events. Makes me giggle! From what I hear this is normal. Inside she is still a kind little girl who can cry from an episode of Franklin. Has an enormous
concern for people and animals.

Avery is still having a difficult time reading. Hopefully, we can find the right method of teaching her that will stick! The trauma from radiation and stroke has made a lasting impression on her. Not in a good way! We have tried a lot of things and nothing seems to be working. We have lots of doctor appointments in the next few months. One I dread is with a spine specialist. It seems Avery has developed some curve. Hopefully she will not need a brace. That will probably put her over the edge or cost us a lot in bribe gifts. She is finally wearing her hearing aids and foot braces without much complaint. Wow!



Soon it will be 2013! I look forward to the new year! We are appreciative to those who continue to follow us and pray for Avery's good health. I have several friends who have lost loved ones and several who have been diagnosed with the dreaded "C". Please keep the family of Will Canan, my Aunt Helen, Tom's Aunt Judy and Uncle Jim and my dear friend Tammy in your prayers. Also, the victims and families of the CT shooting. I just can't believe the loss.

This year my New Years resolutions are 1. To be a better Mom 2. To be a better wife 3. To be a better friend 4. To be less selfish 5. Make time for family and friends
6. To not worry 7. To be a better Christian I think I can do it!!


Thank you for the positive thoughts and prayers!

Team brAvery!

Girls Baptism!

Happy Sunday to everyone! Sa​turday we shared a beautiful day with the Gibson family. Back before Avery had brain surgery we had a quick baptism for her. Well yesterday we remembered Avery's baptism and had Lily, Alex and Evan baptised together. P​astor Mark from Trinity came to the Gibson's house and we had a beautiful personal baptism for the children. Thank you Pastor Mark it was lovely! The Gibson's have become like family to us and I would not have wanted to share that moment with anyone else. They have encouraged our faith and Chris has pulled me up during some dark moments. We love you guys! Thank you to all of our family and friends who shared this day with us. In Leu of gifts the children asked for donations to the Animal Human Society. Together they raised over $300! We plan on bringing the donation in tomorrow. Thank You! Everyon​e is doing fine around here. Me, Mom has been very sick for the past week. I finally got some antibiotics on Friday. Thanks Dr. Stannard! I'm starting to turn the corner...Th​ank God! I've never been this sick before and for so long. This Friday I have my 20 year high school reunion. Yikes!! I'm looking forward to spending sometime with old friends...L​ook out Rochester! Tom and I are spending a night away from the kids. Thanks Auntie Mary and cousin Frankie for taking care of the girls! We found two nannies! Yeah!!! They are both wonderful. Kelly starts this week. She will really be Avery's personal care attendant. Avery needs more supervision because of her mobility, vision and other risks. It will give us peace of mind that someone is always watching Avery. Kelly has experience as a PCA and she is in graduate school for speech language pathology. ​My hope is that she can also work with Avery's memory issues this summer. Leslie will start the following week. She is a recent college grad from River Falls. She is super sweet and will hopefully transition from nanny to Avery's stu​dent aid for next school year. The H​udson school district is not providing an aid for Avery next year because of budget issues. Tr​inity Academy is a private school, they can't afford to pay for an aide, nor do we expect them too. It will be up to us to pay and provide Avery with an aide. It w​ill cost our family lots of money but we feel it's a good investment. We love Trinity and it's the best enviro​nment for Avery. Avery's classmates and the students are so supportive of her and her situation. ​ We know a public school could provide more support at no cost but the God part is a big deal to us. Trinity has other students with special needs...jus​t not to the extent of Avery. They are doing their best to provide an excellent academic experience for all students. I could not imagine my kids going any where else. Next year both Lily and Avery will be going full time. Lily is soooo excited. Well I'm going to rest more today so I can get over this nasty sickness! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thank you for your continued prayers for Avery and our family. Posi​tive thoughts and prayers! Tea​m BrAvery!

Scans Next Week...Please Pray!

Wow it's been a long time since I've updated this blog. Sorry! We had a wonderful Christmas and feel extremely blessed. The girls are doing great and are enjoying a little time off from school. We are mostly hanging out at home playing with Christmas gifts...Wii and American Girl! Avery has a sleep over tomorrow with one of her BF's Callie and hopefully her other BF Ava over the weekend. We are looking forward to celebrating New Years with our friends and their children. Looking forward to an Awesome Healthy 2010! Please keep Avery in your prayers for No Evidence of Disease, improved blood flow to her brain and healed area of stroke. She will have brain and spine scan next week on Wednesday at 10:00 we then will review with Dr. Bendel on Friday. Thank you for your continued support and prayers for Avery and our family. Happy New Year may it be filled with Joy! Positive thoughts and prayers, Team brAvery

Hello, All I can say is I'm tired! This past week has given me so much stress. I feel like we are regulars at Children's ER. Since I last updated Avery has been on one more ambulance ride, and two more visits to the ER. I'm going to keep this short because my throbbing head can't take much right now. Saturday she bumped the back of her head on her headboard laying down. Her neck muscles are very week from surgery and when she goes back...she goes back. Well after watching her for about 15 minutes she complained of a headache. So off to Children's we went (me, Lily, and Avery). Tom was at the store getting Avery's birthday cake for her party later in the day. At the exit before Hudson she said she had tingles in her arms. I freeked...thinking TIA/Stroke symptom... so we got off in Hudson and went to the Hudson Hospital and the ambulance brought her to Children's in St. Paul. After seeing her neurologist and observing for two hours we went home. Her party was still on! FYI: Tingles in both arms is not alarming for stroke just possible hyper ventilating. duh!! Then she got tingles again Sunday night the neurologist said to just warm her up with a bath and get her to bed. Monday she bumped her head on the counter picking up candy from the floor. Nice...she has bumped her head more in the past three days then the past five months. A rash on her cheeks started. I emailed doctors. They did not seem too concerned nor was I. Tues...Nothing! Thank You Mrs. Selleck for the pizza, cookies and for visiting Avery. Avery enjoyed your visit. It was a great day. Wednesday Miss Larsen came over around 10 to tutor Avery. Avery was very excited to see her and always loves doing home work with her. However, Avery just wanted to nap and then said her head hurt. I was worried. She had seemed very lethargic and the head hurting thing I just did not like. We seen her team of doctors at the ER/ED they did a CT, looked at the rash and took blood. Everything is the same with the subdural hematoma on the CT scan. The new meds she is on for seizures could be causing her to be more sleepy, giving her speech problems, and causing her to be off balance. All things I have noticed and feel uncomfortable about. Avery just has not gotten back to her baseline from before last Monday. She has so much going on and it is confusing to say the least. Thank You Jennifer for staying with Lily today! One day at a time! I did talk to Boston today and the angiography is scheduled for May 15th. We will meet with Dr. Scott the day before. At least we are finally doing something about the bad arteries. We thank you for your continued prayers for Avery. We appreciate your support. Thank you again to everyone who helped make Avery's birthday so special. Positive thoughts and prayers! Team brAvery

Praise God! Clear Scan 10-28-08

Praise God!!!

We are over joyed about Avery's Clear Scan! We truly are Blessed! Thank You for every prayer said for Avery. Prayers are Powerful. God revealed his healing touch in Avery's scans! I've got proof! Please check back later for the photo of Avery's MRI.

Dr. Wetmore was absolutely proud of Avery's progress and the obstacles she has over come. Avery truly has made major progress. Her weight is back, she is walking independently and pretty much doing what kids her age do. Yeah!!! Doctor Wetmore asked if we had any concerns. First time with the response "not really"!

December will mark one year since end of traditional therapy...High dose chemo. January 2008 we were told Avery was in remission. Thank You Lord! She remains in remission!

Thank You!!! For caring about Avery and helping our family through this journey. We could not get through this without your continued support. Positive thoughts and prayers!

Team brAvery

Yes, It's been awhile!

Hello, Everything is going good. We had an enjoyable walk at the Pediatric Cancer Research Time to Fly 5k. We did manage to get a little wet too. Thank You to the Driscolls and Medveds for walking with us. We even got to meet a few other fighters like little Zach White and his family. We can't wait for the Polo match later this summer. I will post photos soon. We have been busy working on the new house. We have just one month to finish and get moved in. Still lot's to do. I hate moving. I do like what we have done to the new house and it is looking very cute and feels just right for our family. Avery has PT on Monday and Wednesday. She is really excited for Joe's fireworks show on the 4th. She loves fireworks...Dad is more then happy to give a show whenever she wants. Or previous nanny Jannelle is our firework hook-up. Considering she now works for the owners of Victory Fire Works! This week our new nanny is off and Auntie Terry is helping us out with the girls. Lily and Avery are so excited to play with her. Hope she can keep up with Lily. Lily is into everything lately.And being naughty. Like writing on the couch with a pen and stealing things from Averya and running away. I did witness her playing with a toy and actually picking it up when done. I was so proud of her. Today we worked on not yelling or crying and being nice to each other. They did pretty good. The grocery store is another story. FYI leave the kids home. Advil anyone? Avery does have another scan coming up on the 15th of July. I'm sure my nerves will get the best of me. We appreciate your prayers for Avery's continued clear scans and NED (no evidence of disease). I believe God has blessed Avery with restored health and she will continue to be here with us. She is our miracle and the reason for the great changes in our life. Remember to cherish your children and never take them for granted. They are truly gift's from God. Ours on loan from him. He can take them back whenever he want's. Enjoy them while you can. Positive thoughts and prayers! We thank you for helping our family through this journey. Love, Team brAvery Check out the photos! ! http://picasaweb.google.com/lighthousefamilyretreat/Retreat4SlideShow www.lighthousefamilyretreat.org www.jacobdmoore.come www.jacobdmoore.blogspot.com

Scan Time

First...Don't you love the photos from the benefit? Uncle Pogie and Auntie Judy with the crew from Filo Productions did a fantastic job. WOW! Thank You again to everyone who gave to Team brAvery. Scan time again on Thursday. Will you please pray for clean scans and for our meeting with doctor Bendel to go well. I'm already nervous and feel sick. I'm sure God has cured Avery already but I can't help but be a little scared. Avery has been doing great except for a little cold. We took her into Children's for a chest x-ray just to make sure the pneumonia was gone. So far it looks good. Avery had a good weekend and has been getting into things like she did before she got sick. She played so cute with Lily tonight. Lily pretended to be a baby and Avery pretended to feed her a bottle and put her to bed. I love seeing her playing and being a kid. Less than two weeks of school left. This is Janelle's last week too. Wish she could stay! We still are not sure about who is going to nanny for us??? So many decisions to make. Please keep Avery in your prayers. The tornado which went through Hugo is right by our old neighborhood. Please pray for the family's who lost their home and for the family that lost their little boy. Positive thoughts and prayers! Team brAvery