Sorry so long!

So Stevie had the BEST Make-A-Wish trip that any little princess could ever dream of! We were up early on New Year’s Day and waiting for the limo (which was a surprise for all the kids) that showed up at 5:30 am. It was the first time flying for all the kids and the boys were a bit nervous (Beau couldn’t even eat breakfast) but after taking off and well on our way they seemed to be ok! Stevie LOVED it…..she sat there just looking out the window. Once we arrived in Houston we had to run clear across the airport to catch our next flight. They were actually calling all our names for final call as we were literally running!! We originally thought we had a long lay over but for some reason it was changed but we were excited because we were able to get to Orlando 5 hours early! Once we arrived at the Orlando airport, volunteers with Give Kids the World were there waiting for us holding a sign stating “GKTW welcomes Stevie Cheramie”, it was awesome! The volunteers were fantastic with helping us get our rental car and giving us directioons to GKTW! Once we arrived each and every one of us were in total awe. It’s a kids dreamland (adults too…lol)!! They welcomed us with huge open arms. GKTW is like a huge neighborhood of all different colored & style (reminded me of Dr. Seuss) villas. Our villa was across a human sized Candyland board playland filled with swings, slides, etc.. The kids loved it!  They still talk about our trip bc it’s one that will NEVER be forgotten!  We were blessed with a MAW tag that gave us “special” access to everything.  We never waited in lines therefore we were able to move right along and see and ride just about everything!  Stevie was able to meet the princess, which I’m gonna say was her favorite part!  She was in total awwe!

Once we got back she remained on Home bound for school for a week and then the last week in January she started full time at school and she seems to really enjoy it.   There are times when she wakes up and says “mom I don’t want to go to school today”, but I have to just remind her those days over.  She has to go to school and once she realizes that she’s fine!

In February she finally had her eye surgery that straighten out her eyes.  The surgery went very well and was a huge success.  Unfortunately it did not correct her eye sight but if that’s the worse thing out of everything she’s been through that’s nothing!

Her hair is growing back so fast and is sticking up everywhere.  It reminds me when babies hair is growing and there’s not much you can do with it…..that would be Stevie!!  But she’s precious no matter what!

So ever since she’s been in school I have been totally enjoying my time off and to myself. It was long over due and very much needed as well as deserved!  I thank god everyday for healing her and allowing her to still be here with us today!  She will be having a routine MRI on April 26th and know that everything will be fine and CLEAR!!!  After her scheduled MRI at the end of July and MRI clear she will have her meda-port removed and can’t wait.  After that NO MORE surgeries!!!  YIPPIE!!!

Well I would thank each and every one of you for continuing to stay updated with Stevie and pray that you all have a HAPPY EASTER!!!

Much love from our family to yours!!!

Stevie and I were able to ride on the Miles Perret Cancer Center float for the Lafayette Christmas parade and she and I both had a ball! It was freezing but we survived!

On December 23 she had a MRI (first one since her last round of chemo in September) and it was ALL CLEAR!!!! YEAH!! That was definitely the BEST Christmas present ever!!

The same night we went to my parent’s house for Christmas and the kids were thrilled. For those of you who know Stevie well she LOVES to color and draw. I think she may be my lil artist some day. And Nettie and Pops got her a art projector that you choose what you want to draw and you trace it and color it, therefore she has been a coloring fool lately. It’s too cute!

Then Friday night we went to my Aunt and Uncle’s house and kids received more presents. Afterwards we came home and got chocolate milk and cookies ready for Santa and put out reindeer food on the lawn and then the kids were fast asleep and Santa was busy putting Stevie’s bike together.

Of course Christmas morning Beau comes running in Shawn and I’s room BEFORE 6 am after we had already woken up Stevie and Derek, so we were all up early opening presents and I must say it was one of our best Christmas EVER!!! The rest of the day was very peaceful!!

Now here we are Wednesday and guess what?????????

We are leaving for DISNEY WORLD this Saturday!!! Each and everyone of us can hardly wait! Stevie asked me Monday night “Mom when can I start packing?” and I replied “We will start packing Friday” and she asked “Can I start in the morning?” Sha lil baby!! How can you tell her no?? You can’t so I told her she can begin packing whenever she wants to! But I must admit, it’s only Wednesday and I’m ready to start packing myself. So Beau and I are going to be hitting the roads today to gather up a few things we need for our trip.

A Limo (shhhh….kids don’t know that part) will be picking us up Saturday morning, January 1st, between 5:30 and 6:00 am because our first flight leaves out at 7:00 from Lafayette and we get to Houston at 8 but unfortunately we have a 5 1/2 lay over until our next flight. We arrive in Orlando at 5:00 pm and someone from Give Kids the World will be there waiting for us. And if you have a chance please check out their website at www.gktw.org to see where we will be staying. It’s awesome!!! So once there Shawn and I will go to a class to go over everything and that’s when they will give us our Disney passes. We will have Sun – Thurs to go to as many parks as possible and then we return home on Friday!

I promise to post pics once we return! If you want to see pics before then, I will post them on my Facebook page, so if you are not one of my friends now please send me a friend request.

Also, once we return Stevie has eye surgery scheduled for Thursday, January 13th. This surgery is to help correct the crossing of her eyes. It is on outpatient surgery and she should be good to go as the following Monday!

So we are hoping that as of that Monday, January 17th, Stevie will be ready for Big Girl School!! She has gone several days here and there already and she absolutely LOVES it! The kids in her class are so excited when she shows up. But I must say she is totally exhausted when she gets home, so we will see how it goes and if she is too tired everyday I may start her out just half days for a while until her body gets stronger!

Well, Beau and I are off to run our errands, so I pray that each of you have a fabulous day! Pleas pray that we have a safe and excited trip.

Much love from our family to yours!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

Halloween was a success. Stevie was Princess Tiana from Princess and the Frog and I must say she was the prettiest Princess EVER! We had a big crew here, so we cooked gumbo and the kids were able to going trick or treating on a trailer filled with hay! They had a blast!

November 12th was my birthday so Shawn and I went to see Elton John the Wednesday before and we soooo enjoyed it! Shawn has always wanted to see him so his dream finally came true.

November 18th I flew to Michigan to see a very dear friend of mine that I haven’t seen in nearly 23 years!! Rachel and I were best friends 5th thru 7th grade before she moved away and we lost touch with each other but I had NEVER forgotten her. As most of you probably have a Facebook you know what’s it’s like to search for people you haven’t seen or heard form in years and I tried several times to find her but had no luck. Well one Saturday night I was praying asking God “please, please help me find her” and thanks to him I FOUND her that next Monday! I was sooooo excited! She and I talked on the phone for 2 hours so after a couple of weeks I told her….I am coming see you! I flew out the Thursday and came back late Monday night. It was absolutely wonderful. We picked up right where we left off and she is married with no kids so it was extremely peaceful and very relaxing, which I very much needed. I can’t wait to see her again. Hoping she will be coming here late April!

So, next was Thanksgiving and we had a great Thanksgiving. It was very relaxing but as always….way too much food!

So about Stevie……She is doing AWESOME! She actually has eyelashes, eyebrows and her hair is GROWING!!! It’s coming back very dark looking. When she was born it was nearly black so I’m very curious to see what it’s going to look like when it grows out! I told her it may come back curly and of course she said “Mom I don’t want it curly”, but as I told her “no matter if it’s straight or curly, it’s going to be beautiful”!! I’m just excited that she wants it to come back now bc for the longest she didn’t want it to. Shawn usually shaves his head bald, but he is now letting his hair grow out with Stevie, it’s too cute!!

Health wise….she couldn’t be better. She still struggles with her eating bc there’s just not much that she likes anymore so I am still having to give her, her hungry medicine or she just wouldn’t eat.

Her eyes….she has an eye appointment tomorrow and assuming will be scheduling her eye surgery soon. Dr. Morad said she could have it done in January and I’m so ready to get it done. I feel so bad for her bc she is always closing one eye bc she is still having double vision. Plus it needs to be done before she starts school.

About school…..she is still enjoying having her teacher, Mrs. Robin, come twice a week, but she is very much ready to start “Big girl” school. She and I went on a field trip with Beau with his class and since then she continues to ask when she will be going to big girl school! She even told me “Momma if the kids ask me why I don’t have hair, I’m just gonna tell them everything I’ve gone through”……too cute, I love it! You go Stevie girl!!

Her Make-A-Wish trip…..got word last week that they were booking our flights to Disney World. Looks like we are going December 29th so we will be there for the New Year and I am so excited because I don’t think there is any better way to bring in our New Year! We all can hardly wait! So it’s definitely going be a great holiday season for us!

Well, so sorry it took so long to update but better late than never, right?? LOL!

I pray each and every one of you have a Very Merry Christmas season and will update as soon as I know the definite dates for Disney World.

We hope that each of you are doing well and thank you for continuing to stay updated on Stevie’s recovery!!!

Much love from our family to yours!

Just thought I’d update letting everyone know Stevie is doing well. She had an appt with Dr. Morad Monday to check levels and all is good. Unfortunately she lost a pound from 3 weeks ago but eventually her appetite will level out and she will begin to gain weight. Looks like we may have to give her the “hungry” meds just a lil longer.

But while there she had a small “No Mo Chemo” party!! Ms. Janie from the hospital had a cake and gifts for her from herself, the nurses, and Dr. Morad and Ms. Janie did a great job picking her gift out. She got some arts and crafts bc we all know that’s her favorite as well as Disney Guess Who?. For those of you who have little ones and don’t have the game the Guess Who? , it’s a must have. It’s fun and Stevie loves it. As soon as we got home I had to open it and put it together so Jessica could play with her.

Her schooling is going great and she’s really enjoying it. We went last week on a field trip with Beau and his class and afterwards she said “Momma when I am gonna be able to start big girl school?”, so I guess she’s ready now. Just a few more months and she’ll be there. WOW, after the last year and a half together pretty much every single day, I think I’m going to be totally lost without her, but I will have to remember what a great opportunity it is for her!!

Also, last week Stevie and I went and got my hair cut at Be Salon by Josh Clark (my first time there) and when I was going to pay for my hair cut the lady said “your hair cut has already been taken care of”, so I want to say THANK YOU to my lil Angel out there who ever you are!!! I love lil gifts like that bc it’s a HUGE reminder of all the great things life truly does have to offer!!

Well, I hope life has been treating all of you good and will update soon!

Much love from our family to yours!!!

This last weekend Shawn and I went to Houston to for a Gala Benefit that we are recipients of and while there I got Stevie “princess and the Frog” costume with the shoes and wand. She absolutely loves it. Now she wants Maveric (her dog) to be the frog. I hope I can find a frog costume for him because that would be priceless. Halloween is definitely one of her favorite holidays and is already asking how many nights until Halloween.

Well I hope everyone is enjoying this weather as much as we are.

I pray that each and everyone of you have a wonderful week.

Much love from our family to yours!

Saturday morning Dr. Morad came to see us and said that she has to be fever free for 24 to 48 hours and her ANC has to be at least 500….hers was 20 when we got here.   At that moment I knew it would be a long stay in the hospital, but we are so grateful that this is the first time we have ever had to come back to hospital due to fever and levels so I knew we could make it through.

As of Saturday her ANC went to 40 but unfortunately on Sunday it went back down to 30 and her temp was 104.6 and 104.1 during the night Sunday.   Yet another very long night just like Friday and Saturday night.  Thankfully my sweet mom came and stayed with Stevie Sunday while we had her Poboy Sale which was a big success.  Although I was totally exhausted it was nice to be outside instead of being stuck in the hospital room.

So come Monday morning I was so exhausted that I knew I could not make it another night and that I had to sleep in my own bed. Once again my sweet mom came and sleep with her so I could get some rest as well as spend some time with Beau.   While my mom was here they did a CAT scan of Stevie’s head because she was congested, complaining of her head and ear hurting and her left eye had been very swollen.   Just as I figured she has a sinus infection and due to her levels being so low her body simply could not fight it off.

Thankfully the last time she has ran fever was Monday night and levels are moving up….her ANC is now 1900 (was 250 yesterday) and still fever free! Her white blood count is also moving up but is going to be getting blood today to make sure she is good and strong before heading home tomorrow!

This has definitely been a long week here and not anything that she and I are use to anymore. The longest we normally stayed in the hospital was 2 nights for chemo expect for when she first had her surgery so this has brought up some memories that I don’t like. She is soooo ready to go home just as I am but knowing that we are going home tomorrow, one more night won’t be bad! Actually think Daddy will be staying with her tonight!

Sorry I have not updated sooner but I’ve been busy with her and sadly to say too exhausted to even think to blog.

Also, I want to say THANK YOU for everyone who volunteered for her poboy sale as well as everyone who purchased tickets or simply just donated. I hope you all enjoyed the poboys!

Hope all of you are having a great week and I will update once we are home a settled!

Much love from our family to yours!!!

As you all know Stevie’s last round of chemo was last week which was a lil tough. She did NOT eat the whole time we were in the hospital and really didn’t start eating until last Saturday but happy to say she is beginning to eat now.

Yesterday however was a GREAT day! First her teacher, Mrs. Robin, came and she was excited because she did not have school at all last week due to her hospital stay but the best part of yesterday was…..SHE HAD HER FINAL DOSE OF CHEMO! She had an appt to check levels and chemo! Unfortunately her levels are EXTREMELY low but very much expected! Her ANC is at 9 and normal is 1500, so it’s safe to say she has NO immune system what so ever but we are fixing that today. She will be receiving blood and platelets today and as I always say Thank God for blood and platelets. It’s like a wonder drug for her! Immediately after receiving it she is full of energy and feeling much better! I pray this is her last round for blood and platelets but if not, a one days stay in the hospital is nothing compared to a 2 night stay.

The hospital normally has a “NO MO CHEMO” party for your last round but our sweet lil Miss Janie (Child Life Specialist) was out of town for her last round so we thought about doing it today but Stevie said NO! She’s usually not in the best mood while getting blood so we will go back next week to Women’s when Stevie is feeling better but just for a party!!

Speaking of parties….we will also have a HUGE celebration for her in a couple of weeks. She definitely deserves it! She has truly been a trooper through this very longgggg, trying time!

Well before long instead of going to doctor’s office once a week we will be down to once a month for a while! Although it’s exciting, it’s very scary in the same breath. Like my mom said, knowing she is getting chemo is like a safety net because we know nothing can grow back or get her, but when it’s gone…………

So that’s not something I want to focus on but as a mother it’s in the back of my mind! And more so because I see it happen to others, so I am asking that you PLEASE continue to pray for our precious Stevie girl. As her t-shirt that is being made says…..CANCER PICKED THE WRONG PRINCESS!!!! And that I TRULY BELIEVE!!! She is one tough, strong-willed child! But as we all know that’s what has kept her fighting the fight!!!

Well, it’s time I go get ready for our adventure at the hospital today but I pray that each and every one of you have a fabulous day!

*REMINDER* Her sausage Po-boy sale is this Sunday, September 19th, so if you have not gotten your ticket(s) yet please contact me asap!

Much love from our family to yours!

Stevie’s MRI results from last Wednesday….ALL CLEAR and NO signs of recurrence! We could not be more excited than that except this is her finally round of chemo. We are just getting to the hospital and settled in. This is a 2 night stay but the great news is she does not have to swallow any pills! Yeah!

I would like to send a HUGE THANKS out to everyone helping to sale Poboy tickets for our little Stevie! As well as a HUGE THANKS to Seacor Marine for the many donations for the Poboy sale!! It’s less than 2 weeks away so if you have not gotten your tickets yet and would like some please don’t forget to contact me asap!! You can check out the “Events” page on her website for more details!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful a safe Labor Day just as we did! Earlier this summer I was able to go with my parents to FL and take the boys but we had not taken any type of vacation as a family so we went to Cajun Palms for Labor Day! We had a BLAST!!! We met some of the sweetest people ever as well as met up with old friends we had not seen a while!!! I can’t wait to go back!  It’s not far and there’s so much for the kids to do and they love it as well!  It was definitely a great escape before her last hospital stay!

Well I hope that all of you have a great short week and look forward to seeing many of you on September 19th for the Poboy sale!!!

Much love from our family to yours!

Well we have a very busy weekend ahead of us.  We are heading to Morgan City tomorrow evening for 3rd Annual Boo Bonner Benefit. Saturday afternoon the girls and I will be attending a Arbonne Skin Care party, which all profits will be donated to our family!  We are sooo very grateful for Summer Bagwell and Amanda Kilpatrick!  Thank you so much ladies!!  Then after the party we will be heading to my godchild’s birthday party!  Stevie and I are both excited that we don’t have to miss baby Dylan’s birthday party this year because last year we were in Houston!

Also, don’t forget about the PoBoy Sale for Stevie on September 19th, 2010!  If you are interested in buying any tickets or even willing to help sell some tickets please contact me soon!

And a HUGE thanks to Seacor Marine for everything they donated to help with the PoBoy Sale!  We are soooo grateful for it ALL!

Btw….Thanks Daddy! I love you!

Well I think that’s all I have for now, but I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend just as we plan to do!

Much love from our family to yours!!!

She also has a MRI scheduled on September 1st, so everyone PLEASE PLEASE pray that it will come back clear like last time AND remains CLEAR!!

I spoke with a dear friend last week that we met in Houston and her daughter was going through radiation at the same time as Stevie and she informed me about a precious little boy, Jack, that we had also met there who also had Medulloblastoma just like Stevie and after finishing his radiation and chemo, he was doing well, everything was clear and was in remission. They were off to Seattle for several months to visit family and while there he had a seizure……long story short he is now paralyzed from mid chest down and on hospice due to tumors in his spine. Keep in mind that he was standard risk and our princess is High risk so for me this hit home REALLY hard! I cried and cried like a baby because no matter how hard you try to stay positive and tell yourself that it will NEVER come back, there is still that thought in the back of your mind! Something NO parent should EVER have to live with!

So on to a more positive note……we went to the Games of Acadiana last Saturday and had a great time! The boys played ALL day! Thank you Miles Perret for all you do not only for our family but for all the families in our community that have the same needs as us!

About Stevie’s eye appointment, so before it was her left eye that had the weaker vision but now it is the right eye, which explains why she is always closing her right eye. He said that she is having double vision and so by closing the right eye it eliminates that! So with that being said she needs eye surgery after all her treatments. He will have to repair the muscles because only one eye muscle is working at a time. He said the surgery will be on a Thursday and will be good to go by the Monday!

And about Shawn….well he was offered a position, not exactly the one he was hoping for but hey it’s a start and a foot in the door! They are currently working on his background check and now he is patiently awaiting the call as to when he will start!! He is sooo ready!

OK now it’s time for me to go get ready her Stevie’s appt, so I hope all of you have a fabulous day and for those of you in Lafayette, I hope you all stay dry!

Much love from our family to yours!!