Lax of Love!

Local Lacrosse team adopts teammate with cancer. See their story below.

Kristin -- This is for your team...Can you forward?
Thank you for organizing the visit!!

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Granite Bay HS Women's La Crosse --


Wow! Thank you all for coming to the hospital on Tuesday! You were a great bunch! Having 20 people in the hospital could be chaotic – but it wasn’t at all! As I said on Annina’s CaringBridge web page, having you visit was like the beginning of our “end of chemo celebration!” LAST CHEMO this Saturday (and out on Tues)!! Whooohooooo!!

Before we even left the hospital, Annina looked at all things you brought – and started munching on the Rice Krispie treats! Your La Crosse ball is pretty cool! I’ve never seen one! We can tell you all have fun together – It was fun just to look at your photo! As soon as we got home on Tuesday, Annina put on her new GB shirt (fit perfectly), and ate the goodies that weren’t chocolate! (She WILL eat the chocolate treats after chemo next week!) Yes, she will be attending GB High even though we are just outside the boundaries!


I know it isn’t easy going to visit someone very sick (actually, Annina is not soooo sick any more since we are just about done with chemo)! We feel the same sadness when we are with other families in our situation – or read their CaringBridge pages. But, we all have our crosses to bear in this lifetime. You just keep moving forward, taking one day at a time, and learning what you can. Several times in my journal entries on CaringBridge I relay that Annina does not regret getting cancer – She would still say that now – despite what she has been through. It has opened up her eyes to many things – including what many kids regrettably experience. I’ve read about many others who share these sentiments – so it’s not totally unusual. Sounds strange, huh!

Here are a few links for you:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/anninahanlon - You probably already have this one. This is where I keep a journal of what is happening with Annina. It’s the only way I can keep everyone up to date! You can also post a message in the Guestbook. (Page, thanks for signing the Guestbook – I didn’t have your email to respond!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBjCM_YqZXw – This is Annina speaking for her orchestra’s fundraiser for the Sarcoma Foundation of America – She talks about her experience, and explains more about osteosarcoma and research (or lack thereof) for rare and pediatric cancers.

www.kidsarestars.com – Annina’s artwork is on greeting cards – Just search for the fundraiser for the Sarcoma Foundation of America. Other kids can add their artwork too. I am trying to get her peace sign design on t-shirts. Haven’t had time to finish that project yet!

www.walknrock.org – Walk 'n Rock for Kids -- This is the 5K walk I mentioned as you were leaving – May 30th. Should be a lot of fun -- music along the route, entertainment, activities, food, etc.! (Separate concert that night.) There are several Sacramento charities benefiting from this huge fundraiser. We will be walking for Okizu, which is a camp offered free of charge to kids with cancer and their siblings (and weekend family camps). www.okizu.org If you would like to join our team to raise money for Okizu, register online -- our team name is “Footprints for Okizu.” Or form your own team and raise money for one of the designated non-profits! (I think I have some forms, if you prefer to register that way!) Annina will have quite a bit of rehab to do before May 30th!! Shooting to be able to walk one mile by the end of March! Yikes!

www.curesarcoma.org – Good information about Sarcomas -- Sarcomas (cancers of the connective tissues) are often misdiagnosed – and sometimes thought to be just sports injuries.


http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_6X_Managing_Side_Effects.asp --- Describes what we were talking about -- how chemo kills fast growing cells -- both cancerous AND normal -- which is why your hair falls out and you can get mouth sores, among other things!

Thanks again for coming to visit! See you soon!


Roma