emmastrong....

• "WHEN FEAR KNOCKS, LET FAITH OPEN THE DOOR..."

  
  ....the following was written by Emmas Parents....
  
  

  On January 2nd our lives changed forever. 

  Our sweet little Emma was diagnosed

   with a brain tumor at 7 months old. 

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  It was devastating. 

  
  

  There were many times that we weren’t 

  sure how to go on or what to do next, 

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  -----

  but now seven months later we are Emma Strong 

  and have lots to be thankful for.....

  
  

  

  
  
  
  

  

  ...look how proud Aiden is of his sister! they just cannot get enough of eachother....

  
  

  In the past few months Emma has experienced more

   than we would have ever imagined.

   She has had surgery to remove 85%-90% of the tumor 
  at the Children's Hospital in Boston, 

  surgery to place a shunt and a port,

   and surgery to revise both the port and the shunt.

   She has also started chemotherapy to help slow (and hopefully stop) 

  the growth of the tumor. After completing now 
   20 weeks of her 63 week chemo regime,

   another trip to the Childrens Hospital in Boston this past week
   for a follow up MRI has the doctors tossing her current chemo regimine out.
  

  
  

  

  
    Wednesday's MRI, revealed
  

   what the doctors referred to as measurable growth.

   They estimated the tumor to have grown 5-6 millimeters 

  over the past 2 1/2 months. 

  One thing that the doctors found rare 

  was that the spots on her spine seemed to have shrunk a little, 

  so the chemo was working on those tumors but not in the brain. 

  Interesting, we know. 

  This tells them that the current chemotherapy regimen

   is not doing what we need it to, 

  because of this, the oncology doctors 

  at both Childrens Hospitals in Boston and in Omaha 

  will be talking in the next couple weeks to decide which path we will take. 

  
  
  
  
  Emma has been able to tolerate the current chemo regimine fairly well,

   she is just more tired and doesn’t eat as well

   the 1-2 days following the treatment.

   Because of the tumor and the surgery,

   Emma’s left side is weaker than her right side,

   which has made learning many skills such as crawling, 
  using both hands to play, and walking more difficult.

  
  

  
  

   Emma has just finishing a month stay at 
  Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln 
  to work on strengthening her left side, using her left hand more, 

  weight bearing, and walking.

   The stay at Madonna has been very good for her 

  and we have seen many gains in her strength and walking skills. 

  She is now taking steps when given support to help her balance,

   which is a fantastic accomplishment for her.

  
  

  -----------

  Although these last few months have been incredibly difficult 

  we have so much to be thankful for. 

  We have been overwhelmed by people’s generosity and support, 

  and have been blessed with amazing friends and family. 

  The support and acts of kindness that people have given to us

   have helped to give us the strength we need to be there for our kids. 

  We have lots to celebrate too.

   Emma is an incredible little girl who amazes us with her strength everyday!

   She turned one-year old at the end of May 

  and we felt so lucky to be able to celebrate this milestone with her 

  and our family and friends. 

  Our Emma is such a happy girl, and takes all of this in stride 

  and usually with a smile on her face. 

  She inspires us with her strength and happy personality. 

  Emma is a fighter. She is truly Emma Strong!

...soooo BIGGG!....

they are growing up so fast!

melts my heart that emma always seems to find aidens hand...

---------

LET THE CAKE SMASH BEGIN....

...when i did her last shoot in feburary, Emma was not wanting to eat a whole lot.....now 7 months later she didnt hesitate to dig right in! she knew all about this cake business!

and such a great share-er she is! i just love the way she looks up to aiden..

..."what's that? i cant hear you i have an ear full of goodness!" 

and in the park....we clean up the cake with baby wipes! 

a whole bag will do the trick...

love how she instantly snuggles right in on grandma...=priceless

and there is no better way to end a super awesome photo shoot 
than with a stop at the ice cream shop!

did i hear somebody say #EMMASTRONG?

 keep the prayers comming for me, 

im a fighter with a personality twice my size, 

and a family who loves me to the moon and back! 

thank you all for your support :)

ALSO....

All future profits generated by sales to Emma Strong will be used to help find a cure for pediatric brain cancers. 

Thank you for all you have done previously because without that support we wouldn’t be in this position, but now it is time to start ordering and donating again. With Team Jack winning the Espy award there is an opportunity to create even more of a movement towards finding cures to these terrible diseases. Wednesday's events made this decision even more important. The oncology doctor said that every single year they are coming out with new treatments and new drugs to be used in the fight against cancer. One of the treatments that we will very likely use next was designed in the past five years here in Boston. It is time to give them more support so they have the tools and staff necessary to win this fight. We have met way to many wonderful kids to let this go on any longer.

you can support the #EMMASTRONG movement by clicking on the link below.

#EMMASTRONG supporting the cure

PRAY.PRAY.PRAY.PRAY.PRAY.PRAY.PRAY.PRAY.EVERYDAY.