FOT Forum
The Best Show on WFMU => Show Discussion => Topic started by: Tom Scharpling on January 25, 2009, 09:47:53 PM
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http://www.goner-records.com/AnnaIvesAuctions/index.php?action=vtopic&forum=4
And seriously - only bid if you're gonna pay it!
Item Name:
Scharpling And Wurster Super Pack.
Description:
This item is an ultimate collectable set for a fan of Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster and the funny stuff they do on the radio. It consists of:
- The five officially released CDs: ROCK ROT AND RULE, CHAIN FIGHTS, NEW HOPE FOR THE APE EARED, HIPPY JUSTICE and THE ART OF THE SLAP, all SIGNED by Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster.
- The SUPER RARE and UNAVAILABLE CDs that were given out over the years for anyone who pledged to The Best Show On WFMU.
- A couple RARE and UNAVAILABLE alternate design shirts that we've done, including the THERE WILL BE GOMPS t-shirt and a DOGMO scarf, which has never been made available EVER! Three shirts and one scarf in total.
- And the biggie: Scharpling and Wurster will record an ALL NEW EXCLUSIVE BIT with the character of YOUR CHOICE, with the winning bidder being mentioned in the routine as much or as little as you choose! A compact disc of this recording will be given to ONLY the person who wins the auction, and it is at YOUR DISCRETION whether or not this bit is ever heard by anyone else ever. It can be your personal treasure that nobody hears, or you can put it online five minutes later. But THAT'S UP TO YOU if you win!
- Plus every sticker, pen, pencil, poster, button and chip clip we've got laying around! We will make this thing well worth your while.
Donor: Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster.
Value: Is there a price that can be put on this? Seriously?
Minimum Bid: $75.00
Thanks for participating in this and for doing the right thing.
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If I don't win this, I hope to make things very frustrating for whoever does.
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I love goner and charity and the best show. I would hate to have to spend time in the hut because I came after someone with my razor cane when they outbid me.
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Tom and Jon = Top notch all the way.
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That pack IS super, wow.
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Tom should offer to follow the winner on Twitter, just to put this thing over the top.
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Good point, Forrest. It's an honor to be followed by Mr. Tom Scharpling.
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I'm also auctioning a little treasure, so check it out.
http://www.goner-records.com/AnnaIvesAuctions/index.php?action=vthread&forum=4&topic=127&page=0#msg253
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We should just start congratulating Laurie now.
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I mean, thanking her for her tremendous display of generosity.
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I'm gonna win this thing even if I have to have my own benefit auction to do it. (which isn't to say I wouldn't pay up right away, cuz I would)
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That is an amazing prize pack! Is there any way to get a THERE WILL BE GOMPS t-shirt if I don't win?
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You're a class act, Mr. Scharpling (and Mr. Wurster - I didn't include him at first because I assume he doesn't read this board). Even though I can't help out with a bid (financial troubles and all), I salute you for this.
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tom and jon are truly two kind souls and have proven what class acts they are by going above and beyond to raise money for this very worthwhile cause. it really warms my heart to see people pull together to help out people in their time of need. if you can't bid (which i doubt most of us can) - PLEASE chip in whatever you can in the form of a donation to help these folks out.
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We should just start congratulating Laurie now.
...not so much. I'll be fine with that naughty pilates DVD.
Seriously, though, everyone give what you can.
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'tron is not kidding around.
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There's a link at the top of the auction page, but I urge everyone to read this article (http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jan/22/concert-to-aid-anna-4/) if you haven't done so already. My heart goes out to the Ives family.
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I really want to pull the ultimate dick move and bid $1001, Price is Right-style.
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One dollar, Bob.
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http://www.goner-records.com/AnnaIvesAuctions/index.php?action=vtopic&forum=4
- A couple RARE and UNAVAILABLE alternate design shirts that we've done, including the THERE WILL BE GOMPS t-shirt and a DOGMO scarf, which has never been made available EVER! Three shirts and one scarf in total.
There Will Be Gomps t-shirt? Was a non-alternative design version available? Was this in lieu of the Get Ready to Meet my Little Friend from last years fun pack?
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http://www.goner-records.com/AnnaIvesAuctions/index.php?action=vtopic&forum=4
- A couple RARE and UNAVAILABLE alternate design shirts that we've done, including the THERE WILL BE GOMPS t-shirt and a DOGMO scarf, which has never been made available EVER! Three shirts and one scarf in total.
There Will Be Gomps t-shirt? Was a non-alternative design version available? Was this in lieu of the Get Ready to Meet my Little Friend from last years fun pack?
The TWBG shirts were done as a small run for the 2008 Marathon volunteers. DJ Terre T, who hosts The Cherry Blossom Clinic on Saturdays from 3 to 6 p.m., is wearing one in this image (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdalton/2323855087/sizes/o/in/set-72157604085366250/).
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Alright, my guitar hasn't been moving like I thought it would, and I won't let this fall on it's face when there is a sick little girl on the line. I cannot emphasize enough how serious I am. So here is my new auction.
I will brand you. You heard me. Like The Pro's.
http://www.goner-records.com/AnnaIvesAuctions/index.php?action=vthread&forum=5&topic=204
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Pretty super duper. And what a cause, seriously. Gosh, okay, darnit, now I'm going to have to retool my annual budget. I will bid well on this.
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Alright, my guitar hasn't been moving like I thought it would...
Nuts to that, Spoony! I think people are just watching and waiting as E-bay folk do. So I went ahead and put in the first bid.
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I really want to pull the ultimate dick move and bid $1001, Price is Right-style.
Someone did it for you.
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I really want to pull the ultimate dick move and bid $1001, Price is Right-style.
Someone did it for you.
What a dick.
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I really want to pull the ultimate dick move and bid $1001, Price is Right-style.
Someone did it for you.
What a dick.
Now go for $1002!
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Shit, I'd bid 5 grand if I had 5,100 dollars in the bank. But alas, my first bid was my maximum possible bid, so I'm out.
This is really a wonderful thing Tom and Jon are doing for this family. I hope whoever wins has a really funny name and posts their custom Scharpling/Wurster here so we can all listen to it.
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I hope whoever wins has a really funny name and posts their custom Scharpling/Wurster here so we can all listen to it.
I think I might fit the funny name qualification, but I'm scared that my annual bonus might not arrive in time to make this happen. My sights are now set on Spoony's offering.
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I hope whoever wins has a really funny name and posts their custom Scharpling/Wurster here so we can all listen to it.
I agree. I also hope they choose Zeph as the character in their bit, but that's just me. I'm not the one throwing the money down, so I guess I shouldn't have said anything. How dare me.
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I also hope they choose Zeph as the character in their bit,
Seconded as hard as it is possible to second.
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apologies for posting a separate thread on this before. i usually pay attention, but...apparently not.
here's the link to all the items: http://www.goner-records.com/AnnaIvesAuctions/
Goner is a great store (one of the reasons i moved to memphis) and theyre hard working people. ive been posting this everywhere and have seen it everywhere- very awesome and very special. keep it up!
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This auction is enlightening us to which FOTs are also CEO's.
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This auction is enlightening us to which FOTs are also CEO's.
Hey, this isn't class warfare. This is for sick kids!
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This auction is enlightening us to which FOTs have halfway decent jobs
Fixed.
that's hardly CEO money being thrown around. I'd say it's not even middle manager yet.
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either way, i wanted the pack and was going to throw in my WFMU marathon money until jay reatard threw out the singles. no thanks.
but im excited that S&W seem to be bringing in the most bids (so far...and in one category) for Anna. this is exciting. come on down!
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Whether I win or lose the stuff I'm bidding on, little Anna's getting some money from me. That article really brought a tear to my eye.
It's nice to see all different sorts of people pitching in on the auctions.
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yeah, i don't have enough money to bid but I gave what i could directly with the paypal thing
hope she pulls through
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i have confidence in Anna. she's tough and has been winning the heart of memphis for a while.
dont forget to post the link to the auction on your personal sites: myspace, facebook, twitter, blogs, etc. encourage everyone to give (or at least give a shit). the entire community is pulling together for this one, let's make it national.
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$1000 is almost a whole day's work for us working stiffs.
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other than spreading the word, i dont have the financial chops for some of the bid wars going on at the Anna Ives Auction, but i did find that Anna has a CarePage: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Anna_Ives
...i was unsure if people were aware of this. Zac is updating it, giving everyone progress reports on Anna. inspirational stuff, people. tell your friends.
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Can't swing the Scharpling/Wurster item, much as I'd love to, but I'm glad it'll bring in a decent amount of funds for this little girl. I have a baby daughter and I can't even bring myself to think about a situation like this.
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Tomorrow's the last day so get your bids in.
I'm making cookies
http://www.goner-records.com/AnnaIvesAuctions/index.php?action=vthread&forum=13&topic=112
My wife Stef made this awesome quilt (specifically for the auction)
http://www.goner-records.com/AnnaIvesAuctions/index.php?action=vthread&forum=13&topic=101
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here's an update on Anna: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Anna_Ives/updates/1954857?client_code=lebonheur&ipc=mur
PS dale, awesome quilt!
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It is a pretty awesome quilt and will keep someone toasty warm. C'mon people! BID! Today is the last day. Bidding ends at 6pm.
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Can we get the winner to agree to release the special Scharpling/Wurster piece to the public only if the other FOTs pool together to match the winning bid?
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It is a pretty awesome quilt and will keep someone toasty warm. C'mon people! BID! Today is the last day. Bidding ends at 6pm.
Wow. I love it.
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Only a couple of hours left to bid folks (Auction ends at 8pm Central time)
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I think I won Squirrel Lunch #1!
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It is a pretty awesome quilt and will keep someone toasty warm. C'mon people! BID! Today is the last day. Bidding ends at 6pm.
Wow. I love it.
Dale, I took my eye off the thing and got outbid for that quilt. But well done to you and your wife. It looks amazing.
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Can we get the winner to agree to release the special Scharpling/Wurster piece to the public only if the other FOTs pool together to match the winning bid?
This is a great idea, Brian. I think a pooled donation from the FOT would be very nice. I'm sure a lot have already donated (from reading this thread) but I bet there's a bunch who haven't (me included) and if it were like 10$ or 15$ each, I think we could reach that 1800 pretty easily.
plus, I think this kind of thing will only happen if one of us takes the reigns on it, so email me here dan @ saidthegramophone.com and we can talk about how to present this to everyone. If I dont' hear from you in the next couple of days I'll just get started on it.
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Brian and Danny , I would absolutely be in on that action.
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Danny, this might be your dance. I just don't have the organization skill to make that work. I'm an ideas man, y'see. But I'd certainly chip in.
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okay, I attempted to contact Sean, but no response yet. I was only able to send a message through the auction forums, so if anyone knows Sean Tuell or has a better email address, and you think it wouldn't be out of line to give it to me, send me a message dan @ saidthegramophone.com
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I just don't have the organization skill to make that work.
I think this site: http://www.thepoint.com (http://www.thepoint.com) would be the perfect tool for organizing this and I'd gladly pitch in.
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I was at the benefit show for Anna in Memphis last week and it was just fantastic. One of the most positive feeling events I've ever attended. It felt like the whole city came out to show their support---not to mention the fact that the music was outasight.
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I was at the benefit show for Anna in Memphis last week and it was just fantastic. One of the most positive feeling events I've ever attended. It felt like the whole city came out to show their support---not to mention the fact that the music was outasight.
That's great! How was the attendance?
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another update from zac on anna: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Anna_Ives/updates/1969487?client_code=lebonheur&ipc=mur
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http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Anna_Ives/updates/1972911
A Good New Start
Posted 3 hours ago
Well - we don't want to jinx anything, but we're happy to report that our first day with sedation went really smoothly. Anna was a little anxious about getting her port accessed - but she settled down quickly and it was smooth sailing after that. Much nicer to hold her as she goes to sleep rather than be pulled out as they are fitting her mask on and strapping her down to the bed, that's for sure! Evidently everything lined up perfectly with her under sedation - and she woke up all smiles about a half hour later. We ate lunch and got back to Waltham early - it was nice!
Also very nice to drop off Aron at Grandma's place this morning. We know he appreciated a break from the hospital waiting room and some TLC from Grandma. Then Anna stayed with her after we got back from the hospital and they played paper dolls all afternoon. Really a great day all around - hopefully we have a week full of them.
We're taking the subway to the hospital today and Anna's excited about riding the train again!
We are also looking forward to moving closer to the hospital into Christopher's Haven on Friday. So we now have an address - here goes:
One Emerson Place
Apartment 2-J
Boston, MA 02114
Take care everybody.
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Oh wow, I didn't realize this was so close to me. I work in Waltham and live just outside Boston. Not sure how to contact the family but I feel like I should offer any sort of help if they need it regarding anything at all...I know it's a sensitive issue and I'm sure they don't want to get outsiders involved but the offer is on the table.
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How bout we just try to match the donation and hope the mp3 comes to us on the wave of karma. we only need 120 people to donate 15 bucks. And those of us who can do better will.
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'tron is not kidding around.
Apparently I was! It slipped my mind ever so briefly. The special bit was gonna be tailored for my wife for our anniversary. I really hated myself for an hour after, but ultimately I was happy to help get the amount so high, anyway.
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a Valentine's update: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Anna_Ives/updates/1985201?client_code=lebonheur&ipc=mur
Happy (Late) Valentine's Day
Posted 12 hours ago
Hey everyone - hope you had a nice holiday weekend! Anna's been making valentine's cards this past week and happily handing them out to everyone - it's been great.
On the whole this has been a good week. We got through the first full week of treatments with anesthesia without any real serious trouble. And it made everything so much easier to have Grandma Darla in town to help.
The process with sedation is much better than without. Anna goes back a little earlier each day and does a little checkup with Nurse Rachel. Then she goes in with one of us and gets her sleepy medicine while we are holding her. We have a pretty good routine in place now. She wakes up in recovery about an hour later, eats some crackers, reads 'If You Give a Moose a Muffin' with us and then we leave for the day.
However, her appetite has been decreasing (which evidently is normal) and she's showing signs of fatigue at this point. She also got sick a couple of times this week - which could be because of the radiation, or the anesthesia, or more of a secondary thing. We got some anti-nausea medicine to give her as needed. She doesn't seem to feel bad after getting sick... And she didn't get sick at all yesterday - so we'll see how it goes next week.
We moved into our apartment on Friday. Pretty exciting. Nice to be downtown and just a short walk to her treatments. We have a great view of the Charles River and Cambridge from here.
Grandma Darla watched the kids Saturday night - so we walked over to the North End and found a little Italian joint to eat dinner on Valentine's Day. And we were able to get out on Sunday to catch a movie. Having my mom in really let us relax a bit - it was really nice. We needed it.
Hope everyone has a nice week. We've got lots of pictures to upload - we'll try and get them up tomorrow.
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an update with photos!
A great week!
Hey all -
Anna had a great week last week. Great appetite, no nausea... so it appears as though she might have just had a virus the week before. Aron wound up with similar symptoms last week as well, but he shook it off pretty quickly.
We've gotten into a nice routine here at the new place. Anna gets really excited about checking the mail downstairs with a key, doing laundry in the basement, chatting with the doorman, riding on the subway and taking a taxi.
So on the whole - Anna's doing great. Although one new symptom has developed: her skin on her forehead and the bridge of her nose (where she is getting treatment) is starting to get red and itchy. So we are starting to put some special lotions on her forehead and under her eyes, which should help. They did warn us this was a possibility, but it doesn't seem to be causing her too much discomfort yet so that's good.
We had another good weekend, too... Christopher's Haven set us up with tickets for Disney on Ice, which I took her to on Saturday... and then Amy took her to the Magic Treehouse Musical at the Colonial Theatre on Sunday and they had a great time.
Got back into the treatment routine today - and the port access went more smoothly than ever... despite the fact that I forgot to apply the numbing cream before we went in... somehow it seemed to actually help, Anna wasn't thinking about it as much this time, and Rachel had the line in before she could get upset about it. I wish all my screw-ups turned out this well.
We really appreciate everyone thinking about us - the support you give us helps on so many levels. Thanks a lot.
We finally loaded some new pictures up covering some highlights from the past couple of weeks. Sorry it's taken so long to post them.
Good night - have a good week.
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hello, everyone. i hope no one minds that ive been updating on Anna Ives; here is the latest:
Getting closer
So we are now less than three weeks away from finishing treatment and coming home. Pretty exciting!
Anna had another great week last week, and we are already halfway through this week. Her weight is holding steady and she's knocking out her treatments just fine. She always looks forward to Fridays - when she gets her "tubey" out and gets to pick out toys for herself and Aron. Monday's not the best day - since they access the port - and she was a little worried about it this week - but she did just fine, yet again.
We heard about the snow in Memphis... crazy! We'd like to apologize to all our neighbors from whom we stole winter clothes - sorry, umm, we hope you're staying warm?!
It snowed again here Sunday and Monday, but total accumulation wasn't too bad. What's been bad is the big wind off the Charles River combined with the cold. It was a windy 8 degrees early this morning. We are extra glad to be so close to the hospital now - so that we don't have to commute through this mess.
Amy got us set up at the MGH gym this week - in an attempt to keep us from getting in any worse shape and to help with our cabin fever. It's actually been really nice to go and take a little exercise break - I think we both feel a bit better since we started. And Anna and I got to swim in the indoor pool Sunday during Family Swim Day - she loved it! We'll get new pics up this week.
Anna palled around with another proton patient John (and his sister Katie) a bunch the last two weeks. They're staying just down the hall from us in another apartment that's part of Christopher's Haven. It's been nice to see her playing with other kids.
We also got together with our friend Margaret and her son Harlan a couple of times this week, and Margaret even watched the kids Sunday night for a couple of hours so Amy and I could take a break and get out for dinner... it was nice.
We also got together with Grampy, Aunt Peg, Uncle Dana and Uncle Joe for dinner Saturday night - it was great. Once again, we realized how lucky we are to be in a place where we have the support of family. It makes such a difference.
Family has been on our minds this week, too, as my grandmother passed away. We wished we could have been there to support my mom and family and pay our respects... but unfortunately it wasn't in the cards. We wrote up some thoughts and they were passed along during the service on Monday, so I'd like to think we played a small role. She will be missed.
Take care everyone... can't wait to get home.
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I don't mind, thanks for the updates
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The end is in sight
Alright - here we are - just five treatments left for Anna! Last week was smooth sailing - and we had great weather over the weekend - so we tried to make the most of it. On Friday we went to the Children's Museum with Anna's friend John and his brother Andrew. It was giant, and the kids loved it. Lots of great activities... they went nuts.
Saturday - Anna and I went over to the park near our apartment and played a bunch. Then we all walked over to the North End (Italian district here), and grabbed pizza and cannoli. Then we got together with Grampy and crew in Waltham for dinner... we've been really enjoying Saturday evening family dinners.
I got out and saw some friends from Atlanta that were playing in town on Saturday night (Gentleman Jessie and the Black Lips)... it was nice to hang out with Joe C, Amy S and lots more Boston Goners, and great to catch up with ATL pals Jessie and Dave.
Sunday - more park time... then we took a trip in to Chinatown for lunch, and got over to the Contemporary Arts Institute to check out the Shephard Fairey exhibit. Great stuff.
Monday morning we got back to the routine - Anna was not excited about having her port accessed... but we got through it OK. She and John played all afternoon - and Amy and I got out for dinner together (thanks Robin!)... it was nice.
Finally got some more pics up this morning too.
Looking forward to Dabadoo (Amy's dad) arriving Saturday. He'll spend the last week with us and fly back with Amy to help with the kids. Our friend Josh is going to fly up next Friday to make the drive back with me. We can't wait to get home.
Hope everyone's having a good week.
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Last treatment tomorrow!
We had a really nice weekend. Our Waltham family and the Peggy McGlone dance studio crew put together a big St. Patrick's Day party for Anna on Sunday - which was lots of fun. Anna's friend from her daycare days at FLICC, Kayleigh Carson, was able to come in from Connecticut, and Margaret brought Harlan, so the three of them bounced around the room all afternoon. Dabadoo made it to Boston just fine and in time for the party. It will be nice to know he'll be there to help Amy get the kids back home safely on the plane.
Well we are here at last - Anna's last treatment is tomorrow. There is a tradition of ringing a bell in the reception area when a patient has completed their treatments - and Anna's excited about it. We've talked to Anna's school, and they will be ringing the school bell along with Anna when she's done with tomorrow's treatment... we saw another girl do something similar a few weeks ago and it was really special.
One thing that is nice about the small size of the children's treatment program here in Boston is that it almost forces interaction between the kids and parents... which i think is a good thing. It's scary for everyone when you first arrive to start treatment - but once you get into a routine and know what to expect - it gets better. We had great help from Cameron and his mom when we arrived, and now that we are close to leaving, we have been able to help other families get through tough times in the past couple of weeks. It feels good to play a role... I think Anna's enjoyed helping the new kids too.
It's been a long couple of months. We are so proud of Anna for staying strong and toughing it out. We feel lucky to have found our way here to MGH, with this team. We are hopeful that we have closed this chapter in Anna's life - and that she will ultimately be a stronger person for getting through it.
We'll put a recap and pictures from tomorrow up soon. Goodnight everybody!
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Awesome!!! Thanks for keeping us posted, Baron!
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i know...isn't it fantastic?!
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*admittedly, yes, i cried. please read:
Ringing the bell
(Posted 2 hours ago)
She did it!
Anna's last treatment was Wednesday - we are all done!
They made the whole thing very special - she had some great surprises when she went back. One of the best things was a butterfly mobile that Anna worked on last week with the art therapist, Stefanie. Stefanie had the technicians, other patients, nurses and even Amy and me create butterflies too - so in the end she has this very special hand-made keepsake from her time here.
After treatment was over - we called the school. All her classmates went outside and they rang the school bell and cheered her on! The sound filled up the reception area through the speaker on the cell phone. It was great! Then we rang the bell and took some pictures. I've posted a few.
Feels great to be on the other side of this, although I don't think it will truly sink in until we get home. We're packing today, I'm glad that Josh is coming up to do the drive with me.
We'd like to say it one more time - the support from our family and friends (new and old) has meant so much to us. We couldn't have done this without you. We can't wait to get back home and into the swing of things.
Hope to see everyone soon.
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Home
Wanted to get a quick update in this morning.
We all made it back home safely this weekend. Amy, her dad and the kids flew in on Saturday - and were greeted at the airport by a welcome crew of friends and neighbors! amazing! Check out the pictures (thanks for sending, Leah!).
Josh flew up to make the drive with me - it was really nice to have a pal for the ride. We split it over two days - and got in late Sunday afternoon.
I can't tell you how great it feels to be home.
We're looking forward to seeing everyone, catching up on rest, unpacking and getting back into a routine.
Have a good week, everybody!
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This last picture almost made me cry.
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an update from zach ives:
Anna is 5 today!
Hooray!
Sorry the updates have started coming more infrequently. But it's nice not to have much to report for a change! Anna could not be doing any better. We got her a "big girl" bike with training wheels for her birthday - and gave it to her on Saturday. She's basically been on it all the time since then complete with a cool pink helmet from Dabadoo and Nana! She had a small party at the bowling alley which was a lot of fun. And she made some paper flowers with Grandma for Amy for Mothers Day - it was really nice. It's been a great weekend.
Our super hero neighbors threw us a great big welcome home bash a couple weeks back - and it was a blast! And our friends at Le Bonheur also had a welcome home party for us with a pink theme that Anna loved – pink cupcakes, pink icing, pink lemonade…you name it, it was pink. Nurse Tracy even showed up wearing a pink shirt and matching pink shoes! We feel so lucky to have such a strong support network. We've got a few new pics up from the parties - more coming.
At the end of this month (May 26) we've got our first follow-up MRI at St. Jude - along with meetings with Dr. Kun and Dr. Gajjar, and Dr. Boop a couple days later. Dr. Liebsch wanted a 3-6 month wait before we took an MRI - but St. Jude wanted to do it sooner (and we do too). Hopefully we'll have some clean scans to share at the end of the month. Once we get that hurdle behind us, we can make arrangements to get her port removed this summer.
Good night.
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Goodness, she was only 4 years old going through all of that?
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Happy Birthday Anna! I Hope you had an awesome 5th birthday party. You are truly the wind beneath my wings. Thank you Tom & the good BaronVonTito for sharing Anna's story with all of us & for fighting the good fight.
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More great news:
"Our family would like to say a big thank you to everyone who participated in the Anna vs. Cancer auctions and other fund raisers that have taken place in Memphis and elsewhere. We have been completely blown away by the support we've received. Friends, family and strangers alike have all contributed in wonderfully creative ways to help us out. And that makes us feel really honored, humbled and proud of our extended community. We're a part of something pretty special here in Memphis and at Goner.
I'm happy to report that Anna finished her radiation treatments in March - and we are now home and trying to get back into our normal routine. Her side effects have been minimal - some skin irritation on her forehead that has pretty much gone away now, and some minor hair loss, facial swelling and fatigue - but nothing that keeps her down. If you didn't know what she's been through - you'd never notice any difference.
Now that she's completed this round of radiation following successful surgery last October, the doctors feel like Anna has a very good chance of never having to deal with this again. We'll continue to monitor it at St. Jude with quarterly MRIs starting next week. We will continue to update her care page (http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Anna_Ives) to let everyone know how we are doing.
We consider ourselves very fortunate. Because of our strong support network, flexible workplaces, and some amazing people at Le Bonheur, St. Jude and MGH, we've gotten through this pretty well so far. Many people dealing with similar situations are not as lucky. So our plan is to continue the Anna vs. Cancer Fund, and help the hospitals that have helped us, and also help individual families that don't have the resources that we were able to tap into. We hope to start this new direction for the fund in the fall which we hope will culminate in another auction in early 2010. We'll make announcements as plans fall into place.
Please let us know if you want to be a part of this going forward. We are looking forward to putting this together and building on the momentum this started from. It's a powerful thing. And it can help lots of others just like it helped us.
Thanks everyone.
Zac, Amy, Aron and Anna Ives"
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Anna_Ives (http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Anna_Ives)
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Now that she's completed this round of radiation following successful surgery last October, the doctors feel like Anna has a very good chance of never having to deal with this again.
that's awesome
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A Good Checkup
Hey all - good news to share tonight. Anna had her first post-treatment scan at St. Jude today - and they said everything looked great.
Anna was a trooper this morning. It helped to have our good friend and across-the-street super neighbor Josh accessing her port and taking labs... He really helped her calm herself down. We were really proud of how well she handled it. The rest of the day was a long series of waiting rooms and appointments... it's a busy place and nothing really ever happens on time.
But around 4 we finally saw Dr. Kun and he was able to tell us the good news - the scan looked great. They didn't even see any internal swelling or anything from the radiation... everyone seemed to think she's doing wonderfully.
This was our first chance to talk with Dr. Kun at St. Jude about our experience at the Proton Center at Mass General - so it was nice to tell him about their great program. It was Dr. Kun who steered us to Boston for the proton treatment in the first place.
We'll go over and see Dr. Boop on Thursday - and hopefully get to see the scans ourselves. It does look like we will keep Anna's port in this summer - evidently the risk of infection is lower than we thought - so we'll just flush it monthly and we'll have easier access for the next couple of checkups.
Alright - thanks again for the support everyone.
Good night!o
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another update:
Back to School
Hey all! Sorry it's been a while. We thought we'd get a quick update out to everyone tonight.
We've had a great summer. We took a trip with our friends the Phillips to Naples, Florida in June - our first family beach vacation! It was an amazing time.
Anna and I also went to Oklahoma for a weekend - she was excited about seeing the new colts at Aunt Marti and Uncle Tom's and having dinner with Grandma Lee in Tulsa. Another highlight for her was a trip to Frontier City, an OKC amusement park where I worked while I was in high school. Ah, the memories.
Now we are back in school. Anna just got through her first week as a "recess kid" in her primary class at Maria Montessori School... she's now one of the older kids in class (it's primarily 3-6 year-olds) and she's really enjoying the afternoon session of outside playing and doing "more work after recess."
Aron turned one this summer - and he's now walking around and into everything. It's great! He's still doing two days a week at mother's day out and just moved up to the toddler room.
We celebrated the return to school with a neighborhood 'back to school' party across the street at the Murphy's house - I've posted a couple of pictures. It was a blast.
Work's been busy and good for both Amy and me. We've gotten into a pretty good routine over the summer. It's a huge help to have my mom here doing after school pickups and spending days with Aron - and the kids just love her... It's really so nice.
This week Anna has another checkup. Tomorrow and Wednesday we'll be over at St. Jude for lab work, clinic visits and an MRI.
We'll report back on Wednesday evening - I know we'll have a lot of people sending good thoughts and prayers... and we really appreciate them!
Talk with you soon.
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Results tomorrow
Hey all - just a quick note... we are back home and getting ready to sit down to dinner. It was a long day - and Anna did really well. Anna's scans did not get read today - evidently there has been a backlog most of the summer - and this happens more now than it used to. Anyway, we'll have to wait until the morning to get the results.
We'll fill you in tomorrow wants we get the scans.
Have a good night.
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In the end - good news
Well - it's been a long three days of waiting, testing, scanning, consulting and scheduling.
So Anna's MRI results this time around were more complicated than normal. This is understandable - Anna had an obscure tumor in an atypical place - and we had proton radiation treatment, rather than the more typical photon treatment - so there are many variables. We also have a team of doctors that stretches to the East Coast... so getting everyone's heads together isn't always easy.
We are also evidently in a key window following radiation treatment (we didn't really know this going in) but often the radiation causes changes over a period of time that can make reading the MRI more difficult as well.
Ultimately the news was good - while there are a couple of small changes in her scan - they are the kind of changes that are almost always temporary and related to radiation therapy, rather than new tumor growth. My understanding is that they will most likely just disappear on their own over the next several months.
It's hard to be sure about anything - and the news has arrived in little bits throughout the day. But ultimately after talking with doctors this afternoon - we feel much, much better. They are also sending the scans up to Dr. Liebsch in Boston - and so we'll know even more about it (especially how these changes relate to proton therapy) next week.
Once again - I must reiterate how much it helps to have a great support and medical team that truly cares about us to help us get through this sort of thing! And in the end - getting good news is all that matters. We'll take that every time - no matter how long it takes.
I'll send over another update after we hear back from Boston next week.
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No more button!
originally Posted Nov 20, 2009 1:18pm
So just a quick follow-up email today... it's been a good week! We got clearance from Anna's team to go ahead and get her port removed. Anna and I went over to St. Jude for pre-op and her final access on Monday morning - then Amy and I took her back in on Tuesday for a quick surgery to get it taken out. Everything went smoothly and she woke up feeling good... happy and proud that her button was gone! No more monthly port accesses, which never really got any easier as we went along. So now she'll just need a normal IV put in once every three months or so when we go in for MRIs. Hopefully a three month break from sticks of any kind will make her a bit less anxious the next time we have to do it (although I'm sure that's just wishful thinking).
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Winter Checkup tomorrow
originally posted Jan 12, 2010 12:16pm
Happy new year everyone!
We had a great holiday season... we stayed in Memphis for Thanksgiving and Christmas for the first time - and while we missed seeing so many friends and family, it was nice to have a relaxing holiday.
Wanted to drop a quick note to let everyone know we are headed back in for a checkup at St. Jude tomorrow. This will be Anna's first scan without her port - so we're not real sure how she will do getting her IV. It might be a little tough. But once we get through that, everything should be pretty easy. Dr. Gajjar will be out tomorrow - so we are hoping we can catch up with Dr. Kun to get a preliminary scan reading before we leave in the afternoon... it's so hard to wait overnight for results.
Also - we've got some friends who will be going through some big stuff next week. Although Connecticut is home, Ian Hayward and Tamiko Toland and their kids Aiden (who is a classmate of Anna's at MMS) and Colin, have been here in Memphis for several months while Colin goes through a chemotherapy program at St. Jude. Colin is fighting a brain tumor called an anaplastic ependymoma, and Dr. Boop will be going in to remove some remaining tumor tissue next week at LeBonheur. The surgery is tentatively scheduled for next Friday. We'll be sending big love their way - hope you can too.
You can find out more about Colin here:
http://www.colinlovestractors.com/
We'll pass along our scan results as soon as we can. Thanks so much for all the positive thoughts. Take care everybody.
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Prelim = Clean
originally posted Jan 13, 2010 8:28pm
It's been a long day - but I just got off the phone with Dr. Kun and the preliminary report on Anna's MRI is that they look great. We are very relieved. We'll meet with Dr. Gajjar tomorrow for a clinic visit - and I'll write up a more detailed report tomorrow or Friday. Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and love. We feel them.
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Clean Scan Confirmed
originally posted Jan 15, 2010 10:37am
We went over to St. Jude yesterday and had a chance to look at the scans ourselves... Dr. Gajjar confirmed Dr. Kun's preliminary report on Anna's scans. Everything looks good. There is no new tumor growing - and the changes they had noticed in the last two scans have not changed any more - which further confirms that these were related to the radiation treatment rather than new tumor growth. So it was a good visit - and we can breath easy for another 3 months.
We are going to go in for an eye exam next month - along with an endocrine appointment. All of these are normal follow-ups... I'll post an update after we have those visits.
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cool