Hope for Samantha

2007-10-09T07:42:00.000-04:00

October 9, 2007

Happy Birthday Samantha

Eight years ago today was one of the happiest days of our lives. Having a 22 month old boy at home and giving birth on this day to a beautiful HEALTHY baby girl had completed our little family (or so we thought). During my pregnancy, I used my “in” at the hospital I worked at and had a second sonogram done to confirm in fact that I was carrying a little girl. I just couldn’t believe that I was so fortunate to have one of each. It was all to perfect and so was she. The day she was born many tears were shed in aw of her beauty. As she grew, we all learned how deep her beauty truly was. She was an amazing little girl. Everybody who came in contact with her commented on What a Beautiful child she was. The kind of beauty that runs deep within the soul. She touched many lives in 7 years and she will be deeply missed, forever loved, and never forgotten.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA MARIE, words can never express how much we miss you sweetie!
All Our Love, Hugs & Millions of Kisses,
Mommy, Daddy, Christopher, Jason, & Hershey (your Persy too!)

2007-09-24T11:58:00.000-04:00

These rainbows were over our house on the day of Jason's 1st birthday. We of course took it as a Happy Birthday wish for him from his big sister and a hello to Christopher. It was so beautiful.

2007-09-23T19:35:00.000-04:00

I read this poem on another little girl's website and it touched my heart so much I wanted to share it. I know Samantha is with us but to see her and hold her or hear her voice is an overwhelming feeling of the incredible loss we are suffering with..

Letter From Heaven
To my dearest family, some things I’d like to say.
But first of all, to let you know, that I arrived okay.
I’m writing this from heaven. Here I dwell with God above.
Here, there are no more tears of sadness; here is just eternal love.
Please do not be unhappy just because I’m out of sight.
Remember that I am with you every morning, noon and night.
That day I had to leave you when my life on earth was through.
God picked me up and hugged me and he said, “I welcome you.
It’s good to have you back again, you were missed while
You were gone. As for your dearest family, they’ll be here later on.
There’s so much that we have to do, to help our mortal man.”
God gave me a list of things that he wished for me to do.
And foremost on the list, was to watch and care for you.
And when you lie in bed at night, the day’s chores put to flight.
God and I are closest to you…in the middle of the night.
When you think of my life on earth, and all those loving years,
Because you are only human, they are bound to bring you tears.
But do not be afraid to cry; it does relieve the pain. Remember
There would be no flowers, unless there was some rain.
I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned.
If I were to tell you, you wouldn’t understand.
But one thing is for certain, though my life on earth is o’er.
I’m closer to you now, than I ever was before.
There are many rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb;
But together we can do it by taking one day at a time.
It was always my philosophy and I’d like it for you too;
That as you give unto the world, the world will give to you.
When you’re walking down the street and you’ve got Me on
Your mind; I’m walking in your footsteps only half a step behind.
And when it’s time for you to go…from that body to be free.
Remember you’re not going…you’re coming here to Me.
Author: Richard Mahaffey

2007-09-19T07:13:00.000-04:00

September 19, 2007

One year ago today, for the first time we were the parents of three beautiful children. Although we were struggling and fighting for Samantha’s life we were all able to find some happiness that day… Happy 1st Birthday Jason.

Now we begin our 7th month without Samantha. Every day is a new challenge. Things will never be the same for us and dealing with the finality of Samantha passing is very difficult. Most days it is still unbelievable. Missing her and wanting to hold her again, hear the sound of her voice, or smell the scent of her hair will be with us for the rest of our lives. The feelings are overwhelming and impossible to put into words.

We were looking forward to school starting thinking it would help all of us. In some ways it has but it is hard for us as parents to drop off one child when it should be two. To see Samantha’s classmates coming and going full of life is also difficult. She should be there laughing, learning and growing with them. Christopher is facing his own struggles with that as well, which continues to tear at our hearts. We are working through it the best we can.

On the other hand his activities have gotten us out more. Being around people again is helpful. I think, in my case anyway, it has sparked a little life back up inside me and has made me want to do more. Over the past few weeks I have found myself actually doing things I have been talking about doing for a while. That to me is a big step and I am glad to finally be taking it. I don’t know if it will last or for how long but for the moment I feel a little better. Kurt’s work is picking up which has made him feel better too. Let’s hope that continues.

On September 24th Chillis Restaurants nationwide will donate 100% of it's profits to St. Jude Childrens Reasearch Hospital. It is an easy way to help in the fight against childhood cancer and enjoy a good meal. Please check out your local Chilli's to see if they are participants.

We are still working on the website for the Memorial Fund and it is coming along slowly. We hope to have it up and running soon.

We, as always, are grateful to all of you who continue to reach out to us and give us strength.

Happy Birthday Jason, you have brought so much joy to your family little guy.
Samantha you are deeply missed. We love you sweetie.

Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason

2007-08-19T10:11:00.000-04:00

August 19, 2007

It is so hard to believe we have lived without Samantha for 6 months. I find myself still saying how could this have happened. I don't know how many times I will have to say it for it to make any sense, most likely it never will, how could it. All I know is I MISS and WANT my daughter. She was such an inspiration to all of us. We are all in some what of a rutt. We love each other and try so hard to make the best of our days but the point is that we have to try. It should be a natural thing to wake up and enjoy our days together and you would think after what we have just been through we would make every minute count. Some how it does not work like that. There is a lot of time spent feeling sad, lonely, angry, empty, and just plain disgusted.
Everything we do, especially for/with Christopher (as Jason is still to young to know) seems to be depressing. Nothing will ever be the same, especially for him. We can never fix the hole Samantha's passing has left in his soul. It tears at our hearts that again we can not help our child. It just isn't supposed to be this way.

We are hoping that the start of the new school year will be up lifting forChristopher and a distraction for all of us. We look forward to watching him playing baseball again and doing the things a kid his age should be doing. I think it will help all of us in one way or another. I know for myself I have been somewhat anti-social and this will kind of give me a push out the door. For Kurt, the involvement of helping coach the baseball team will be good. I think he will find enjoyment there as he has in the past. As for Jason, he is such a happy little guy where ever we are so that's not an issue.

We are still waiting for the Memorial Fund website to be finished, it is in the process of being built now and I will post the information as soon as I have it.
As always our gratitude and love to all.
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason

2007-08-04T10:00:00.001-04:00

August 4, 2007

The summer is coming close to an end and we are getting ready for the new school year to start. I think Christopher is looking forward to be back in his routine and seeing all his friends again. He has had a busy summer, has been on a few trips, and had company but those times in between he seems so lonely.

Jason was Finally Baptized on the 28th of July. We had a small private ceremony in the Chapel of St. Helen's. It was perfect and Jason was so good. He is now 10 mos. old and trying to walk. We have found he is a climber just like his big brother and sister so we have spent the past few days rearranging our house to make it safe for him.

It seems right now things are becoming more real and the numbness is starting to wear off for all of us. It is so hard to believe all that has happened in the last year and a half. As we continue this journey life has handed us we find ourselves trying to block out the bad memories and replace them with the good ones. For some reason, I guess because it is so fresh, the bad ones play over and over in our minds. Hopefully time will take care of that. We continue to follow the websites of the children who are still fighting their "monsters" and pray that a cure will be found before we lose any more of these precious little ones.

The website for "The Samantha Britton Memorial Fund" should be up and running in a few weeks. It will be linked to the blog or vice versa so I hope you all will visit it and support what we are doing to help others fighting for their childrens lives.

As always our deepest gratitude to all who continue to check in on us and remain by our side through these tough times.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason

2007-07-16T09:06:00.001-04:00

July 16th, 2007

It is hard to believe that we are approaching 5 months since Samantha left us. I still find myself wondering how this is all possible. I guess I will never get used to living life without her and I don't see how it will ever get any easier. The hole that her passing has left in all of us is just so painful. I will never understand how something like this is allowed to happen and why it is happening to so many of our precious children. As hard as we try to move on and live our lives with some sort of normality to them we find that nothing will ever be normal again.

We just returned from New York. We went up to Long Island for the 4th of July to be with family and friends. It was nice to visit with everyone back home but it was also very difficult to be there. I found it to be emotionally overwhelming. Christopher had fun with his cousins/friends but also seemed to be having some emotional issues too. I think it will be a while before we try that again. Maybe we are pushing to hard to feel better to soon, I don't know. Being back in our own home seems to help a bit.

We are working on getting the website for the Memorial Fund and will be posting the web address as soon as it is up and running. Please check back for that information.

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer and thank you once again for continuing to check in on us.

With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason

2007-06-19T10:51:00.000-04:00

June 19, 2007

We have been keeping busy the past few weeks here. Christopher finished the school year the first week of June. We decided to take a little vacation the day after. We spent the next 5 days in Captiva on the West Coast of Florida. What a beautiful place that was. We did enjoy ourselves and met some really nice people while there. The beaches were beautiful, filled with shells, the dolphins made an appearance everyday, the fishing was fun, and the sunsets were incredible. It was almost perfect. The only problem is everything we do and everywhere we go we are missing a very important part of our family which will always make things less than perfect for us.

It is hard to believe that it has been 4 months since I held my daughter in my arms but it has. Time is such a difficult thing when going through an illness or grieving after a death. Four months feels like an eternity. I still can't believe she is gone but when the waves of reality come it is like being kicked in the gut. How could this be and why is it happening, those are two questions I ask myself everyday with no answer in sight. We all seem to be thinking about her more everyday. The memories come with everything we do and everywhere we go. Samantha is so missed words can not express the aching hearts we hold.

I find myself getting angry, angry for my sons. Christopher has been through so much, why does he have to grow up without his sister who he adored. They were the best of friends and the closest of siblings it is so unfair. At times he seems so lonely, it rips at our hearts even more. Jason on the other hand will not even have the chance to build any kind of relationship with his big sister which is so unfair to him. He has been cheated. And then of course Kurt and I feel like we have been robbed. Why is it that we will not get to see our 7 year old daughter turn 8, or enter into high school, go to her prom, college... etc. Why was she not able to grow up with her family where she was so happy. The little girl loved life like no other, she was so amazing.

Every morning when we get up we light a candle for Samantha, if you go to this website http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/enter.cfm?l=eng
you can light a candle for any reason. We seem to find some peace in it so we thought we would share it and hope it brings some comfort to others as well.

Another website I would like to share with you is one that has been created by parents who lost their son JJ to a brain tumor this year as well. This website was created to raise money/awareness for pediatric Brain tumor research. It is also a great resource for families. It has the links to the kids still fighting their "monsters" as well as links to those who have lost their battle. Any of you who shop on line can go on the website and through certain stores a percentage of your spending will be donated to this cause http://www.icouldbeyourchild.org/.

In addition, one more website that we hope you will explore is
http://capwiz.com/curesearch/issues/alert/?alertid=9592626. This website will walk you through steps on composing a letter to your local senator about S.911 which is "The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2007", we need all the signatures we can get to help our/your children. It should not be okay that families like ourselves to walk into a place like St. Jude or any other pediatric cancer institute and be told that they have limited time left with their precious children and there is nothing that can be done to stop the deadly disease. It is wrong and it is far from okay. I hope you all take the time to look at this and send a letter in, it just may save a childs life.

Once again we would like to thank everyone who continues to be by our side through these difficult times. No words can express the gratitude we feel for you.

With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason

2007-06-13T10:18:00.000-04:00

2007-06-10T21:19:00.000-04:00

2007-05-21T11:22:00.001-04:00

May 21, 2007

We have just passed the 3 month anniversary of Samantha's passing. We have been told that this is when things usually get tougher and I have to say they have. We all had a really tough week last week. Christopher is really missing his sister, his best friend, and it breaks my already broken heart to see him feeling so down. Kurt and I are feeling the reality of what life has handed us more than we were. Missing Samantha's beautiful smile and cheerful personality everyday just touches the surface of the pain we are feeling. The longing to hold our daughter, brush her hair, paint her nails, or tuck her safely into bed at night is such an unbearable feeling of sadness. Somehow we have to work through it and we will I just haven't figured out how.

At school last week Christopher had Earth day. They started the day out with a tree planting in memory of Samantha. It was so touching and we really appreciate the thoughtfulness of everyone at Liberty for this dedication. Our neighborhood has placed a bench in memory of Samantha in our circle which was also very thoughtful and so much appreciated. (I will post pictures of both as soon as I can).

We have found two families that we are helping with the proceeds from the golf outing. One is a little girl, Shelby, who is 2 years old and is fighting her battle with the same brain tumor Samantha had (anaplastic astrocytoma). Shelby is having scans this week and we ask everyone to say a prayer for her and her family that they receive good news.
The other child is a little 2 year old boy named Max. Max has neuroblastoma, which is also cancer. He is also having scans this week and prayers for him and his family are needed as well.

It is a good feeling to be able to help these families and having been where they are I know how much it means to them. Once again I would like to thank everyone involved in organizing, attending, or donating to the golf outing which made it possible for us to make a difference for these children. We hope to see you there again next year, I will post the date for that soon as well. Thank you for checking in and continuing to be by our side.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason

2007-05-04T13:27:00.000-04:00

As I just updated the website 2 days ago I just wanted to share a poem that I read on another website of a beautiful little girl who was taken by this dreaded "monster". I thought it was touching and would like to pass it along to all the other mothers suffering the loss of a child on Mother's day:

Dear Mr. Hallmark

I am writing to you from heaven, and though it must appear

A rather strange idea, I see everything from here.

I just popped in to visit your stores to find a card,

A card of love for my mother, as this day for her is so hard.

There must be some mistake I thought, every card you can imagine, Except I could not find a card

from a child who lives in heaven.

She is still my mother, too, no matter where I reside. I had to leave she understands, but oh the tears she cried. I thought that if I wrote you, that you would come to know

That though I live in Heaven now, I still love my mother so.

She talks with me, and dreams with me, we still share laughter, too. Memories are our way of speaking now.

Would you see what you could do?

My mother carries me in her heart, her tears she hides from sight. She writes me poems to honor me,

sometimes far into the night.

She plants flowers in my garden, there my living memory dwells. She writes to other grieving parents,

Trying to ease their pain as well.

She needs to be honored, and remembered too.

Just as the children of earth will do. Thank you, Mr Hallmark,

I know you'll do your best, I have done all I can do. To you I'll leave the rest.

Find a way to tell her how much she means to me

Until I can do it for myself when she joins me for eternity.

2007-05-01T12:51:00.000-04:00

May 1, 2007

We have received many emails and notes thanking us for keeping everybody up to date on how things are going for us, it is so nice that so many people are thinking of us and checking in and we wanted to thank you all for that.

We have been keeping busy the best we can. The past two fridays we have attended Relay for Life events. This past week was the walk in Sebastian. We were so touched by all the Lumanarees made by the children from Christopher & Samantha's school in Memory of Samantha. They did such a nice job on the bags, it really touched our hearts. A big thank you to all you special kids!!

On Saturday our church had a special "Mass of Memories" for families that have lost a loved one in the past six months. It was a beautiful candle light ceremony, again it really touched our hearts and we were very thankful to be there.

While we were at the Mass friends of ours were holding a yard sale benefit at the church where Samantha attended pre-school. The kindness, hard work, and generousity of many made the day a successful one. We really appreciate all you did and for continuing to think of us. A special thank you to all involved.

As the days have been busy the emptiness doesn't seem to lessen. It is everywhere that we go and everything that we do that I find myself or Kurt saying "Samantha would have loved this", or this is nice but we are missing part of our family. Those feelings that come over us are so painful. We miss you so much princess.

Christopher is keeping busy with soccer and has now been practicing for the schools track meet tomorrow. He was thrilled to make the team and is really looking forward to that. Jason is getting so big so fast. He is a real mix between Christopher and Samantha. When he smiles his whole face smiles just like his big sisiter.

We are working on finding families in unfortunate similiar situations as we were in to help with the proceeds from the golf outing. It is heartbreaking how many lives are turned upside down by this "monster". We do look forward to being able to make a difference for these families and again thanks to all that attended/donated this year. We will keep you updated on those your caring hearts have helped.

Thank you all again for all you have done and continue to do for us. It is just not possible to put into words how grateful we are to all of you for being by our side.

With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason

2007-04-19T14:31:00.000-04:00

April 19, 2007

It is two months today that Samantha passed away. Although it feels like forever I can't believe I haven't been able to hug and kiss her for two months. She will always be with me but it is so hard not to see her, touch her, and hear her voice everyday. As I have said before there is a quietness about our lives that will never change.

Easter weekend went okay for us. We had a tree planting ceremony in our yard in memory of Samantha on Saturday. It was such a thoughtful gift from a beautiful group of people who have touched our lives in so many ways this year. Thank you to all of you.... we love the tree and are so gratetful to have all of you by our side through these tough times. On Easter we did a balloon release and sent Samantha messages of our love. We then went off to the beach. Christopher enjoyed playing ball with Kurt, flying a kite, and swimming. Jason just loved the beach and his new sun hut. The evening was rough but we made it through.

Kurt and I just returned from NY. We went up for the "Samantha Britton Memorial Golf Outing". I had reservations about going this year, fearing I would not be able to handle it so soon, but am so glad I went. Although the weather was terrible it went well. The hard work of our family/friends and generousity of so many caring people made the day a success. We send our deepest gratitude to all of you.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason.

2007-04-05T12:58:00.000-04:00

April 5, 2007

I wanted to start by thanking all of you for continuing to think of us. The cards, prayers, and messages have been so touching and do really help us through the rough times.
We just returned from a short much needed vacation. Good friends of ours have a house in the mountains of North Carolina and invited us for a long weekend. It was so peaceful and beautiful there. Christopher had a great time (as did Kurt and I). It was so nice to see the smile on his face that hasn't been there for over a year and for us to spend quality time with friends. The mountain air was great for little Jason too.
Now that we are home and Easter is approaching it seems to have hit us all pretty hard that Samantha is gone. Saying we miss her doesn't even touch the feelings that come over us. I have been told it sometimes gets harder before it gets any better but I had no idea what to expect. I guess there is just no way to prepare yourself for such heartache. I know that Samantha would want for us to be okay. She had such a great love inside her and when I think of and feel that love it gives me strength.
We have had to learn how to live minute to minute while Samantha was battling through her illness and I think that is how we will have to remain to get through the struggles ahead of us.
We did not make any plans for Easter but are thinking of spending the day at the beach with the boys. We were planning to do a balloon launch for Samantha and figured she loved the beach so that would be a great place to do it from.
We would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter, thank you for checking in on us.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason

2007-03-19T09:12:00.000-04:00

March 19, 2007

It is a month today that Samantha went to Heaven, it is also today that her baby brother is six months old. A kind of bitter sweet day for us which seems to happen alot. Of course I probably don't have to say how much we miss her but somehow it makes me feel a little better. Although the boys keep us busy there is such an emptiness in our house. It is by no means quiet here but there is a quietness about it. I realized this weekend (after watching her on a video) how much I miss her voice and the sound of her laughter.
I had a dream of Samantha last night for the first time which brought me comfort and to tears at the same time. When I held her in my dream it felt so real, I guess that is where the comfort came from. Then of course I had to wake up to reality. For the most part though we are all doing okay. We all have our good and bad days which are totally expected and we help each other through.
Plans for the "Samantha Britton Memorial Golf Outing" are moving right along. There are a lot of people working at it and we are very thankful to everyone involved. We are hoping it will be as successful as last year so we can make a difference for other families battling this monster that has taken so many beautiful children from us.
Again we would like to thank everyone for the love and support you continue to give to us. You have no idea how much it helps through the most difficult of times.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Jason

2007-03-05T08:42:00.000-05:00

March 5, 2007

It has been two weeks since Samantha passed away, it feels so much longer. We are getting by the best we can. It is so difficult to get used to the "new normal". Of course none of us like it and at times it becomes unbearable but we all get through it some how. There are still moments that it doesn't feel real. I think of her every minute and miss her every second of every day. Thoughts of her beauty bring a smile to my face and I know my sweet princess will always be with me. As a mother it just doesn't seem to be enough.
We want to thank everyone for all the continued support and love you have shown us. The nurses and doctors for the exceptional loving care you gave to Samantha. Family and friends for all the messages, cards, dinners, phone calls, fundraisers and visits that have helped us through the hardest of times and we can't even begin to express our gratitude. There are so many people who have reached out to us during the past year it is incredible and we are forever grateful to each and every one of you.
With Love,
Audra & Kurt

2007-02-28T16:55:00.000-05:00

Samantha Britton Memorial Fund
Golf Outing
(Sponsored by the Buonfiglio and Britton Families and Friends)
April 16th, 2007

After a year long battle with a malignant brain tumor, Samantha was taken from us on February 19th. As hard as she fought and as hard as we sought a cure, there was no stopping the ravages of this deadly cancer.

As we traveled around the U.S. seeking help at various hospitals and clinics, we were made aware of the high number of children afflicted with this deadly disease. We also realized that although Samantha was in a dire situation, she was far more fortunate than many other children we encountered. Samantha was more fortunate because, due to the kindness of others, including all of the participants of last year’s golf outing, Samantha received the best care possible and was able to be with her parents in her own home until the very end.

Many children and their parents do not have the same resources available to them. While progress is being made in the treatment of these types of diseases, families need the means to seek the appropriate care to sustain life until a cure can be found.

We have created the Samantha Britton Memorial Fund to help families in need of medical care for their children who do not have the resources and who might otherwise be turned away. Even though Samantha was very young, it was evident that she had a genuine caring for other people. We know that she would have wanted to give hope to other children when it seems that all hope has been lost and for that reason we have established this fund in Samantha’s name.

Samantha Britton Memorial Fund
Golf Outing

April 16, 2007

Port Jefferson Country Club
44 Fairway Drive, Port Jefferson, NY 11777
Tel: 631-285-1814

Shotgun start at 10:30 am SHARP - Scramble Format

Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Cocktail Hour and Awards Dinner to follow

Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place, Longest Drives, Closest to the pin, Raffles and Silent Auction.

$225 per person

Dinner Only - $125 per person

Hole Sponsorship: $500 Sole sponsorship of hole
$100 Shared sponsorship of hole

$750 Cocktail Hour Sponsor
$750 Dinner Sponsor

Please provide Logo to nbuonfiglio@newlinenoosh.com

Donations of raffle prizes or items for the golfers' Goodie Bag will be greatly appreciated. Contact Louis LaVigna at lou@spotlightps.com, Jeff Lollo @ lu909@aol.com or Harvey Halperin at harvey.halperin@nlnglobal.com

PLEASE SEE ATTACHED REGISTRATION FORM

Samantha Britton Memorial Fund
Golf Outing
Registration form

Make Checks Payable to: "The Samantha Britton Memorial Fund"

PLEASE COMPLETE AND MAIL THIS FORM WITH YOUR CHECK TO:

The Samantha Britton Memorial Fund
c/o Lollo
22A 15th Street
Bayville, NY 11709

(Tax ID# is 20-4233699)

Names: __________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

Phone number of one contact: _________________

Amount Paid Full Day with Golf: $_____________

Dinner Only: $____________

Hole Sponsorship: $________________

Cocktail Hour Sponsorship: $________________

Dinner Sponsorship: $_______________

Unable to attend this year but have enclosed my donation for: $__________

Please make copies of this registration form for additional groups

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON THE COURSE

2007-02-20T07:13:00.000-05:00

February 20th, 2007

Services: The family will receive friends 2-4 pm and 6-9 pm, Thursday, February 22, 2007 at the Cox-Gifford-Seawinds Funeral Home in Vero Beach. A funeral mass will be celebrated 10 AM, Friday at St. Helen Catholic Church in Vero Beach.

Memorial contributions may be made to the VNA Hospice Foundation, 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960.

2007-02-20T06:51:00.000-05:00

Samantha Marie Britton

10/09/1999 - 02/19/2007

Samantha earned her angel wings Monday morning in the presence of her mommy and daddy. She was an amazing little girl and we miss her so much. We love you sweet princess.

2007-02-15T07:04:00.000-05:00

February 15, 2007,

Samantha continues to fight. She has had a lot of changes over the past few days. She has lost the ability to swallow. This of course changes so much for her. Besides not being able to eat or drink she can no longer take her seizure meds. Of course this through her little body into distress (she has been on those meds for over a year) and like most meds stopping them abruptly causes problems. We now have her on IV meds to control the seizures and relax her body. She was also having some wet breathing sounds, her lungs are still clear, it seems it was just in her throat due to the inability to swallow her saliva -- because of this onset her IV fluids have been discontinued as well. We have had her on and off oxygen due to her levels dropping.
We have hospice nurses coming in at night now to help us through. We have been very fortunate to have such a great team of people helping us take care of her.
Please continue to pray for Samantha and all of us as we continue to struggle through the days ahead. As always thank you for all your support, love, and prayers -- they all mean so much to us.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason.

2007-02-09T11:11:00.000-05:00

February 9, 2007

Samantha continues to fight. I really don't know how she does it, she is so incredible.
We have seen a steady decline in her over the past week but she is holding on. She can no longer speak to us at all, she seems to be losing the ability to eat and she is so weak. Her heart rate is fluctuating up and down, and her body temp seems to vary from one side to the other.
Everything we get into her now has to be liquid and given through a syringe. She is sleeping about 20 or more hours a day. Amazingly when she does wake up she will give us an occasional smile or kiss.
Our hearts are breaking every minute for our sweet princess and for all she has been through and continues to go through. This disease is so very ugly and relentless to say the least.
We are holding on to our hope that Samantha will get her miracle and that God will heal her and keep her here with us. It is sometimes hard to keep that focus through all the hurt and anger that comes over us. Please continue to pray for healing for Samantha and for the strength we all need to get through what ever is ahead of us. Thank you all for your continued love, support, and prayers.
With Hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason.

2007-01-31T07:31:00.000-05:00

January 31, 2007

Samantha has had a lot of ups and downs since we returned home from Gainsville. She is facing a lot of frustrations right now, not being able to open her left eye for one. She is also having some trouble speaking clearly at times which makes it very difficult for us to know what she needs. She has been in bed for over a week and spends most of her days sleeping. We have had some issues with her heart rate being to high/to low but she seems to have stabled out for the moment. Things change so fast you almost hate to write them down.
On a better note she did eat yesterday for the first time in a week. What a fighter she is. We will be starting her, today, on some (about 10) new homeopathics that are supposed to help her immune system as well as detox her body. We pray this will help her regain enough strength to continue fighting this monster. Of course we are still filled with hope that she will get her miracle and can't wait to be able to spread that good news.
Please continue to pray for her strength and healing.
With love & hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2007-01-24T20:55:00.000-05:00

January 24, 2007

We took Samantha to Shands this weekend for her appointment on Monday but things did not go very smooth. Before we were able to find out what the doctor had in mind for treatment Samantha had major problems going on. Luckily we were in a medical facility and they were able to somewhat stablize the situation. We were told that she was close to the end of life and that she may not make it home. Well luckily they don't know "OUR SAMANTHA" and we held on to our hope for her. She did make it home, in a medical plane with mom, and she is resting comfortable in her bed. We are still not certain if Samantha had a bleed in the brain or if it was swelling that caused this episode but we are trying to keep her comfortable and hoping she can regain her strength and full consciousness once again.
Please continue to pray for her as she continues her battle with such courage. We appreciate all your support and prayers for our family more than we can ever express.
With love & hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2007-01-18T09:23:00.000-05:00

We have had a few busy days since our last update. Samantha has been able to walk with assistance. Her balance seems to be declining though. We had a CT scan done on Monday to check her ventricles and they looked fine. It seems her physical abilities had gotten better but are starting to get worse again. Mentally we are seeing a pretty significant decline as well. It varies by the hour, sometimes the minute. It is quite frusterating for all of us, especially Samantha.

We went to meet Dr. Holyk yesterday who is a hollistic doctor not to far from us. We have put her on a few additional supplements/hollistics he recommended to try to boost her energy. We have also started laser therapy with the accupuncturist we have worked with in the past. It seems her seizures are starting up again and that is one of the areas we are working on with different forms of accupuncture.

As for conventional medicine, we have a tentative appointment at Shands Childrens Hospital in Gainsville, Florida on Monday. We had sent her scans to them for review and received a call yesterday with an appointment time for Monday. We are, however, waiting to hear from the doc there to see what she has in mind for Samantha. We are pretty opposed to any chemo therapy so it would be a waste of time if that is what she is thinking. There are some new clinical trials using other agents to target certain receptors (one of which Samantha has an elevation in) that we may consider if they suggest one.

Ironically Monday also is one year from diagnosis. It is hard to believe that she has been battling this monster for a whole year on the other hand it feels like it has been going on for an eternity. It blows our minds that we walked into the ER with a happy, otherwise healthy little girl and we were led into the biggest nightmare of our life. Many people don't endure in a life time what our baby has had to face in one year. She is quite amazing. Either way she/we have had enough and are ready for our miracle. Please continue to pray for Samantha and us in our decision making for our sweet princess.

With love & hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason.

2007-01-08T09:02:00.000-05:00

January 8, 2006

Samantha has shown significant improvement over the past week. She is now able to sit up on her own, feed herself, and talk again. She is back to eating a regular diet as her swallowing is back to normal. We are working on her strength in her legs in hopes she will be able to walk again. She continues to brighten our days with her beautiful smile.

We are currently giving her some supplements and hollistics to cleanse her system and strengthen her body the best we can. We have not decided on the next course of treatment and are still waiting to hear back from one additional doctor then we will move forward from there.

As Samantha continues to amaze us we pray we will make the right decisions to help her. Please continue to pray for her and for us in our decision making. We appreciate all of your support as always.
With love & hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2006-12-29T21:10:00.000-05:00

December 29, 2006

We apologize for the delay in updating. Samantha has had a significant decline since our last update and is now under the care of hospice. She continues to fight and amaze us with her strength.
Last thursday she really had a terrible day. She was having continuous seizures, elevated heart rate and trouble breathing. She had also been spiking fevers and was unable to walk, talk, and was having difficulty swallowing. With the help of her VNA nurse and pediatrician (who we will be forever grateful to) we tried our best to get her comfortable but nothing we did seemed to work for her. Eventually we asked to have hospice come in and within a few hours they had a doctor and a team of people here to try and help the situation. After a few hours things were under control and Samantha was calm. It was a horrible experience and we hope never to go down that road again. Samantha has come around some and is doing a little bit better. Please continue to pray for her strength to keep fighting as we are looking into yet another treatment for her.

We hope you all had a good holiday and want to thank the many people who made Christmas for our family with all the visits, cards, gifts, meals, and treats during the past few weeks. So many people have touched our hearts with their love, concern, and generousity we don't even know where to begin to show our gratitude. Thank you all again and Happy New Year to you and your families.
With Love & Hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2006-12-14T19:38:00.000-05:00

December 14, 2006

We have had quite a few rough days this week. Samantha was having a lot of trouble walking. She was complaining of dizziness, blurred vision and upset stomach. Hoping we could come up with answers other than disease progression for these symptoms we forwarded her PET/CT scan to her neuro surgeon who confirmed our suspicions that her ventricles were now draining to much. They said they were almost non existant which would certainly cause the symptoms she has been experiencing. They can not promise that it will fix all her symptoms but they did think she would be feeling/doing better in a day or so. We pray for that too.

We also received some very heart breaking news about the passing of our little friend Colby Steigerwald. Colby was only 5 years old and he battled this horrible disease for 10 long months. He was such a brave little boy who will remain in our hearts forever. We ask that you say a prayer for him and his family, some of the nicest people we have ever met who we hold very dear to us. No parent should have to endure this pain.
Please continue to pray for all the families and children that are going through this battle.
With love & hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2006-12-11T13:53:00.000-05:00

December 10, 2006

As we suspected Samantha's PET results showed significant tumor progression. She has officially been taken off antineoplastons as of today. We have started her on some additional supplements and at the suggestion of Dr. Burzynski will be doing some additional labs to see if she has any abnormalities with her gene expression. If these labs come back with any elevations they have another step as far as therapy for her. If they come back normal we currently do not have anywhere to turn right now. We are, as always, researching every possibility with the hopes of finding something that may help our daughter. Please send extra prayers her way, we are really in need of them. Thanks so much for all your love & support.
With hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2006-12-05T21:56:00.000-05:00

December 5, 2006

Samantha's PET scan is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. We need your prayers as these results will determine so much for Samantha and our continued fight against this dreadful disease. Thank you for your support. We will update as soon as we have answers. Please keep those prayers alive!!
With Hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2006-12-03T09:25:00.000-05:00

December 3, 2006

We have received the official report from Dr. B. He seems to think that what they are seeing could possibly be radaition necrosis (dead cells). He has ordered a PET scan which determines what cells are actually active. We are trying to get that done sometime this week. Apparently the effects of radiation can be seen months, even years later. We have put our faith in Dr. Burzynski and are praying that he is right.
Samantha is back on her treatment and we hope to be moving forward every few days to get her to her maximum dose. She is feeling pretty good. She is very tired but always happy. Kurt and I continue to do all we can to keep that smile on her face. The rest, unfortunately is out of our hands. Please continue to pray for Samantha and the knowledge of Dr. Burzynski and all that are treating her. As always we thank you all for your continued love and support as we travel down this path with Samantha.
With love & HOPE,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2006-12-01T09:14:00.000-05:00

December 1, 2006

We apologize for not updating sooner but we are still waiting on the final MRI report from Dr. Burzynski. According to our radiologist as well as Houston's Samantha's MRI results were not very good. Apparently there is new growth and progression in the other areas. We were really expecting to hear something a lot better than that as she seems to be doing better the past week and a half. I guess we didn't realize how much the hydrocephillis was bringing her down.
We should hear from Dr. B today weather or not he sees any response to this therapy or if he feels it is just not going to help her. She has had quite a few interruptions from treatment that past six weeks with her two hospital stays and a rash she had. We think he may take that into consideration along with the fact that she has yet to make it to the dose she needs to be at.
We are once again researching other avenues but there really isn't much out there. These decisions are the hardest to ever be faced with. We just pray that we are led in the right direction for our little princess. Thank you for all your prayers, we will let you know as soon as we hear from Dr. B.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason.

2006-11-18T10:16:00.000-05:00

November 18, 2006

We have just settled back at home after another stay at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando. The adjusting of Samanthas seizure meds was a disaster. She had every side effect the medicine came with along with 14 seizures in a matter of two hours on tuesday. We were taken to the ER here in Vero by ambulance and after running a CT scan and some labs they felt she needed to see the specialists in Orlando so we were back in an ambulance and sent to Arnold Palmer. While she was there the neuro surgeons tapped her shunt (drained some fluid) to check her flow and make sure she was not clogged again. They felt that her ventricles still looked enlarged. After determining that the flow was good they changed the setting on the valve to allow more fluid to drain which will allow the ventricles to decompress. It took about 24 hours for the side effects of the medicine to wear off and she was feeling like a new kid again. Her smile returned along with her balance and ability to speak in full sentences. What a relief that was. Needless to say we will not be changing her seizure meds again.
Her MRI has been rescheduled for the 28th of November. We are ready to hear some good news and ask that all your prayers continue for that.
As always thank you all for your continued love, support, and prayers.
With love and hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2006-11-10T11:20:00.000-05:00

November 10, 2006

We took Samantha to Orlando this week as planned to see her neurosurgeon and her neurologist. The surgeon was pleased with the way her incision is healing and does not need to see her until February.
Her neurologist agreed with our request to change her seizure meds which we are in the process of doing now. We are weaning her off one and starting the new one at the same time. It will take about a month for her to be completely off the Keppra and she seems a little over medicated right now but it will take time for her to adjust to the changes. She has been pretty drowsy and seems like she is having some equalibrium problems at times but she pulls through it. She is such a tough little girl.
We have scheduled her next MRI for November 29th and hope to be able to share some good news after that. Please continue to pray for that for Samantha.
Thank you all for your continued support.
With Love & hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha and Jason

2006-11-05T21:26:00.000-05:00

November 5, 2006

Samantha has had a good week and weekend. She had a great time on Halloween. It was heart warming to Kurt and I to see that smile on our daughters face for almost 2 hours straight.
She has been taking walks everyday trying to regain the strength in her legs. It some times takes a little coaxing but she eventually gives in. She still has a tremor in her left arm but seems to be using it more. As far as seizures she has been doing pretty well. We still have occassional breakthrough but nothing like they were a few weeks ago. Some days are better than others. Some how she always comes out smiling.
We are going to Orlando on Tuesday to see her neurosurgeon (just a check up after her surgeries) and we also made an appointment with her neurologist there. We are hoping to change her seizure meds, now that she does not take chemo there are a lot more choices. We have been researching our options and hope the doctor agrees with our thoughts. If we can limit her to one or two meds instead of four we feel she will have a lot more energy and maybe won't be in such a fog. Maybe we will be able to get her back into school for a few hours a week if that is the case. That is our goal anyway.
We will be scheduling her next MRI for the first week of December. Lets hope this is the one that gives us the results we have been praying for.
Your love, support, and prayers keep us strong and we really can't thank you enough for all you have done and continue to do for us.
With love & hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2006-10-28T07:54:00.000-04:00

October 28, 2006

We received Samantha's MRI results from Houston this week and they are saying that they consider them to be stable. She has had 10% growth in one area but has had "significant decrease in the intensity of enhancement" (which means less active Cells). We will be repeating her MRI in about 4 weeks as we work to get her to her maximum dose of antineoplastons. They are increasing her dose more rapidly and hope to see a decrease again in enhancement but in size as well.
Samantha is still recovering from last weeks surgeries but seems to be getting a little better everyday. She is so strong she amazes us so much.
Please continue to pray for her and all the others fighting this terrible disease more specifically our little friend Colby Steigerwald. We met the Steigerwald's at St. Jude and they are very special people to us. Colby, who is only 5 years old, has had a significant increase in his tumor and needs extra prayers sent his way.
Thank you once again for all your love, support, and prayers.
With love and hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, and Jason

2006-10-24T21:50:00.000-04:00

October 24, 2006

Samantha's MRI was done as scheduled on Friday morning. She layed still through almost 3 hours of films like a trooper.
During the days prior to the MRI she had some minor headaches, increased tiredness and some dizziness. On saturday morning she was complaining of nausea. After calling the neuro surgeon in Orlando we were soon on the road. She ended up being admitted (once again) to Arnold Palmer due to increased pressure in her brain from fluid build up. They tried to tap her shunt to relieve the pressure but were unsuccessful. She underwent surgery on Saturday afternoon. She seemed to be feeling better Saturday evening as they drained some fluid while they were doing the procedure. On Sunday morning (still in the hospital) when we tried to wake her she was unresponsive. After being rushed to cat scan, which revealed the catheter was positioned wrong and was not letting any fluid drain, it was back in the OR for Samantha. She underwent her second surgery in less than 24 hours. This time they used a shorter catheter when revising her shunt and it relieved the pressure that was building up in and around her brain. Needless to say it was a very emotional/stressful weekend for all of us. She gave us a good scare.
Thankfully we are back home and she is on the road to recovery. We started her back on her treatment this afternoon which we were hoping to be able to do. Hopefully we will see some changes in her energy and abilities now that her shunt is working again.
We have not gotten an official report from Houston with her MRI results yet but expect to have it on Friday. We will be sure to update as soon as we can.
On a happy note Samantha lost her first tooth this evening, which she has been desperately waiting for. It put a great big smile on her face.
Please keep the prayers alive.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, and Jason

2006-10-15T08:08:00.000-04:00

October 15, 2006

Samantha is doing pretty well on her treatment. We have made a lot of improvement since last weekend as far as seizures and her overall energy seems much better. We continue to increase her IV dosage hoping to get to her maximum dose soon so her body can get used to it and level out some. She remains in pretty good spirits. We went to the concert last night to benefit Children with Astrocytomas and she had a good time. She even liked going up on stage and being introduced. We didn't think she would last as long as she did, so we were pleased with that. It was a nice night out for all of us.
Samanthas MRI is scheduled for this coming friday, October 20th. We are, of course, anxiously praying we will get some good news and will let you all know when we get the results. Please continue to pray that this is Samanthas answer to this horrible disease and we get some positive answers this week.
We also wanted to thank all of you for making Samanthas 7th birthday so special with all the gifts, cards, phone calls, and visits. She really enjoyed her birthday which was nice to see. We appreciate all the love you showed her and how good you made her feel. Lets hope 7 is her lucky number!!!
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason.

2006-10-11T19:49:00.000-04:00

October 11, 2006

Just a quick note for all our Florida supporters. This Saturday, October 14th, there will be a concert held in Port St. Lucie at 6:00 pm. This is being run by an organization called "The Teddy Fund" it is a benefit for children with Astrocytomas. It will be held at Tradition Field 525 NW Peacock Blvd. Samantha will be introduced and we will be asked to tell her story before the concert begins. If anyone is interested in a night out and enjoys music tickets are on sale now. Please call 772-871-2115 if you would like to attend. You can find out more about the show and who will be performing by going to www.TheTeddyFund.org.

2006-10-03T09:06:00.000-04:00

October 3, 2006

We are all settling in at home once again. Samantha has started back with her homebound teacher and is back to learning. She is still having trouble with seizures which really limits what she can and can not do. She seems to be tolerating the meds okay but is excessivly thirsty and hungry from the steroids. We are hoping to start decreasing those soon as they are also disrupting her sleep which may be adding to the seizures. It seems to be a cycle we can not get away from. She has her next MRI scheduled for October 20th. Hoping and praying real hard that we see some positive signs from this new treatment although we were told it may be to early to see anything real significant but it is possible.
Samantha still has a pretty low energy level (may also be due to interrupted sleep) but she is trying to get motivated here and there. Her interests are minimal at this point but she does get bored. We would really love to see her be able to enjoy herself again, please pray for that for her. She really deserves some fun. Will update again when we have some news to report.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason

2006-09-26T08:58:00.000-04:00

September 26, 2006

We are finally heading home. We wanted to thank all of you for your efforts in trying to help us arrange a private jet to get us there. The response we had was unbelievable and we really appreciate all your help.
As we were about to leave yesterday for a 20 hour or more dreaded car ride we got a phone call from Corporate Angels with a flight for us today direct to Vero Beach. I couldn't believe it. They are not allowed to disclose what corpoation has made this possible for us but they have made this trip just for us, what fantastic people.

Samantha had quite a few seizures yesterday and we are so thankful we were not on the road for that. Please pray we get home safely without any events!! Thank you all once again for all your efforts, love & prayers.
love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, SAMANTHA, and Baby Jason too.

2006-09-22T10:12:00.000-04:00

2006-09-22T00:41:00.000-04:00

September 21, 2006

We have had quite a few eventful days here in Texas. Samantha has been having some trouble once again with seizures. We have been making some adjustments to level her out again as she was really doing better the past two weeks. Hopefully we will see an improvement by the weekend and hope to get home sometime tuesday.
In the middle of all that chaos we welcomed Samanthas new little brother, Jason Edward, to our family. He was born on Tuesday evening and is doing well. We were discharged from the hospital today and are glad to be back with the rest of our family. We are still working on a way to get everyone home safely without exposing the baby to to many people and hope to have final plans by tomorrow. Please continue to pray for Samantha and the safe return of our family to Vero Beach. Thank you for your continues love and support.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, Samantha, & Jason too!!

2006-09-13T21:29:00.000-04:00

September 13, 2006

Samantha is doing well, getting stronger every day. She is very happy to have Christopher here in Texas with her. He keeps her busy and it is great for her to have someone to play with. Today we took them to the Aquarium and she actually walked through the whole place. Although it was not that big it was a lot more than she has done in a long time and handled it well. We all enjoyed being out for the first time in a while and they had some pretty neat exhibits there.
We have still been going to the clinic daily and it looks like she will be discharged early next week. When we are able to come home she will continue her treatments there. This of course will depend on the arrival of her little brother, as we can not travel until he is born. We were at the doctor yesterday and he plans to induce labor on Monday if it does not happen before then.
We have been inquiring about a private jet to get us home as we do not want to expose a new born baby to a public airport or put Samantha through that commotion. Driving may be difficult as we will have to make to many stops but need to get home in a timely manner because of Samanthas lab schedule. We are asking if anyone has a connection to facilitate this for us to please let us know, it would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thank you all for your continued prayers & support.
With love & hope,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-09-10T22:33:00.000-04:00

September 10, 2006

Samantha is on day 11 of her new treatment and is doing pretty well today. She had a rough few days with vomitting and being very unsteady on her feet. She had a drop in her potassium because of all the vomitting and had to start a supplement. She also had her steroid increased which seems to be helping as well. The doctors are hopeful that if they see improvement with the increase in steroids it could be an indication that she has some intercranial pressure which would be from the tumor responding to the medicine. We are sharing that hope with all we have and are working once again to get her stronger and rebuild her appetite. She did a little better today than yesterday and with any luck tomorrow she will show some more improvement.
We are still not sure exactly when we will be heading home. Hopefully we will know more this week. Please continue to pray for her.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, and Samantha

2006-09-02T16:41:00.000-04:00

September 2, 2006

Samantha is on her third day of her new treatment and seems to be tolerating the increase every day. Her MRI of the spine came out negative which of course was a huge relief. We had a PET scan done yesterday but have not received the results yet. She has had very long days this week and is quite tired but is looking good and still smiling.
The next two days will be quick visits to the clinic to have her medication bags changed by the nurse, see the doctor and have some labs drawn. Her results from yesterday looked real good. Her platelets have recovered tremendously (they are higher than mine) and her white blood is above 4 which we have not seen in many months. We met with the nutritionist yesterday and got some ideas of how to keep her sodium low and potassium up. Her appetite seems to be coming back but we have to watch everything she eats. The medicine she is getting is known to increase sodium levels but it is easy enough to balance it out with her intake.
Kurt and I have been learning how to pack her medication bags, flush her line, program her pump and administer emergency meds through her port. It has been a little overwhelming but as we do it each day it should come pretty easy. We hope so anyway.
Baby Britton remains content where he is and so far no signs of labor. We are hoping for another week or so of training with Samanthas meds before he makes his debut!! Not to long though... as Samantha should be done here around the 20th. We would like to be able to get home as soon as she is through but obviously won't be able to travel unless the baby is born. Christopher is at home with Grandma & Grandpa and seems to be doing good. We all miss him terribly and wish he was here with us.
We will continue to update as we progress and as always please keep the prayers alive for Samantha.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-08-30T19:33:00.000-04:00

August 30th, 2006

Samantha had an MRI of her brain and spine done today. She has an appointment for a PET scan on friday morning. Tomorrow morning she will start her treatment so we expect to get the MRI results then. We will spend four hours at the clinic as it is our first day to start learning. We will spend time there every day from now until we leave to go home. If all goes well we will be spending about 21 days here. Please pray that she tolerates & responds to the medicine. Will update tomorrow and let you know how it went.
Love to all,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-08-29T22:11:00.000-04:00

2006-08-28T22:30:00.000-04:00

August 28, 2006

Samantha had her evaluation today at the Burzynski clinic. It was a long day for all of us but she did real well. We did a lot of talking with doctors and nurses, she had a physical and labs done. Her labs came back good enough to start treatment we are just waiting on the approval of the FDA (which is standard) and her MRI and she will be able to get going on it. We are hoping for a start date of thursday. From what we were told today she will be spending about 2 hours a day M-F in the clinic and about 45 minutes on Saturday and Sunday. These visits will consist of Kurt and I being taught how to access and flush her port how to change her medication bag (which she will carry in a back pack) and drawing labs. They will start out with a low dose of medication and work up depending on how she tolerates it. They will moniter her white counts and platelets 2 times per week and her potassium and sodium levels every 2 days. So far that is all we have been told. Looks like we will not have to be in the clinic at all tomorrow so we will try to find something fun to do for a while to keep her busy. We will update again when we get started. Pray that this is the answer for Samantha to have quality back in her life and ultimately be cured of this disease. Thank you for your continued love and support.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-08-19T06:53:00.000-04:00

August 19, 2006

As Samantha's counts seem to be on their way up we have tentative plans to be on our way next Saturday. Samantha has her first appointment set at the clinic for Monday the 28th. We will be driving an RV there as flying at 36 weeks pregnant doesn't seem like such a good idea. Christopher will stay behind as he starts school this monday and we feel it is important for him to be with his peers (although it is very hard to leave him once again). We are fortunate to have the suppport of our families to help us through and meet some pretty specific needs at this time.
We are very hopeful that Samantha will respond to this treatment and she will come home stronger. We ask that you pray for her, that this is the answer, and for Christopher as he starts his new school year with his parents so far away. We thank you and as always appreciate so much all of you for your support & prayers.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher,& Samantha

2006-08-15T18:17:00.000-04:00

2006-08-14T06:27:00.000-04:00

August 14th, 2006

Sorry for the delay in the update but we have had a lot to process over the past week. It appears the MRI at St. Jude (which was much more extensive than the one done in Orlando) showed that Samantha's tumor is showing signs of growth. Although some areas have decreased in size there are several areas of concern as well. We have seen a significant change in her abilities and energy level and have decided that chemo therapy is doing more harm than good. In our research over the past 7 months we really haven't come accross anything that we can do other than try something a little different than the traditional treatment (that by the way has no hopes for a cure). We have gotten Samantha accepted into a clinic that has a more natural approach and has some successes in Brain Tumors. We know that this also is a risk and has it's own set of side effects but at this point there is no other choice, no better choice. We are waiting for her counts to come up which have once again been wiped out from her last round of chemo and then we hope to be on our way to getting our daughter the help she needs. We are asking for all your support and prayers as we enter into this next phase of treatment in hopes this is the answer to this terrible nightmare. Thank you all again for all you continue to do for us.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-08-01T07:28:00.000-04:00

August 1, 2006

We are off to Arnold Palmer for the next three days for some additional testing. Samantha's neurologist in Orlando had set up a 72 hour EEG to try to get a better grip on the seizures and see if her other symptoms are in fact seizure activity. We were scheduled in October but they had a cancellation as of yesterday so we are off once again. She spent most of yesterday in the hospital here in Vero having her IV antibiotic that she needs every 28 days and waiting for a red blood transfussion that never happened (long story we won't bother getting into). We will have her rechecked in APH while we are there to make sure everything is really okay. Her seizures are still breaking through here and there, not as frequently as they were but still to much for us. She seems to be eating a little bit better which makes us feel better but still has a ways to go there as well.
She and Kurt are scheduled to leave for Memphis on Sunday. He refused to let me come along as we are getting to close to the baby's arrival and he would prefer not to have any more stress while in the air. She will have several doctors visits and an MRI while she is there.
Being that she has been having so many bad days she did have an MRI here last week that (according to the Neurosurgeon) has not shown much change. We are still waiting for the written report but he seemed to think the area in the brain stem appeared smaller and the thalamus remained the same, however they are watching an area there that they are not sure of. When the MRI is done at St. Jude I believe they will be doing more intense screening of that area. We are praying that it is just an effect of radiation and not any thing concerning.
Please keep the prayers alive for Samantha and the other children facing this terrible nightmare. We will update as soon as we have any news. Once again thank you all for your love & support.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-07-22T22:01:00.000-04:00

July 22, 2006

Samantha had her 4th platelet transfussion on thursday and we are happy to say it went a lot better than the last one. She was still having trouble with breakthrough seizures so we decided to take her to see the Neurologist in Orlando that has been following her since January. Once again we will be increasing/adjusting meds in hopes to get the combo needed to make her seizure free without putting her into a daze.
We decided since we would be in Orlando we should try to make it fun for the kids. We visited Sea World fed the dolphins, saw some shows and had breakfast with the disney characters. Of course things did not go as smooth as we would have liked but all in all they enjoyed themselves and we all came home very tired.
We will be doing labs again on Monday. Her white count was starting to drop on thursday so we may not be able to be out and about for a while but we did a lot while we could. We will update again after we have results.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-07-18T07:16:00.000-04:00

July 18, 2006

Samantha has had a lot of ups and downs during the past 10 days or so. In trying to stop the morning vomitting we started her on a new medicine that seemed to be working and she was having a few great days. When the med started to build up it made her totally out of it. She was sleeping the days away and when she was awake she was in a complete daze. When we stopped that med the vomitting started again along with seizures and no appetite. She gave us a good scare over the weekend but seems to be bouncing back some. We were able to get some food in her and keep it down Sunday afternoon which gave her a little energy. She did pretty good yesterday as far as eating... no vomitting and no seizures. We will keep our fingers crossed!!!
She had her third transfussion of platelets yesterday which didn't go so smooth but we all got through it okay. The rest of her labs are still looking pretty good which gives her a little freedom to do things when she feels up to it.
Her hair is really starting to come in and she decided she is happy about it now. She remains in good spirits and keeps that beautiful smile on her face that brightens our every day. As of right now we are still scheduled to return to Memphis on August 7th.
Please keep the prayers alive for Samantha and all the other children and families facing this nightmare as well. Thank you once again for all your love and support we can not begin to express what it means to us.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-07-07T07:16:00.000-04:00

2006-07-06T19:00:00.000-04:00

July 6, 2006

Samantha finished her chemo on Sunday night and was glad to get it over with. We had a nice 4th of July. She got to spend some time playing in the pool with some friends during the day and went to watch the fireworks with some other friends in the evening. She has been very tired and has been napping everyday but has been able to get to PT & OT two times this week and has been excercising in the pool as much as possible.
We had labs done today and suprisingly to us her platelets have already dropped, she is having her first transfussion this evening. Kurt gave today so she will have them ready for her if she needs another round on Monday. We are still battling the morning sickness but will be trying another combo of meds tonight in hopes to stop that for her.
We are scheduled to return to Memphis on August 7th but are thinking we will probably be pushed back a week as we started chemo later than expected. While in Memphis this time she will have an MRI done along with various appts with different docs and clinics. We pray that we will have some positive news to report and of course cant stop hoping for that miracle she so deserves!!! Please continue to pray for that as well. Thank you all once again.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-06-29T07:36:00.000-04:00

June 29, 2006

Samantha was finally able to start her next round of chemo last night. Although she did not want to do it she did great. She has been very tired this past week and has not been real active. We are still trying to figure out what is causing her to have that choking cough every morning which leads to vomitting. Since she has returned from Memphis she has not had any seizures (we are keeping our fingers crossed) but had quite a few while she was there.
Her check up went well no new news really. She has now been off her steroids for 11 days and seems to be handling it okay. Her balance and her eye are looking great. She was very shaky for about a week but that does not seem to be as severe now. We are working on her appetitie or lack of I should say.
We don't know how fast her counts are going to drop again with this round of chemo but we are hoping to get her more active while she can get out of the house some. Please continue to pray for her.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-06-22T08:33:00.000-04:00

June 22, 2006

Samantha and Kurt left for St. Jude on Wednesday and are returning home today. She had some trouble with seizures while she was there which resulted in some more adjusting of her meds. We can only hope & pray that this will be what she needs to be without these seizures. Her counts are starting to come up and it looks as though she will start her next chemo round on Monday. They lowered the dose (which her Dr. said is not uncommon) due to her counts not being fully recoverred. It is their feeling that it is better to do the cycle as close to six weeks as possible rather than giving the full dose and waiting an extra 2-3 weeks for total recovery. She is now off her steroids and zantac which eliminates 4 doses of meds per day, with any luck that will help with the vomitting.
Although it was very hard for us to seperate we both managed and she is happily on her way back home. Please continue to pray for her and as always thank you for all your support.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-06-17T08:24:00.000-04:00

2006-06-16T18:09:00.001-04:00

June 16, 2006

Just a quick update from yesterdays posting. We received the CT results which showed no changes since her last scan which was done on May 15th. Samantha seemed to have a better day. Christopher and I took her to the park where we only lasted about 1/2 hour because we left to late and it was so hot. She enjoyed herself though. She spent some time in the pool as well. So far today she has had no seizures and seems to have a little more energy. Hopefully she will be feeling good to enjoy her weekend. Will update again after mondays labs when we know more.
Love to all,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-06-15T21:48:00.000-04:00

June 15, 2006

Just a quick update to let you all know that our trip to Memphis has been postponed. Samantha's counts are still on the low side and the doctor felt it best for her to wait to travel until they come up some due to the risk of infection. We will know more on Monday after her labs are done. She did need to have a transfussion of platelets again yesterday and today went in for a CT scan. She is still having seizures and vomitting so we thought it would be best to ask the doctor to order the scan to be sure her ventricles are the right size and that her shunt is working. We should have results in the morning. She has had a pretty rough few days and we are hoping tomorrow will be a better day. We increased her seizure meds agian this evening hoping that will help. As we get results we will update again. Thank you all for your thoughts & prayers, you can not imagine how much they mean to us.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-06-13T08:01:00.000-04:00

June 13, 2006

Samantha had labs done again yesterday and it appears that her counts are starting to recover. She will be tested again on Wednesday to be sure her platelets are okay as they were borderline. It has been a week since her last transfussion so it seems that they are coming up. Her white count is on its way back up so we should be able to get out a little while we are in Memphis without her wearing a mask.
We have lowered her steroids to .5 mg's every other day and are praying that this slow decrease will be the end of steroids for her. We are still fighting the seizures and the morning vomitting but are hopeful that after returning from St. Jude we will have all that under control as well.
As far as her spirits, she continues to amaze us with her determination and smile everyday. She spends a lot of her mornings doing 100-150 piece puzzles which she really enjoys and we try to get out for a walk or bike ride every evening around our neighborhood. In between playing with Christopher in the yard, swimming, and beating everyone at Uno make up the rest of her day. She is looking forward to being able to play with her friends again and go to physical/occupational therapy as her counts continue to come up. She seems to have more of her interests and personality back which I'm sure you can imagine makes us so happy. Ironically the only complaint she has is that her hair is growing in and she doesn't really want hair anymore!!!
We leave for Memphis this Sunday. Our trip will consist of a few doctor visits, no MRI this time. We will update again when we return. Thank you all for your continued support. Please continue to pray for Samantha and all the others at St. Jude.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-06-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

2006-06-09T08:42:00.000-04:00

June 9, 2006

This week seemed to be a bit quieter than last. Over the weekend we took the kids to the movies and did some shopping. We went to a BBQ on Sunday at our new neighbors house. It was nice to get out some. Come Monday it was back to lab work and a transfussion of platelets. Samantha also needed her monthly IV therapy for prevention of pnemonia. She spent about 4 hours in the hospital having all that done on Monday evening. Luckily she sleeps through most of it with a pre-med dose of benadryl. Her white count has dropped to the point that she is at risk for infection so she can not have to much contact with people. We had labs done again yesterday (thursday) and for the first time in 3 weeks she did not need to go in for platelets. Hopefully this is the turn around and she will start recovering now. More labs will be done on Monday.
Her seizures seemed to have slowed down but still break through here and there. She has been having trouble keeping down breakfast but other than the morning hours she does pretty good throughout the day. Since her steroids have been lowered to .5 mg's a day she has been sleeping through the night. We will be returning to Memphis next Sunday on the 18th for a check up.
Thank you for all your continued support, please keep those prayers alive!!!
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-06-02T19:44:00.000-04:00

June 2, 2006

We had an eventful week here in Vero. After the long busy weekend Samantha started tuesday out with seizures at 6:30 am. They would stop on there own but were coming every hour. She had her labs done and needed another platelet transfussion along with red blood this time. Her seizures continued throughout the day and ended about 12:30 am after the 12th one and 10 hours in the hospital. She was seizure free on Wednesday and had two on Thursday. She also started PT & OT on thursday and really liked the therapists. Today she had labs again and we just returned from her third transfussion of platelets. Things went much faster this time and the nursing staff at the hospital are really trying to get a system down for her so it will be a quick as can be process. With them & the help of her pediatrician things seemed to go a lot smoother this time which was much appreciated. She will have labs again on Monday. Tomorrow we will increase her seizure meds to the dose they were originally aiming to get to, hoping and praying that will do it for her. Without these seizures she would definately have more energy and a little more freedom. As always she remains smiling. Thank you all for your continuing love & support. Please continue to pray for her.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-05-29T07:28:00.000-04:00

May 29, 2006

It has been a beautiful Memorial Day Weekend. Samantha needed a transfussion of plateletts on thursday but luckily her white count was still up enough for her to enjoy some time in the pool this weekend. She has been swimming and playing all weekend, having fun the way it should be. We have decreased her steroids gradually over the past few days and are down to 1mg a day. So far it has not effected her balance or her eye. She has been a little shaky but hopefully it is just her body adjusting and will soon correct itself. She will have her labs done again tomorrow. Her counts were all coming down (which means the chemo is doing what it is supposed to do). Although it is the most common side effect of her particular med it does make us very uneasy. Kurt went last week to donate for her so if she needs more transfussions we will know where it is coming from, this time anyway. Other than that it has been a quiet weekend and we have actually been home for over two weeks consecutively for the first time since January!!! We hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well. Please keep those prayers alive.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-05-22T09:10:00.000-04:00

2006-05-21T21:29:00.000-04:00

May 21, 2006

We have had a busy week and a half since our last update. We ended up back in Arnold Palmer Hospital last weekend with seizures. Luckily it was only an overnight stay and we returned home on Sunday. We had started another medication Saturday morning after the first episode so Samantha now takes two different medications to try to control her seizures. We had a busy week going into school a few hours a day and trying to spend some more time out in the fresh air. She had several small very brief seizures throughout the week up until thursday morning. Her medicine she started last week has a very slow increase but she has been doing much better the past 3 days. We spent a lot of time in the pool, planting flowers and playing games this weekend. She seems to have a lot more energy and does not require long or frequent naps throughout the day anymore. To Kurt and I it seems like her personality is shining through more and more each day. She is starting to have more interest in things and the stamina to follow them through which is so nice to see. Her and Christopher went from one activity to another Saturday morning, just like old times. I think it made us all feel good!! We end our weekend with a smile and hope that we continue to have peaceful days ahead. As always please keep praying for Samantha.
All our love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-05-11T13:31:00.000-04:00

May 11, 2006

Samantha seems to be doing a little better today. She wasn't as sick this morning and seems to have a better appetite today. With the rough day she had yesterday she some how pulled it together and made it to her kindergarden celebration. The kids were all on stage and sang a song, listened to a poem read by their principal, Mr. Klaus, they were then called up to receive their certificate. It was very touching how everyone cheered when they called Samantha's name. Kurt and I both cried tears of joy for our brave little girl. She is so amazing.
She has been spending some time each day going to school and being back in her class room with her friends. It really makes her day to be there agian. As always we are so proud of her determination.
We will keep you updated weekly. Please keep those prayers alive.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-05-09T16:13:00.000-04:00

May 9, 2006

Today Samantha went to school for the first time since she left in January. We went in for "centers" and stayed about an hour and a half. She did real well and was so happy to see everyone again. Everyone was excited to see her and gave her a warm welcome back. What a wonderful place we feel so lucky to be a part of. We are going to try to do a few hours a week before school ends on the 22nd. We hope to make the kindergarden celebration tomorrow night if she is up to it. Samantha did not want to leave but was asleep by the time we got home.
She will finish this round of chemo tonight and hopefully won't be feeling so sick in the mornings anymore. She has had a rough week but remains in good spirits. Please continue to keep her in your prayers as we search for answers and hope for a cure.
With Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-05-08T21:44:00.000-04:00

2006-05-07T14:14:00.000-04:00

2006-05-05T22:23:00.000-04:00

May 5, 2006

Once again we are home from Memphis. Samantha's MRI results did not show much change. It is impossible to say what effect radiation had on the cells because as her doctor says an MRI is not a microscope. The fact that there was no growth is a good sign that radiation and the first round of chemo had stabilized the tumor. She started her next phase of chemo tonight and we are hoping she responds well.
We also had to increase her seizure meds again as she was having breakthrough seizure activity starting on the flight to TN. What a scary feeling (and I thought just flying was bad). She had several episodes at St. Jude and again on the flight home. Our hopes are that her new dose will kick in and be enough to protect her without adding another medication and all the side effects that come along with it. It is very hard to comprehend how one little body can handle so much medicine and I used to be afraid to give her a decongestant and tylenol together!!
With all that she went through in such a short time she is still smiling and has no complaints. Please continue to pray for her and thankyou for all the love and prayers you have surrounded us all with, it means more than you could ever imagine.
All our love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-04-24T16:35:00.000-04:00

April 24, 2006

Samantha & Christopher enjoyed a belated Easter Sunday together at last. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed being together and having some much needed fun. Samantha is still weaker than she was due to this last hospital stay but is making some progress daily. Her eye is still not opening much but her balance is getting better. She is enjoying her time in the pool everyday and we feel that will help her to regain her strength more than anything. Kurt and I will be flying back to Memphis with Samantha next tuesday evening for a few days of check ups and testing. Please continue to pray for Samantha and for good MRI results next week. We will keep you updated as we have any news.
Love to all.
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-04-24T16:28:00.000-04:00

Belated Easter Morning

2006-04-23T19:36:00.000-04:00

2006-04-21T06:59:00.000-04:00

April 21, 2006

We are home once again after a five day stay at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando. Samantha was doing well for the first two days at home when she started having seizures. We brought her in to our local ER and after stabilizing her she was transferred to Orlando. A process all to familiar to us and one we had hoped to avoid. She had a rough time with medications in the hospital but we are hoping we have the right med and dosage now to keep her safe from seizures and acting herself. We have been home since Wednesday and are trying to settle in before returning to Memphis on May 3rd. We are trying to determine if her unsteadiness is due to being in the hospital or the fact that she is off her steroids for the 3rd try. We are hoping to see improvement so she can remain steroid free but do want her to have some quality time while she is at home. We thank you all once again for all the support you have shown us. Please continue to pray for her and her test results soon to come.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-04-13T07:14:00.000-04:00

April 13, 2006

We are finally home!!!! We arrived back in Vero Beach on Tuesday afternoon and are very happy to be back. We had no sleep Monday night before we left Memphis so we were very tired traveling. Samantha is doing well. She slept in her own bed for the first time last night and did not get up once. She also slept most of the day away yesterday and looks like a new kid today. Yesterday was her last dose of steroids (again) and we are hoping this time it will be for good.
We came home to the house all decorated with streamers, balloons, flowers, and various Easter goodies. The refrigerator and freezer were stocked and dinner was waiting for us when we were ready. Thank you Debra, Jolie, Darlene, & friends. We can't tell you how much we appreciate all you've done. We suprised Christopher at school and of course I broke into tears (happy ones for a change) when his teacher brought him out to me. He and Samantha are so happy to be back together again. The Visiting Nurses will be here today to do labs for Samantha. They will be coming once a week or more as needed. Hopefully those counts are looking good and she can get out a little more.
Although we are happy to be home we left some terrific people back in Memphis. Our friends Catherine & Jason (have 4 yr old Colby, with a brain stem tumor) are just such wonderful people and we miss them. The good news is they live right in Boca Raton so we can stay in touch and visit with each other. Colby has about two more weeks of radiation and they will return back home. Another couple we became real friendly with was Matoka & Bill (6 yr old Kerianne, had a tumor that was removed) are from North Carolina. Kerianne has just a week or two of radiation to go also. She has to return in a month and stay 4-6 months in Memphis for Chemotherapy. We hope to see them again too! Samantha and Kerianne really loved to play together. Please keep Colby & Kerianne in your prayers as well.
We will be returning to Memphis on May 3. Samantha will have her MRI on May 4th and we will return (hopefully with really good news) on the 5th. Please continue to pray that Radiation has helped or a miracle has happened for her. We will keep you posted on our progress here in VERO BEACH!!!
Love to all.
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

Samantha & Christopher April 1, 06

2006-04-04T18:11:00.000-04:00

2006-04-03T17:31:00.000-04:00

April 3, 2006

Here we are still in Memphis hoping to go home this week. Kurt & Christopher will be leaving tomorrow. Samantha and I will have to stay behind, hopefully only a few more days. Her blood work today showed that her bone marrow is starting to produce cells again. Her counts are still low (but did not go down any)and she will have to continue to wear her mask but it is a step in the right direction. We will retest again on Wednesday and hope to see some significant rise in hers counts. According to the doctor it is possible to see a big turn around in 24-48 hours so that is of course what we are hoping for. We changed our travel plans (once again) in hopes to go home on friday. As for Samantha ---- Still smiling and not letting anything get her down. She is an amazing child, a true inspiration to her mom & dad. Please continue to pray that her body keeps recovering. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers.
With love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-03-30T16:25:00.000-05:00

March 30, 2006

Today was the last day of radiation for Samantha. She has been such a trooper through last past 6 1/2 weeks we are all so proud of her.
We were hoping to be on our way home today but Samantha's blood counts continue to drop. She was tested today and now has to wear a mask to protect herself from infection. She will be tested again tomorrow to make sure she does not need another transfussion before the weekend. Kurt & Christopher flew in yesterday to suprise her and will be here until tuesday. Our hopes are to all go home together. If her body starts to recover and we see the counts rising that is a possibility. Please keep that in your prayers for her.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

Samantha's last day of Radiation!!!!!

2006-03-30T16:23:00.000-05:00

2006-03-25T09:30:00.000-05:00

March 25, 2006

Samantha has only 4 radiation treatments to go. We had to stop her chemo on Monday as her plateletts were critically low and she had to receive a transfussion. She handled it well and had no side effects. She was retested on friday and her plateletts seem to be recovering slowly. We will test again on Monday and are praying that there is a signifigant increase so she will not need another transfussion and can go home thursday as planned. As always she is in great spirits and is always smiling. We can not thank you all enough for all your love & support. Please keep praying that Samanthas body will recover itself so she can go home and be with her family and friends.
Love to all.

Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-03-19T18:12:00.000-05:00

March 19, 2006

Samantha had a busy weekend with her daddy and brother and was loving every minute of it. She was actually running after Christopher today and has limited the use of her walker tremendously. She continues to get stronger and more amazing every day. It was so hard to say goodbye to each other once agian today but knowing we will be going home in two weeks really helps. We have started shipping boxes home and started the count down. As always thank you all for your generousity, love, & support. Please keep those prayers alive.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-03-19T18:08:00.000-05:00

2006-03-17T17:42:00.000-05:00

March 17, 2006

Samantha has now finished 4 1/2 weeks of radiation and only 2 weeks to go. She started losing her hair about 2 weeks ago and decided yesterday to shave what was left. She remains in good spirits and does not let much of anything get her down. Her steroids are being lowered every three days and we are close to being off them completely. We are looking forward to that as they have so many side effects.
Today we spent a few hours at the Memphis Zoo. Her & Christopher really enjoyed it and of course Kurt & I were very happy to have our family together smiling. Enjoy the pictures. I'm sure I will be adding more after the weekend is over. As always please keep on praying for Samantha.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-03-17T16:54:00.000-05:00

2006-03-17T16:25:00.000-05:00

2006-03-08T20:07:00.000-05:00

March 8, 2006

Samantha still continues to show improvement each day. She is getting around on her own more and is getting stronger. Today she completed her third week of radiation and has 3 1/2 more to go. She remains in good spirits and is always smiling. At the hospital today we got a visit from "Dora The Explorer" which really excited her. As you can see in one of the pictures she rode a trike around the hallways of the hospital all morning and was really cruisin.
Tonight at the house we had a pizza party and a visit from the River Kings who are a hockey team here. You will also see a picture of Samantha with their mascot "Sheldon". Her eyes lit up when she saw him coming. Hope you enjoy the pictures and thank you again for all your love & support. As always please keep the prayers alive.
Love,
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

2006-03-08T20:05:00.000-05:00

2006-03-08T18:54:00.000-05:00

Hope for Samantha Golf Outing

2006-03-08T16:51:00.000-05:00

Hope for Samantha Golf Outing
(Sponsored by the Buonfiglio and Britton Families and Friends)
April 10th, 2006

Samantha is a bright and beautiful six year old girl who has recently been diagnosed with a rare inoperable brain tumor. Samantha was treated at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Florida where she spent several weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. She was then transferred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee where she is currently undergoing extensive radiation treatment daily for eight weeks along with ongoing chemotherapy. As you can imagine, with this type of life threatening disease, the medical costs that Samantha’s family have incurred are astronomical. By participating in the golf outing, you can help Samantha’s family defray some of these medical expenses. All proceeds from the outing will go directly to the “Samantha Britton Medical Fund”.

--------------------------------------------

Hope for Samantha Golf Outing

April 10, 2006

Port Jefferson Country Club
44 Fairway Drive, Port Jefferson, NY 11777
Tel: 631-285-1814

Shotgun start at 10:30 am SHARP - Scramble Format

Continental Breakfast, Lunch, and Cocktail Hour and Awards Dinner to follow

Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place, Longest Drives, Closest to the pin, Raffles and Silent Auction.

$300 per person includes Golf, Cont. Breakfast, Lunch, Cocktail Hour and Dinner.

Hole Sponsorship: $500 Sole sponsorship of hole
$100 Shared sponsorship of hole
(Please provide Logo) to nbuonfiglio@newlinenoosh.com

Donations of raffle prizes or items for the golfers' Goodie Bag will be greatly appreciated. Contact Louis LaVigna at lou@spotlightps.com or Jeff Lollo @ lu909@aol.com

PLEASE SEE REGISTRATION FORM:

Hope for Samantha Golf Outing

Registration form

Make Checks Payable to: "The Samantha Britton Medical Fund"

PLEASE COMPLETE AND MAIL THIS FORM WITH YOUR CHECK TO:

The Samantha Britton Medical Fund
c/o Lollo
22A 15th Street
Bayville, NY 11709

(Tax ID# is 20-4233699)

Names: __________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

Phone number of one contact: _________________

Amount Paid: $_____________

Hole Sponsorship: $________________

Unable to attend this year but have enclosed my donation for: $__________

Please make copies of this registration form for additional groups

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON THE COURSE

2006-03-04T14:35:00.000-05:00

2006-03-04T14:31:00.000-05:00

Samantha playing at the Ronald McDonald playground on March 4, 2006.

2006-03-04T14:29:00.000-05:00

2006-03-02T22:13:00.000-05:00

March 2, 2006

Samantha has made remarkable progress since we have been in Memphis at St. Jude. She has been using her wheelchair less everyday and is up walking with a walker for the most part. She is doing radiation therapy 5 days a week and has been so brave to go in and get it done without sedation. She is also handling her first round of chemo therapy like a trooper. Her left eye that was completely closed when we arrived here is now open and as bright and beautiful as her right eye. She is attending school 3 days a week and is working hard to keep up with her kindergarden curriculum. It is her favorite part of the day. She has graduated from speech class, still attends physical & occupational therapy 3 days a week.
When she is not at the hospital working so hard she is starting to enjoy her coloring, crafts, and dolls again. The return of her smile and laughter has been a blessing and brightens our days.
Thank you for all your love and support, please keep those prayers alive.
Audra, Kurt, Christopher, & Samantha

Hope for Samantha bracelets

2006-02-16T17:49:00.000-05:00

2006-02-07T16:25:00.000-05:00

Having Faith
Offers us Comfort and Joy
People Sharing a Dream that their Child will be Cured
Everlasting Love From All of Us

Our story is a sad and tragic one. It is about a sweet, little girl named Samantha Britton. Samantha is a bright and beautiful girl who has recently been diagnosed with a rare inoperable brain tumor. Samantha has always been a very healthy, vibrant and energetic child, playing such sports as soccer, gymnastics and most recently cheerleading. Samantha and her parents, Audra and Kurt, and brother Christopher, are originally from Bayville, New York and relocated to Vero Beach, Florida in 2004.

Samantha was treated at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Florida where she has spent several weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. She will be transferred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Once at St. Jude, Samantha will have extensive radiation treatment daily, for six to seven weeks, followed by ongoing chemotherapy.

As you can imagine, with this type of life threatening disease, the medical costs that Samantha's family have incurred are astronomical. By making a donation to the Samantha Britton Medical Fund, you will be helping Samantha's family defray some of these medical expenses. Any donation you make will be greatly appreciated.

At the young age of six, it is hard to imagine all of the challenges and difficulties that lie ahead. Samantha's family and friends have surrounded her with love, prayers and most of all hope!

Please send donations to “The Samantha Britton Medical Fund” c/o Lollo, 22A 15th Street, Bayville, New York, 11709.

Love,
The Britton and Buonfiglio Families and Friends