February 4, 2006

We are back from Dance Marathon and had a great time. We didn't get out of here until almost 3:30 yesterday and arrived there a little after 5. We quickly checked into our hotel and had a spaghetti supper they provided. There were over 400 family members there that had been affected by childhood cancer and that participated in the event. The whole event was incredible-over 1000 students who danced for 24 hours and had worked to raise money for this cause. The Iowa Memorial Union where the event is held is under construction, so there were a few constraints on how many people could be dancing in the ballroom that they have not had other years. Still, the whole experience was quite memorable. After supper last night and a meeting for families to get some directions about the opening where we all walked in together, we participated in the kickoff by walking down an aisle lined with the dancing participants and then up across the stage. It is quite overwhelming to have so many people cheering and yelling for you and your child (and the other families) who are going through this. The families' names are also called off as the procession walks in and across the stage.

At 9:00 families were permitted to dance so we took the girls upstairs for a little over half an hour. They enjoyed this part and the college kids were quite happy to dance with them. Chloe really ate it all up and Leah pretended she was not interested, but she likes the attention, too. Our family rep., Liz, had met us right away when we checked in and she and her sister were very interested in dancing with the girls and helping out. Luckily Leah and Chloe liked them both right away. We also ran into Tyler, a volunteer from Dance Marathon that helps lead activities for Leah. He is a wild and crazy guy and Leah always gets a kick out of him. During the weekend we were able to visit with the Koepkes whose daughter, Megan, is also undergoing treatment in Iowa City. Megan's mom is originally from Readlyn and her dad is from Waverly, so we know many of the same people.

Unfortunately we did not get back and really get to sleep until almost midnight. We are paying for this today, since we were up by 8 this morning. Today we danced a bit more, ate breakfast and lunch, listened to some different parents presentations (this is something we will do next year), and walked around with Aunt Suzanne and her friend Steph who visited. They,too, were impressed with Dance Marathon. The highlight of the day for Leah was probably the doctors lip sync they performed to "I Want it That Way." James, the nursing assistant, Dr. Loew, Dr. Goldman, and a few other doctors we are not as acquainted with performed this with choreography. We had a good laugh about their act.

After that we all decided we were ready to go and packed up. The girls napped the whole way back and we drove around for an additional half hour so they could sleep more. Chris and I got to watch the rest of the Hawks game and Leah managed to eat constantly after we returned home. We also visited GG and Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Daryl tonight. Leah and Chloe are so tired now-in fact, Chloe needs to sleep desparately, but Leah wants to write everyone a message yet in this blog. She is still feeling pretty good, and has giggled up a storm. Apparently she cracks herself up, and even though this is four year old humor we cannot help but laugh, too.

Please pray for her medicines to work, for her tumor to shrink, for her good spirits to continue, and for God to provide strength and comfort to us all in this journey.

Leah's message:
/gkzABCEFGHIJKlNMPOQRSTqVzxyuw,fhuy8y8yy75y7yg5uyyuhuhlllllllllllllllllll