Monday, March 23, 2009

chargin' along!...

A real life angel paid us a visit last week: 6th Grade Ecker Hill student, Maddie Carpenter. Maddie’s younger brother beat cancer at the age of 4... and when she learned of Rogan’s illness she took it upon herself to lend a huge hand.

Through selling her delicous rice crispie treats, Maddie was able to raise a ton of money and donated it directly to the Go Rogan Foundation to assist with her medical bills. The Carpenter family also gifted Case & I a much needed night out at any Bill White restaurant!... we can’t find a sitter soon enough! Maddie put her sewing skills to the test and crafted Rogan a gorgeous blanket. Rogan said it was “snuggy snuggy“. Maddie also gave Rogan a super cute Elmo hug-me doll, complete with heart t-shirt and an Elmo cell phone. She's not showing it the photo... but she was exstatic! When the Carpenter's left, all Rogan kept saying was, "eh my en o?"... ("where'd my friend go?")

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Rogan has been feeling great and we are so thankful. She acts like her perfect self, naps from 1 - 3 each day and sleeps through the night... in her own crib! It is a dream. She is still on a steady chemo regiment and her white counts are still very low (at 600... normal healthy human is at approx 5,000). She picked up a bit of a cold the other day and was running a little hot. Her fever never spiked above 100 and we were spared the trip down to Primary’s.

We are on a solid routine and looking forward to October of 2010!... Rogan’s scheduled treatment completion date. Upon completion we she will undergo surgery to have her central line removed.... can’t wait for a life with out nightly flush n’ fills and 2 dressing changes a week! (saline & heparin recycling:)

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Once off chemo completely, Rogan will still need to get to clinic once a month... then once every 3 months to keep tabs on her blood counts. They will keep a close eye for the rest of her life... a small price to pay for her well being.

She’s so grown up now... talking up a storm and making all the “big girl” transitions. Her hair is starting to grow back and it is amazing.

“Princess party time” with cousin Shea:

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A+ photography via
briancraighill.com! A great man, indeed.

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Yikes!:

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Thank you for following Go Rogan.

14 comments:

ishybeanie said...

wow look at all those Elmo's, I love the family pictures.

Brooke Eriksen said...

LOVE good friends!! And I love those family pictures. They are priceless.
We are so sorry we were not able to meet up with you while we were in UT. But honestly the little girl staying with us was pretty sick, so I didn't want to push our luck. We are marking our calender for Oct. 2010:) PARTY!!

Darcy said...

this is a such a touching update. things are sounding positive. GO ROGAN!! incredible family pics crawfords, XO!

Anonymous said...

This is such a positive post! I can't look at pictures of your family and not smile. Much Love!

barbchuck said...

Wow! I love the fact that this blog has so much happy news and GREAT pictures! How sweet and wonderful of Maddie and her family to give so much love and time to your family! The princess picture of Rogan and Shea is just the cutest ... ever! The family shots are beautiful. You are one good-looking family! You look as if you should be in a magazine ad.

Anonymous said...

The girls are looking great and so are you guys! Its so fun to see Rogan able to play with Shea again.
Always thinking of you all
Love, Aunt Kris

Beth said...

Oh my ...Elmo! How fun! Such a happy post. Go Rogan, and mom and dad and Coco. Cute, cute pictures.

Love you guys!

Gibsons said...

LOVE the family pictures! Love ya!

kjersey said...

I'm a friend of Elizabeth Heit and she told me of Rogan's story from the beginning. I've followed it from my home in Illinois! My heart swells and eyes fill of tears everytime I read the updated blog. We are rootin' Rogan along and think both parents are deserving of gold medals being such amazing troopers. Both girls are precious!
xoxo!
Karen

ryan the girl said...

you guys make me smile. the family pic with coco balancing is outrageous; the look on her face is so concentrated, i love it. you guys are serious gold star parents. i hope you plan on a vacation out to brooklyn in fall 2010...

jowo said...

Thank you for sharing this with us

Amy said...

Way cute family pictures! It was also great to see a picture of Rogan with Shea! Cute cousins! I'm glad everything is going as great as it can!

Dianne Young Erwin said...

YEAH! Sounds so great! Things are moving forward in such an amazing way, it brings tears to my eyes!
Love the family photo.

Coco = baby model...

xoxo love to you all

Heidi said...

You don't know me... but I stumbled upon your blog through a few different ones. I couldn't help but want to leave you a comment to tell you that I am a survivor myself, diagnosed at 11 months with Neuroblastoma. I went through chemo and finished treatments when I was 3. I had to go back every 3 months... then 6 months... then every year... then around age 14 they told me not to worry about visits anymore! Your darling girl is so sweet, as are you... I can't imagine being a parent and going through what you do. My mother went through so much - much of what you described in this post with the dressings, etc. I also lost my hair and it grew back in Shirley Temple wringlets.

Sorry to leave such a long comment... just wanted to give you a positive success story! I'm 25 now, been married for two and a half years, and other than missing a kidney (removed during the surgery when they took the tumor out), I am healthy. I'd like to check back with this blog from time to time, if that's okay. Good luck with everything.