Thank you for visiting my page at Angelfire. Please come back and visit again!!! Read on for a few words by me...
The smallest and most minute things in life are all the things we expect to be there on a daily basis.... for instance--family--you live with them and learn from them and teach them for what is actually a very short time, and you take them all for granted, we really, really do. Too many other things become so much more important, and they really must or we would never learn anything about ourselves or never continue to grow. Unfortunatly, when we make our way in the world, we tend to stray from all we grew up with and around. We save those times for holidays or deaths when we all end up together again. Then stuff happens and for whatever reason, those we grew up around and lived with and learned from and taught start to disappear. Death happens---usually way before it should. Then you start to think back and wonder why. Should you have done something more and if you did would it matter? Too many questions left not answered. Too many words left unsaid. Cancer is the most horrible disease to watch someone die from. They slowly fade away, losing everything about them whether it is physical or mental.....slowly leave....until they are gone and hopefully in a more peaceful, painless place where they become the angels that watch over us. Stay tuned there will be more to come............
My reason for this site:
For those of you who wonder why i have this site, it is due to many factors, one of which is ( and i am not going far back here to my history )my grandma mary ( mom's mom ) she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have one removed. she did fine, My little sister leann, was sick for some time and we did not know why, but after many, many tests we were told she had acute luekemia. she almost did not make it and her whole system shut down, she was hooked to a machine for her kidneys, her breathing and God knows what all else. God love her for coming thru it all, getting on with her life and maintaing a household with 4 kids and keeping her job at the I.R. During that time my mom was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus, ovaries and her fallopian tubes, she was given radiation and chemo only to be told the cancer was all gone. Little did we know it was not gone and it had moved thru her whole body and even into her brain and was given a short time to live.....we did not realize it would only be a couple of weeks. i had taken care of my mom since i was 13 years old, ( and my sisters, kandi and lee and ruby sometimes....) because mom, as it turned out had a really messed up life......my mom on her 55th birthday ( sept 23, 2002 )died of cancer while me and my daughter Roni Marie were in the room with her......may we only hope she is with the angels. she wanted no funeral, no newspapers, nothing...just let her go. she wanted to be cremated.......so we did and then I spread her ashes into keuka lake. love you momma.........now little sis is really sick again and as it turns out........i am her only hope to make it.....what an honor!!!!!! to give someone that 2nd chance to have a life........i can only hope it works, will let you all know if it does. going to do the transplant in early march........wish her and i luck, it is risky and may not work, but with any luck, it will............love you all.........
03/04/03 I am leaving this Friday to start my shots, will start the actual collection of stem cells on Tuesday. I have to give her most of my immune system and calcium so for the love of god, stay clear of me if you are sick........more later
so....i am back home now and feeling very sore and very tired. what an experience it was. Friday i recieved my first shot of nupegin...the growth factor...it made me ache so bad all over. my bones in every part of my body, the worst was my face tho' and my head hurt. the motor skills were terrible. i was in slow motion and was sooooo tired. i had a shot on saturday, sunday and monday and then tuesday started the extraction of stem cells. a needle was stuck in each arm and one was to withdraw the blood while the other was to give it back after removing the white blood cells. they were also pumping into me the anticoagulant stuff so my blood did not clot which works against the calcium in your body. my sister kandi sat with me and kept feeding me cheese and tums, both of course have calcium. that helps the tingling that goes on thru your whole body. they needed to extract 400 million stem cells for my sister, i was able to give them 462 million the first time. i was in the room with my sister when they hooked up the bag and put my stem cells into her. when the nurse opened the valve to let it drip into her, she leaned down to her ( my sister ) and said "happy birthday". what a touching moment. they had given her radiation and chemo the days i was getting the shots of nupegin so that her body could take my cells without having any of her own. she cried because she was so afraid to die and be alone and did not want to leave her boys. it will probably be a couple of weeks or so before we know if her body accepts the cells from me. lets hope it works.........
4/06/03 just another update to all who may wonder....sis is having a problem with her stomach. the inside is peeling and when she goes to the bathroom she bleeds really bad. but they have given her something to help her so hopefully it will. as far as i go, i am sooooo tired out still and my body is still aching. i hope i feel well again soon, but leann says it takes alot of you. will let you know more as soon as i can.
06/11/2003 Just another update on things, arm still aches like a son-of-a-gun...but that is nothing compared to leann, she went back to rochester for a checkup and they kept her, i guess they tell her she may have host vs. graft disease, which can be taken care of in most circumstances so here is hoping all goes well, she has lost about 50 pounds, sleeps all the time and looks very worn out. hope to know something very soon, will let you all know......love ya's all.
11/19/2003 Finally back on to update some....Leann was back to work for a couple of months and started feeling very tired and sick again. She went for check up and they found that her liver and spleen are swollen. They said it was drug induced hepatitus. They also said it may be chronic GVH. She should know more by the end of the week. If that is what it is then she will be off work forever probably. Will let you know when i know.
For those of you who do not view my guestbook, you may never know what we do to those who have gone thru this, like my sister, so i am gonna copy what she wrote to me from my guestbook...and i do hope that my little sister knows how much i truly do love her....
UPDATE:
This morning 02/28/2004, I recieved a phone call from my dad @ 4:30 am,
Leann has finally stopped fighting. She did not give up the fight, but her body did.
Rest In Peace
Leann D. Verstreate Burlingame
08/14/1967--02/28/2004
We are now a part of each other
You will always be in my heart.
I LOVE YOU
In Our Hearts
Author Unknown
We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday,
And the days before that, too.
We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have is memories,
And your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake,
With which we'll never part.
God has you in His Keeping.
We have you in our Heart.
I would like to pass a special message to my nephew-Brandon Verstreate--
I was in the room for your birth
and through the years I have watched you grow into a fine young man
I hope you know that I will never try to replace your mom
but, I will be here for you always as I was the day you were born.
You are a very special young man.
I LOVE YOU
I want to thank Leann and Robs kids:
Brian Burlingame, Brandon Verstreate,
Corey Burlingame, and Chris Burlingame
For being at Leanns service,
Mothers Day this year was hard,
But thank you for being there!!!
Thank you to Brians wife Emily
Who was due for their baby,
but let Brian go anyway.
I just want to give a special thank you to the youngs ( jerry, cindy and lisa ) for taking such awesome care of my son while i was away........
click on photo album below to see some pics..
Photo Album
Remember to always treat the ones you love with trust, honor, respect and as hard as it is sometimes remember to always be as kind as you can, because the last thing you say to someone may be the last thing you ever get to say to them.
One more bit of news, I am going to be a grandmother. My daughter Roni, (pictured above)is due on June 21, 2004. The baby's father is Craig E. Stanton. He works at Pelton Trucking driving milk truck......Some unfortunate news came recently and I will copy that below from The Daily Review..... Craig Eugene Stanton was born on April 14, 1980 at Arnot Ogden Hospital in Elmira, N.Y. He was a son of Edmund Stanton Jr. and Debbie Spencer Stanton. Craig attended the Troy Area schools where he played soccer and was active in the Junior Shooters. He later graduated with the class of 1999. He currently was employed as a truck driver for Pelton Trucking in West Franklin. Craig was a member of the Troy Sons of the American Legion No. 49, and was an active member of the Troy Fire Department. Craig loved being outdoors, especially while hunting. He also enjoyed snowmobiling, motorcycling, endurance racing and participating in demolition derbies throughout the area. Craig was a very kind and considerate young man who was always willing to lend a helping hand whenever needed. He will be greatly missed by his loving family and many dear friends. Surviving are: his mother, Deborah Stanton of Burlington and his father Ed "Stub" Stanton of Sylvania, A brother, Christopher Stanton, maternal grandparents, Dan and Patricia Spencer of Granville Summit, Paternal grandmother and her spouse, Annabelle and Mike Polly of Sylvania, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and special friends, Randy Calkins of Troy and Kate VanNote of Luthers Mills. Craig was preceded in death by a grandfather, Edmund Stanton Sr. in 1986. The family invites friends to call from 5-8 p.m., Friday Nov. 21, at the Pepper Funeral Home, Springbrook Drive, Canton. The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Duane Taylor, officiating. Interment will follow in the Glenwood Cemetery, Troy. The family suggests that memorials may be directed to the Troy Fire Department, RR2, Box 812 Troy, Pa. 16947, or the Troy Vets Club Building Fund, P.O. Box 113 Troy, Pa. 16947 in Craig E. Stanton's loving memory. Congratulations to my daughter Roni and to Craig Thank you to Stub and Deb Stanton for making Craig a part of your lives Another sad piece of news... a huge thank you to all of you that have signed my guestbook and another huge thanks to those of you saving your can tabs.
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Craig E. Stanton, 23Nov. 18, 2003 Craig E. Stanton 23 of Burlington, passed away Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 18, 2003 from injuries sustained from a farm tractor accident.
Rest In Peace:
Craig E. Stanton
04/14/1980--11/18/2003
Another Angel to watch over my daughter and their baby
Here is baby Craig at 6 months
He is called C.J.
Another thank you to C.J.'s uncle Chris "Shorty"
What a treasure to leave behind
A huge thank you to
Craig Stanton for such a gift
Rest In Peace:
Dustin V. Stroud
7/16/1984--11/30/2003
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