Sunday, July 10, 2011

A Night of Hope


Join Us For
A Night of Hope
Sunday, August 7, 2011 6-9 pm
Giorgio's Ristorante and Meze Bar
Milford, NH    
Come for a night of fine dining, entertainment and a toast for hope. Join us for a chef inspired four course dinner and wine pairing. There will also be a silent auction. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Please call to reserve your table by 7/31/2011 by calling Giorgio's at 603-673-3939. Cost for this event will be $65 per guest.

We are still looking for donations for our Silent Auction!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

ZERO!!



Well we got some great news from Dr. Munshi at Dana Farber....... There is "Zero" Myeloma detected in my latest biopsy!  Yup ZERO!!  It feels so good to say that!   All the treatments I have received for the last 12 months including the Stem Cell Transplant worked!  And I'm sure all the prayers and positive thoughts have helped as well.  I was told by Dr. Munshi to keep up my running and that he would see me in October!  I will be continuing my maintenance therapy of Revlimid and Dexamethasone and my monthly infusions of Zometa.  But that is just fine.  My body, so far seems to be tolerating the drugs fine and my energy has never been better.  So hopefully my body will continue to get stronger and I can focus more of my energy on what is most important my four beautiful kids who are the center of my universe and my incredible husband.  


Now with all my new found energy, I am excited to focus my time on helping others fight this incurable cancer by supporting organizations such as the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). The MMRF is the largest non-profit sponsor of myeloma research and  has raised over $160 million since its inception to fund nearly 120 laboratories worldwide. In addition, the MMRF has facilitated 30 clinical trials.  An example of success has been the development of Revlimid by Celgene which was made possible by support from the MMRF.


I have begun several fundraising efforts which you will all hear about in the upcoming months for MMRF.  All these events will raise money towards our total goal of $ 15,000.00 between now and April 2012.   I'd like to take a moment to share more about them and the fantastic people that are helping me.


First, Lindsay Silvestri and Suzi Larson are helping me organize a neighborhood yard sale with baked goods on Sawtelle Road on July 17th from 9-3.  All the proceeds will go to support the MMRF.


Second, on August 7, 2011 we are holding a Night of Hope at Giorgio's Ristorante and Meze Bar in Milford, NH.  It will be a night of incredible food, wine and entertainment.  We will also be having a silent auction.  All of the proceeds from this event will benefit the MMRF.  If you would like to reserve your table please call by 7/31/2011 (603) 673-3939.  The cost of this event will be $65 per guest.  If you have an item you would like to donate for our silent auction, please contact me at dreyerfamily@mac.com.



Third, on September 17th, we will be participating in our 2nd annual MMRF Race for Research - a 5K Walk/Run.  This year will be bigger and better than last year, and we hope that many of you who joined us last year will come back this year for a morning of family fun in Boston.


Finally, I have also begun forming Jeanie's FEAT ( Fitness, Endurance, and Athletic Team ) to participate in fitness/endurance events as part of the MMRF Power Team in support of MMRF's messaging and charitable fundraising.  Members of my team will be able to participate in endurance events of their choice and help to raise money/awareness for the MMRF.  I will be participating in the Bay State Marathon in October and the Boston Marathon in April.  One of the benefits is that you can sometimes get into exclusive events such as the Boston Marathon ( which sometimes require qualification ) by running on behalf of a charity.  If you want to be part of the team and help raise money for the MMRF, I can get you some really cool gear as well.


Well as you can you can read, there are lots of things to look forward to.  But first up is the big State's Tournament for Mitch's 10 Year old All Star Team this weekend!  It is going to be so exciting!  Well it's time to catch up on some much needed rest.  I think tonight I am going to sleep better than I have in the last 13 months!  Thank you for all your continuing support and prayers!  


Sweet Dreams!
Love,
Jeanie



Early Morning Chatter

Good Morning.  It is a beautiful morning here in New Hampshire.  Despite the warm temperatures, everything looks nice green thanks to the powerful storm that rolled in last night.  I found myself sandwiched in bed this morning between Mike and Sarah staring at the ceiling wide awake.  So I decided to come downstairs and enjoy the silence and try to write a bit.  Today I have my follow up appointment with Dr. Munshi at Dana Farber.  We will discuss the results from my bone marrow biopsy.  This is the first biopsy since my transplant in November.  Mike and I have decided to take the kids into Boston with us so that they can meet the incredible Dr. Munshi and take a tour of the new Dana Farber Institute.  We are also going to take advantage of being down in Boston and hang out at Faneuil Hall.  We are expecting positive news so we thought it would be a good time to bring them down.  Let's hope my expectations are right!

Summer in New Hampshire has been great.  The weather has been beautiful and we already enjoyed many beautiful days down the lake.  My mom recently flew back home to Florida after a wonderful 6 week visit. We loved having Nana here and we all miss her so much.  My mom and dad have really been so supportive and incredible to us this past year. They have been here so much that Brookline has become their second home.  I think my mom knows half the town!  While she was here she was the biggest cheerleader at my son Mitch's All Star Baseball Games.  And she watched them come in first place in their last tournament.  We are heading to State's this coming weekend!  Mitch's 10 year old All Star Team is like a Dream Team. It is made up of incredible baseball players and the coaches couldn't be any greater!  We are getting pumped up for the big weekend!

Last week my friend Kristin lost her battle with cancer.  Kristin was a beautiful vibrant woman.  She had just turned 40 and was a mother to two beautiful small children.  Kristin and I were friends in college.  She was diagnosed with a rare carcinoma in March, 2010.  When Kristin heard of my diagnosis she reached out to us last summer.  Her strength and courage amazed me and fueled me.  We spent lots of time talking on the phone.  We totally got each other.  We spoke about our frustrations, our fears and we cried together.  Last year, while at Dana Farber, I ran into Kristin.  It was the first time we had seen each other since college.  There we both were in the waiting room bald cancer patients.  When our eyes met, we both filled up with tears held each other, and said, "how the hell has this happened to us?"  It was a moment I will never forget.  I don't think I have ever felt more connected to anyone so quickly in my life.  Mike and I had a chance to meet her wonderful husband Brian and we talked about the four of us getting together.  Well, unfortunately we never got to.  Last week, cancer won and took the life of my beautiful friend.  I still am having such a hard time comprehending it.  I stood in line for over 1 1/2 hours to pay my respects at the Wake.  The Funeral Home was filled with all the people Kristin has touched in her lifetime.  While there I couldn't help but think, why am I standing here and she is lying in that coffin? It just didn't make sense.  She was a strong positive woman with an incredible faith who was determined to beat this awful disease. Why didn't she make it?  And why am I doing so well?  I spent time speaking with her husband and family about how Kristin's strength had enriched my life so much.  Her father-in-law read me like a book.  And reached out and held my hand and said, "This must be so difficult for you!  I know how scared this must make you.  But just remember more people make it than don't."  Tears rolled down my face as I squeezed his hand.

The next day was the funeral.  It was a beautiful celebration of Kristin's life.  Her sisters and friends got up and spoke about her and shared beautiful stories and moments that they had with her during her lifetime.  The way Kristin approached her cancer with her positive spirit and her desire to be "The Best at Cancer" reminded me so much of myself.   I am left so sad that ugly cancer won and took this beautiful soul from earth.  It does not make sense to me at all.  Everyday I find myself thinking of Kristin.  She was a positive spirit right to the end.  She was determined not to let cancer rob her of her precious moments while on earth.  She worked real hard at staying present and enjoying all the gifts and blessings of life.  Although her life was cut way too short, I truly believe her life was so rich with love.  Her death is a reminder to me of how very precious life is .  I know I am so fortunate to be here today.  The fact that I can wake up every morning without any bone pain and spend the day being an active mom to my four beautiful babies overwhelms me with such joy.

Well I can here little footsteps upstairs.  It looks like my day is about to begin.  My appointment is at 1:30 today so send me some positive energy if you can!  Enjoy your day!

Love,
Jeanie