07/06/03 I am very happy to first of all report that Michael has now had his 5 year anniversary, July 2nd, since the brain tumor was removed. We celebrated this day, and gave lots of praises to God for many answered prayers. The past five years have been a big struggle, and we have come out of it all different people. Better people in my opinion. We have made many new friends for life, and are very thankful to them all. It's amazing how tragedy can bring good. Michael's health has been good for the most part. Still suffers from headaches, but he rolls with the punches. He started Occupational Therapy again due to the fact that he lost some ground at that again since he stopped a while back. So for the summer he has two tutors that come into the home a few days a week, and has OT, and continues with his speech therapy. It keeps him busy, but that is always good. He will be starting 1st grade this fall, and is very excited. I think it's harder on me than him. I always get so nervous. That's about it for now. I do want to say Happy Birthday to Miss Nancy. She has been a huge support to our family from the very beginning. She is a loving, supportive woman who has always thought of other's before herself. So Happy Birthday Nancy! Hugs to you all, Lisa 05/06/03 Hello everyone, sorry to keep you all in suspense on MIchael's latest MRI and testing. First good news is that his MRI is stable!! That's a definite praise to God for that news. So why is Michael having so many difficulties as of late? Well, we really believe it is from the combination of chemotherapy, intrathecal chemo, radiation, and pressure of the ventricles before the shunt was placed. He has seen several neurological specialist, and they all agree that this is why Michael is having difficulties now. What can we do? Well, we are still waiting to get the results of some special education testing we have done. One simple suggestion is that instead of writing his name on all his papers, just get a stamp with his name on it. He is so tired after just writing his name, that when it comes to just doing his real work, he can't think straight. This is just a example. When I get the final answers, I will let you all know what they say. Maybe it can help someone else who is going through the same effects of trauma to the brain. I want to thank everyone for their continued support. I also want to praise my daughter Anna, who is now 8 years old. She had a Bible Quizzing competition this past weekend with the other Nazarene churches in our state. Well, my sweet little girl got the top honor with getting 100% correct. She got herself a trophy and a camp scholorship for this summer to Church camp! I am so very proud of her doing so well. She too has been through a lot the past few years, and it's amazing how she still does so well. That's about all for now. Hugs and love to you all. Lisa 03/12/03 Hello everyone, WE had MIchael's CT scan yesterday. We are a little bit discouraged with the results. We really honestly thought all of MIchael's problems were due to his shunt not working quite right. Well, his shunt is working just fine. The ventricles are small and look good. Dr Bendel is concerned about these changes in Michael, so we are now going to be doing a MRI to look at the brain tissue more closely. We are trying to not get too nervous about this, but something is definitely wrong and we need to find out what is going on. Please pray that it's nothing serious, and that will be able to help MIchael. I will let you all know more when we find out anything else, Lisa 02/14/03 Hello, Michael has had a rough past couple of weeks. He has been having quite a bit of headaches, and he has had some weird memory issues. First I will start that we got his report card. Yes, this was not easy. He is still not retaining what he is supposed to be learning in school. Even with all the extra help he receives, it just doesn't stick. Very inconsistent is the best way to put it. We will continue to work on this issue. He has been having weird memory issues. For example: One night we just got done eating dinner, and I was cleaning up the dishes. He asked when are we going to eat? We JUST got done eating and I told him he already ate. He didn't remember eating at all. Fits of rage started, and so I fed him again! Other things have happened just like this. Another one for the docs to figure out. Then he has started having headaches and being extra tired. The worse one was the other night waking up in hysterics holding his head. This went on for several hours, and then just went away. Strange. Now I have had enough and called Dr Bendel. She too thinks we should get him checked out. So, we scheduled a scan for Tuesday. So what do you think happened as of today??? HE GOT THE CHICKEN POX!!! Now I know this happens, but now the scan will be put off for a few weeks! When it rains it pours!!! Now, I don't want to scare anyone thinking that he has had a reoccurrence, but I think it might be a shunt issue. Just pray that it doesn't go really wacky until the chicken pox are over. I know this is short and brief, and I promise to update when I find out the outcome of his strange things happening. Please continue to pray, and God bless you all. 09/03/02 Hello, First of all great news is to be reported. Michael's MRI came back clear again on August 12th. We continue to Thank God for such wonderful news. We did our Neuro Onc powwow the same day. All the doctors said he looks great, and he is such a great little boy. His shunt is working well, so that isn't a worry right now. His growing is still behind, so we will continue to monitor that much more closely as he continues to grow up. The only problem we still have is his bowel movements. He still has extreme difficulty not going to the bathroom, and if he does go, it is in his pants. Not very fun. We started him on some new medication for this problem, and he has been going, but always in his pants. If anyone has any insight on this problem, please let me hear from you. Michael starts Kindergarten this week. I am so proud of him, but extremely nervous. He will have an helper with him all day, but being his Mom I wish it could be me! I'm sure he will do just fine, but it's a scary thought right now. Give me a few days, and the sick feeling in my stomach will go away. He is very excited to go though. His teacher from the Deaf/hard of hearing preschool he has attended the past three years came over last week to say good-bye and good luck. She was a pure blessing the past few years. She really loves Michael, and has helped him so very much. Othewise, we are all doing great. Anna starts 2nd grade, Tony got a job promotion at work, and I am continuing to do daycare. We want to say thanks again for all of your love and support. Take care, and hugs to you all Lisa 07/03/02 So here I sit writing this update on Michael. It has been exactly four years since this journey has started. Four years ago, we didn't know what are future would hold with Michael. With the help of God, we can now look him and say he is a success story. He is a happy little boy, with so much love and imagination. He has continued to grow, and develop slowly, and with help, he should be a normal child with a few difficulties. Michael is going to summer school again this year. It is his last times with his Deaf/hard of hearing class. This fall he will be starting Kindergarten in our neighborhood school. He is very excited, but a little nervous. He has grown to love his teachers he has had the past 3 years, but is ready for a new start. 03/21/02 Hello everyone!!! First for those of you who I left hanging about Michael's last MRI...It was completely clear! We continue to be blessed by God for wonderful outcomes. I want to share with all of you another blessing in our lives. On March 2nd, our Church had a benefit for our family called Michael's miracle. It was one of the most memorable days of our lives. They had a chili cook off, a whole room full of sweets for a sweet shop, and hundreds of items donated from local businesses for a live and silent auction. They did an awesome program that touched us very deeply. They had our whole family go up, and asked us about our difficulties the past 3 1/2 years. Michael was amazing. He said he remembered all the tubes and pokes he had, and being so sick. I thought he wouldn't remember, but he does! They explained all about Rhabdoid cancer, and how difficult it has been for us financially during it all. Then for Anna...I really have a special little girl. They gave her a special trophy for being the best sister ever award. The other children in the church gave her a cross necklace to always remember them by, and a bouquet of flowers. Anna had tears from being so happy! Then the tear jerker for Tony and I. They did a slide show with pictures of Anna and Michael, with back ground music of Wind Beneath my Wings. I never realized how much Anna really got put in the back seat during all of this. She is always by Michael's side, and couldn't love him anymore than she does. Then the children did a program singing some songs and playing bells for everyone. They all looked so cute, and it showed how much hard work they put into it. Very touching and fun to watch. A good friend of ours Lila wrote a poem for our family. She spoke and read the poem. It was such a nice touch to the program. Then, they did a song for Tony and I. Our friend Tammy's brother Trent sang a beautiful song. I don't know the name of it, but I can tell you that it was written for a little boy who had cancer. The words were so very perfect. If I could put a name on it, it would be "Not my Son." During this song, it had the slide show of Tony, Michael and I, through Michael's life. The slide show brought back so many memories, and I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. Even now as I write this, I get teary. The benefit was dedicated to all of the Rhabdoid children. Katie Flanders Mom Colleen was there, and so was Chayton Anderson's parents, Dawn and Darrell. It was wonderful for them to be there to show their support of OUR family. I know it was hard for them to come, so it meant a lot to Tony and I. The auction was last. It was a blast! I can tell you that people were very generous. God gave us what he knew we needed. It was a long lasting memory for us all, and probably some strangers who happened to come too. Michael's health continues to be well. He always amazes us daily. He is starting to write some of his letters in his name. This is something we thought would never happen, and he just keeps on going. I want to thank so many people for your continued support and friendship. Our lives have changed so much the past few years. But if anything good has come out of Michael's illness, it's the long lasting friendships I have made. 01/11/02 Hello everyone! I always say this but I am so sorry it's been so long since our last update! I last updated about Michael's hearing loss. Well, I can happily say that we had our own little Christmas miracle here. We had Michael's hearing tested again right before Christmas, and the results were awesome!!! Michael's hearing was the exact same way it was October of 2000! The audiologist had no explanation for this, but we just smiled and said that's because it's our Michael! He always amazes us, and continues to be granted miracles by God. Our Christmas was great. We had a great Christmas program at our new Church. (Osseo Church of Nazarene) Michael was Joseph, and Anna sang and played the bells. The songs were done in sign language, and to us that was extremely special. It was a very special morning for all of us. The Sunday before Christmas we spent with my family up north in Battle Lake. It was the first time in a few years that our whole family was together. It was very special. My sister Stacey got engaged to be married. She is the last of us 4 girls to get married. I really love her fiance, and my children adore him! Christmas Day we went to Tony's parents house. It too was full of fun, and lots of wonderful food! Michael's only big dilemma was that he got a remote control car, but we didn't have batteries for it yet! He didn't like that one! Next year we will make sure we buy a bag of batteries so no fits of frustration will happen! So, Christmas was very good to our family. We are thankful for having one more with Michael, and continue to have many more. Michael's health has been actually really good this year so far. He had one week where he had the cold/flu stuff, but he is back to his full of energy self! We continue to go to OT, PT, Speech therapies three time a week. We also continue to see a Children's Psychologist to help with Michael's frustrations. He is starting to realize that he is different from other children his own age. This at times makes him very frustrated, and thus he has some not very nice outbreaks. We are working on it, and he has gotten much better. Also, he finally identified a letter!!!! The letter "M" for Michael! We were driving by a HOM place, and Michael points and yells "M, for Michael!" I was so happy. Finally, something has stuck in his head and stayed there! We have Michael's next MRI on the 22nd of January. I will update with the results as soon as we know them. I hope this finds you all well, and may you all have a Happy New Year!!! Love Lisa 11/15/01 Hi all, Michael had surgery yesterday morning on his ear. The past few months he has been saying What? I can't hear you very well. So we went to our Audiologist and she tested his ears, and then checked to make sure everything was o.k. with his hearing aid. The results were not good. He has lost 45 more decibels of his hearing. This news was very upsetting because this is the ONLY ear Michael is able to hear out of at all. So, yesterday morning they did exploratory surgery and inserted tubes. The ENT surgeon said he saw nothing that would be causing this much more of a hearing loss. So what everyone believes is that it is probably the auditory nerve that is going bad. Probably from the radiation he received. We are still hopeful that something will change, or at least he will be able to hear a little bit out of the ear with his hearing aid. Right now it is cranked all the way up, and he still says What? most of the time. Otherwise, Michael is doing wonderful. He had a great Birthday, and I wanted to thank everyone for the great cards and gifts that were sent to him. I will keep you all posted on his hearing. Thanks again, and hugs to you all. 11/01/01 Hi, I thought I would write a update on what's been going on with Michael. The past month or so, Michael has been saying he can't hear us very well, or say What?? often. We had a audiology appointment on Monday, and the news wasn't very good. He has a large hearing loss on top of the already loss of his hearing in his left ear. She checked his eardrum, and it is not working at all. We then were referred to an ENT doctor, and we saw him today. He doesn't know why Michael's ear drum isn't working properly, so we are scheduled to do a exploratory surgery on the 14th of this month. We need to hurry up and do it because this is the only ear he is able to hear out of at all. So in the meantime, we have upped his hearing aid to the loudest it will go, and it does help a little bit. I just hope that they will be able to stop or fix the additional hearing loss he has endured the past few months. I don't want my baby to lose his hearing completely. Also, we started seeing a psychologist and she put him on the drug Elavil in the evenings. He takes 10mg only, but it has made bed time much easier, and he doesn't seem to act out as much as previously. I will let you know how the surgery goes. Please keep him in your prayers that day. Hugs, Lisa 09/25/01 Hello everyone, I am sorry it has taken me so long to write an update. Things are going o.k. here in our household. We moved on September 1st, and have been enjoying our new home. I already had our first party for family and friends the day after we moved. It was Anna's 7th Birthday, and she desperately wanted a party on her actual birthday. So we did our best. Michael has been doing o.k. He started therapy for PT another day a week, and hopefully this will be only temporary until he catches up a little bit. He is also going to school five afternoons a week this year. Two days out of the week he goes to a mainstream preschool. He really enjoys it! He also started Sunday school this year. He really likes to talk about this new God guy! He's so cute! We did his neuro psych testing and we have received the results. His total IQ is a 78. Not great, but not as bad as it could be. The doc said that the best way Michael is going to learn is probably visually, not orally. Michael does much better with pictures, than with stories. We will be really trying to focus on the kindergarten readiness this year. He needs to learn the ABC's and numbers, and just the basics. We just take it one step at a time. We have been seeing some major behavioral problems lately. He hits quite often, and throws the most awful fits imaginable. He doesn't seem to have any reasoning abilities. For example, we finished therapy one morning, and we got in the car and he instantly called me a poopie face. I said, Little boys who talk that way don't go to McDonalds for lunch. Well, the fight was on! The whole way home he kicked and screams threw things at my head, tried to turn the steering wheel, turn off the car ect. I pulled over twice to get him back in his seat belt. We got home and he got in the house and started throwing things, tipping over my chairs, ect. All of a sudden, he stopped and it was over. He started playing the computer game, and then went to school. No sorry's no nothing, as I was ready to pull my hair out and have nervous break down! So, I made some calls to the docs, and we are going to start seeing a psychiatrist who helps Oncology patients and their families with behavioral problems. We need to do something, because the normal disciplinary rules of our household do not work for Michael. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. We are open to any suggestions at this point. I would like to say a special thank you to a lady named Lee. She wrote an article in a magazine called Today's Woman on Michael and our family. It was basically how she found love on the Internet, but a love for our family. It was very special, and a wonderful keepsake for us all. I hope this update finds you all well. We are hanging in there, but just really busy with everything starting up again for fall. The terrorist attacks hit home with us, and we are feeling sad for all the people who lost their loved ones. Tony's uncle David was in the Pentagon when it was struck. He thank goodness is o.k. But the devastation is difficult. Hearing some of the stories make me count my blessings. We have been through a war with Rhabdoid for three years now, and we are beating it. We have lots to be thankful for. Love to you all. Lisa 07/11/01 Hi all, I am so tired from the past two days, but I thought it would be a good idea to write an update. Monday, the 9th of July, we did a MRI, Spinal tap, Echo Cardiogram, and EKG. We also did some blood work. The tests all came back o.k. A sigh of relief is always nice! It was not a good experience however. We have always put Michael to sleep during his tests, starting with the mask over his face, and then an IV is placed, and so forth...Well, this time they thought we would just skip the mask and put the IV in first, and do a propofal drip to keep him sleeping. How can I express the way it felt to have to hold your child down for a good 15 minutes as they put the IV in, and drew labs. My poor baby kept screaming your hurting me!!! I cried right along with him. Later that night after we were on the way home he asked why I was mad at him earlier, when I had to hold his legs down. I felt so bad, and just was a lost for words. I voiced my opinion about the incident to several people, so HOPEFULLY, I was heard, and it won't happen that way again. Why traumatize a child like that, who will have to keep coming back for quite some time for medical procedures? I just don't understand it I guess. So that was Monday! Tuesday, We had a three hour Neuro-Onc appointment. We saw 6 people all in a row. We sat in one room and they all took turns coming in to evaluate Michael. This was a first for us, but very interesting. First we saw a social worker, where she helped us with any questions we had about Michael's needs. Second, we saw Dr Bendel our Oncologist. She is the one who told us that Michael's results were all good. So from a Cancer point, Michael is doing awesome! We will be seeing her again in 3 months, and his next scans will now be SIX months apart! That will be nice! The third person we saw was Dr Sane, an Endocrinologist. She was full of information for us. She said that Michael isn't growing the way he should be. So she took an X-ray of his hand, to tell how his growth is, and where it should be at. Hopefully, I understood that correctly. The blood work that shows if his hormone level is correct won't be back for a while. They said it would be a good chance he would have this problem, so here we are looking at it in the face. Also, there could be another hormonal problem, which would be the reason why Michael fatigues so easily. We will know more about his stuff in the future, when test results come back. Fourth, we saw Dr Taniguchi, a Rehabilitation doc. He told us that we were doing a great job with MIchael's therapy, and to keep up what we are doing. He does have some small concern about Michael's back calf muscle not being long enough. We need to stretch it out, otherwise he could end up walking on his toes instead of his feet. Another growth issue I guess. The fifth person was Therese O'Fallon from Neurosurgery. She changed Michael's shunt from a 60 to 85, hoping that this might help him with his fatigue too. We just have to watch him, and make sure it wasn't too much of an adjustment. Then we saw Dr Burstein, our neurologist. He thought Michael looked good, and thinks it would be good to do a sleep study. Michael still wakes up during the night with his twitching, and maybe there IS something more to it. Who knows? The biggest concern of most everyone, including us is MIchael's ability to learn and remember things. Michael is 4 1/2, and has no clue what the ABC's are, and his counting is up to 5 now on a good day, shapes, colors, basic things he should know he just can't get it. I'm not saying he should know his ABC's but he should have a clue what they are. We go over them every day, and have for over a year now. It's like his brain just doesn't let it sink in. This worries Tony and I very much. How is he supposed to go to Kindergarten if he can't learn the basics? We are doing a Neuro Psych test in August, and we should know exactly what his delays are at that time. It really does scare us though. They said it could be that the cranial pressure he had when he was first diagnosed caused brain damage that they never realized, add that to the surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, and who knows what or how much damage that has occurred! So this is where we sit. Three years ago we started this nightmare, and today we are dealing with the aftermath of the war. My life has changed to cancer, and now a beautiful little boy with learning difficulties. I feel like I keep getting a challenge, and let's see how Lisa can deal with this one? I really need to advocate for Michael, and need to be strong for him. Sometimes it's just tough. All of you know how happy I am to have Michael with us today, and I wouldn't change a thing we did, but it hurts sometimes. That's all for now, Thanks for your continued support and prayers. I love you all. Lisa 05/05/01 Hi everyone. I've been thinking a lot about all the Rhabdoid Children lately, and thought I would write an update on Michael. We continue to thank God every day for granting us our miracle. Michael is doing really well again. The leg pain has seem to disappear, and the bone scan showed nothing abnormal. So we will just go ahead and ignore it for now. He is enjoying school as always, and will be going to summer school again. We did up his therapy to another day a week. He needs to work on his hand coordination, and upper body strength. His next MRI will be in July, which is his three year anniversary. I will let you know when the exact date is when I know. The best news of all....Michael is FINALLY potty trained! My friend Colleen told me to just take away the diapers, and be firm. Well, it took only one day of accidents, and he never did it again. Even dry at night!!! I was beginning to worry if he was ever going to be a "Big Boy." Tony and I went to Vegas the first week of April for a CSK Auto Convention. We had a good time. I relaxed, and he worked during the day, but the evenings we had together. The kids went to my parents house for the week, and they had a blast. Mom and Dad always know how to treat them good. Thanks Mom and Dad for the help! I also started watching a baby named Lilyana the second week of April. She is the most beautiful little one, and I enjoy watching her discover the world. We have been getting some bad news the past few weeks on our Rhabdoid Children. They really need our prayers. Please remember their families in their time of need. I am also asking for prayers for a little girl named Haley who passed away on the 27th of April from Rhabdoid. She was a beautiful little one, who touched many peoples lives. Also, there is another little 6 month old boy in Wisconsin, who has been just diagnosed recently. I have talked to the parents, and we all know how scared they are right now. Please add Tanner to your list. That's all for now. I will keep in touch. 03/13/01 Hello everyone, Things have been busy here in the Woodroffe household. First off...Michael had his MRI on Thursday. The results were good. No changes since the last one. Dr Bendel did find a large mass in his stomach, and so we did a xray of his abdomen. It showed extremely large and backed up bowels. The poor boy had it backed up to the hilt! We have always had the severe constipation problem since the chemotherapy, and I have been faithfully giving him mineral oil on a daily basis. We are trying a new laxative called miralax. I hope this works. We are going to be doing a bone scan and CT of his chest and abdomen on Tuesday. The reason for the bone scan is because he has been having some chronic pain in his hip. It has been so bad that he isn't able to walk. The doctors at first thought this to be a viral infection that set in his hip, but this has been going on for three months now. We don't think it is cancer related, but it could be from the treatment he received. Who knows??? The docs have no clue either. I am sad to say that my Dad's best friend David passed away two weeks ago from cancer. He had a long battle, and fought it to the end. This was difficult on my Dad. It's never easy watching someone you love die. Dad was one of his main caregivers the last few weeks of David's life. Please say a special prayer for their family. We went to Heather's (the new Rhabdoid Kid) benefit last Saturday. It was a blast. The kids played and played. I think it went really well for them. Heather is a remarkable girl. I wish I would have taken a picture of Michael and her together. I just wasn't thinking before I left the house. Maybe next time! Oh! I almost forgot... We had a NORMAL accident in our house! Michael slipped on the kitchen floor and split open his head. I have never seen so much blood! I think I panicked more with his head bleeding than I did the whole time he was going through the treatments! I panicked, and wanted to call 911! Thank goodness for Tony. He held a towel on the side of Michael's head, and I finally got my wits about myself, and called Children's Hospital ER. They told to bring him in right away, but don't panic, because heads bleed bad. So 3 hours later Michael left with stitches. I was so proud of him. He didn't move a muscle when they put the stitches in. He just laid there calm as a cucumber. Such a big boy he is. Well, I thought you all would like some good news. I will update again soon after the CT and bone scans. Love to you all Also, if you could please say a prayer for a little girl named Haley. She too suffers from Rhabdoid Cancer. She isn't on our page yet, but she really need your prayers right now. Things aren't going too well, and I think we have all been there at one time or another and know how her family feel right now. Lisa 01/28/2001 Hello everyone, I apologize for not updating you all for so long. We have been caught up in living a "normal" life. Christmas was hectic, but nice. We went to my parents house in Battle Lake for Christmas eve. and drove back to the cities to Char and Davids for Christmas day. Lots of wonderful gifts and food! Michael enjoyed it all. This is the first year he actually understood the whole concept of Christmas. Michael was featured in the National Memorial Blood Centers calendar for 2001. It's a weekly day planner, and Michael is the second week of August. It shows a picture of him, and tells a brief story about him. They also chose his story to be their yearly campaign for blood donations. Basically, trying to get people to start donating blood, and showing how important it is. Tony and I will be speaking at the Blood Centers employee meeting next month. They would like to know of a person who has benefited from blood products, and their services. Like I have said many times before, the more we can educate about Rhabdoid Cancer the better! Michael continues to do well in school. We had the chance to show David and Char Michael's school last Tuesday. His school had a winter festival for his classmates and families. It's amazing to see how far Michael has come along in just the past year. His self confidence has greatly improved. He just marched us all in there, and was so proud of his school. I wonder if he could see how proud WE were of him? Tony continues to work hard for CSK Auto. We are going to Las Vegas in April for his annual convention. I am looking forward to getting away for a few days. It will be over both of our Birthdays, so it should be fun. Hopefully, they won't make him work too hard. Anna is enjoying Kindergarten, and is growing up so fast. She always seems to amaze me each and every day. This whole ordeal hasn't been easy for her either, and sometimes I forget that. I do have a prayer request. My dads friend David, is living his last days. He has been fighting cancer, and he is near the end. Please say a special prayer for him and his family. It's not easy for my Dad to see him go. David has been one of my Dads best friends all my life, and it hurts to see him so sick. As always, please continue to pray for MIchael, and all the other Rhabdoid Children. Michael's next MRI will be in March sometime, I will update with the results then. Love to you all, Lisa 11/15/2000 Hi everyone. I am happy to say that Michael has made it to his 4th Birthday!!! On November 8th, my miracle boy turned 4 years old, against all odds. We feel very blessed to have him with us, and look forward to many more birthdays! On November 10th, we had Michael's routine MRI and CT scans. Along with the scans we did lots of blood work to make sure there was nothing else going on that we didn't know about. The blood work came back all normal, the CT scan of his chest and abdomen also came back clear, and the MRI of the head and spine, came back with no cancer present. We are starting to see some effects from the radiation, but at this time we aren't worrying about it. We will do another MRI in four months to check on things again. Michael is becoming a celebrity again. The Memorial Blood Bank is featuring Michael in their yearly fundraising letter this year, and have including him in the National Calendar. I don't know what month he is yet, but am very anxious to see it! The more people we can educate about Rhabdoid Cancer the better!!! I do have some sad news. Our friend Ross, who had cancer of the heart, at the age of 8 years old died the last week of October. It was very difficult on us to see such a sweet boy pass away. He touched many peoples hearts, and will not be forgotten. Otherwise, we are all looking forward to the Holidays, and looking forward for a good Minnesota winter. Tony is anxious for some snow, but I think I can wait for the big heavy white stuff!!! As always, thank you for the continued prayers you send our way, and we will keep you all updated if anything changes. Hugs to you all..... Lisa 09/23/2000 Hi everyone! We had an Oncology appointment today, and things seem to look good. Neurologically, Dr Bendel said he looks great! He's still greatly delayed with his speech, and the things he is supposed to be doing at his age he is quite delayed also. Nothing new there! We are scheduling his next MRI and CT scans for the first week of November. During that time we are going to run oodles of blood tests. We need to check for any secondary cancers creeping up, and need to definitely check his petuitory. Michael is extremely small for his age, and this was something they were worried about happening due to the radiation he received. I will let you all know the results when we know more. Michael has started school again, and he is having a blast! He loves going to school on his bus in the morning. He looks so cute with his little Lucky Charms backpack! Speech therapy and Occupational Therapy are going well. His coordination is getting much better already with the OT. I would like to ask for some prayers from you all for several people. First, my Dad's best friend David is suffering from terminal cancer. He is in a lot of pain, and it's very difficult for everyone who loves him to see him this way. I hope the suffering stops soon. Next, I would like for you to keep a special little boy Ross in your thoughts. He had a rare form of cancer on his heart, and was in remission until this past week. Needless to say his family is devastated. My heart goes out to them. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers too. Also, my Aunt Georgia has found out that she has a large brain tumor. Please keep her and her family in your prayers too. All of these terrible things happening to these people makes me count my blessings that I have Michael with me today, and that Anna is a healthy 6 year old. I say it every time I update......Thank you for your prayers and support, they are sooooo important! Love, Lisa 08/16/2000 Hi all! The past month has been a busy one, but great! First of all, Michael is doing wonderful. He is striving forward at great speed. We are of course still very proud of him! Tony and I made a quick weekend trip to Tennessee in the middle of July. We have talked about Miss Nancy Lewis many times the past two years, and we finally were able to meet her face to face! She was extremely generous and GAVE us her old car. A 1990 Lumina to be exact. She knew we were having problems getting Michael to his appointments due to constant car problems. Nancy offered us her car, and we were extremely happy to accept it! This way we were able finally meet her, plus have a reliable car. We wish we could have stayed longer, but we did have a good time. Nancy is a great friend to our family, and her generosity is much appreciated. Also, the first week of August, Rebecca Hanood came to visit us. She is the mother of Jacob, who passed away from Rhabdoid Cancer last year. We had lots of fun. We took her up to my parents house for the weekend, and just relaxed. The children loved her, and she loved them too of course! This past weekend we had a FAMILY weekend. Saturday we went to our amusement park called Valley Fair. Michael went on the semi truck ride 23 times! He would go on it, and then go right back in line. This went on for an hour!!! It was fun just seeing him happy! Sunday Morning we all went the Crystal Cave in Wisconsin. It was fun, and nice and COOL!!!!! The temperature was around 48 degree's and we all loved it!!! It's been sooo hot here in the Minneapolis area, so the cool temperature felt great! Now, it's time to start thinking about school again. Anna will be starting Kindergarten, and Michael will be going back to his Hearing Impaired preschool. We continue to be thankful for our time as a family, and look forward to many more times together. I hope you all are enjoying the rest of your summer, and I will update again in a month or so. Love Lisa July 09 2000 Well, it has been two years now, and we can say that Michael has remained tumor free! His MRI and CT scans done Thursday came back clear!! A HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF!!! He never seems to amaze us. He is always fighting it, and makes us sooo proud. He was a great little guy during the whole testing. He used to scream, fight and kick while we were just trying to get him to go under. Now, he walks right on in, and gets prepared to go night night. Needless to say we are very proud. We will continue to enjoy life for what it is. Michael will continue to do his therapies, and go to his preschool. We are very happy with everything, and continue to thank God for more time with Michael. Lisa June 19 2000 Hello everyone. We have been still on the road of recovery. Michael still seems to amaze me every day. He is really starting to communicate more and more. Today at his speech therapy they did a test, and is using 2 word sentences 40 percent of the time. That's much better than a year ago!! His next MRI is going to July 3, and we are very confident that it will be great results! Memorial Day weekend we went camping up at Grandpa David's property. One night was just Tony and I, and the other Anna and Michael stayed the night. It was an fun filled weekend. The kids enjoyed it, except for the wood ticks! I can't say I am very fond of them either. This weekend will be two years since this horrible nightmare started. Remember when it all began? Michael was playing outside with Tony, and he fell and couldn't get back up??? I never would have dreamed that my life was about to dramatically change. These past two years has made me a much stronger person, and it has made me look at life so much more differently. We are truly blessed to have such a miracle in our life. Michael has taught us all how to be a fighter, and to never give up. The people we have met through all of this has been unreal. We have made life time friendships, who have touched our lives so special. Thanks for all the continued prayers and good wishes. Let's hope next year I can talk about the past 3 years. Lisa 04/27/00 Hello to you all! We have been doing extremely well. Michael has been rambunctious, and full of life. You would never know how sick he was only a few months ago. His preschool for the hearing impaired is going great! He looks so cute with his little back pack, getting on the bus. A pure joy!! Easter was great. We went to my parents house, and did the whole Easter thing there. It was a perfect day, so we had an Easter Egg hunt outside. Anna and Michael loved it. We have also done a neuro psychologist do a test on Michael. The results weren't too bad. An average score is between 90 and 110. Michael's was a 62. He is progressing, just a little slower than other children his own age. But heck, other children haven't gone through what he has either! The doctors recommendations are that Michael goes back to getting Occupational Therapy, and keep on pushing the speech therapy. Occupationally, he is at 19 months of age, and speech he is at 18 months of age. Needless to say, these are his weakest points. On a serious note. There have been quite a few more Rhabdoid Cancer children that we have become in contact with. Some of them are not doing well. I count my blessings that Michael is doing so well, but it breaks my heart to hear of so many other children still fighting this terrible monster. What I am asking is for you all to say a prayer for these families, and pass on the request to all of your friends and families. Like I have said before, I firmly believe that Michael is a miracle due to lots of prayers, and all the hard work of Children's Hospital. Take care, Lisa 03/19/00 Hello everyone! We are doing very well, and Michael is wonderful! Some of you might know that the MRI in February came back clean. We were very thrilled with the news of that of course. The lethargy he was experiencing is all gone. He is running around the house acting like a 3 year old boy. He finally started the hearing impaired preschool. He loves it! It's harder on me than him I think. He goes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays. He looks so cute getting on the bus with his little back pack. This is going to be soooo good for him! We've had a few scares in my family other than Michael. My 4 year old niece Mareena has starting having seizures. They started her on Tagratol, and so far they have stopped. They did a CT of her head, and it showed a spot in her brain. They drove down the cities, and did a MRI. The MRI showed nothing. So, it's going to be a waiting game to see what happens. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Also, a long lifetime friend of my family, David Leabo, was diagnosed with Cancer recently also. It is all over his brain, bone marrow, lungs.... Needless to say the diagnosis isn't good. He is a wonderful kind man with a large family. (4 girls, like my family) We are praying for a miracle, and peace for him. It's scary how so many terrible things can happen to people. I count my blessings every day. Michael seems to always give us a scare, but he ALWAYS comes out on top. I firmly believe it is because of all your prayers and support. Hugs to all of you. Lisa 02/16/00 Hello everyone. I have been getting lots of emails asking what is going on with Michael. I am really sorry that I haven't been letting you all know the scoop. To be quite honest with you, I am not exactly sure what to write. Michael has been doing a little bit better the past week or so. He is still sleeping most of the time, but doesn't seem to be in pain of any sort. He is starting to eat again, I am feeding him whatever I can get in him. If he wants cake for breakfast, then cake it is. Right now I don't care what it is as long as he gets something in his body. Don't worry, he drinks at least 3 pediasures a day. He does need those vitamins and minerals! WE more labs again today, and are planning on a MRI of his head and spine, CT of his chest and abdomen, and MRA of his brain. This is all scheduled for next Wednesday morning. I keep hoping that the bad cells in his spinal fluid haven't grown any tumors. I have to admit to you all, yes we are scared. Scared to death as a matter of fact. To watch Michael go from wonderful at Christmas time, to not good so fast is hard to watch. On a good note...Tony's brother Kelly got married last Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding, and Michael had a wonderful time! It was like he knew to be on his best. He took a nice long nap in the afternoon, and he stayed up all evening. He was in a wonderful mood!! We took lots of pictures of course. If any of you have any questions please feel free to email me. Otherwise, I will let you know what happens next week after the scans. Take care, and love you all. Lisa 02/02/00 Hi, I am sooo sorry it has taken me so long to write this update. We haven't gotten a lot of definite answers, but this is what we have gotten so far. We did an MRI on Michael's head, and everything there looks o.k. Michael's CNS fluid does not look o.k. It has quite a few abnormal cells in it. Some pathologist say they are Cancer cells, and others say abnormal. The just of it is, we don't like it. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely, and pray that they go away. In the meantime, Michael continues to have seizure's daily, and is still sleeping majority of the time. We go back and see Dr Bendel next Tuesday, more labs and blood work, and check his neuro signs. All we do know is that this is not the flu, and my mother instinct says that it is the Rhabdoid Cancer trying to come back. We are saying NO WAY to those nasty little cells! So to wrap it all up in a nut shell. No, we can't say Michael's cancer is "Back," but we need to monitor the situation carefully. About a year ago we had some abnormal cells in his spinal fluid. They were drawn at the bottom of the spine, these were drawn directly from the shunt. I guess only time will tell. I will update again as soon as I find out anything more. Please keep your fingers crossed, and keep those prayers pouring in! Thanks and God Bless. Lisa 01/18/00 Hi I thought I would write an quick update on Michael and let you all know what is going on with him. Michael has been very sick the past few weeks. We thought it was just the flu that has been going around. Unfortunately, we have now come to the conclusion that there is more to it. Michael hasn't eaten more than two bites in over two weeks now. He is still drinking, but he has lost 6 pounds. Michael has been sleeping more and more. Yesterday, he was awake for a total of one hour. During that time, he lays there whimpering and lethargic. We spent Saturday evening in the ER. They drew some blood, and checked for any type of infection. It all came back negative. We are now going into the Oncology clinic tomorrow morning. They are going to do a complete physical on Michael. I am praying that it's something they can help him with, and to get him back to the beautiful boy I know. Please keep him in your prayers, and I will update more tomorrow. Lisa 01/01/00 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!! We are all doing well, and very thankful this Holiday season. Christmas Eve we went to my parents house in Battle Lake. We had a wonderful relaxing day. Church was wonderful, and full of emotions. For those of you that light candles to the song Silent Night at the end of the church service, will know what I mean when I say this. We sat towards the back, so we were one of the last to light our candles. Tony lit his, I lit mine, and then Michael lit his, and then Anna lit hers, and then my sister Stacey lit hers and so on. When Michael lit his candle he sat perfectly silent, and just stared at his candle. It had such a calming effect on him, and it made me think about how much of a true miracle he is. Tears came to peoples eyes that watched Michael in silence. It was a very touching moment. After church, we had dinner and then Santa Clause came and handed out the stockings and presents. The children absolutely went crazy!! Michael ran right on up to him and said HI!! Christmas Day we got up early and off we went to Tony's parents. We had a wonderful time opening gifts again, and the pleasure of eating Char's wonderful dinner. This year was extra special for us, because the whole family was together for the first time in five years. We also have a wonderful addition to our family this year. Kelly, who is Tony's younger brother, has added a wonderful girl named Susie to the Woodroffe family. They are planning on getting married in February. Welcome to the family Susie!!! Finally, Christmas evening we got home again, and opened the last of our presents. We invited our neighbor Marvin over for snacks, and fun. He has been a dear friend to our family, and consider him part of it. Santa was very good to all of us, and it ended up being the best Christmas I have ever had. Michael's health has been very well. We are still working on getting him into a hearing impaired pre school. It's a lot of red tape to go through, and it takes time. He has been talking up a storm lately. We can't understand what he is saying, but at least there is noise coming out of his sweet little mouth! I wish you all a wonderful New Year, and I pray that you all will have a grand new Millennium!! Take care, and Love, Lisa 12/07/99 Hello everyone, sorry it has been so long since my last update. I never realized that time had passed on so quickly. We have been doing well. Michael has been playing, and fighting with Anna like a normal child. The benefit went really well, and it was actually good music. Tony and I really enjoyed ourselves. It's amazing how old we seem to feel around all the young college aged people. We are only in our early 30's, and they look like they aren't even legal to drink! We had an audiology check up today. They adjusted his hearing aid again. He has lost a small more amount of hearing. What does that mean? Who knows. We just adjust the settings on the aid, and hope that it doesn't change anymore. We are still in the process of getting the school district involved with his therapy. All the channels we have to go through!! Otherwise, we are still waiting for snow here in Minnesota. It doesn't feel like Christmas at all. It's not even that cold yet. Let's all hope for some snow before Christmas! Take care, Lisa 11/19/99 Hello everyone! Good news at the Woodroffe household today!!!! Michael had his MRI and CT done today. He is all clear again!!! We are thankful and ecstatic about the wonderful news. We now wait 3 months until the next one. I can't express how thankful we are this Thanksgiving. Last year we were in isolation at the hospital, this year Michael is playing and having a blast! What a difference a year makes. We stopped up at the 8th floor today. We dropped off the books from Amazon.com. These are the books that we donated with the help of Grandpa David. It's a nice feeling to give back some of the wonderful things that have been done for us. It was fun seeing the nurses who took care of Michael. They all oohed and aah'd at how big he is getting, and how wonderful he looks. Thanks again for the continued support and prayers. Tomorrow we are having the benefit for Michael. It's going to be a night of Rock and Roll. Let's hope my ears survive!! Lisa 11/10/99 This will be published in the Fergus Falls Journal on Sat Nov. 13 11/08/99 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MICHAEL... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!!! Yes, Michael has made it to his 3rd Birthday!!!!! We had Michael's birthday party at Circus Circus. It was a great success!!!! We had around 45 people there all celebrating Michael's huge milestone! It was lots of fun. Michael finally got to meet Shane Kramer. He is the person who has been putting on the fun raisers for our family. He is a very kind young guy. Lots of potential! Michael received his hearing aid on Friday. He doesn't like it very well. Our goal right now is for him to wear it at least 2 hours a day. Hopefully in time he will understand that this is for his own good. But in the meantime, he doesn't like it. I am asking all of you to say a prayer of thanks. God has blessed us with Michael. He is truly our miracle child! Thank you for all your continued support and love. Lisa 11/05/99 Hello everyone. We are all doing well in the Woodroffe household. Halloween was great! It was probably the nicest Halloween in history for the state of Minnesota. Anna and Michael had a blast. We went trick or treating in Tony's parents neighborhood. The kids got a haul! Michael was so cute. He would say trick or treat, and of course thank you. Needless to say, the evening was full of fun! We are still waiting for the hearing aid to come in. We had to send the first one back because it didn't fit correctly. Michael got to pick out the color of this one. He picked purple. Not my first choice, but if it helps him accept it better, then purple it is. We are eager to see how he does with his speech. Let's all pray that it helps him! We are looking forward to this Sunday. We are having Michael's 3rd birthday party. It's going to be at Circus Circus. This is a huge milestone for Michael. Last year his birthday party was at the hospital, and we didn't know if he would live to have a third birthday. We are very thankful for the miracle God has granted us. My baby is turning 3, and it makes us feel like we are truly blessed. Thank you all for the continued prayers and support. Like I have said before, I firmly believe that prayer is the reason Michael is still with us today. O.K., I will stop babbling on... I will update after the birthday party. Lisa 10/25/99 Hello everyone! We are all doing well. We went out tonight and got the pumpkins for Halloween. Michael and Anna loved it! Michael picked out the biggest he could carry. That's my boy! Anna is going to be Minnie Mouse and Michael a Minnesota Viking. I hope it is a nice night! Michael has been practicing saying trick or treat! I also heard a first from Michael today. He said I love you Mom! It made my heart soar! He then said to Tony, I love you my Daddy. I thought we would share that with you all. We did retest Michael's hearing. The outcome was that he is completely deaf in his right ear, and paritally in his left. The chemotherapy and radiation were just too hard on him. With this information, we will be putting a hearing aid on Michael's left side only. One on the right side would not benefit him at all. We are also going to be putting him in a hearing impaired pre school. Hopefully, this will help him realize that he is not alone in this world with a hearing loss. They said he will also pick up the sign language much faster around other children who are signing. It is time for me to let go a little bit with Michael. I have sheltered him so much the past year, I seem to forget that he is a child who needs to be around others his age. The channel 4 Dimension story of Michael will be airing Monday, the 25th. For those of you who can't watch it you can catch it on www.wcco.com after tomorrow night. Look under the Dimension part of the web site. Take care, and thanks for the continued support and prayers. Lisa 10/15/99 Hello everyone! Michael is doing great! He had surgery on Thursday morning, to remove the radiation wax build-up. He didn't need to have tubes put in, due to the fact there was no fluid behind his ears. One good thing for Michael! We had Michael's second benefit Thursday evening. It was a good time. They raised 400.00 for Michael. Everything helps, and this helps us pay off some of Michael's medical bills. Such a nice feeling to have a mail box full of outgoing mail, instead of all incoming! For those of you in Minnesota...WCCO Channel 4 Dimension did a story on Michael and the benefits that have been held for him. It's supposed to be aired this Sunday at 10:00 p.m. It will be fun to watch! Check it out. Nothing else is new. We are enjoying our healthy son, and are spending family time. Take care, and God Bless. Lisa 10/10/99 Hello, I am so sorry about the time lapse in Michael's update. Thanks for the reminder Terry. It has been really busy the past week. We started out on Monday at our pediatricians office. Anna was due for her 5 year check up, and Michael, he was there to get the impacted ear wax out of his ears. We started on his ears, and worked on them for a good 45 minutes to an hour. It was a no go. The wax is just too hard, and impacted. Reason being for this troublesome problem, is due to radiation. It makes the wax, get like cement. It's even grayish white, like cement. Later that day, we went to Allied Hearing Services. We were to make his ear molds for the hearing aids. Unfortunately, due to the fact of the wax, that was also a no go. We then, made an appointment with an ear specialist to see what he could do. We went tot he ear specialist on Wednesday, and that turned out to be a no go. Now, by this time, I am extremely frustrated. We have now made an appointment for Thursday, October 14th, for surgery. We will put him to sleep, and then remove the wax, and put some tubes in his ears at the same time. PROBLEM SOLVED!!!! I feel like we have been running all over the place, and got nothing done. Michael is doing well. We went to the park on Thursday, and then to Circus Circus. (Thanks Grandma Clayton for our family night out!) Friday, we had speech therapy. Michael did wonderful as usual. He is picking up the sign language great!! I am so proud! All in all, we are doing good. We are having Michael's fund raiser next Thursday evening at 8:00 p.m. It's going to be held at First Ave Seventh Street Entry again. It will be a fun evening. Thanks for the patience, and take care. I will update again soon. Lisa 10/02/99 Hello everyone. Michael is doing good. The anti seizure medicine is helping him a lot with his tremors. He is a much happier child, which makes us all happy. We are getting his ear molds done on Monday, for his hearing aids. I am really excited to see how much they help him. Let's hope it's not too much of a fight to get him to wear them! I'm going to have to be consistent on this one. Michael has been chosen to be a "Featured Child of the Month" for MAKE A CHILD SMILE. Please check it out. It's very special to us, and other children. The address is: http://www.makeachildsmile.org/ That's all for now. Take care and God Bless. Lisa 09/27/99 Today we had Michael's audiology test. Michael did a great job! He cooperated like a true trooper. The results of the test were not what Tony and I wanted to hear. Michael is almost completely deaf in his right ear, and has lost his high frequency in his left ear. Reason being, the chemotherapy, and radiation. It affected his ears, which will be a permanent thing. So, now we are going to be getting him fitted for hearing aids for both ears. This hopefully, will help him. Good thing we are teaching him sign language! Having a child with a hearing loss isn't an easy thing for a child, nor the parents. We have faith that Michael will amaze us all, even with his handicaps. He is still our miracle child! We are blessed to have him with us, and look forward to many more years to come. Lisa 09/23/99 Michael is doing much better than the past few weeks. He is much happier, and much easier to handle. Now when the temper flares, I know it's because he is two years old! Michael's speech therapy has been going so well. He is really picking up the sign language, and we have been working on the sound of M. He is such a trooper. He tries to repeat everything we say. That's all we can ask! My parents came down for a visit last weekend. It was great seeing them. We haven't been able to get together since July, so this was a much needed visit for all of us. Anna started preschool, and is loving it. She is so grown up. It makes me feel so old. She has become very independent, and mom and dad are thrown in the dust! The simple things in life, have become so important to us! Otherwise, all is well in the Woodroffe household. Michael will be doing his hearing test next week, and will see our neurologist for a check up. Take care, and thanks for all the support. Also, a big hug and thanks goes to you Grandpa David. All the work you have done on Michael's page lately has been great! Lisa 09/17/99 Hi, Dr Bendel called and the MRI was good! Michael is still cancer free. We changed the settings on his shunt, hoping that maybe that will help him with the headaches and moodiness. We will also now be starting him on anti seizure medicine to help control his shaking and twitching he has. Hopefully, this will help him sleep through the nights. So now we do another MRI in 2 to 3 months. Also, his benefit has been rescheduled for October 14th at the Seventh Street Entry at First Avenue. I will let you all know when the dimension for channel 4 will be on before. Thanks for all your continued prayers and support. Lisa 09/16/99 Hello, this has been a hectic day. MRI was scheduled for 11:30 and it didn't get started to almost 1:00. We know the results of the spinal tap so far. They are all good cells in his spinal fluid. We don't know the results of the MRI yet. We will not know the results of that until tomorrow sometime. I don't like waiting, but at hey, one of the tests are good. Sorry I don't know more. I will update again tomorrow. Lisa 09/13/99 Hello everyone. This past weekend has been a tough one. First Emma passing away on Friday morning. That was a tough one. Then Saturday evening around 8:00 p.m., Amy Schiller passed away also, due to Rhabdoid Cancer. On Sunday, we went to Emma's visitation. My sister Stacey, Michael and I all drove to New London, Spicer. It was wonderful to finally meet LeeAnn, Gary, and Grandma Clayton. I just wish that we would have gotten together before Emma passed on. Emma looked angelic lying there. She is now in heaven, playing like a child should. Who knows maybe her and Amy have met? As Michael goes, he is doing better, but not great yet. We are going to see Dr Berstein tomorrow for a neurological check up, and then we are doing an MRI and spinal tap on Thursday morning. Hopefully, we will finally get some answers for Michael and some relief. I will let you all know the results as soon as possible. Please say a special prayer for families who lost their children this past weekend. Lisa 09/10/99 Hi, not much more to tell right now. The CT showed nothing, but he is still feeling lousy. We are going to watch him over the weekend, and do a MRI of his head and spine next week. In the meantime, we will continue to give him pain medication around the clock for comfort. I also received an email from Amy's mom today. Amy is still hanging on. It has been nine days now since she has eaten or drank anything. She is still fighting for her life. What a little trooper! Please continue to keep her family in your prayers. I will update again when I know more. Lisa 09/09/99 Hi, I thought I would write and let everyone know what is going on with Michael the past 24 hours. Michael starting at around midnight last evening, woke up screaming, holding his head, and inconsolable. I gave him some Tylenol with codeine, and that still didn't help. I ended up giving him some valium, and he finally stopped screaming, but was not about to go to sleep! Everytime he would lay down he started to tremor, and then scream. We went through the whole night like this and through the day. I started noticing that his left eye, is now starting to droop, and is very dilated. We called Dr Bendel, and we are heading in to children's tomorrow morning to do a CT of his head. From there we will do a MRI if need be. I am trying to remain optimistic, but I am very scared. He changed too quickly, and this is not being a two year old! I will update tomorrow when we know more. Please keep him in your prayers tonight. Lisa 09/03/99 Hello, we received some news about Michael today. First I will let you know that Michael's pupils are not the same size. The past few days they have been irregular, so I finally called Dr Bendel. She told me to watch him and if he starts getting sleepy, and if his eye droops, call her. We received some news that we didn't like getting. We sent Michael's tumor to get a third pathology report from. Her name is Lucy Rorke. She is to be the one who discovered the Rhabdoid Cancer. Her results are that he positively has Rhabdoid Cancer. She then sent the tumor the Dr Jackie Beigel for the checking of the chromosome 22 abnormality, and Michael's DNA makeup. Her results were that he does indeed have the abnormal 22 chromosome. Earlier the small piece she had of the tumor, it showed no abnormality. She concludes that it probably was healthy tissue, not cancer tissue. What does all this mean?????? Well, it's not what we wanted to hear, but it just makes us realize how lucky we are to have Michael with us today. It makes me more nervous knowing that his body mechanism has no chromosome 22, which is where the Rhabdoid cancer comes from. Does any of this make sense??? Tony and I don't even quite understand it. I received an email from Amy's mom today. She is still hanging on, but is doing very poor. She is now unable to swallow, and rapidly declining. Please pray for their family. And Emma, we love you. Please stay strong! All for now... Lisa 08/30/99 Hello from the Woodroffe household!! This past week has been a good one for Michael. We just got back from the Twins game, thanks to complimentary tickets from Uncle John. Michael and Anna had lots of fun! We stayed until almost the end. The twins won 6-2! We brought them good luck! This next week is going to be busy. Monday, we are having Anna's birthday party at McDonalds. Tuesday, we are going to the State Fair. Wednesday, it's Anna's actually birthday. She is going to be a big 5 years old! My baby isn't a baby anymore! The rest of the week is up in the air! Maybe a day with Emma???? A quick update on Amy. I talked to Lisa the other day, and Amy is declining rapidly. She lays on the couch, shaking, and unable to open her eyes. They told their daughter Alison on Tuesday that Amy was dying. Please keep their family in your prayers. They are very sad, and need lots of support. The only tragic thing that happened to us this past week is that our Samoyed, King , got hit by a train. He was out on a walk, and decided to take a rest on the train tracks. The big old lazy dog didn't want to move, even though a big train was coming towards him blowing it's whistle! No need to worry, he is still here with us! He bruised his back a good one, and cries out in pain once in a while, but he will recuperate!! Have a great week! Lisa 08/20/99 Hello everyone! This past week Michael has stayed about the same. He is still extremely moody, and changes like the wind. We are continuing on putting ear drops in his ears, hoping that this will help. We went to Valley Fair on Monday. It is an amusement park in the cities, for those of you not from this area. We had a blast! Michael went on some rides, of course Anna too. Our whole family went on the flume ride. It's a water ride, which they warn you about getting wet. WE DEFINITELY GOT WET!!!!!!! It was a great family fun filled day. We are planning on going to the Minnesota State Fair next week. We have to live for the moment, and that is exactly what we are doing! I do have some sad news on this update. Amy Schiller, who I have written about before, had a MRI on Thursday. Her tumor has grown 50% in the past few weeks. Their doctors told them that Amy has only a few weeks to live. They had the choice to go in and remove it again, but that would only give them another 3 to 6 months. Rob and Lisa decided against another surgery. They need to have quality time with Amy. Please keep them in your prayers. Their family is very sad, and need lots of support. I would like to say thank you to my Uncle John. He gave our family Twins tickets. We are looking forward to going. Anna has realized that she has a natural talent for the sport. It will be a good time. Thanks John! Michael's next MRI is going to be the 22nd of September. We are doing the head and spine, plus his chest and abdomen. Also we are planning on doing a spinal tap for any bad cells. Pray for good results! Take care, and I will update again soon! Lisa 08/14/99 Hi everyone, the past week has been a busy one. First of all we are doing a story for channel 4 dimension. They came out to our house on Tuesday, and today we had a clinic appointment, and they came to that also. Michael is becoming quite the little movie star! Like we have said before, our main goal is to let people know about this rare form of cancer. The media is the best way to do that. Michael's week has been a tough one. He has been crying quite a bit, and his moods swing from happy to screaming in seconds. Dr Bendel said to watch him and if he gets worse then call, otherwise we do another scan in 4 weeks. She did say that his ears are full of impacted wax. She gave us some ear drops to help soften up the wax. Maybe this is the reason for the crabbiness? Otherwise on a good note... Michael and Emma are going to finally meet! In the end of August, Emma and family will be coming down for a MRI. They are planning on coming a day early so we can visit. We are really excited for this. Strange how a year ago we never knew who each other were. Now we are like family. We'll take some pictures so you all can see them together. Take care, and God Bless... Lisa