Thad

Thank you for all the prayers! My Uncle has Musclular Sclerosis and his health has een deteriorating over the last ten years. He was very functional up until about a month ago. Just before Thanksgiving he started getting major headaches. He said that he had never experienced that amount of pain in his entire life. The headaches lasted about a month. He went to his doctor who ran different tests on him and found that his spinal fluid was low. I'm not sure if they did a head CT on him or if they assumed that the low spinal fluid was the only cause of the headaches. Most of his symptoms were written off by his doctors as MS symptoms.

During the course of these headaches my Uncle Thad was losing his memory, his ability to walk and talk, and perform his daily activities. It wasn't until Monday night, when my Aunt Judy, came home from work that she found him in such a state that she thought he may have had a stroke. He could not move, talk, walk, he could not function at all. My cousin Thaddeus came over and took him to the hospital. The doctors ordered a head CT and found a large subdural hematoma on the left side of his brain. They also found a fresh, small one as well.

The brain surgeon who reviewed his scans set him up for surgery the next day. At 3pm he went into surgery and was finished in less that 2 hours. The doctors removed all of the large hematoma and didn't see the small hematoma. The day after the surgery he said he felt 100% better. His speech was back and his memory was much better. He is feeling wonderful in comparison. I don't believe he is up and walking yet.

The large hematoma was so big that it put so much pressure on his brain that it moved his brain over a bit. We hoped that once the hemotoma was removed that his brain would "bounce" back into its original place. Unfortunately, that did not happen. There is a tube placed in that gap that is draining excess fluid. I don't know how long the tube will be there but until it is removed he must remain in the ICU.

Thanks for all the prayers! THey were miraculous!

Love,
Krystal

Pray for Thad

Please send out prayers for my Uncle Thad. He has been experiencing massive headaches for about a month. Symptoms have progressed over the last few days and he was taken to the ER last night. A CT Scan revealed two sub-dural hematomas. One of them is rather large and is pushing on his brain so hard that it is off center. The other is fresh and small. He is going into surgery this morning. Please pray for him and his family during this very scary time.

Love & Thanks,
Krystal

Mistletoe in Ramona!

My Aunt Debra has been giving away mistletoe for a donation that will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She has been set up at various locations in Ramona and, I believe, she will continue to do so. She has Katelyn's picture on the booth and the mistletoe packages but I just want to make it clear the proceeds will not go to the Katelyn Devermann Foundation and will not benefit Katelyn or our family directly. We are not involved in this effort.

For those of you who may not know, Katelyn is in full remission and as healthy as any two year old should be! We are so very grateful for all the prayers and support that our community, friends and family have offered us through our journey with cancer. She has graduated from monthly to bi-monthly visits to Hem/Onc for blood tests. We are thankful that each blood test has come back free and clear and completely healthy. Thank the Lord!

The NBC tree lighting and Disneyland footage was shown to benefit Rady Childrens Hospital and spread the word that although bad things happen, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. They wanted everyone to know our story and also to show how far Katelyn, as well as Todd, Kiera and I, have come since her devastating diagnosis. Good things happen. Embrace this Holiday season, love, laugh, and be joyous! Good things happen!

Love,
Krystal

Thanksgiving & The Christmas Tree Lighting

Katelyn & busy bee, Kiera, on Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Todd's Uncle Paul & Aunt Kim's house. There was plenty to eat, drink, and much wonderful conversation to be had. It was nice to be surrounded by so much family this Thanksgiving. Everyone doted on all three of the little munchkins. They are all so much fun to be around. Kate was obsessed with the trampoline and convinced just about everyone to take her up to it at least once. I took Kate & Tayden up there at one point and Tayden was so adorable. She can't actually get her feet off the ground when she jumps, but she would squat down like she wanted to jump as high as she could imagine! It was so cute! Kate would come jump near her then Tayden would fall. It never phased her though, she loved every minute of it. It was nice to have the whole Devermann Family together. It doesn't happen often enough. Now, we can't wait until July! We will be having a family reunion out in Hemet, and hopefully, the whole nation's worth of Devermann's will be there!

We had a good time with a turkey taste test. Kim cooked two different turkeys; one was organic, farm raised, & fresh and another was your typical frozen, pumped full of all kinds of stuff, regular old turkey. Although it got a little confusing I believe just about everyone liked the frozen one! We didn't know which was which until after we all voted. It was pretty good!

Overall, we have had an incredible month! November was fun filled and amazing. We are excited about December and starting a whole new year in January!!!

Tomorrow, December 3, 2009, Katelyn will join NBC and Rady Children's Hospital at NBC's Christmas Tree Lighting! During the festivities Katelyn will get to interact with Micky & Minnie Mouse, we will experience the Tree Lighting, they will show an interview that we filmed with them last week, and there will be three Ice Skating performances. The show starts at 7:30 and will be featured, Live (I believe), on NBC at that time! Tune in to see our little Angel in this magical event!

I just posted a TON of photos on my facebook page! Go check it out!

Love & Prayers Always,
Krystal

Disneyland & Life

What an incredible weekend! As most of you know Katelyn is the 2009 Miricle Child for Rady Children's Hospital. There was some confusion between myself and the paper so Katelyn's story wasn't printed in the Union Tribune, but she had a wonderful opportunity offered to her in spite of our confusion. Every year Horton Plaza opens an Ice Rink around Christmastime. The rink opened last Friday, Nov 19th. As Katelyn is the Miricle Child of the year, they asked us to be present during their Christmas Tree lighting and sent us to Disneyland! Disney put us up at the Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, which is located just beside Disneyland, Thursday & Friday night. We spent Friday morning filming in both Disneyland & California Adventure, then we went back to the Hotel for a nap. After a decent nap we headed back to Disneyland for a fun filled day! We spent the morning riding rides and interacting in front of the camera. Disney wanted some footage of Katelyn to show at the Christmas Tree lighting. It was fun.



Katelyn is at such a fun age for Disneyland. She was mesmerized by the Princess' and characters. She got to meet Micky Mouse, which was wonderful. She especially loved Pixie Hollow and was able to meet two faeries, including her favorite, Tinkerbell! She just loved Tinkerbell, it was so cool. Todd and I just adored watching her light up at the sight and interaction with her fave character. She was also mesmerized by the parade! We watched it twice, once during the day and once at night when everything was all lit up. Kate couldn't keep her eyes off of everything. It was amazing. She recognized a lot of characters and was especially excited to see the Princess'. During the nighttime parade she asked me "Mommy, is this real?". I was in shock, I didn't really know what to tell her. It was really happening in front of her eyes, so I said "Yes, honey, it is real". I couldn't believe that she formed that question. She is so smart, it amazes me. We stayed late and watched Fantasmic and the fireworks. After it was all said and done as we were getting ready to exit the park I asked her what she thought of the show. She said it was kind of scary! Fantasmic is kind of scary! I thought it was a little scary too. It was an overall incredible experience. I can't wait to take the girls back. They will love it all over again!

Katelyn had a check up last week. Her blood is all clear and perfect. We are so very thankful for her health. We pray everyday for all the kids and families that have been touched by cancer. I pray that she continue on this healthy road, and that every other child does as well. She is no longer on any medications and is down to bi-monthly checkups! Amazing! Keep her in your prayers please :)

Kiera is great, healthy and growing like a champ. She is crawling and pulling herself up on everything. She loves to eat, especially to eat our food! She has three little teeth and more on the way. She and Kate are already the best of friends. Kate wants Kiera with her all the time. SHe doesn't even want alone time with Mommy or Daddy. She wants to bring Kiera everywhere. She is such a good big sister. Kiera loves Katelyn. She brings out so many laughs and so much fun. They play really well together already. Katelyn has even learned that if she wants what Kiera has, she has to give Kiera a different toy. It's incredible watching them interact together. They are the highlight of my life.

Please pray for my Uncle Thad. He has had hurrendous headaches these last few months. A CT Scan revealed that he may have a leak in his spinal fluid. He may have to undergo surgery to correct the problem. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

Love,
Krystal

Reflecting

It's has been an incredible year. One year ago last Friday we checked into Children's Hospital for what proved to be a rocky journey. I can't even explain those first days in the hospital. It was so hard. My mind was filled with chaos. I was confused, sad, angry, frusterated, scared, and hurting for my baby. I don't think those feeling ever really left. I am happy now, and blessed to have healthy children. I remember the first days at the hospital, sharing a room with our little buddy, Iker, and finally being transferred to our own room. Poor Katelyn had such chubby little arms and feet, the nurses couldn't get an IV in, and when they finally did it would fall out within hours. She was poked over 30 times in the first few days we were there. The second night we were there I had to leave the room while the nurses held my baby down and poked her over and over until they finally got a vein. I sat outside the room and bawled my eyes out in the middle of the night until the screaming was over and I could go comfort Katelyn. It was traumatizing. The next morning she was scheduled for a central line. That was the end of the pokes, thank you Lord. I can't imagine those seven months if they included constant pokes. It would have been horrific! The first 9 days were endless. Everyday we waited to hear something, we waited for someone to tell us not what was wrong with Katelyn, but that it was all a big mistake and Kate was in perfect health. I think every parent goes through denial. I spent most of our hospital stay making the best of things but always, in the back of my head, I was waiting for someone to wake me up from the awful nightmare that wouldn't end.

On October 31st, 2008 we spent Katelyn's second Halloween trick or treating through the halls of Childrens Hospital. We trailed at the back because we wanted to go at Katelyn's pace and enjoy the excitement. Katelyn was dressed as an adorable little bumblebee and was the cutest thing you have ever seen! A few hours after we were done trick or treating Todd and I sent Katelyn on a walk with a nurse while we sat in our room with a handful of doctors, nurses, social workers, transplant specialists, etc. Dr. Schiff explained that it was very difficult to get a diagnosis because Katelyn's cancer was very rare. She is the 41st case to date, and only 20 children have had this form of leukemia over the last 20 years. Due to the minimal amount of research we were going to go with a general treatment for AML patients. Wow! I remember sitting there, unable to speak as I felt like my throat was closing in on itself. I couldn't see anyone's face, only their outlines because my eyes were consumed with a boatload of tears. It took everything I had to keep from bursting into hysteria as Katelyn's care team made their way to the door. Before the door was closed behind them, Todd had already wrapped me in his arms and we were both crying a river. I don't know how long it lasted, but it wouldn't be the last time we cried into eachothers embrace. On Halloween night our family came to the hospital and listened as I explained what Dr. Schiff had told us earlier that day. I must have cried all the tears I could cry at that point because I was able to explain everything I possibly could to our family while Todd could not say a word. I remember the devastation that took over the room that night. It was the most difficult day of my life. That was the first day of our battle against cancer.

Katelyn was so brave, and continues to prove it day in and day out. She has an innate ability to fight and win. Believe me, I see it every day. Not only did she prove strong and fearless, she won the battle and gained so much strength through her journey. Katelyn is an inspiration to me. In her short two years of life she has proven to be more than I could ever hope to be. She is a survivor, a fighter, a hero, and has been carried by Gods Angels through the most difficult trials. She has proven that no problem is too big to fight and win. She has taught me that nothing in this world matters more than family. Nothing matters more than my children. She has taught me that the most important thing I will ever do in my lifetime is love my children with my whole heart, and be there for them through everything.

I wasn't sure where this day, these reflections, and these thought would lead me. Here is what I do know. I am thankful that Katelyn has reclaimed her health. I am thankful that the four of us are here together. I am thankful that we have family and friends. I am thankful that we have love. I am thankful that we have God in our lives. I am thankful for the children and families that have befriended us along the way. I am thankful for the support that has been bestowed upon us this last year. I am thankful for my life. I am very thankful that this year is over.

Here is to life-long health, happiness, & love. Here is to Katelyn!

Here is to Nadia, to Zara, to Khuong, to Connor, to Iker, to Kylie, to Chase, to Brittany, to Abram, to Julian, to Joe, to D'Mario, to Sarah, to Juan, to Oscar, to Omar, to Lynn, to Haddie, to Heavenly, to Thalia, to Christian. Here's to all the children in Hem/Onc, fighting their battles. Here's to their health and healing.

October 20th's Union Tribune

Every Year the Union Tribune puts out a "Kids News Day" paper. I don't know much about it except that it will be out tomorrow: Tuesday, October 20th. A lot of people volunteer & sell the paper on street corners and in stores all day long. I remember buying these papers multiple times over the years. All proceeds go to Rady Children's Hospital in an effort to support their work and healing.

A few months ago Todd and I were approched about Katelyn being featured as a Miracle Child of the Year in this paper. I haven't spoken with Children's lately but I am assuming that Katelyn will still be featured. We are excited to see the story and hope that it touches everyone who reads it. I hope everyone who reads this will go out and buy the paper tomorrow! Whether or not Katelyn is featured in it, there is no greater cause than helping kids.

Please show your support tomorrow and pick up a Union Tribune: Kids News Day!

Love to all!
Krystal

Ps. I'm uploading pictures this week!