Monday, November 13, 2006

Update as of Monday November 13, 2006



Hello Everyone,

Again time goes by too quickly. Everyday I think about what it could be like for Maria to have a life without cancer. What is the trick to getting by everyday? Everyday I wake up and ask God to help me get through just one more day.

Megan always tells me that we need to always believe, without any thoughts or reservations, because if we, her parents, don’t believe for Maria then who will. Well, I want Megan and everyone in the world to know that I have not and I will never stop believing that Maria is going to get the miracle. She is already our miracle!

Because of our miracle, Maria, we have met so many kind, loving, and caring people. Right from the beginning, hundreds of people came forward to help us out. I can tell you that I wish I could look each and every one of you in the eye and tell you personally how much we truly appreciate your kindness. Everyday someone does something for Maria.

I will tell one story. A gentleman we have never met, heard about Maria’s story. He is an over the road hauler. We’ll call him “Trucker”. Trucker organized a “Poker Run” to benefit Maria. Here was a man that didn’t know us and he put together an entire event for our daughter. I also found out that he took a week off of work to organize the final details. HE TOOK A WHOLE WEEK OFF OF WORK for someone he didn’t know and never met for this event . Our friend had only six weeks to put together the event. 100 riders later, it was a success.

Trucker called me to meet up with him after the event. I went and met up with him and I really enjoyed meeting him. I will tell you that God put him into our lives for a reason.

Toward the end of our meeting, Trucker turned to me and said that he was sorry that he didn’t get more people at the run and that next year we will have over 500 bikers. (Next year?) He said that he will try and do it every year for Maria. WHAT??? Here is a man that works hard every day to provide for his family and he is apologizing to me for not having a large turn out. And that every year he will work for Maria??.. You see, this is the miracle of Maria. Thanks Trucker and everyone who went on the Poker Run for Maria.

OK, one more story. – A former babysitter of friends of ours is now a teacher at Sts. Cyril and Methodius school in Lakewood. Their school participates in the St. Jude Mathathon every year. This year she wanted to put a local spin on the fun and more. She contacted us and asked us to get involved. We agreed. They told all the kids about Maria and asked them to pray for her. We donated some bracelets to them to help raise money for St. Jude. The bracelets were a hit!

The best thing for us is that we get another whole school knowing about Maria and PRAYING for her. Every week a class sends a bunch of letters to Maria telling her to stay strong and get better. They are all praying for the miracle. The last class sent a picture of all the kids raising their hands. We thought it was cute. But after we looked again, we noticed the Prayers For Maria wristbands on every kid's wrist. That is inspiring! God bless you Sts. Cyril and Methodius School!!

Well, let’s get on with the most important thing in the world, Maria.

Maria was Minnie Mouse for Halloween. She looked so cute. Even her Minnie Mouse shoes. She loved wearing it and loved trick or treating.

Maria has been going to school, dance, Brownies, and more. She and her mother just returned from Chicago and a visit to the American Girl Doll Store. They saw the American Girl Doll Show and ate at the American Girl Doll CafĂ©. But that was not Maria’s favorite part of the trip…nope. Her favorite part of the trip was sitting in mom’s lap on a carriage ride around downtown Chicago. Maria and her mom are best friends. That is awesome. Megan always talked to me about wanting to take Maria shopping on a girls’ weekend in Chicago when Maria becomes a teenager. Well, good for mom to do it earlier. It is now officially an annual event.

Thursday night was Maria’s teacher conference. Her teacher Mrs. Kascak is awesome. She watches over Maria and does everything she can to make Maria’s school life normal. That is all Maria and we want. NORMAL. Maria just wants to be like everyone else in her class. And right now she is. Mrs. K told us a story about Maria that I really want to share. I hope I remember it the same way. Apparently, Maria and the classmates were talking about ghosts around Halloween time and some students mentioned how they don’t ever want to die. Then Mrs. K told us that Maria spoke up and said “I’m not afraid to go to heaven. Heaven is a great place.”

That broke my heart, again. She is so angelic when I look into her eyes. She knows something that we don’t. Is it that she is a walking miracle? She knows why she is here; I wish I knew why I was here.

Maria’s blood count is growing stronger and we have anxiety about her next MRI scan. We go down to St. Jude the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, November 28, 2006. Keep the prayers coming.

Also, we want to thank WGAR 99.5 radio station for spending two whole days airing the St. Jude Radiothon. Maria, Megan, and dad got to go and tour the radio station and do some promos for the Radiothon. They even put together an entire song/story using Tim McGraw’s “My Little Girl” song. Made me cry….again. We also went live on the radio last Thursday to talk about Maria’s story and how St. Jude has made a difference in our lives. It is a place you should love to give to, but never have to go. Well, go to http://www.wgar.com/ to see the photos and send Chuck Collier an email to say thanks. He is truly a caring man!

I will try and tell more stories in future posts if I can remember all of them. There are just so many people that have helped us and prayed so hard for Maria. We are still sending out thank you cards from 4 months ago. We are really behind. Thanks again for your love and support.

God Bless
Ed and Megan

12 comments:

Robin said...

Is there anywhere we can get the bracelets for Maria locally?

Anonymous said...

We have never met, but I must tell you I have been absolutely captivated by your website and your story. I check frequently for updates on Maria, and find myself thinking about her (and you) several times a day. Your family was put on this earth for a reason, for you have shown patience, love, courage, and a fighting spirit to all of the rest of us. You are truly an inspiration, and are in my prayers frequently. Thank you for having the courage to share your story so openly. May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Peggy Murphy

Anonymous said...

your family is truely an inspiration.

we continue to pray for her everyday.

today i wore my prayers for maria fun run shirt. some people at school asked me about it, and so i began to share marias story at lunch. her story captivated my friends and classmates and we began to pray for your daughter right there at our lunch table.

it was truely amazing to see this group of high school students praying for this six year old.

my prayers alone though, they are for more than just maria. they are prayers for finding a cure for this monster. so that not only maria, but for all children fighting it will be able to live life to the full.

prayers will keep coming.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ed and Megan,

Megan, my family knows you from St. Pat's. We have been closely following your story. My kids (8 and 4) are captivated by Maria. We all pray for Maria every night. Maria is always the first "God bless..." out my my 4 year old daughter's mouth every night. My son is doing a math-a-thon for St. Jude's this month. He has raised over $200 so far, knowing that the money can help Maria and other sick kids. If there is a way for him to raise more we are certainly trying to find it.

We heard you on the radio last week. Everytime a story came on, my daugther asked if it was Maria.

Know that you are in our prayers! Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help!

God Bless!

The Cotter's
Pat, Brenda(McGuire), Casey and Callie (pbcc98@sbcglobal.net)

Anonymous said...

Hey Eddie and Meghan,

I am soooo glad Maria had an awesome time at the American Girl Place. Brynna and I went there when she was 6 too, and loved it. Of course, she thought the Broadway-style show was amazing, and I found it completely lacking in artistic merit, but that's beside the point. Just letting you know you guys are on my mind all day long, and I let out my own little prayers constantly, out there. I know exactly what you mean when you wonder why YOU are here, when it is so OBVIOUS why Maria is. Love you with all my heart, cousin. Nora

Anonymous said...

Maria looks so cute in her Minnie mouse costume! It was so fun to see her marching in the little Halloween parade around school. She told Mrs. French and I about the "history" of her costume in great detail during the parade. We enjoy popping in her first grade class to see all the great things they are learning!
I believe that Maria will get the miracle we are all praying for too. There is not a day that goes by that someone doesn't ask me how Maria is doing and that they are still praying for her. These people are from school, church, my family and friends from all over the country! She has touched so many lives already and will continue to do so. She is wiser then many adults that I know. Mrs. Kascak and I have commented that you just get a special feeling when you are near Maria. I know exactly how that feels. The beautiful photo you sent to me from graduation still remains placed with all of our family photos and will always stay there. She makes my family smile everytime we walk by our photos and we say a little prayer in our hearts for Maria.
It was so nice to see Maria and Mom at mass this past Sunday! It is so clear that the two of them are best friends! What a fun trip to Chicago!!
Hugs from the kindergarten!
Mrs. Ritzler

Anonymous said...

Dear Ed and Megan,
Thanks for the update! It is amazing to hear the stories that transpire between each journal entry. The pride & joy that comes from both of you when you write about Maria is infectious! It keeps us present in what really matters and what a gift our children are to us here on earth. Thank you for reminding us of what really matters. It is not just the milestones in our children's lives that matter, but the moments that lead up to them. We feel blessed to have all of you in our lives!
D&T Gordon

Anonymous said...

Hi Eddie & Megan,

Glad to hear Maria had a wonderful time with Mommy in Chicago. What a great idea! All of you are in our thoughts & prayers constantly. We will attend Mass for Maria on Thanksgiving with a special prayer to Jesus for good news on Tuesday for his little child Maria.

God Bless you all every moment of every day.

Love,
Rosaleen, Brian & Johnny

Anonymous said...

You and your family are always in my prayers. We know Chuck Collier personally, and he is a wonderful person.

The JH of St. Raphael will be remembering Maria and her trip to St. Jude's on Tuesday in their Prayer Journals. Maria is their daily prompt prayer on Tuesday. That's 160 seventh & eighth graders praying for Maria.
Have a safe trip and one filled with GREAT news.

mike said...

hi antie is mikey I hope u liked the auction that we did for your family and maria we love u guys and we wont! stop praying and i would like to say i pray for her in class and so do my friends and classmates


we all love u and maria
-mikey

Anonymous said...

Dear Maria and Family,

Our names are Katelyn Mulhall and Julie Stursa, and we had a question we would like to ask all of you! This upcoming April the 20th-21st our college, Ursuline in Pepper Pike, Ohio is hosting a Relay for Life... we were both wondering if we could name our group in honor of your daughter and her battle with cancer. We have been following her story for some time now, and are deeply touched by its contents. We would also like to create a poster with your daughters picture on it, in hopes of sharing her story with our fellow peers. In addition to the poster we would like to purchase a candle in her name. Thank you for your time, please respond!


We send our blessings,

Katelyn Mulhall, and Julie Stursa


ps... here are our e-mail addresses in case you have any questions...

kmulhall@ursuline.edu

jstursa@ursuline.edu

Mikey said...

hi antie its mikey and my friend mike we would like to say hi and we always pray for maria we love u bye