Fundraiser this weekend!
Fairfax County soccer field and baseball park:
Pine Ridge Park
3401 Woodburn Rd.
Annandale, Virginia 22003
June 27 & 28 all day 8:30 to 4:00
(Just around the corner from INOVA Fairfax Hospital on Woodburn Road where CarterMan rests his head these days)
Great menu – lunches, drinks, snacks
If you’re in the area come for breakfast or lunch
Pick it up to go, or have it delivered!
Also: raffles, cards, crafts, jewelry sales
This event is being sponsored by "Kickback" (Grandma Harris’ soccer team which is a part of the Fairfax Women's Soccer Association) & friends
All proceeds will go to Carter’s Crusaders
You may request the event flyer/menu by contacting Elaine Harris: eh5@hughes.net
If you would like more information and/or to place lunch orders, please contact:
Elaine (540) 270-3202
Diane (202) 413-8754
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
NEW ~ PayPal button ------->
Check out the PayPal button on the top/right of the blogspot! Click on the button to be taken to Carter's Crusaders' PayPal page in order to donate to the Harris family in their time of need! Thank you to all of you, in advance, for you generosity!!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Update On Little Carter-Man
Since the last update...Carter did well with all treatments and tolerated them well. His blood counts are holding strong. Starting last Wednesday, the family started to see remarkable improvements in Carter during Physical Therapy. He seemed stronger and more at ease during the session.
Speech Therapy came and put a speaking valve on Carter's trache and he tolerated it quite well. Normally, children can only tolerate it for about 5 minutes at first but after 25 minutes, he was still holding strong!! He was able to make sounds and they anticipated that at the next round, they could get him to talk (he was very nervous so he only made sounds...they said it would feel weird to Carter at first)!
Until Sunday, things were going wonderfully. Carter-Man was moved out of the PICU Sunday afternoon, only to find that as soon as he went back on the floor he spiked a fever, his heart rate was high and he was breathing rapidly. They decided to do a CT scan of the brain to make sure things looked okay. There has been no change since the last scan. A chest X-ray which was also done was fine. Even though things seemed to be checking out okay, because of the situation they moved him back to PICU. The doctors swear he just likes it better over there :)
Monday....The Intensivist decided to put Carter back on the vent because he was still breathing fast...instantly, things were good! His fever went away and his blood cultures have grown nothing yet. The cultures they took from his secretions and his stool sample are both fine as well.
So....what next? They did a scope yesterday (looked at his airway with a camera) and there were no signs of obstruction. The family is waiting for the doctors to tell them what their next plan of action will be. This may have been a virus that caused the fever, high heart rate and rapid breathing. The cause is not certain at this point, but they do not think it is neurological because things seem to be going in the right direction there.
Carter has a break from treatment this week and will begin another round of Avastin and Irinotecan on Monday (6/22). Per Courtney's request: KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING!!!
Speech Therapy came and put a speaking valve on Carter's trache and he tolerated it quite well. Normally, children can only tolerate it for about 5 minutes at first but after 25 minutes, he was still holding strong!! He was able to make sounds and they anticipated that at the next round, they could get him to talk (he was very nervous so he only made sounds...they said it would feel weird to Carter at first)!
Until Sunday, things were going wonderfully. Carter-Man was moved out of the PICU Sunday afternoon, only to find that as soon as he went back on the floor he spiked a fever, his heart rate was high and he was breathing rapidly. They decided to do a CT scan of the brain to make sure things looked okay. There has been no change since the last scan. A chest X-ray which was also done was fine. Even though things seemed to be checking out okay, because of the situation they moved him back to PICU. The doctors swear he just likes it better over there :)
Monday....The Intensivist decided to put Carter back on the vent because he was still breathing fast...instantly, things were good! His fever went away and his blood cultures have grown nothing yet. The cultures they took from his secretions and his stool sample are both fine as well.
So....what next? They did a scope yesterday (looked at his airway with a camera) and there were no signs of obstruction. The family is waiting for the doctors to tell them what their next plan of action will be. This may have been a virus that caused the fever, high heart rate and rapid breathing. The cause is not certain at this point, but they do not think it is neurological because things seem to be going in the right direction there.
Carter has a break from treatment this week and will begin another round of Avastin and Irinotecan on Monday (6/22). Per Courtney's request: KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING!!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Cookbook for Carter FUNDRAISER!
Now collecting any/all recipes to create a cookbook for sale in order to raise some additional funds for the Harris family! This is an idea that Carter's Aunt Kat "cooked up"....see her notes below:
To submit a recipe:
Email cccb.recipes@gmail.com - I am requesting 1 email per recipe, and in the
subject line put one of the following categories that the recipe belongs. I
can keep track of everything, especially since I'm hoping for hundreds of
recipes, like 300 at a minimum. Anyway the categories:
1. Appetizer/beverages
2. soup/salad
3. vegetables
4. main dish/meat
5. bread
6. dessert
7. miscellaneous (can be anything, I have a cook book that has a recipe
for dog biscuits in this category.)
To request a copy:
Email cccb.orders@gmail.com - Put the number you wish to order in the
subject line and contact info in the body. Depending on how many orders I
get and how many we think can be sold that didn't email will kind of
determine the price. Right now I would say the range is between $10 and $15. Maybe a couple extra bucks if they need to be mailed. Once there is a final product I will email everyone to confirm their orders before submitting a final order.
I haven't completely thought how they will get distributed. Most of the
people who purchase we would know and see often. Maybe an open house type
get together, where people can bring recipes from the cookbook they
submitted for people to try. And at the same time pick up their cookbook.
To submit a recipe:
Email cccb.recipes@gmail.com - I am requesting 1 email per recipe, and in the
subject line put one of the following categories that the recipe belongs. I
can keep track of everything, especially since I'm hoping for hundreds of
recipes, like 300 at a minimum. Anyway the categories:
1. Appetizer/beverages
2. soup/salad
3. vegetables
4. main dish/meat
5. bread
6. dessert
7. miscellaneous (can be anything, I have a cook book that has a recipe
for dog biscuits in this category.)
To request a copy:
Email cccb.orders@gmail.com - Put the number you wish to order in the
subject line and contact info in the body. Depending on how many orders I
get and how many we think can be sold that didn't email will kind of
determine the price. Right now I would say the range is between $10 and $15. Maybe a couple extra bucks if they need to be mailed. Once there is a final product I will email everyone to confirm their orders before submitting a final order.
I haven't completely thought how they will get distributed. Most of the
people who purchase we would know and see often. Maybe an open house type
get together, where people can bring recipes from the cookbook they
submitted for people to try. And at the same time pick up their cookbook.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
An Update and Thank You from Courtney
First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone throughout the community for their continued prayers and support. Skip and I are so very thankful for all of the support we have received over the last 4 months. It is unbelievable..how lucky and blessed we are! We could not have remained as strong and positive if it had not been for everyone's love, prayers, and support. Again, thank you so very much!!!
As for an update on Carter.....Can I just say...OUR BOY IS A TRUE FIGHTER!!! He is tough as nails!!! He has been through so much and continues to fight with all he has. As everyone knows, Carter has a tracheotomy. This is something that has to be changed once a week. When it came time for the change, there was quite a mishap. Due to some issues with Carter's healing process (due to steroids, chemo, and radiation), the trache change did not go well. After the change was done (or so we thought), the ENT doctor left the room and Carter was not able to breathe within minutes. He fought and I mean he fought hard! With the intervention of our Gracious Lord above and an amazing doctor, Carter was immediately intubated and stats went back to normal!! They realized that they would need to special order a trache for Carter (yes, we already knew he was special)so they would have to use a "makeshift" trache for 4-7 days!! He also had to have chest tubes put in because when he was fighting to breathe, his body filled with air. They put 2 chest tubes in and very soon after, Carter's lungs were back to normal and healing:) Yesterday, the "makeshift" tube, slipped out of place and it just so happened that the ENT doctor had just happened to come up to the PICU and our "angel" doctor (he always seems to be there when something goes wrong with Carter) was right there (not even supposed to be on yet)and they intubated him and went ahead and changed the trache!!! Yet another miracle in the life of our Carter-Man!!! Carter started his new treatment (Avastin and Irinotecan) yesterday and will start another chemo today (Temodar). Right now, Carter and Daddy are resting peacefully (he kept his Daddy up all night because he slept most of the day yesterday due to the events)! Some say you should wait for the storms to pass but I say..Let's Dance in the rain and man can our boy dance!!!!! Please continue to pray that this new treatment will be our light at the end of this very long, dark tunnel (as said by Becca)!!! Love to you all:)
As for an update on Carter.....Can I just say...OUR BOY IS A TRUE FIGHTER!!! He is tough as nails!!! He has been through so much and continues to fight with all he has. As everyone knows, Carter has a tracheotomy. This is something that has to be changed once a week. When it came time for the change, there was quite a mishap. Due to some issues with Carter's healing process (due to steroids, chemo, and radiation), the trache change did not go well. After the change was done (or so we thought), the ENT doctor left the room and Carter was not able to breathe within minutes. He fought and I mean he fought hard! With the intervention of our Gracious Lord above and an amazing doctor, Carter was immediately intubated and stats went back to normal!! They realized that they would need to special order a trache for Carter (yes, we already knew he was special)so they would have to use a "makeshift" trache for 4-7 days!! He also had to have chest tubes put in because when he was fighting to breathe, his body filled with air. They put 2 chest tubes in and very soon after, Carter's lungs were back to normal and healing:) Yesterday, the "makeshift" tube, slipped out of place and it just so happened that the ENT doctor had just happened to come up to the PICU and our "angel" doctor (he always seems to be there when something goes wrong with Carter) was right there (not even supposed to be on yet)and they intubated him and went ahead and changed the trache!!! Yet another miracle in the life of our Carter-Man!!! Carter started his new treatment (Avastin and Irinotecan) yesterday and will start another chemo today (Temodar). Right now, Carter and Daddy are resting peacefully (he kept his Daddy up all night because he slept most of the day yesterday due to the events)! Some say you should wait for the storms to pass but I say..Let's Dance in the rain and man can our boy dance!!!!! Please continue to pray that this new treatment will be our light at the end of this very long, dark tunnel (as said by Becca)!!! Love to you all:)
Monday, June 8, 2009
FAMILY FUN DAY BBQ FUNDRAISER RAISES OVER $9700!!!
Many, Many Thanks to all the selfless volunteers who came out on Saturday to help with the very successful Family Fun Day BBQ!! The turnout was fantastic and the weather was perfect (a much needed change, I might add)!
FAMILY STEAK NIGHT RAISES OVER $1800!!
Here is a special note from Shelley Seay:
To All of Carter's Crusaders that joined us Friday night for the Family
Steak Dinner, thank you. Because of your generosity, we were able to raise a
little over $1800.00 for little Carter-Man.
I promised everyone that I would ask Becca to post the 50/50 number. If you
kept your ticket, please throw it away. Mr. Bennie Brooks had the winning
ticket and yes, without blinking an eye, donated every cent back to Carter.
Thank you Bennie with all of our hearts!
Again, thank you Carter's Crusaders.............you are all a special group
of people.:)
Shelley
To All of Carter's Crusaders that joined us Friday night for the Family
Steak Dinner, thank you. Because of your generosity, we were able to raise a
little over $1800.00 for little Carter-Man.
I promised everyone that I would ask Becca to post the 50/50 number. If you
kept your ticket, please throw it away. Mr. Bennie Brooks had the winning
ticket and yes, without blinking an eye, donated every cent back to Carter.
Thank you Bennie with all of our hearts!
Again, thank you Carter's Crusaders.............you are all a special group
of people.:)
Shelley
Friday, June 5, 2009
VERY IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT TOMORROW'S EVENT!!!
We have hit a snag with parking for tomorrow's big event. Due to all this rain we have been having, the field that was to be used for parking is a swamp!! We are asking that guests park at Bethel Baptist Church (1193 White Oak Road) which is about 1/4 mile past the event. We will have (2) 15 passenger vans shuttling back and forth until the end of the event.
There is a very small area of asphalt available for parking at the event for those guests that may have a disability or for an elderly guest that may have a hard time getting in/out of a larger van, etc. There will be a volunteer at the entrance to PBM (where the event is being held) directing people to Bethel Baptist to catch the shuttle.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Unfortunately, it is what it is at this point! We look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow for some much needed sunshine fun!
There is a very small area of asphalt available for parking at the event for those guests that may have a disability or for an elderly guest that may have a hard time getting in/out of a larger van, etc. There will be a volunteer at the entrance to PBM (where the event is being held) directing people to Bethel Baptist to catch the shuttle.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Unfortunately, it is what it is at this point! We look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow for some much needed sunshine fun!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Do you Stamp? Crop? Scrapbook at all?
Well, now is the time to step it up a notch because your efforts could really help out Carter and his family!!! A friend of the family (Ronnie) has a Scrap booking and Craft shop located in Springfield, VA. This is a good friend of one of Carter's Grandmas, Elaine. It is called GoldensHill Papercrafts. She is pledging a % of her anniversary open house sales (June 13) and a % of her June sales to Carter's Crusaders. Please click HERE to visit Ronnie’s website. If you're going to stamp it, crop it, etc. this month.....why not do it for Carter? Just a thought!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Carter's Dream Garden
Great News! (and I am basically cutting/pasting what Courtney emailed me earlier without my normal "spin" on things, due to the fact that I am working very hard on making sure that Saturday's event is a HUGELY successful one for the Harris family!)
Carter is off the vent (that typically accompanies the Trache). After being off all day yesterday, they put him back on last night. Although he was fine, he did not sleep much. Skip believes that he can't sleep with it on. When they took it off at 7:00am this morning, it was instantaneous...he went right to sleep. They decided that he is ready to be off for good...YAY!!! Everyone is amazed that he is coming off so early....the nurse today told Courtney that it is normally AT LEAST a week before children Carter's age are taken off the vent...she also said that they keep them heavily sedated and paralyzed for a week normally but because he is doing so well, they did not!!! His blood counts are great....white blood cells are as good as yours and mine, red blood cells are almost there.....platelets are still a little low so they are holding off treatment for tomorrow...his are 71 and really should be at least 75 for the AVASTIN (the next step in his treatment plan). He is sleeping peacefully now after 3 nights of barely any sleep....he woke up briefly when Courtney arrived back at the hospital and was VERY happy to see her (after being @ home in the "Burg" with Caroline, who had Strep Throat - can't take that around Carter Man!!).
I got an email from CeCee (for those of you that don't know who that is, it is Courtney's Mom/Carter's "Grandma CeCee") who told me a funny story:
CeCee's husband, Tom (Carter's "Gagee") talked with Carter yesterday about creating a garden this summer out back of Carter Man's house. Gagee wanted Carter's input and this is what he wants (and he was VERY specific):
First and foremost - Carter wants NO SQUASH!! (pretty typical for a 5 yr old!) He wants tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and peppers with a row of sunflowers right down the middle. I'm thinking Carter Man needs to come landscape my yard because that sounds really pretty!
Carter's Daddy, Skip joked that if Bubbie (Carter's Uncle Chad) had his way, it would be a "Beer Garden" - well this just made Carter grin all over himself!
Carter is off the vent (that typically accompanies the Trache). After being off all day yesterday, they put him back on last night. Although he was fine, he did not sleep much. Skip believes that he can't sleep with it on. When they took it off at 7:00am this morning, it was instantaneous...he went right to sleep. They decided that he is ready to be off for good...YAY!!! Everyone is amazed that he is coming off so early....the nurse today told Courtney that it is normally AT LEAST a week before children Carter's age are taken off the vent...she also said that they keep them heavily sedated and paralyzed for a week normally but because he is doing so well, they did not!!! His blood counts are great....white blood cells are as good as yours and mine, red blood cells are almost there.....platelets are still a little low so they are holding off treatment for tomorrow...his are 71 and really should be at least 75 for the AVASTIN (the next step in his treatment plan). He is sleeping peacefully now after 3 nights of barely any sleep....he woke up briefly when Courtney arrived back at the hospital and was VERY happy to see her (after being @ home in the "Burg" with Caroline, who had Strep Throat - can't take that around Carter Man!!).
I got an email from CeCee (for those of you that don't know who that is, it is Courtney's Mom/Carter's "Grandma CeCee") who told me a funny story:
CeCee's husband, Tom (Carter's "Gagee") talked with Carter yesterday about creating a garden this summer out back of Carter Man's house. Gagee wanted Carter's input and this is what he wants (and he was VERY specific):
First and foremost - Carter wants NO SQUASH!! (pretty typical for a 5 yr old!) He wants tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and peppers with a row of sunflowers right down the middle. I'm thinking Carter Man needs to come landscape my yard because that sounds really pretty!
Carter's Daddy, Skip joked that if Bubbie (Carter's Uncle Chad) had his way, it would be a "Beer Garden" - well this just made Carter grin all over himself!
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