Love For Ashley

Here is a copy of an email I sent out explaining our cookbook fundraiser. Dear Friends and Family, As you are aware our daughter, Ashley, will need a liver transplant in the next three years. Since January of this year we have been raising funds through the American Liver Foundation to cover the cost of her liver transplant and associated medical expenses. So far we have raised approximately $20,000 for Ashley’s transplant; our goal is $75,000. We are getting closer to reaching our goal but we still have a long way to go. That’s why we are starting a new fundraiser. The mom’s at the dance studio that Ashley attends have decided to create a cookbook to help raise funds for Ashley. What’s wonderful about this cookbook is that 100% of the sales go directly to Ashley’s Medical/Transplant Fund. However, we need your help. We need recipes and lots of them. The more recipes we receive the better Ashley’s cookbook will be. If you would like to submit a recipe, please follow the instru...

As you know Ashley is in a competitive dance company with Studio 5D in Winter Springs, Florida. We have only been a part of this wonderful and talented group of dancers for a few months, but they have taken us in as one of their own. Last week, they informed me that a few of the company moms have decided to do a fundraiser to help with Ashley's medical costs. They are going to create a cookbook with donated recipes from all over and then sell the book to raise money for Ashley. The cookbook fundraiser is the mastermind of Kendra, a long time dance company mom. Her husband, Will, a graphic artist, is donating his time and his talent to create this cookbook for the fundraiser. I am humbled by the generosity of people I have just recently met, I am thankful for their heart and their friendship. Ashley's cookbook is just beginning it's journey to publishing. We are still in need of recipes and we need to come up with the sale price. Will has a form that people will need ...

This journal is mostly about Ashley, about her struggles with liver disease and wait for a liver transplant. This journal was started mainly to keep family and friends who love Ashley informed on how she is doing but it was also started to help me cope with having a daughter with a life threatening illness. However, today, it's about none of of these things. It's not about Ashley, me, or how we as a family cope with her illness. Today, it's about other children like Ashley who need an extra prayer or two. If you look to the right of this website you will see a headline called "Liver Friends". Please take the time to visit some of these websites. But before you leave Love for Ashley let me briefly introduce you to those special children. Aiden is a sweet goodlooking blonde-haired boy who had biliary atresia. Aiden received a liver transplant when he was just a tiny baby. Although, Aiden's liver transplant was a success, he still struggles with life thr...

Last week we received Ashley's first progress report for 4th grade. With all the medical stress last week I forgot to report the good news. Ashley struggles in school but every year she surprises us with a great report card and this semester's progress report is no different. Ashley made 2 A's and 2 B's, her B's were 88 averages. These grades are amazing especially given that Ashley has mild inattentive ADD and short term memory issues. Also, Ashley has a very busy dance schedule now that she is part of the Studio 5D Fifth Dimension Dance Company. She is at the dance studio just about six days a week for at most 2 hours a day. When Ashley was diagnosed with her liver disease, we were told that Ashley would need to be sheltered, that she would need to be home schooled, that she would be delayed both physically and mentally. Look at my baby now, I'd say those doctors were wrong! Someone once told me that Ashley's fight for life has purpose, that she was put o...

Ashley's lab results didn't tell us anything, at least not anything we didn't already know. Ashley's liver is somewhat happy but her platelet count is low. Ashley's platelet count is 100,000 (normal is between 150,000 to 400,000). I suppose I should be happy that whatever Ashley's body is telling us that it doesn't appear have anything to do with her liver. Yes, I am happy that Ashley's liver appears to be stable on paper. That paper isn't telling us the whole story, Ashley's body is trying to tell us something...we aren't listening well. To say that I am frustrated...well that's an understatement!

Ashley's body is trying to tell us that something is just not right. However, we can't figure out what it is trying to say. Ashley woke up yesterday morning complaining of belly pain; this seems to be a weekly complaint. We followed normal procedures by taking her temp-normal, telling her to go to the bathroom-everything normal there too and giving her a bland breakfast of dry toast and water. Since she didn't have a fever, she went to school. Fast forward a few hours. I get a call at work, Ashley's in the clinic again complaining of belly pain. She says she feels like she needs to throw up but nothing happens. I leave from work to pick her up and take her home. At home she seems fine, but her face looks gaunt; she looks tired. I called her pediatrician and her liver doc. Both docs agree that we need to take her to the hospital to have labs drawn. So yesterday, Ashley and I spent two hours at the hospital waiting to have labs drawn; a procedure that only takes a couple ...