June 1, 2014

It is Sunday morning very early. For as long as I can remember I have always loved Sundays and the chance to go to church. I love talking with the other members of the congregation and finding out how they are doing and making sure people feel welcome. I have also loved organizing and participating in service projects to help benefit people. In many respects I feel on the other end of that welcoming feeling now. We have been so touched by all of the expressions of love and concern. We know that many of you are either donating or helping to gather donations on Afton’s behalf and others are organizing blood drives and offering to take the children, etc. It is, as Norm Jones put it, inspiring! Thank you.

My Ph.D. advisor always instructed me that the best way to organize your thoughts is with an outline. My version of that organization is a list so you will see most of my thinking and writing organized this way.

1. Blood. Afton received her first blood transfusion yesterday on Friday evening. Normal hemoglobin levels for someone Afton’s age are around 12 g/dl. Because of the chemotherapy, her levels had dropped to around 7 g/dl. This was anticipated so they gave her a transfusion of red blood cells. While there are some risks with blood transfusions, there are far more benefits. We noticed her energy level and coloring improve dramatically. So, thank you to all those who donate blood.

To that end, the ERDC has a regularly scheduled blood drive plannedTuesday, June 3, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the CHL Conference Facility, Room 495, Bldg. 3200. If you wish to donate blood, you can do so in Afton’s name by using the code DH41. You do not need to have the same blood type as Afton to donate. It is very unlikely that she will receive your
blood. She simply receives credit for the blood you have donated. For those of you who do not work at ERDC, there are people working to organized additional opportunities to donate blood.

2. Radiation - Afton received her 2nd and 3rd radiation treatments on Friday. As I mentioned previously, these treatments have restored partial movement of her left leg and toes and halted further degradation of her speech. However, radiation is only a partial solution.

3. Chemotherapy - The first round of chemotherapy we received was not normal because of the emergency radiation that was required. We will go back on the normal schedule Tuesday. Not pleasant but Afton is enduring it well.

4. Gastrointestinal - functioning properly again

5. Visitors - Despite being seven hours from Vicksburg, we continue to be blessed with visitors and attention. On both Thursday and Friday when things were at the very darkest, Samantha Bradley Stone drove up from Huntsville and stayed with us for hours. Simply sitting in the waiting room with someone to talk with was wonderful. On Friday evening, Afton’s aunt and uncle (Sheri’s sister and brother-in-law) arrived from Indianapolis with their four children. While the visits were very short, Afton loved having the attention of these beautiful little girls and their brand new baby brother. On Saturday, Deanne spent most of the day helping Sheri decorate the room with photographs. The room feels very much more like a home away from home. I went hiking with Nick and the kids on the Warner Woods trails here in Nashville. It was beautiful. I like Nashville!!! On Saturday evening Adrienne Eckstein and her son Luke stopped by on their way to visit Cornell and other universities in the Northeast. Luke’s sister Adrienne is one of Afton’s swim team buddies and it was fun to have them visit. Again, the time in Afton’s room is very short but we are so glad they stopped on their way through.

6. Children’s Miracle Network - This weekend is the fund drive for the children’s miracle network (CMN). This organization links together the fundraising efforts for hundreds of children’s hospitals from all over the country. On Friday I was doing a little shopping for Sheri and someone noticed the hospital wristband that I wear and asked about our situation. Another person in the store overheard our conversation and indicated that she was the CMN coordinator for Vanderbilt. After more discussion she mentioned that she helps to organize a swim-a-thon with the local swimming teams where people donate a certain amount of money per yard the team member swims. The teams swim as many laps as they can, the sponsors donate money which goes toward the local children’s hospital. We brainstormed a little and we are going to try and organize a swim-a-thon competition in Afton’s name between the teams in the Nashville area and those in Mississippi. I will keep you all posted as this idea takes shape.

7. Temples and worship services - my niece Erin contacted every temple in the United States and Canada (90 total) and placed Afton’s name on the prayer rolls. Thank you Erin. In addition, most of my siblings and Sheri’s siblings went to the temple closest to where they lived and united their faith with others on behalf of Afton. In addition, many of churches in Vicksburg are holding special prayer vigils and meetings for Afton. We feel immensely blessed by your combined faith. Thank you!

We love you all and are so very grateful to each of you for your support.