STOP!

STOP! Help us keep Rylie (and yourselves) happy and healthy this winter! 

We are quickly approaching cold and flu season, and if these last few weeks have been any indication we are in for a long winter! 

As many of you have seen Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has made its presence know this year and children across the country are already facing long hospital stays. Cold and flu season is tough on any parent or kid. No one likes missing school and fun play dates with friends, and for parents juggling everything that comes with having a sick kiddo at home adds another level of stress to any already stressful time of year. This year for us that stress is heightened due to Rylie’s current situation. Kiddos like Rylie, who are receiving chemotherapy treatments, have little to no immune system, making it extremely difficult for them to fight a small cold or flu bug. Often times those children end up in the hospital needing help from our amazing doctors and nurses to fight what the rest of us deal with as just the common cold and flu. A common cold can quickly turn into a blood transfusion and an automatic stay in the hospital. Us, and may other parents would like to avoid those situation if at all possible… the goal is to keep our baby girl healthy and out of the hospital throughout the remainder of her treatment plan.

Just a few simple steps can help you to avoid cold and flu season all together…

(1)      Get a flu shot. It’s the #1 thing we can all do to prevent the flu! We received our shots last night! A plus, most insurance companies cover the shot with no out of pocket cost to you!

(2)      Wash your hands! Wash Your Hands! Wash your Hands! No matter what you do we all come into contact with people! The best tool you have to avoid a cold or flu bug is to WASH YOUR HANDS!

(3)       Use Alcohol based Sanitizers. We are frequent hand sanitizer purchasers in the Evans house. You know those Extreme Coupon shows… we’re kind of like that but with soap and sanitizer! J Hand Sanitizers are a great alternative to have handy when you can’t get yourself to some soap and hot water.

(4)       Avoid getting close to people who are sick. As mentioned before people are contagious beings- the less interaction you have with someone that is sick the better chance you have of avoid getting sick yourself! While no one wants to miss out on work, school, or a holiday party it is best to stay home when you are sick! During cold and flu season sharing is no caring… STAY HOME! Rest! Focus on getting yourself well!

(5)      Keep your surroundings clean! Sanitize doorknobs, light switches, trashcans, and faucets. Think of the germiest places in your home and office and CLEAN them… anything touched by lots of hands… Clean it regularly! Health care professional recommend avoiding shared candy dishes around the office and taking a few moments each morning to clean and sanitize your work space.

(6)       Keep a healthy lifestyle. Eat right, stay hydrated, get adequate rest, and exercise! Try adding in a multi-vitamin or a probiotic into your daily routine to give your body an extra boost of protection.

So, we need your help! Let’s all make a few changes and help keep Rylie and her friends happy and healthy this winter! 

For more information check out these links below...
Skip Getting Sick In 3 Simple Steps
Stay Healthy This Year… 6 Tips to Avoiding Cold and Flu Season

Chemotherapy- Course 5

Round 5 of Chemotherapy is in the bag… only 7 more to go!!! most times it seems like  time is standing still, other times we feel like we have been on this journey forever, like its just part of our routine. Yesterday was one of those days. In just five months Rylie has come so far. Yesterday she was accessed and de-accessed with absolutely NO tears!!! Most of you know getting accessed has been a huge source of stress for Rylie. She screams, cries, and fights with all of her power to get away from the nurses. She hates it, until recently she wouldn't even show an adult her port out of fear they were going to touch it. 
But in the last month she has made progress in leaps and bounds, even going as far as showing off her "princess port" to anyone and everyone that wants to see it. and yesterday, it seems like all of the stress and teaching has paid off. There was no fighting, no tears… she just jumped up on our lap like the little rock star she is and was accessed like it was nothing. I think we were all in shock… while we are hoping this is a new normal we know this process is extremely painful and scary for her and regardless of what happens next time we are so proud of her and how far she has come! 

 iPad Games with Daddy

 They had a lot of problems getting Rylie's port to cooperate yesterday so she had to have her arms in the air a ton… i think she thought it was a fun little game :) Thank heavens for awesome nurses! 

 Crackers and cheesy smiles 

 Such a Big Girl- Our NF Hero! 

She kicked round #5 right in the butt! Good Job Rylie Bug! 

Reminder… cold and flu season is quickly approaching. Help those you love stay save this winter by getting the flu vaccination. While no one enjoys getting a shot, these vaccinations are life saving for a child like Rylie. We will be getting ours at the end of the month… make sure to schedule your appointment as well! 

4th Annual NF Walk

What an Amazing Day! The 4th Annual NF Walk was held in Sugar House Park about a week ago. Such a magical day! We have been hard at work these last few weeks getting everything set up and ready to go and man did it pay off! Everything turned out absolutely perfect! I could not think of a better way to celebrate all of these amazing NF Heros! The Children's Tumor Foundation really knows how to make these kiddos smile! 😃

THANK YOU to everyone that helped to make our first walk a HUGE success! In early may we set out to get a team of 20 people together... We were overwhelmed and extremely grateful to have 67 people join the LadyBug Gang this year- with your help our team alone raised over $3k!!! We can not tell you how estatic we are! The Children's Tumor Foundation is so near and deaf to our hearts. The support and friendships we have built with this organizations have helped us to summon up courage when we were too afraid to fight. We know we are not alone in this fight and we know with 100% certainty that some day, together, we WILL EndNF! 

 

 Celebrating our NF Hero!

 

 Awards Time!

 Now that's some NF support!

 

 Excited we were finally able to meet our NF Friends!!!

 



Looking forward to next year! 

Local Support for the NF Walk!

The 4th Annual NF Walk is quickly approaching-just 4 more days remain to get yourself pre-registered to walk with the ladybug gang as we fight to End NF! 

Great News… The LadyBug Gang is crushing our goals this year! Originally we set out to register 20 supporters to walk with us this year. Within a few days we had already blown through that goal! so, what do you do when you reach a goal… you set a new one! Our new goal… 50 people! Yep, we want to double our original goal! Imagine my surprise when I logged on this morning and noticed we were at 49 people!!! We are so close… who's going to log on today and get us to our goal? Virtual walkers welcome!!!  

Another welcome surprise… all the support we have had from local community businesses! My heart filled with such joy and happiness with each donation we received. If your in the bountiful area PLEASE support these amazing businesses! 

Kendalls Media. The amazing Kristi Kendall Flower is donating her time and expertise and will be this years official Photographer! Stay tuned… some amazing photos are about to come your way! 

Country Bum Creations. Some of Rylie's favorite people have donated some amazing products to this years walk! You will be blown away with the beautiful items they can create for your home! 

Papa Murphy's. These amazing people have been apart of my life since i was 16 years old! This was the first job I had as a teenager and they have become much more than friends, they have become members of our family. They have always been a constant source of support… and their pizzas are pretty tasty too! :) 

Fiiz Drinks. Rylie's new summer obsession! This is a new business in the Bountiful area and let me tell you they are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet! You kids will LOVE this place! 

OMassage and The Massage Center. The Beautiful and amazingly talented Shanai Olson graciously donated a 60 minute massage to this years NF Raffle. If you in need of some body work she is the girl to call! You will leave feeling A-MAZ-ING! 

The Living Plant Aquarium. These amazing folks graciously donated a family 4-pack to visit their new facility! You're not going to want to miss out on an opportunity to check this place out! 

Utah's Hogle Zoo. Who's ready to check out the new and improved zoo? Their generous donation all 4- all days passes will be the perfect end to your summer fun! 

Boondock's Food and Fun. Date night anyone? Make sure you pick up your raffle tickets and enter a chance to win a fun day of play at boondocks! 

All of these business and many, many more have given so much to this years walk. Come out and join us this Saturday, August 23rd at SugarHouse Park and we Walk to EndNF! It will be a fun day each and every family member will enjoy!