| [Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007] Hi Everyone, I know this is a long one, but it seems that I needed to say a lot. Please bear with me:-) The first thing I want to do is send warmest loving thoughts to some friends who have suffered great losses recently. To the Comstocks, my thoughts are with you after Stevie's passing. What a long road this has been for you. He was just Shelsi's age, and I know you all suffered greatly during his illness. I have no doubt he is now embraced in loving arms, no longer experiencing pain. To Dave and Debbie Broberg, words just can't express the sorrow I feel for you at Tyler's unexpected passing. I remember that beautiful little toe head boy when he was only about 3. He always reminded me of Jamin when he was that age. I know your faith in our loving Creator will pull you through. And Michelle Cooley, I don't know the circumstances surrounding your nephew Taylor, but what I do know is how loving and compassionate you are. To lose someone so young must be so difficult, but with your amazing faith I have no doubt your family will find the comfort and peace you all so deserve. Three such young men passing within a week of each other just seems unfathomable. But the graceful way each of these remarkable families is dealing with their loss is amazing. If any of you have the email addresses for the Brobergs or Comstocks, I would appreciate it if you could pass this along to them. I met Shelsi at Cedars Sinai on Tuesday afternoon where she had an appointment with Dr. Lill. Shel arrived early to get another CT scan done, and more blood work. They still have a difficult time finding good veins to use, so they end up having to poke her a lot in order to draw blood. When she came out to the waiting room to see if I was there, we hugged, and she said, "awe, you're warm." She was as cold as an ice cycle. They had to run her blood work twice because one of the readings was high. When it came back the second time it was even higher. It showed that her blood was much thinner than it should be so they took her off Coumadin for a few days. That probably explained why she was so cold. It also could have been because she had been laying on a hard cold surface in a freezing imaging room while hundreds of pictures were snapped of her chest – don't ya think? What Dr. Lill told us is that the last CT and Pet scans still show the mass in her chest, but it's shrunk from about 14 cm to around 5 cm.. The Pet scan still showed hot spots in the mass, which could mean there's inflammation there due to the treatment process, or it could still be lymphoma cells. He tends to lean to the probability that if there had been lives cells left, the balance of the radiation she got after the studies were done, may have taken care of it. He predicts that she is probably, at this time, cancer free. We won't know for sure, however, until the next Pet scan is done in about 3 to 4 months. He said her treatment is now complete, and he wants her to focus on getting back to a normal life. In his words he said, "I want you to forget about all this cancer stuff and get back to your normal life. Keep growing your hair back, put some meat on those bones (she's down to about 115 lbs), and start doing the things you did before all this happened." We were happy to report to him that she has already enrolled in the fall semester at Moorpark College and her classes begin next week. When we left I asked her how she felt about "getting back to her normal life" and she said it's a little scary since her energy is so low, and she's not sure how she will do it, but she's happy that at least she knows she can try now. Dr. Lill said it's okay for her to push herself, and try to regain her strength. So little by little, we move forward toward her total health once again. Her sister Kira, has been growing her hair out since this all began, and finally got it to the length where Locks of Love will take it. So she bravely went and got it cut recently, and sent the hair to Locks of Love where they will use it to make human hair wigs for cancer patients. It looks so cute. Shel's hair is about ¼ to ½ inch now, and looks like it is coming back in blond again. Shelsi is not one to give up, or give in. She has the tenacity of a bulldog, which most people who know her might find hard to believe because of her soft gentle presence. But if you ask her family we could tell you stories of her tenacity, like when she strung the outside Christmas lights on her dad's 2 story house – alone – on the roof – with no help. The last 6 months has been a heart wrenching, but also, a heartwarming journey for all of us. I pray every day that Shelsi will be supported by loving forces, both seen and unseen, as she continues to walk this challenging path. We can be here to support her, cheer her on, cry with her, laugh with her, but when all is said and done, she does this alone. None of us can switch bodies with her and take away her pain or fear, or exhaustion. We can't do the work for her to rebuild her strength. We can't cry the tears she needs to cry to relieve built up fear and stress. We can't go through the treatments for her, or get our blood drawn so she doesn't have to get poked so much. It's her body - her soul taking this journey. For us to have the privilege to witness her journey, and offer help along the way, is one of God's greatest miracles. It's the only way we can become God's hands and share the burden of such a challenge. With Light and Love Sheri 
Kira and Shelsi at Kira's 2007 Birthday Party 
Eric, Shelsi, and Kira on Trolly Car in Laguna Beach |