Today is our big day! If you are attending our event, please pack your patience and understanding. Rest assured we will shave all who wish to be shaved. Remember to focus on the reason that we all gathered to support St. Baldricks. Our honorary child for the event is three year old Lily Karcher. If her morning treatment goes well, Miss Lily and family will grace us with her presence. Lily's story begins on 12/2/2010, the day she was born. Her parents were surprised to learn that she had Down syndrome. They learned all about Ds and made lots of new friends in the Ds community. Fast forward 21 months to September 2012. Lily had a fever one weekend. At the doctor on Monday, they were told she probably had a virus. The fever went away and she seemed fine. On Sept. 19, she was up almost all night crying off and on, especially if moved or picked up. On Sept. 20, she went to the doctor after having fevers and being lethargic and fussy. They thought she had an ear infection developing and gave her Amoxicillin. On Sept. 21, Mom realized that Lily had not been raising her left arm and cried when we lifted it to dress her or picked her up. Mom and Lily went to the ER in Pueblo on Sept. 22. They took xrays and then thought it might be an infected shoulder joint. They were sent to Memorial to a pediatric anesthesiologist. At Memorial, Lily was admitted as a patient. She had an MRI and a bone marrow aspirate of her left humerus. On Sunday, Sept. 23, they told us they suspected leukemia. On Sept. 24, they did a bone marrow biopsy to check for leukemia. They were told it could still be an infected bone and giving Lily antibiotics just in case. On Tuesday, September 25 (Mom and Dad's 7 year anniversary) Lily was diagnosed with leukemia. They were allowed to go home for the night with instructions to pack and arrive at Children's Hospital in Aurora the next day. They still didn't know what type of leukemia she had. Lily got to be a normal kid that night and the next day, had a bath, a yummy breakfast, and lots of pictures taken of her. Then Grandma Dorothy, Great-Uncle Cary, and Mom drove to Children's with heavy hearts and bursting bags. On Wednesday, Sept. 26, Lily was admitted to Children's Hospital and had another bone marrow biopsy to determine what type of leukemia she had (the one taken at Memorial had "degraded" and was unusable). They finally had a definitive diagnosis: Acute Lymphocytic (or Lymphoblastic) Leukemia. Now they could make her treatment plan, or road map. On Thursday, Sept. 27, Lily had a spinal tap and chemo put in her spinal fluid. Good news...no cancer cells in her spinal fluid! On Friday, Sept. 28, after enduring at least 20 needle pokes in her little body over the last week, her Mediport was put in and a central line was accessed. She also had her first chemo through her port later that day. As you can imagine since that day, many things have changed in the Karcher household. Lily is now in maintenance and has 18 months of treatment completed. Treatment is 28 months, but she's had a few delays due to illness/chemo reactions. Right now she receives an oral chemo every night, another oral chemo every Friday, and has a spinal tap, spinal chemo and IV chemo every 3 months, plus 5 days of steroids. Mom and dad report she is doing really well! Lily, Mom & Dad, and extended family…We honor you today!