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Now for some good news. Billy and his beautiful girlfriend, Lauren, were engaged on Friday night! She has a wonderful and kind spirit about her and she, absolutely, adores Bill, as he does her! We are all excited to include her in the family! There was some heavy duty partying going on in Wildwood on Saturday night. Brandon turned the BIG 21 y/o! Even 9 month pregnant, cousin, Jenn joined the party! Rumor has it that she and the baby had a nap at one of the stop-offs, but we later heard that was a FALSE rumor! Anyway, they all had a good time and, tonight, we will have a small gathering at home with cake and icecream for those of us who did not join the midnight celebration. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Brandon! We love you. Well, if finally happened!!!! Jenn had her baby shower and we actually surprised her!!! Big time surprise...she had on NO makeup so we know she was surprised!(She's beautiful without it anyway!) Actually, she wasn't feeling well that day and we were afraid that she was going to cancel the "plans" that she had with Jen D., but we all kept saying " You'll be ok, just go" and thank God she did. There were over 100 people waiting for her! The food was good and the place looked wonderful! It was done in an Alice in Wonderland theme (Jenn's favorite since childhood) and was bright and cheery. She received soooo much stuff, that baby won't be wearing the same outfit ever!! And whoever heard of a baby spa??? Thanks to Lauren and Jen Davenport for all their hard work and all our helpers on the day of the shower, Mr. and Mrs. D, Uncle Bill, Trevor, Denise, and PopPop Rick! By the way, Jenn did get her dollhouse bookcase, thanks to Aunt Ceil! Ask Jenn about that the next time you all see her! We had guests from near and far and Jenn tried to get to all the tables, but didn't want people to have to wait hours for her to open all the gifts, so she missed some of you. We are so sorry for thatand we will try to make up for that with a visit after the baby is born. Again, thanks to all who came and most of all, for keeping the big secret!!! Remember our prayer list, please. I'll post it again next week, meanwhile just go to last update and it's there. Please add Lisa Thomas's grandmom and , of course, our precious Billy, his fiance Lauren, Bill and Ceil and family and friends to your prayers. I'll post as soon as I have news re: Billy's surgery. God bless you all!
We celebrated Kaitlin's 21st birthday with a pizza party for her elementary school...Crest Memorial. She loved that school and all the faculty and staff there. We received some beautiful thank you cards from the students. We thank all of you for allowing us to remember Kait in that special way. That evening, we had another pizza party at Uncle Bill & Aunt Ceil's house for family and friends. We had a special toast in her honor. It was comforting just to have everyone there sharing our memories of her and acknowledging her birthday. Thanks to all who came and to all who shared with us on the website. It is very comforting to go on the site and see that you all remembered her day and sent us messages. We really do appreciate it. I have some very difficult news to share with you all. My nephew, Bill (Bill and Ceil's son), was just diagnosed last week with a brain tumor. He is 23 y/o and has been doing his fellowship at Villanova. Doctors tell them that he needs surgery to remove the tumor within the next 2-3 weeks. They won't know anything about the tumor until they biopsy it, but they do know that it is in NO way related to Kait's cancer or any other family illness or disease. They will be seeing doctors all this week from Baltimore to Philadelphia and from that they will make a decision on who they feel is the best for Bill. I am asking that you all begin to pray for guidance in their choosing the best doctor for Bill and for strengh and wisdom as they go through the whole process. Please pray for the entire family. Bill has 3 brothers and a sister all of whom just went through the loss of their cousin Kait, and they need the prayer support as much as their brother, Mom and Dad. His girlfriend, Lauren, has been by his side through all of this and I ask that you include her in your prayers as well. Thank you for the support I know we will receive and,if you like, you may e-mail Bill messages on Kait's site. I have some new prayer requests to add to the list. I only use first names and last initial so that those who want may remain anonymous. Please add them to your prayer list: Jenn, Jessica, Grace, Randy, Shirley, Mikey O., Cheryl, Lauren M, Lynn, Suzie Mc, Mr. Hartle, Jordan, PopPop Rossi, Robert D., Alex, the Richter/Ruark family, the Stires, Karen B., Thompson, Sholz and Bower families. The kickoff B & B for Kait's foundation will be on April 22, 2006. I'll let you know asap when tickets are available. We are working to have some surprises for you all!!! Yesterday was another of those hard days. It was 8 months since our sweet girl went to Heaven. It seems like yesterday. Her grave is COVERED with all the beautiful gifts that you take over and I know she would have loved to be remembered! Thanks to all. We continue to pray for our support base out there. God gives us our strength through YOUR support and prayers. May He bless us all!
When I am at the cemetary, I am always so comforted by the love for Kait that is still shown by all of you. There's always some new thing: flowers, a little soccer ball, a duck, basketball, etc. It really does help to know that others miss her, too. There are words to a beautiful song that describe perfectly how I feel when I go to the cemetary and sit by her grave. The title of the song is "Holy Ground" and for those of you who have never heard it, here are the words: When I walk through the doors I sensed His presence and I knew this was a place where love abounds for this is a temple the God we love abides here oh, we are standing in His presence on holy ground we are standing on holy ground and I know I know there are angels all around let us praise praise God now praise Him anyhow for we are standing in His sweet presence on holy ground in His presence I know there is joy beyond all measure and at His feet sweet peace of mind can still be found for when we have a need He is still the answer oh, reach out and claim it for we are standing on holy ground are we standing yes it's holy, holy ground and I know there are angels all around let us praise let us praise praise God now praise Him anyhow for we are standing in His presence on holy, holy ground let us praise Him now let us praise Him anyhow for we are standing in His presence in His holy wonderful presence He loves us in our hour of sorrow He's our hope our hope for tomorrow we are standing in His presence on holy, holy ground I thank God every single day that Kaitlin knew our Lord and I believe that I gain His peace when I am there because I know that we will be together again for all eternity. His "holy ground" is where ever each of us finds His peace in our lives. I pray that all of you have His presence in your lives, too. A reminder of those in need of prayer, many whom Kait, herself, had asked that we remember: Jenn, Jessica, Grace, Randy, Shirley, Mikey O., Cheryl, Lauren M., Lynn, Suzie Mc., PopPop Rossi, Mr. Hartle, Jordan, the Richter/Ruark family, the Stires family, Karen B. & family, Thompson, Scholz and the Bower families. Thank you for your prayers. They really do make a difference. If you or anyone you know, needs prayer and you would like to put them on Kait's list, please email me at: connieanz54@hotmail.com I'll be sure to get it on there. Another reminder: the official kickoff for Kait's foundation will be at Michael's in Wildwood on Saturday evening, April 22, 2006, from 6pm-10pm (no smoking). Tickets will go on sale next month and will remain at $20 each. More details later. Happy Birthdays go out to Rick (2/23), Terri Hall (2/21), and Pastor Rudy (2/24) and belated birthday wishes go out to Lana Harshaw (2/2), Marie Miller (2/4), and Lari Michael (2/9). Please pray for our Edward Harshaw as he leaves to join the military tomorrow! We love you, Edward! God bless you!
Please look back to the last update for the prayer list. As always, we keep you all in ours and thank God every day for the blessings He has given us through all of you, especially when your memories of our girl keep her alive for us. Thank you so very much! May He continue to bless us in the little things of life! Oh, and by the way...thank you Lord for the snow that may be coming!!! Let's try to get out there with our families and friends and make some memories, ok? Until next week....
I just had a newsletter from the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and Light the Night Walk. I want you all to know that the society raised 1/4 of a million dollars from the south Jersey area. The best news was that Team Anzelone came in 4th in the Top 10 List of the most money makers with the grand total of $7,213.00!!!THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!! Imagine how well we'll do next September when we have more time to plan the event. Lauren told you all about the beautiful day that we had at the Convention Center over Christmas break with the basketball tournaments. One of the brackets was named after Kaitlin. The best was that Kait's Lady Warriors won her bracket and gave Coach Troiano his 500th win! What a wonderful tournament that was! Thank you to all who made it possible. Just an update on us...Jenn is doing very well. Please continue to pray that God keeps her and our little grandbaby healthy and safe. She is still working and getting ready for the baby. Lauren will be going to Massachusetts soon to attend the wedding of one of her college friends. Please pray for safe travels because she will, also, attend the Daytona Bike Week in March in Florida. She is working hard getting ready for the summer season at the motel. Rick is doing well. He has been diagnosed with celiac disease which means a major diet change-gluten free food only. We are trying to get that all organized here at home. Meanwhile, I hang out with my nephews, Joe and Trevor and my niece, Natalie, a couple of days a week. I have returned to work, one day a week. It's hard sometimes being there. I keep expecting my Lucy girl to come through the back door for a visit like she used to when I was at work. Please keep us all in your prayers and we do keep all of you in ours. God is so good to give us our support group of friends and family and we thank you all for that. We NEVER forget how wonderful you have all been to us. So we continue to ask that you include the following in your prayers: Jenn, Jessica, Grace, Randy, Shirley, Mikey O., Cheryl, Lauren M., Lynn, Suzie Mc., PopPop Rossi, Mr. Hartle, and a young girl named Jordan. Also, the Richter/Ruark families, Stires family, Karen B. & family, Thompson, Scholz and Bower families. As always we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts...you all give us the strength to keep on going with your prayer support and your love. God's blessings...
Christmas day was sad, it was a little easier for me because cat came down to open presents with us. Christmas dinner at the Coopers was grand as always. Michael and Becca took an evening out of Hanukah to squish in and eat with us. MUB (Marvelous Uncle Brandon) and GAB (Great Aunt Bunny) were there entertaining as usual. Though dinner was small, a mere 13 of us, after dinner exploded with just about everyone from both sides of the family, sorry you weren't there Aunt Candy! Not a very quiet evening. I'd have taken count if people could stop talking or moving for even half a second. I'd gestimate around thirty something, give or take. What made this Christmas a little easier was the special gift from God & Kaitlin to our family. I have never seen so many Christmas gifts to an unborn child. Don't worry, Jenn still got plenty of gifts too. By this time next year we will have a new baby girl and a new cousin-in-law. Our family just keeps growing everyday! We'll also have a new mini-Lizard and a Ryan-in-law! Game night was magnificent as usual. There were some interesting pictures taken. We played some games, drank some twisted teas, popped some popcorn (which Liz confiscated) and talked until about 2:30 am. Work was wonderful the next day! We played battle of the sexes and amazingly Mary-Kate was great help to the girls. I played on the boys' team due to a shortage of males and was yelled at by Jenn because I actually knew some of the questions. Edward and Brandon were quite helpful on all the questions about television since they were born about ten minutes ago and all the questions were about the 70's & 80's sitcoms. But they made wonderful noises while faking guesses. As all the locals know, each year there is a tournament at the Wildwood Convention Center call Buckets by the Beach, or something very close I think they altered the name a little. This year, in honor of Kaitlin, they renamed the local bracket to the Kaitlin Anzelone Memorial Bracket. Wildwood has played in this tournament every year since it's start, unfortunately they have never won, even the years they were undefeated. This year, the first year of Kait' bracket, Wildwood took home first place. The girls received trophies and my parents, Jenn and I distributed them. After the trophies John Lynch made a presentation. While Kaitlin was sick he wanted to donate the backboard that all the girls had signed after Kait's second state championship. Due to her illness she was never able to receive it. The Wildwood Chamber of Commerce decided the best place for it, then, would be Wildwood High's Trophy case. The backboard was donated to the family and to Wildwood High. Mr. Troiano graciously received it for the school and was delighted to see all the signatures of his girls. Mr. Troiano also got his 500th win during Kait's tournament, CONGRATULATIONS! We are very appreciative of all this community has done for us. Renaming the tournament for Kaitlin is a way that she can live on in her favorite sport at her favorite time of year. I can't thank you all enough for all the cards, phone calls and prayers to our family during these times. We never would have made it through without all our friends and family. And thank you to the Wildwood girls for bringing home Kait's trophy. Please check out the pictures taken from the tournament.
Our beloved PopPop Rossi is another of those who needs immediate prayer. He, unexpectedly, suffered a major heart attack today. He is now in the hospital in Philadelphia, once again in good spirits and, miraculously, still alive. Thank you, Jesus!! He needs prayer, as does his family, for healing. He was very special to Kait, along with the rest of his family, as they are to us. Please pray for all of them at this time. We, also, have sad news in regard to our own family. Rick's brother, Bruce died suddenly yesterday morning. We will be having a private service tomorrow. Please pray for Rick's mom, especially, as this is the second child she has lost in her lifetime. Please pray for Rick and Tony. As brothers to Bruce, they remember all the good times growing up as children and on through adulthood. Bruce's obituary will be in the Atlantic City Press tomorrow if you are interested in reading it. I have been reading a book called "The Glory of Christmas" by Charles Swindoll, Max Lucado and Charles Colson. In one of the last chapters called HEAVEN SWEET HOME are two passages that caught my attention and that I've been thinking about these last two days... "God has planted eternity in the hearts of men" ( Eccles. 3:10 TLB), says the wise man. But it doesn't take a wise person to know that people long for more than earth. When we see pain, we yearn. When we see hunger, we question why. Senseless deaths. Endless tears, needless loss. Where do they come from? Where will they lead? and the other And you will never be completely happy on earth simply because you were not made for earth. Oh, you will have your moments of joy. You will catch glimpes of light. You will know moments or even days of peace. But they simply do not compare with the happiness that lies ahead. ...in heaven...no pain...no hunger...no hatred...no loss...only LOVE! Thank you, our wonderful family and friends for hearing this emergency call to prayer. You help us get through these sad times and we love to share with you the good times. God bless and we will update you on events very soon. Love to all!
I have a P. S. for someone who asked me where Kait's grave is...Cold Spring Presbyterian Cemetary in North Cape May. When you enter the cemetary coming south on Seashore Rd (you make a right into the cemetary right past the red church), go straight to the caretaker's house behind the church, make a left and then a right at the next crossroad (just feet away), continue straight down that road (Hughes) until you get to 11th & Hughes. There are markers every few feet. If you don't want to watch for them, just look to your right at the large trees and you will very soon see a tree with a black marble bench under it and our last name on the bench back. In front of that is a black marble heart marker with a Christmas tree and Christmas flag. That is where our Kait's body is...Kait is with Jesus! God bless you all until next posting. Remember..... JESUS is the reason for the season!!!!!
I spoke with Kim from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the finally count is now in...Team Anzelone raised $7,213.00!!! How amazing is that in such a short period of time?! She was thrilled and wants to know if one of us would like to be on the board for next year's walk. Any takers? I have pictures of the huge group of us at the Convention Center taken courtesy of Mr. David Goldstein and I will give them to Lauren to post on the website so that you can all see them. Thank you all once again for your participation! On Sunday evening, December 11, 2005 at 7pm, the Compassionate Friends holds a candle lighting worldwide. All that is involved is that you light a candle (of any kind) at 7pm in memory of a child who has died so..."that their lights may always shine." This will be the 9th year that they have been doing it and it has begun to grow all around the world. Some places have special services during that time...maybe we could plan one for next year. If you would like more information about it, please log on to www.thecompassionatefriends.org or just write in compassionate friends and it should take you right to the website. It has been very helpful to me and may help some of you out there struggling with the death of a loved one. Rick and I will light our candle at home at 7pm and we will spend the hour thinking and talking about our precious Kaitlin, Shellby, Greg and Jeff. If you have time, please light a candle for ALL the children who have died this year. As Jenn said in her update, these past few days have been VERY difficult. Who would believe that one short year could make such a difference in our family's life. For those of you not aware, as we were dealing with Kait's illness, her grandfather (Rick's dad) was, also, very sick last year at this time. He passed away on January 21, 2005, just a few days after Kait had gotten home for a two day reprieve and was able to visit and hug him one last time. He promised to be waiting for her in Heaven although he believed that her time was not for many more years. It gives us some comfort knowing that he, indeed, was waiting with open arms along with our other precious family members and our Lord. So, everyone, hug your family members extra tight this year. We never know what life will bring. We can only thank God that He has a plan for all of us and that we can be together again for all eternity if we just have faith in Him. This year, we will keep our loved ones close to our hearts as we celebrate here on earth while Kaitlin, Shellby, Vic, Greg and Jeff will be in Heaven celebrating with Jesus! What a party that will be!!! Please remember our prayer list, especially in this time of miracles...Jenn, Jessica, Grace, Randy, Shirley, Mikey O., Cheryl (please call me), Lauren M., Lynn, Suzie Mc., PopPop Rossi, Chuck J., the Richter/Ruark family, the Stires family, Karen B. & family, Thompson, Scholz, & Bower families, our military men & women, here & abroad, the hurricane victims and all the children of this world. Let us not forget to thank God for all that we do have. May He continue to bless us and protect us during the holidays. Remember...watch for the MIRACLES!!
Brandon said something to me on Natalie's birthday that really helped me. He said, "You know what? I really miss going to the hospital." And I told him that I did too. See that is the thing about this tragedy, for seven months Kait's family and friends surrounded her. We played charades and watched movies. We ate dinner, drew pictures and had game nights. We made beads, hung posters, did nails, made paper chains, crank calls, decorations for the holidays, told stories(while high sometimes), took picutes, made up songs, sang all night, took walks, created this website and were happy just to be together. Yes, she was sick. And yes, we didn't take for granted that she would get better, but at those moments when she was smiling and laughing and having fun, she was better. If only for the night, or the hour, or the minute. We were all given a gift. A chance to spend Kaitlin's last seven months with her, whenever we wanted, whenever we could, each holiday, weekend or just a Wednesday. Work wasn't as important, gas prices did not matter, nor did sleep or any other committments. And for that I am thankful. Kaitlin was the greatest person I have ever met. Not just because she was my sister. She was an amazing friend, girlfriend, niece, granddaughter, sister and daughter. She could draw like no one I've ever seen and she wrote stories and essays that could not be matched by some novelists today. She was a phenominal athlete, who could play any sport she chose. She was a musican who learned to play the guitar in one day! She was beautiful and funny as hell, and always a friend to anyone. She rode a motorcycle like a boy, she wasn't afraid to sing or tell you what she thought. And she was the most forgiving person I have ever met. She ALWAYS forgave those who wronged her, no matter how many times or how bad they hurt her. And on top of all that she had faith like no one I've ever met. She was always true to her God. These traits are one of a kind and amazing and rare to find in one person. So here is the good news: I am 5 1/2 months pregnant with a little girl. I have no doubt that this baby is a blessing sent to us from Kaitlin and God, not to replace Oney, but to help us all go on. I am extremely excited as well are my parents, my sister, and my family and friends. Her middle name will be Kaitlin. And although this little girl will not know her Aunt Oney personally and all the lovely traits I've written above, she will know her Aunt through my mom(Connie), my dad(Rick), my sister(Lauren) and each and everyone of you. My due date is April 10, 2006 but some are saying that Oney is going to send me an April Fool's Day surprise. I wanted to share this amazing news with all of you, old friends and new, because you have been there continuously for us, and I thought you could all use some happy news. I have a small website, not as beautiful as Oney's, that I have started for friends and family to visit to stay updated on this pregnancy. There will be a link on this site to get to it. Please feel free to sign on and check it out. Oney would have been ecstatic about this little girl, her niece and that is why it is bittersweet, but I try to smile each day because Oney wouldn't want it any other way. http://www.babysites.com/sites/jenniferjc/
Our faith in God and His presence in our lives Heaven and our future reunion with those we love The love of our FAMILY and FRIENDS Our precious memories of our Kaitlin (Baby Oney) The time He gave us with Kait, Vic, Victor, PopPop Cooper & Nanny Making special people a part of our lives: Lari, Laurie, Gina, Cindy, Merrill, Ajay, Shoba, Pallavi, Drs. Crilley, Deveroux, Ward, Simpson and all the rest of those special people at Cooper and Hahnemann All of our friends on the prayer list and those who faithfully read and write on Kait's website Our U.S. military men and women Having all the materials things in life that we NEED...food, water, clothing and a place to live Tonight, when we gather together to give thanks, these will be the things I will be most thankful for in my life. May we all reflect on the positive things and hold them up high in thankfulness to Him...and please continue to pray for our families and friends: Jessica, Randy, Shirley, Mikey O., Cheryl, Lauren M., Lynn, Suzie Mc., & PopPop Rossi, the Richter/Ruark families, Stires family, Karen B. & family, Thompson, Bower, & Scholz families, Grace A., Peterson family, ALL the hurricane victims and our wonderful American troops and military men and women at home and around the world. ...on a lighter note, think of the history lesson that Kait, Greg, Jeff and Shellby are getting today from the pilgrims and indians!! God bless you all on this day of thanksgiving. May you have a memorable one!
We returned late last night from our eight day vacation in Turks & Caicos in the Caribbean. Rick, Jenn, Lauren and I went with ten other family members and had a wonderful time. The vacation was planned in memory of our Kaitlin, who intended to go this fall as a break from all the chemo, bone marrow transplant and hospitalizations. She certainly was there in our hearts and in our memories! On one hand we all missed her soooo much and on the other hand, it was good to know that another of her wishes was completed. There was much to do. The weather held for us, even with that storm, Beta, although we did lose electric one morning and had several bad thunderstorms a few nights. There was snorkeling, horseback riding on the beach, underwater coral reef watching, nightly entertainment and even Halloween trick or treating for the kids! We saw a HUGE shark (non maneating) when we were snorkeling off the boat and Rick, Bill, Tony and the kids managed to get a very up close look at a barracuda when they snorkled off the beach one morning. He was a little too close for comfort, but the natives say, "Oh, mon, he not bite you, he wants fish!" I don't know about that, but when we went in the underwater boat, we saw four barracudas and they weren't eating any fish! Anyway, it was relaxing and we enjoyed the island, the people, and the beautiful weather! Everyone was sad to leave, except Missy and me. We are both major homebodies!!! How nice to be back even if it is a change from 90+ degrees to 40 degrees. I took a sovenier iguana lizard over to Kait's grave today and saw that there had been visitors while we were gone. Thank you for that! I know it's silly to think that she would miss us while we were away, but I feel better knowing that others visit her grave besides her family. The SpongeBob pumpkin is adorable...and there were some corsages of flowers there, also. I don't know where they came from but thank you so much. And special thanks to Linda, Donna & Lizard, all of whom I asked to visit there for me while I was gone. I had an easier time leaving here knowing that you would go there for me. I have not had a chance to go through the prayer list to change or add any needs, so please continue to pray for our last list. Please add Alice B. and family and another friend of ours, Cheryl S. and her family. She will be having a bone marrow transplant soon. I can't say thank you enough to all of you for your postings on this site. Please keep them coming. Especially your remembrances of Kait, they keep her alive for us everytime we are given the gift of your memories. I constantly thank God for each and every one of you each time I pray. YOU are our miraculous gift from Him!! I don't know how we would have survived this long without our faith, family and friends. May God continue to bless ALL of us! Stay healthy and please keep writing!! (Praying for you and your team, Lil Jen! Win it for all of us...you'll get those "assists" from Heaven!)
The Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society was a great success!! Our last minute thrown together team numbered over 100 people for the walk and we were sponsered over $5000 for research!!!! Not bad for a first time effort. Thanks to all who came out to walk, collected sponserships and supported this cause in Kait's memory. I have a picture of the entire "team" which I will give Lauren to put on the site. You may not be able to pick out all the people, but you will be able to see the group of supporters who came. Tremendous! The marker for Kait's grave was set on Wednesday, the third month anniversary of her passing. It is very beautiful. Shaped like a heart with an etching of Kait on it, made of black slate. We, also, purchased a black slate bench which has been placed under a nearby tree, so if you happen to stop by to visit her gravesite, please have a seat on the bench and rest. Kait would have liked that. Rick and I are hoping to make the walk in Camden on the 15th of this month, but we will be at a wedding that Lauren is in, so with the time constraints, we may not make it. Anyone who goes will see Greg's family there, so please, go up and give them a hug for us. I ask that you continue to keep Kait's list of prayer request on your hearts and please add to it our dear friends, Alice Borneman and Cheryl Smith. May God give them the strength to continue their fight and His peace "which passes all understanding." They and their families will be in our prayers day and night! God bless all!
September 21, 2005 Connie A. We have been getting lots of phone calls for sponsor sheets and teeshirts for the walk. I will post my phone # (609-522-3805) once more for anyone still interested in the teeshirts that we are having made for Team Anzelone. There are some left. They are in sizes XL and L and cost $7.00. They have "Team Anzelone" on the back of the shirt and a picture of Kaitlin on the front. I will drop these off on Friday afternoon/evening late if I have your orders to save confusion on Saturday and so that you can wear them for the walk. Thanks to all of you who are participating. Maybe this year, science can find a cure for this horrendous disease! The walk begins at 7:00pm on the Wildwood boardwalk (4500 Boardwalk) in front of Convention Hall. It is suggested that you be there approx. 30 minutes earlier so that you can hand in your sponsor envelope to your team captain (me) if you haven't before, and if you have over $100.00 in sponsor money, you will receive a free Light the Night teeshirt. You will, also, be given a balloon of your choice. A white balloon is for cancer survivors and a red balloon for those who are carrying in memory of a cancer victim. Unfortunately, Rick, Jenn, Lauren and I will be carrying a red balloon in memory of our precious Kait. If you ordered a shirt from me and do not receive it on Friday night, I will have them with me at the walk. I plan on being there from 5:00 pm on to help with set-up and anything else necessary. Please come say hello, especially those of you whom I have never met. Many of Kait's family will, also, be at the walk and would love to meet those of you who have been so generous in your support of Kait (and all of us)! Remember, we are all one big huge family!! If you want to come walk and do not have sponsor sheets, you can bring the money or checks (make them out to Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) and I will give you a sponsor sheet at the walk. Please be sure to put Team Anzelone on your envelope so that our team gets the credit. If there are anymore questions about the walk, you can log onto the website: www.lightthenight.org/snj and get the answers or call me and leave your number on my machine. I'll call you back. I cannot begin to thank all of you enough for your participation, especially since we only had a very short time to pull this together. Next year we will set a higher goal than what we make this year. We really need to...we NEED a cure! God's blessings on all for safe travel, safe walking, and good health. May we continue to keep each other in our prayers! SEE YOU AT THE WALK!!!!!
On Sunday night, at approxiamately 10:03 pm, Kaitlin greeted Gregory in Heaven, most likely with that beautiful smile on her face, happy to see someone she loved knowing. Greg, once wrote to Kait. when she was leaving to go to Johns Hopkins, that when they both were better, they would celebrate and be friends forever. Today, they are doing just that...no more pain, no more fear, no more sadness for the two of them, only great joy being with those they love and in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Praise God for his goodness and mercy! Please continue to pray for Chris, Jim and their family. The numbness has set in and the ache in their hearts will be heavy to carry, but with all our prayers, they, too, will be able to carry on. We miss you, Greg. You were a wonderful young man, a son any parent would be proud to call their own. Rest with the angels and give our Baby Oney a hug for us. You will NEVER be forgotten! Our love and prayers to all...Rick, Connie, Jenn and Lauren
We had that barbeque birthday for Lauren and it was good fun. There was good summer food and even better company. She really enjoyed herself! She hasn't had a birthday party in a very looooong time. We, also, surprised my mother with an 80th birthday dinner on Saturday night. My sister from Florida flew in and Mom had her five children and most of her grandkids there. She was VERY surprised and especially liked that new fancy (& flashy) pocketbook from Aunt Ceil! When we all commented on Ceil really knowing what to get Mom, she said to Bill, "Well, they say you marry your mother!!!" (This may be a family joke so if you don't get it, it's not your fault) I want to ask for some support out there from those of you interested. Rick signed up "Team Anzelone" for the Light the Night Walk on the Wildwood boardwalk for Sat. 9/24. It is a fundraiser walk for research for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma. It's done by the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and you can check it out at: www.lightthenight.org I am going to Cherry Hill tomorrow to pick up the sponsor sheets and will explain in the next update, but for now if anyone is interested in walking with us, please call me at 609-522-3805 and I will drop off a sponsor sheet. I, also, ordered shirts for the team. On the back of the yellow shirt, it will say Team Anzelone and the front will have a picture of Kait with "We love you, Kait" above and under the picture. We will sell them at cost that should be around $7.00 each and sizes will be XXL, XL or Large. Let me know when you call as I have to give the final order this Friday morning to have in time for the walk. Sorry we can't give them away free this year, maybe next year. I know that this is Seafarer's, Irish and Antique car weekend, but if you can join us, that would be a wonderful way to celebrate and commemorate those with and survivors of cancer. The walk will start at 7pm and is only for about 2-3 miles. So, please let me know...and thanks for ALL that you do for us and others with this horrible disease! I can't sign off until I give you our prayer request which I guess by now we all know by heart. Thank you for praying. Let me assure you, that those who believe and need it, know that you pray and we all thank God for the support. It is the MOST important thing we can do for each other. God bless us all and may we support these people especially in prayer: Jessica, Gregory, Randy, Mikey O, PopPop Rossi, Shirley, Lynn, Lauren M., Suzie Mc., the Richter & Ruark families, Karen B. & family, Sheptocks, Bruce Thompson's family, Scholz family, Bower family and last but not least, by any means...the men and women of our military, police depts, and fire & rescue depts. Please add to your list the volunteers and victims of Hurricane Katrina. May He give us peace that passes ALL understanding and we will know it is from Him! Will write again, reallllll soon!
I, also, have to pass on the sad news that Bruce passed away on September 3rd. His funeral is tomorrow morning at the Beacon Church in Galloway beginning with a 9am viewing. Please pray for his wife, Roni, and their four young children. He, also, has family who visits the website, so please pray for them, too. You can read his obituary in today's Atlantic City Press or online. This was the first year in twenty-five years that I did not have to prepare a child for the new school year. Even in college, Kait and I would go school shopping for clothes, notebooks, etc. This year, my sister-in-law, Ceil, did't want me to feel left out, so she invited me to go with her and my neice, Natalie, and nephews, Joey and Trevor to do some school shopping. Nat is in high school, soon to drive on her own, and Joey is in eigth grade while Trev is in sixth. All week I tortured the boys about school starting up (although in reality I always hated when my girls had to start back at school). I went to the house and sang the "School Days, School Days" song, told them that I was going to walk them to school dressed up like Tweety Bird in my old Halloween costume, and wave and blow them a big noisy kiss in front of all their friends! Isn't that what a nice aunt would do? Well, as you can imagine, they were not thrilled with the lunch bags that I decorated for them with a yellow schoolbus and red schoolhouse, they were not thrilled when I told them that maybe I would get a job at their school as a substitue teacher or lunch lady, and they were not thrilled with me showing up this morning bright and early to drive with them to school. (They even pretended to try to leave without me!) But you know what! Those two great kids let their crazy Aunt Con go along for the ride to take them to school and I enjoyed every minute of it and even behaved myself! Thank you, guys! You gave me a gift that I will always cherish...I love you both from the bottom of my heart! The prayer list was posted in the previous update, so I won't make this one any longer. Please pray for all those listed. They really need for God to hear our prayers. Remember He does answer our prayers...just not always with OUR desired answers. Please remember those in Louisianna, Alabama and Mississippi, including the volunteers and workers, and all the school children, teachers and support staff. God bless each and every one of you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN!!!! LOVE MOM, DAD AND NEN ...
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/blessingbruce/bruce.htm Also, you can email Lisa at: benefitbruce@hotmail.com
Since the last time I updated, we have not had much going on. We are trying to get back to a routine, at least I am. Rick, Jenn and Lauren are all working. I don't know how they do it. I can barely concentrate enough to pay the household bills. Two days ago, I finally finished opening the over 400 cards from all of YOU!! You are wonderful and wrote such comforting words to us. You will hear from us soon as we begin to write out our special thank yous. Last Saturday, Rick and I went to the Brendon Borek Surfing Tournament in Avalon. At noon, they had a special event called the "Circle of Friends". The names of those who have passed away were read out and surfers went out into the ocean and formed a circle and held hands after they (and family members) threw rose petals into the ocean in remembrance. It was a beautiful ceremony. We met so many kind people and some like us, who have lost a child. When I saw Kaitlin's name on the banner with Brendon's, Scotty's, Jennifer's and the others, my heart just broke again. In April, she had walked in Brendon's walk on the boardwalk in Wildwood and was so happy that she had made four miles. It's so hard to believe that she is gone... Good news is that Jessica is doing well as is Shirley and Greg. Shirley had her bone marrow transplant and is home recovering. We miss you, Shirley!!! GG is back safe in Florida and Randy is feeling good. Please keep praying for them as well as the others: Mikey O, Annie & Jeff, Ruark & Richter families, PopPop Rossi, Sheptocks, Lynn, Suzie Mc., Lauren M, Karen B, Bowers, Scholzs and a new addition: Jennifer Thomas (who writes on the site). Please remember to keep our soldiers all over the world, our men & ladies in blue (esp. my Jenn), fire and rescue workers and those I haven't mentioned in our prayers. Remember, God hears our prayers...and if you need something to lean on, one of Kait's life verses was Psalm 121:1&2 "I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." I BREATHE this verse...it gets me through those rough moments and gives me His peace to get through another hour. Hope it helps any of you who need it! Love and peace to all of you...until next week!
Aunt Bunny gave me the photos from the BBQ the other day. It took me a few days to look at them. I was so afraid it would make me hurt, when I finally opened them I was filled with warmth. It is truly amazing how many people were there to support our family. I have unfortunately been to many funeral receptions and all have been filled with tears of sorrow. Yet looking at the pictures from ours I felt a calm. There was so much happiness and joy in the sharing of Kait's life with one another. There was joy in being around so many people who knew and loved Kait and us. Kait always loved big group gatherings; I know she would have loved her BBQ. I think sometimes we all forget what it's all about. I hope we can all take some time out of our lives more often to get together and remember each other, share in each other's lives. Kaitlin is a reminder that life is short and too often the important things, like being with friends and family, go overlooked. I hope we can all share in a beautiful BBQ again soon. I miss Kait terribly but knowing you are all around somehow makes it a little easier. This community has always been very supportive of its people, I love knowing that around every corner there is someone I have known my whole life ready with a smile and a hug. I know the pain will never go away, but the stories from friends and family ease the pain and bring back happy memories. Please continue sending us stories and thoughts. I know it's impossible to understand why this happened but everyday I can see the effects of Kait in others. She touched everyone she knew and so many she didn't know. God has blessed us with such an enormous and caring network of support. I can't even begin to convey how grateful I am for all of you.
I woke up this morning (quite late I admit) to a phone call from one of Jenn's best friends, "Mrs. A, how does it feel to have a __ year old daughter?" Well, I must say, Jen D., (yes, my Jenn's friend's name is also Jen) you sure do make me laugh! It feels wonderful! Thank God she is a year older, healthy, and has the BEST friends in the entire world!! Tonight, a bunch of us went out to dinner at Duffy's on the Lake with Jenn (mine) to celebrate...a tradition she started many years ago. Jenn, Lauren and I (Rick is in D.C.), Aunt Ceil, Uncle Bill, cousin Billy, Aunt Bunny, Edward, Lana (Bean), Jamie, and Linda & Bill D. (Jen's parents). Are you totally confused now? The evening was fun with some friends, family and good food. Lori and her daughter, Jody, came for birthday cake and the whole Duffy's crew came along to sing Happy Birthday. Brandon was at work, but text messaged his good wishes. Oohh, modern technology! The reason that I awoke quite late this am (9:30 to be exact) was because several of us made the trip last evening to Cherry Hill for Greg's benefit. Donna and daughter, Eryn, Linda, Lari and I drove from Wildwood and met up with Shirley's two daughters, some of the nurses from Hahneman, Jess (Kait's fellow chemosabee) and her mom, Michele, and Greg's mom and dad and other family members. I was so excited to see the fabulous turnout for the benefit. It was mobbed!! Everything was donated, there were several big prizes for the 50/50 and 17 other door prizes! Absolutley GREAT job everyone!...and let me say THANK YOU to those who sent along donations to Greg. You are so kind...he is a special young man and it will be a great help to him. Thanks again. I got an email that Shirley went home today. YEAH, Shirley. We will continue to pray that the BMT does it's job keeping the cancer GONE!! I'll miss you next week when I visit Greg, but it's better that you are home. Annie & Jeff are going to visit NYC, so he must be feeling much better. I saw Annie at National Night Out and she looks wonderful, also. (Remember, she donated her kidney to her husband, Jeff?). GG is back in Florida safely and settling in, Sheptocks are hanging in there, Randy is working and feeling better, & Jess looked wonderful, healthy and energetic last evening and is still getting great reports from the docs! Re: others on the prayer list...I can't say because I don't have an up-to-date report, but when I do, I will let you know. I won't list the prayer requests, please see the last update for the list. I want to thank you all again for your posts. I check the website every, single day. It makes me feel connected to Kait and all of you. So, please, don't be shy about posting, even if you just say hello. Rick, the girls and I love to read your messages, no matter how long or short. We keep you all in our prayers and ask for God's blessing of peace for everyone. Thanks again. I'll write again very soon. ...and one more time: Happy Birthday, Jenn! We love you... Mom, Dad & Lauren
We love all of you too much for even words to describe. Our friends are the same, Jenn's, Lauren's, Rick's and mine. You don't even know what you have given us in terms of support, just by being there. Of course, there is that "extended" family that we have, who have been with us from the very beginning and you are from all over the world! Your cards and emails are a very important part of this healing process. Kait has only been gone one month and I keep on asking myself how I will live with this for years. Others have, and I know that He will give me the strength to go on, but there are times that it is so hard to do the slightest task. Please continue to pray for us. We miss her so much. Knowing that we will all be reunited someday helps, but the missing her is a huge ache in our hearts. I went to see Greg and Shirley at Hahneman on Friday. They are both doing ok. Please remember that Greg's benefit is this Tuesday in Cherry Hill...and THANK YOU to those who sent donations. I still plan on going to the benefit so I hope to see some of you there! I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Aunt Candy (8/8) and Jennifer on 8/10. Please remember the prayer list. I have added some new ones. I really appreciate all the prayers for these people that Kait (and we) care about. He does hear them!!
Karen B., (Love you!) The Bower family The Scholz family Jennifer Anzelone (please pray for protection for her and all police officers!) Thanks again for all the time and energy you spend on us. We are comforted by your prayers and your concern. You are DECORATING A DOOR each time you email, send a card, call, think of us or hold us up in prayer. God bless each and every one of you. We are blessed by God Himself having all of you in our lives...especially during this time.
Just want to say again, we are so proud of you, Jenn (as always) and love you eversomuch!!! We have had a special visitor this past week. Belen lived with us as an exchange student in 1991-92 and went to Wildwood High School. She played basketball for Dave Troiano (same as Jenn and Kait) and even had the bad luck of tearing the ACL in her right knee and having knee surgery in America! She completed 4 years of college in Conneticut and returned to Spain and her family. She is here for three more days and it has been wonderful seeing her! She is a member of our familiy that we have missed these last years. I went to the mailbox today and was thrilled to see that several people responded with donations for Greg's benefit on August 9th. Thank you sooo much!! Greg is a wonderful young man who really appreciates anything done for him. I will take the donations up to Hahneman on Friday when I go to visit Greg and his mom, Chris. Once again to remind you all, the benefit is at the Coastline Restaurant on Brace Rd in Cherry Hill from 7pm-9pm. Donation is $10 at the door and will include free buffet and bar for those 2 hours. Hope to see you there! I want to send out birthday wishes to several friends and family members of Kait's: Edward 8/4, Joey 8/5, Aunt Candy 8/8 and Kait's sister, Jenn (Nen) 8/10. HAPPY BIRTHDAY WITH LOVE!!!! Also, I know that the prayer list seems to get longer, but Kait truly cared about these people and I would like to continue it until those prayers are answered in God's timing, please. So, here goes the list: Jessica, Greg, Randy, Richter & Ruark families,Shirley, Mikey, Lauren M., Lynn, Debbie, Crystal, Suzie Mc, Kim, Ginny, Annie & Jeff, GG, Sheptock family, the Bower family, and PopPop Rossi. We will continue to thank God for all of you and pray for His blessings on you, our wonderful "extended" family. We love each and every one of you for your prayers and caring for us. Not a day has gone by since Kait went to Heaven, that we have not received a card or letter in the mail and numerous phone calls. Thank you all for the time and effort that it takes to do that for us. We really feel the support and love you send and it really DOES help us get through these days. I want to thank "the girls" (Kait's group of friends) for the call today inviting me to breakfast. You all are so special to me because you were special to Kait. I love you all and will enjoy spending time with you before you go back to school. Also, Mahlia, I'm waiting for that dinner invite next week! May God continue to bless us all with His mercy and peace as we all walk through the valley...
....and please remember Kait's prayer list: Jessica, Greg, Randy, Richter & Ruark families, Shirley, Annie & Jeff, GG, Mullhollands, Lynn, Debbie, Crystal, Kim, Suzie Mc, Ginny, Sheptocks and PRAISE THE LORD...PopPop Rossi had GOOD news today - so Thank You Lord for answered prayers! I will send another update in the next few days. Hope all of you are well. We will continue to pray for all of us for God's blessings, mercy and most of all His peace.
Kait's friend, Greg, is still a patient at Hahneman all these days since Kaitlin left on June 30th. He is undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. On Tuesday, August 9th, there will be a benefit for Greg in Cherry Hill. I will be attending with whoever decides to come along with me. The benefit will be at: The Coastline Restaurant Brace Road Cherry Hill, NJ Donation is $10 and includes free bar and free buffet from 7:00pm-9:00pm If you would like to make a donation and not attend, you can send it to me at: Connie Anzelone P.O. Box 401 Rio Grande, NJ 08242 ...or those of you who know me can mail it to my home address. The money will benefit a wonderful young man by paying for his health insurance so he can continue with his treatments. Thanks!! Please continue to pray for those on Kait's prayer list. They were especially near and dear to her heart and ours: Jessica, Randy, the Richter & Ruark families, Shirley, Annie & Jeff, GG, Lauren M., Lynn Cestone, Debbie, Crystal, Kim, Ginny, the Sheptock family, Susie Mc, Greg, and our PopPop Rossi. We ask for God's continued blessings for all of you and for the peace that only He can bring. I have been asked to post Pastor Rudy Sheptock's message from Kait's celebration service on the website. It appeared in the Herald Newspaper on July 13, 2005. SPEAKING IN THE LIGHT with Pastor Rudy I dedicate today's article to the life and legacy of Kaitlin Anzelone who graduated to glory on Tuesday morning, July 5. I dedicate this also to Kait's parents, Rick and Connie, and her sisters, Jenn and Lauren. They as a family modeled for all of us the example of positively being there to have one another to lean upon. They stayed together and encouraged Kait as they endured her up and down battle with leukemia and proved the importance of not only having a caring network but also showing us that we all desperately need one. Kait had that in her family and her countless friends and her community of faith. I believe that Kait broke all attendance records of an individual having visitors while in the hospital. Even the parking lot attendants knew her by name. She was no ordinary girl. The great baseball player Jackie Robinson once said, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." If that statement were true, then its poster child should be Kaitlin Anzelone. Kaitlin may not have had a ton of days in her life but Lord knows this girl lived a lot of life in her days and everyone who knew her couldn't help but be moved by her smile, her contagious passion and sincere concern and zeal. She was freed up to live every moment with all of her heart because she had a real and personal faith in Jesus who assured her that even though this cancer could hammer her body, it could not steal her life and she never let it do that. Sure it put a dent in things. Who wants to be 20 years old and have leukemia? But Kait never stopped living. She lived it up at Cooper Hospital in Camden. She moved the party to Hahneman Hospital in Philly. And even when the cancer reared its ugliest head at Johns Hopkins in Maryland, Kait lived on. She fought that awful tumor (she actually named Tyrone) with every ounce of energy she had and she did so until the day when Jesus finally came and said, "Kait, take my hand. Your fight is over but your life is just changing addresses - come and live forever in the place that I prepared for you to be with me!" And every one of us who have ever had the privilege to know this young lady, while we hate to see her go, we know that our lives will never be the same because we had the privilege to experience Kaitlin Anzelone. Kaitlin was God's gift to us and in a world that more often than not, we allow to get way too mediocre and mundane, I don't want to allow Kait's impact to fade. So what can we practically do? To start, we can decorate a door! "We can what?" I hear you ask. We can decorate a door. Wherever Kait landed, she didn't wait for the place to bring her life - she brought life to the place. She took a hospital room, which for so many only conjure up pictures of doom and gloom, and gave it a whole new outlook. She put up her own pictures. She graced the place with everything from Sponge Bob posters to photos of friends and family. She had slogans printed of what she felt about cancer. She had reminders around her that God was holding her when she couldn't muster the strength to hold her own. Basically put, when you walked into Kait's room - it was Kait's room. Now the icing on the cake was her door. Kait's door stood out from all the other doors because it was decorated. It was symbolic of Kait's life and personality. No blahs and blues for this girl. Nobody was going to feel bad on her account when Kait knew they could feel better. Surrounded by sickness, Kait's door shouted health. Bombarded by winds of defeat blowing all around her, Kait's door showed no hint of quitting. In the midst of a place where people die daily, Kait's door offered life to all who entered in. Everybody needs a Kait's door. Who in your world could use a bit of door decorating today? Who needs to be reminded that they are loved, they are being prayed for, they are being fought for? Who has been shut in for so long or beat up or left hung out to dry that just the simple act of door decorating would serve as a reminder that they are not forgotten or left alone? Who needs their door decorated today? I plan on doing a lot of door decorating in the days to come not only in honor of Kaitlin's life, but also with the vision to bring much needed hope to a room or two where it has been way too long since a breath of fresh air has blown that way. Will you join me in looking for a door to decorate and when you find it, will you take the time to decorate it with a little love and care? Kait's loss cannot be explained or fully understood so I would suggest you don't try. It makes no sense whatsoever why someone so young and full of life could be gone so quickly. But I have learned that I don't follow God because life makes sense - I need Him because it doesn't. I love the Lord because when life isn't fair, He is. He never promised to make my life easy, but He said that He would make it complete and He will keep His promise to me as He has kept it already to Kait. Now if you have a hard time believing that, listen carefully to a conversation that Kait once had with one of her doctor. Her doctor asked her if there was anything else that she needed. Kait suggested that he pray for her. He explained to Kait that he didn't really believe in God so he had no God to pray to. And Kait shared, "That's ok, Doc, you can borrow my God and pray to Him for me." Family, if your door has no meaning or you have allowed it to become neglected and uncared for, today I beg you to borrow Kait's God and not only invite Him to decorate your door but to bring light into your life and then live - wherever you may be and in whatever situation you may be found in, don't wait for the place to bring you life - decide today to bring life to the place and then live each day as the precious gift that it is. Kait, I can only imagine what your door in Heaven must look like. I can't wait to see it. Pastor Rudy counted it a privilege to be Kait's pastor for the last eight years and looks forward to sharing eternity with her forever. END OF ARTICLE
Thank you, Jennifer, for your precious words. I was feeling quite down today, so I came to the website, and your promise to decorate a door reminded me that Kait would, also, have kept "decorating her doors" even in the sorry times. So today, I am off when I am done this update, to DECORATE A DOOR! Our family has been dedicated to keeping us busy these last weeks. Not a day has gone by that we are alone, unless we want to be. The company, memories and website are what keeps me moving right now. That and knowing that Kait is hanging out with Jesus and having a pain-free, funfilled eternity! Please continue to write, even if just to say hello and tell us what you are doing. We miss our "extended family" when we don't hear from you all. In a couple weeks, we will begin to work on a foundation that Kait was interested in starting. Until we come up with concrete plans, I do not want to put anything on the site. As soon as we know what we are doing, we will get anyone interested in being a part of it, included. Thank you for the interest already being shown in our plans. Meanwhile, please remember the prayer list...and add Chuch James and Lauren M. (soooo sorry, I forgot last time, Laur-but it goes without saying that YOU are ALWAYS in our prayers!) Love to all of you and once again, thank you for your support through this time. Remember to DECORATE A DOOR today!!!
Once, again, on Saturday, July 9th and Monday, July 11th, you all gave us the support to get through the most difficult time in our lives...saying good-bye to our beloved Kaitlin. Thank you for your hugs, kind words, your love and yes...even those tears! To know that she touched all of you in some way, makes us feel that our burden of pain is shared and that makes it a little easier to carry. Your response to Kait's passing has been unbelievable! The flowers, plants, food, cards, phonecalls, and visits have kept us going this last week. The attendance at her celebration service was, also, unbelievable! I apologize to those of you who were not able to see Rick, Jenn, Lauren or me at the church due to the long lines and the beginning of the service. Pastor Rudy touched our hearts when he spoke (his message is in this week's Herald newspaper). The service was beautiful and reminded me of Kait, especially ending the celebration with the "Bear Song". How she would have enjoyed that! The weather even behaved for the "family barbeque" that followed. There were almost 300 people enjoying the food, pool and the SpongeBob decorations and balloons. I am just thankful that Kait had her barbeque. On Monday, the processional was led by 8 motorcycles, Kait's in the lead ridden by her friend, Chris, (who, also, sang at her service on Saturday) and Jenn on the back seat, her red Jetta (named by Kait-Red October) filled with her friends and driven by her sister, Lauren, 46 more cars and 5 police departments to hold up traffic for the parade through the island to her favorite places: the Aqua Beach, the Crest Pier, Wildwood High School, Crest Memorial, and, of course, home. The short service by Pastor Dan (who had ridden his motorcycle, as well) was healing as well as the music sung by Chris, Maryann Franz and our sweet Jessica Holland. What a wonderful celebration for our Kaitlin!! Again, there is no way to thank all of you for the precious memories you have given us this past week and helping to ease the pain of our loss. We will NEVER forget how all of you came to support us through these long difficult days and we thank God, again, for the precious gift of YOU! Tomorrow, I am returning to Hahnemann to visit two of Kait's friends on the 15th floor. Please continue to pray for the list that Kait had on her blog page: Greg, Shirley, Jessica, Annie & Jeff, GG, PopPop Rossi, Sheptock Family, Randy and, of course, Shelby's beautiful family! May God continue to bless us all with only the peace that He can give us! I have been asked to write Kait's obituary here for those who did not see it in the Atlantic City Press or Courier Post. It was as follows: ANZELONE, KAITLIN M., "Baby Oney", 20 of Wildwood Crest on July 5, 2005. Carrying on her spirit are her parents, Rick and Connie (Cooper) Anzelone, her big sisters, Jennifer (Nen) and Lauren (Arley), Sir Peter Sebastian (her ferret), her grandmothers, Martha Anzelone and Connie Cooper, the Bill Cooper family of North Wildwood, Tony Anzelone family of Cape May Ct House, Uncle Bruce Anzelone of Wildwood, Carolyn (Cooper) McClure family of Cape May Ct House, Candace (Cooper) McShaffrey of Florida, Bubby Cooper family of Rio Grande and her extended family, the Wildwood community. There to greet her in Heaven are PopPop Anzelone and PopPop Cooper, cousin Joseph and Uncle Victor. Kait's unique spirit and positive outlook on life are reflected by her amazing friends, "the girls", her Lobster, Lot 7, and especially, her cousin, Brandon. A graduate of Crest Memorial School and Wildwood High School, Kait earned 12 Varsity letters and played basketball on four South Jersey Champion teams, three NJ State Champion teams and was the captain of the first girls' soccer team at WHS. Kait was, also, co-founder of the TAADD scholarship. She continued her athletic career at Rutgers University/Camden and was studying to make one of her favorite pastimes (writing) a career. Kait can best be described as fun-loving, outgoing, an individual and a true believer in Christ's commandment to "love one another". Kait had an aura about her that drew you in and made you want to be and stay in her presence. Along with her infectious smile, contagious personality and fearless attitude, Kait decorated her "doors" as she decorated our lives. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 12 noon at St. Ann's Church, 2900 Atlantic Ave. Wildwood where friends may call from 10am. Internment will be private. Contributions can be made to "Love of Linda Cancer Fund" P.O.Box 1053, Wildwood, NJ 08260 or the "Brendon Borek Memorial Fund" P.O.Box 41, Avalon, NJ 08202. Kait's family, also, asks that friends and family submit written accounts of memories or humorous stories to serve as a testimony to Kait's life. Kaitlin's website www.babyoney.com will remain active indefinitely for updates and condolences. (Ingersoll-Greenwood)
For Monday July 11, 2005 Due to the crowd of visitors for the celebration service on Saturday, it was suggested that we wait until Monday for internment. The procession will begin at Ingersoll's Funeral Home at 12th & Central Aves in North Wildwood at 10:15am. We will proceed south past several places of importance to Kait and then leave the island for Cold Springs Presbyterian Cemetary, where there will be a short graveside service. After, anyone attending is invited back to lunch at a location to be announced at the cemetary. Once again, please dress casually. Hope to see you there!
Arrangements for the celebration service of Kait's life were finalized this afternoon and will be in the Atlantic City Press and the Courier Post tomorrow morning (July 7). They are as follows: Saturday, July 9, 2005 St. Ann's Catholic Church 2900 Atlantic Avenue (at the corner of Magnolia Ave.) Wildwood, NJ 08260 Viewing will begin at 10:00 am through 12:00pm and the celebration service will begin at noon. Immediately following the service, everyone is invited to attend the "family barbeque" that Kait wanted to have when she came home. It will be held at her Uncle Tony and Aunt Missy's house in Cape May Court House-address will be announced at the church. IF there is bad weather, there are back up plans for an indoor location. We ask that anyone who comes, please dress for the celebration as YOU please. We are coming together to celebrate her life, to enjoy each other's company and to help ease the pain of her departure. Remember her as you wish...in a CANCER SUCKS teeshirt, a suit and tie, shorts & flipflops, whatever. She would have just loved having YOU there! I want to thank you all again for the never ending support that Rick, Jenn, Lauren and I have received from our "extended family". You are truely a gift from God, preparing us for this "walk through the valley..." and you are a gift from our Kaitlin, who somehow touched you all. Thanks for your time, energy and especially the love that you have shown to us and Kait's aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmothers. We pray for God's mercy and peace for each and everyone of you as you have prayed for us. Thank you and we hope to see you on Saturday for Kait's family barbeque!
February 21, 1985 - July 5, 2005 "Baby Oney" At 7:00am this morning, our beautiful, loving and still fighting, Kaitlin passed on to be with the Lord. Mom, Dad, Jenn and Lauren were all at her side to the end. The Lord had sent us an angel in the form of a nurse named Kristen, who last night said that the whole family could sleep with Kait even though hospital policy said no one could. Kait had her last sleep over with her family and went to be with her grandfathers, her uncle Victor, her friends who went on before her and our Lord Jesus. She is out of pain and has no more suffering. Her beautiful face will now light up heaven as it did here on earth. She will meet Shelby at last and the two of them will wait for the rest of us to join them in our Father's house. God bless all of you around the world who prayed for us and especially for Kait. Thank you all for the support, the cards, the visits and just for the hits on her website that let her know that people were out there praying for her. The website will stay up and we will continue to read it and add to it as we can. When the final arrangements for Kait's trip home are complete, we will post it here for anyone that wants to share in our celebration of her wonderful yet short life. Let us NEVER forget to live our lives to their fullest as our sweet girl surely did. May God bless all of us!
I will update asap. Please remember Kait's prayer list from her blogs. Thank you as always. He and you are our lifelines!
The 4th of July will mark 7 months since Kaitlin was first diagnosed with cancer. In all that time, YOU - our extended family- have come to our aid with your love, prayers and support in so many ways. Once again, let me tell you all that Rick and I, Jenn, Lauren and Kait appreciate ALL that you have done for us. There just are NO words that can even begin to thank you for everything. During those times when we feel alone fighting this demon-cancer, a call, card, email or visitor arrives and we remember and thank God for the miracle of all of you. Our peace throughout this turmoil comes from Him, His word and His people. Thank you! I am so sorry that some of you are hearing of the latest news through posts and not the update. We always try to get the news to you quickly once we know what that news is, however, last night I didn't get to the computer until 4am and Rick had already changed the password preparing for the new room. So I am now writing to you from Kait's room at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md. (will post address at end of message) On Monday, our doctors at Hahnemann repeated the ct scan of Kait's abdomen to see if there was any improvement since the finish of radiation. The news was not what we had been praying for. The tumor has remained unchanged, the malignancies are still there and Kait is very uncomfortable. Even in our darkest moments, however, there is hope. Dr. Crilley and her wonderful staff have been consulting with many others on Kait's behalf for weeks and after much thought and planning, decided that Johns Hopkins would be the best place for Kait's treatment.They moved very quickly gathering paperwork, scheduling the ambulance, checking with our insurance company and giving us the moral support that we needed. Again, thank you doesn't seem to express our deepest feelings. I only hope that someday all of you at Hahnemann will know how much we treasure you as we do our friends at Cooper. So here we are in Baltimore and I promise to update you more often since we are sooooo far away. Please keep up those prayers! There are days that we really feel them and, sometimes, that is all that carries us. Remember He hears us!!...and to that certain Dr. out there...you re-borrow Him back because we need your prayers too! Remember Kait's prayer list. please! We'll get her to dictate a blog to Jenn soon. The pain meds work their magic and she has had us laughing! Love to all and may God continue to bless us with His peace! JOHNS HOPKINS 401 N. BROADWAY WEINBERG 5C-15 BALTIMORE, MD.21231
So excuses done, Kait has had a busy week. She finished radiation on Wednesday, so now we wait to see what is going on with that. She has not blogged because, to be perfectly honest, she has not been feeling well. She has been hard at work finishing her latest art projects (hope to get pictures on the site soon) and now is into long-term bead making projects as well. One day this week, Dr. Ajay and Dr. Palavi came to play spades with Kait and me while DonDon and Eryn visited. That was definitely one of her favorite days!!! Of course, she and Dr. P kicked Dr. A's and my butts. Not matter what, she is the Spade's Queen of all time!!! Kait makes new friends wherever we go at Hanny. We usually have "in house" visitors throughout the day and evening, as well as strangers who have heard about her room. By the way, if you visit, just go to the 15th floor and you can't miss her room. The door announces it QUITE loudly!! ...and please do make the trip to visit if any of you can. You can call me on my cell to be sure that we are not out of the room for tests, visiting or out to dinner (ha ha). If you don't have the number, just call someone at home and they will give it to you. I don't want to post it on the site. You could, also, call the 15th floor nurses' station and they will get me to come to the phone. (Sorry, I don't have the # available as I write this) Thank you again to all who call, write, send cards and gifts. I only wish we could give you each a personal HUG for all you do. When you go to the prayer list, please add our dear friend, David Cettei, Trish's son. WE LOVE YOU DAVID!!! Hope to see you soon. Also, please see Kait's ferret, Sir Peter Sebastian's post from today. He sends a message to all! God's blessings on all of our family and friends...you fill our hearts with joy, hope and love!!!!
Before we update you on the latest developements here at Hanny, let me tell you that Kait has changed rooms and her new room number is #1559. We have a little hall area which we use as our "living room-kitchen" area so the move was a plus, although a bit of work transferring all those pictures!! Thank you to all who participated in Fun Friday at Crest Memorial School last week!! Imagine our surprise when Kait turned to her website at 6:30 pm and there were postings at a continuous rate for several hours! You made her day! Lauren called after to tell us about all the Fun you guys had and brought up several pictures on Monday evening. Mrs.Groon surprised us with a visit on Thurday afternoon and had a picture album made up by Christy Montanaro (thank you!), cards, tee shirts and several other surprises for Kait. You made us feel like we received a GREAT BIG HUG from home!!! To update you on Kait's latest treatment plan: she has completed the first round of radiation with minimal side effects. Docs say the numbers look very good that the leukemic cells are reducing, so she will receive several more days to finish out this week. Next week, they will do "pinpoint radiation" where they can actually aim the beams directly and precisely at the tumor. When that is done and tests are completed, we will all meet again to reassess and plan. Please continue to pray that she can tolerate the radiation and that it does the job.... Many of you who read the website or visit us, know of the friendship that Kaitlin has developed with a fellow cancer patient, Jeff. Kait worked hard to make a connection with Jeff when she first came here. He was the only patient close to her age. After several weeks, they became friends. Jeff would come by Kait's room to check on her if she didn't take her customary "walk" and check on him. They exchanged shirts for bracelets, shared pizza and she even rooked him into being the fourth in a game of spades. Jeff battled ALL (a form of leukemia) for the last 9 of his 26 years. Doctors told us that he fought a long and hard battle with this disease and won in the sense that he survived as long as he did. On Tuesday, June 14, Jeff passed on to Heaven to be with his mom, dad and brother after three days in the ICU. He will be greatly missed by his "family" here on the 15th floor who have spent much time with him these last years. He will be missed by Kait and me because he was a special young man, who fought long and hard and did it "his way". He will always hold a special place in our hearts. You will be missed by many, Jeff Coe, know that you were loved. Please check Kait's blog...especially the prayer list and may we add to that.. please pray for the "family" of Jeff Coe, Pastor Rudy, Terri and family, & Grace for traveling. Congrats go out to all the graduates, Matthew Schiff, Rudy Sheptock III, David Ackley and our dearest Jessica Anzelone! Enjoy your celebrations and may God continue to bless us all!!!!!
Kait was scanned yesterday for lead blocks to be made to protect her liver and kidneys from the radiation beams and we were all educated re: radiation tx & it's short and long term side effects. Today, Kait had her first of five radiation treatments. She tolerated it quite well, although anxiety levels were high for her and her mom. Afterwards, she had another "tummy tap" to decrease the fluid in her abdomen and she felt better. She and Jenn are creating a piece of artwork for a fellow cancer patient on the floor as I write this update. She continues to stay positive and keeps her spirits high with her projects and the new friends she has made here. What really keeps her up are your messages and her visitors. Yesterday, Ryan, Liz, Mare, Brandon, Joanna, Uncle Bill, Aunt Ceil, and Trevor came to visit and since the visits were spread out, she had company from 12:30pm to 12:00am!! You all brought her such joy and laughter. Thank you so much for making the trek up here. It means alot! ...and how wonderful it was to go on-line today and see all the posts on the website! It was like having 10 more visitors and really makes us feel like we are not alone in this. Thanks for taking the time to read, post and care. We love you all! Please remember the prayer list...He truely listens!!!
-Pastor Rudy If you read Kait's blog in the last few days, you know that she has been having some trouble with her abdomen swelling-a condition known as ascites. On Friday, the doctors took a sample of the fluid for analysis and yesterday, we received the results. Cytology shows that there are leukemic cells in the mesentary of the abdomen. The cells match the leukemia which was in her bone marrow in December. They did a bone marrow biopsy yesterday and all prelimanary reports look good-NO cancer in the bone marrow. The general thought is that, somehow, even with all the chemotherapy these last six months, one or more malignant cells survived and are now growing. Kait's doctors are exploring all options and consulting with Johns Hopkins and other transplant centers in the U.S. before we make a decision on treatment. As you can imagine, yesterday was an emotional rollercoaster for all of our family, especially Kaitlin. Our main support system is all of YOU...our extended Cape May County (& around the world) family...your cards, letters, gifts, emails & visits. If you only knew how much we appreciate each and every piece of correspondence! Thank you again for being there for us...and may we ask, once again, that you KEEP IT UP, the prayers to our most powerful God, your cards, emails and visits. (Kait loves visitors-especially between the hours of 12:00pm to 7:00pm when the days are the longest!!) We continue to keep all of you in our prayers and thank God for the blessing of our large extended family, you are what keep us going! Please remember the prayer list: Jessica, Randy, Ruark & Richter Families, PopPop Rossi, Annie & Jeff, Aunt Missy, and Kait's new friends (& fellow inmates) Shirley, Jeff & Greg. Thanks again! With our prayers, we will get through this together.
So please, read this and know that it is a special message for just you (who is reading this) THANK YOU, THANK YOU, AND THANK YOU FROM EVERY FIBER OF OUR SOULS!! YOU ARE THE BEST!!! The docs here are happy that Kait's counts have been coming up very quickly and that some of her side effects are the "norm" for just having a transplant. We know that, once again, God has heard all of our prayers and has given us another miracle!!! So we PRAISE and THANK our Lord and God who hears the millions of prayers for Kait from all of you!!! I was sorry to miss our visitors on Wednesday. Jenn relieved me of duty and I went for a nap and shower at the Ronald McDonald House (it's only over the bridge 5 mins away). It was a nice day for Kait and she stayed awake to socialize with Lana (Bean) & Rosalie (the engaged one), Pastor Rudy & Rudy (the soon to be high school grad) and Michael Goldstein (my adopted son) who all raised her spirits tremendously! She enjoyed her afternoon with all. It was the best medicine for her, she slept all night after the visits. I want to thank two very special people for all their help throughout this nightmare. Since December 4th, not a day has passed that they have not been there for "Oney" ... Jenn and Lauren. No one could ask for better sisters. Jennifer's schedule when Kait is in the hospital is: work, hospital, sleep...work, hospital, sleep...and when not in the hospital, she continues to keep her little sister as her top priority. Thank you! I know that I will never have to worry about Kait or Lauren as long as you are around. How do we thank Lauren...who literally gave a part of her life to help save her sister? We never even got around to asking Lauren to be Kait's donor. It was an automatic,she matched and her only questions were when and where! Thank you, I know the pain was bad but the end result is the BEST!!! I truly believe that it was in God's plan from the beginning that the three of you be sisters and be able to help each other as you have. You both make Daddy and me very proud! We love you sooooo much!!! THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING YOU! We will try to keep this update more recent. Hopefully, we will be writing from "the beach" in a couple weeks or less. Please keep up your prayers and as Kait says...remember the list: Jess, Randy, Richter & Ruark families, PopPop Rossi, Mulhollands and (mom's friend) Annie and Jeff.
I have so much to report on....first of all Kait's LAST BAG of Chemo EVER, god willing, was hung on Monday, May 9th 2005!!! And today is Kait's NEW BIRTHDAY...Wednesday, May 11, 2005...She was officially born today...and has the baby hair to prove it...Happy Birthday to Kait(Oney), Happy Birthday to Kait...Lauren finished her donation of bone marrow today....over two days she donated, painfully I might add, for 16 hours, over 5 million cells...Go Laur!!!! Soon Kait will be morphing into Lauren, watching "Interview with the Vampire" and listening to "Butt Hole Surfers"...She will be recovering for about a week and then she'll be back to her 15 hour days at work....Sorry to all those who may have called, e-mailed, or stopped by to see Kait. This round of chemo has been extremely difficult and Kait sleeps almost all day everyday due to severe nauseua and a few other difficulties she is battling...The only way they can keep it anywhere suppressed is to give her meds that make her sleep...But today, she was awake for her transplant!!!!Yeah Kait!!! And she entertained us with some guitar ballads...Mom is here everyday all week and Dad takes over on the weekends...I'm back to my schedule of work, hospital, work hospital...Big thanks to Lou and Linda for putting Lauren and me up for a couple nights, and Roger...the man that keeps Kait smiling and gets anything she needs...Cindy may soon be battling Lari for best nurse...we'll have a nurse olympics...who gives delauded the fastest and highest dose...Kait even wrote Cindy a song with the help of her guitar about delauded...We have Kait's room decorated with all the pics from the beef and beer and blown up pics from my digital camera...and of course of her new motorcycle....Bunny is here and the matted bear made the trip too(thanks Aunt Ceil)...and we couldn't leave Johnny Depp at home... So here are your challenges for the week...first of all of course pray that this bone marrow takes in Kait's body and heals her, also pray for her nauseau...And last challenge...My mom put good old Hanny's address on the web site...start sending those cards and letters..Kait needs them to keep her spirit's up...this time it's hard..although she somehow is still doing it...ALSO, and Bran this is your kind of project, I want everyone to send her a picture, just one of you, with friends and family your pet, your lawn ornament...anything...but make it fun...no family portraits sitting on the couch...Let's get her spirit's so high...the ceiling blows out...Thanks to all the prayers, cards, letters and love...And a big thanks to Karen, Rusty, Jackie, and Trevor for the Friends DVD'S!!!! That's all she talked about since the day we arrived and it's on every minute she is awake...Lawrence, where have you been? It was nice to see Rob and to meet his wife, U. Bub, A. Helene, Mrs. Davenport, Jen, and Don Don..PLEASE KEEP THE VISITS UP!!!!! (Kaitlin's challenge: remember the sickest you've ever felt in life, multiply it by 10, add severe nauseau, a 3x3 glass cubicle and that would still be an improvement of how she feel)
BMT Day has been moved to Wednesday, May 11th because of some complications with her beloved Hickman. That, also, moves Lauren's donar dates to the 10th and 11th. We are depending on all of you for your continued prayers, please. Once again, we were reminded of God's blessings on Kait and us as we see the excitement in the staff when they come in and talk about Lauren being a 10 to 10 match for Kait. Only God could make that possible!!!! Thanks to all again for your best wishes, cards, calls,etc. We count ourselves very lucky to have family, friends and a community of people who care for Kait and us. If you would like to write or send a card, the address is: Kaitlin Anzelone c/o Hahnemann University Hospital Room #1558 Philadelphia, Pa 19102 Thanks again! Can't wait to see you all soon. Kait should be able to "blog" soon (maybe even today!)
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