See Why We Walk

Inspired by the spirit of one child’s fight with cancer, a community of friends has come together to help spread awareness and to support families facing similar battles. The Butterfly Walk and Fun Festival will bring together people and businesses who want to share in the celebration of love and support of children. Similar to how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, that transformation is symbolic of a child’s development into an adult. This is something not all children with cancer have the chance to experience. But together, we can make a difference. Every day physicians are fighting to help children with cancer live another day. Curing childhood cancer is not a battle won overnight. But with the support of people like YOU, together we can help further the research towards treating and curing this disease, forever.

Hanna was a happy, healthy 2 ½ year old girl until she complained of back pain one day. Two days later she was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops in the nervous system in embryo. After only seven short months, many surgeries, and 6 rounds of chemotherapy, Hanna lost her battle with this disease on Father’s Day 2006. Although she is gone from this earth, her spirit lives on in all of us who choose to come together for the Butterfly Walk. We can only hope that with further research funding, children like Hanna will have a better chance for a cure in the future. Hanna showed us all how to fight a battle, how to be courageous, and how to dream. Now it’s our turn.

All are welcome to share their story with us. Together we unite and support one another in love and prayer.

Corey was a very happy-go-lucky little boy who loved everyone and loved to make people smile. In early 2007, at 2½ years old, he was fighting what everyone thought was a typical toddler cold/sinus infection with swollen glands. After about a week of antibiotics with no improvement, and the "lymph glands" getting larger, he was sent to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for a biopsy of the lump behind his ear. On Feb. 2, 2007, the results of the biopsy found that it was not a swollen lymph gland, but in fact was a cancerous tumor. Later that day, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, an aggressive and very deadly childhood cancer.He endured 7 rounds of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, a stem cell transplant that put him in the ICU and on dialysis for a period of time, several weeks of radiation and another several rounds of chemotherapy. In April of 2008, he was NED (no evidence of disease).Then, in October 2008, he relapsed with a new tumor behind his ear. Once again, he went through more chemotherapy and radiation. In January 2009, the tumor in his head was gone, but now there was a small tumor on his right femur. More radiation and chemotherapy were given. On March 13, 2009, he was once again tumor free and NED.Corey continued with oral chemotherapy trying to prevent another relapse. Unfortunately in mid-April of 2009, Corey relapsed again; this time with tumors throughout his entire skeletal system and on his liver. Corey fought a courageous fight for more than 2 years – and rarely complained about any of it. (We adults could learn a thing or two from Corey!!) Unfortunately, the cancer was too aggressive to fight and on May 8, 2009, just a month before of his 5th birthday, Corey lost his battle and earned his angel wings. We miss him dearly! We walk in memory of Corey to raise funding for further cancer research so that no other children or their families have to go through this.

Shayna was a bundle of red velvet on her very first Christmas Eve when we noticed that something didn’t look right in her eye. A week later she would have her eye removed to prevent cancer from spreading to her brain and begin chemotherapy for the tumors in her remaining eye. Nothing prepares you for that. After many months of treatment and a new prosthetic eye, she has now been cancer-free for 9 years. We say she is one of the lucky ones, but it has nothing to do with luck. Shayna’s treatment was successful because of research. Determined that no child should have their childhood interrupted or cut short by cancer, our family started CancerFree KIDS to fund the critical research that is necessary for every child to be guaranteed a cure. This research benefits not only children, but all of us. Those participating in the walk understand how important it is. We thank you for your support!

Charlie was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myloid Leukemia) at 16 months of age on January 30, 2006. This type of Leukemia is common in kids with Down syndrome. After Charlie's first round of chemotherapy, he went into remission. Charlie is now coming up on four years in full remission! He is a healthy, thriving 5-year old little boy. He enjoys going to pre-school, playing outside, going to Tumble Bees and playing with his 4-year old sister, Madison. Charlie continues to go to clinic every 6 months and each "clear" blood check continues to bring us a huge sense of relief and resilience. Hanna was such a good friend to Charlie. We couldn't be happier continuing our participation in this walk to honor her memory.

Like Hanna, Mary was just 2 ½ years old when she was diagnosed with a high grade, non-specified, infant brain tumor on March 8, 2006. Four days later, surgeons at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital removed a baseball size tumor from her right front lobe. Here began Mary’s journey. In the months that followed, Mary was given four rounds of chemotherapy, aggressive radiation treatments, and an eight month regime of maintenance chemo. By the Grace of God, her last MRI on December 14, 2009, showed no changes and no return of cancer. Prayers from hundreds of friends and family have so far been answered. We have hope as each day passes that Mary’s story will have a happy ending, that she will be a lifelong cancer survivor. The Butterfly Walk is an opportunity for Mary’s family and friends to show their support for Mary, and the ongoing cancer research sponsored by Cancer Free KIDS. Mary is a happy, energetic 6 year old because of the outstanding care she has received and the research that continues at Cincinnati Children’s. Please consider joining Mary for the walk this year; she was thrilled to have family and friends by her side last year. We will continue to support Mary, research efforts, and the hospital with strength, hope, courage and faith in our hearts.

Parker was 10 weeks old when he was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma on February 4th, 2005. He was a fussy baby that you just couldn’t seem to make comfortable. We found out later that he had tumors in both adrenal glands, his liver, near his spinal cord and that it had spread to his bone and bone marrow. 6 days after being admitted to the hospital Parker started an intense research protocol at Cincinnati Children’s which consisted of 8 rounds of chemotherapy. Six long months of injections, treatments and trips to Children’s and we are happy to say Parker is a Cancerfree KID! Feb 2009 marks the 4 year anniversary of his diagnosis and in July we will celebrate 4 years off chemo and being Cancerfree!! We return to the clinic at Childrens only yearly now and are completely finished with scans. Parker or "Parkie" as his sister Madie calls him, has grown into quite a llittle man over the last year. He plays basketball, loves going snow skiing and riding his bike, he also attends preschool 2 days/week. Parker was thrilled to welcome a new little sister, Mackenzie, last August. We feel very blessed to have had the researchers at Cincinnati Children’s who worked so hard to save our child. We are very grateful to them and their hard work. Without events like the Butterfly Walk, CancerFree KIDS would not be able to offer grants to these outstanding individuals who work hard everyday to save one more child. Our family is honored to be a part of this very special event and we are looking forward to the 3rd annual event!

Gracie was just 7 months old when she was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma (liver cancer) in February of 2007. Doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital found a tumor the size of a softball in her liver. She underwent four rounds of chemotherapy. In May of 2007 she had surgery to remove the tumor followed by two more rounds of chemotherapy. Gracie has been in remission since August of 2007. Today Gracie is a happy, healthy 3 and a half year old and is enjoying every minute of life. We owe this outcome to the support, prayers, and research of many people. Organizations like Cancerfree KIDS and Cincinnati Children's Hospital do amazing things for children battling cancer. We are one of the lucky families who benefited from their research and hard work. We are honored to be a part of the 4th annual Butterfly Walk and look forward to helping fight pediatric cancer.

Jessica Michaela Elam was just a normal 7 year old girl when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor on October 29, 2001. This rare cancerous tumor called EPENDYMOMA (type of cancer that only affects the Central Nervous System (brain or spine)) was successfully removed 3 days later and was followed by radiation. Jessica survived and she was having the time of her life when not 2 years later, on September 25, 2003, she was diagnosed with a recurrence, but this time we were dealing with a spinal tumor. The doctors proceeded with radiation that shrunk the tumor about 25% and another successful surgery followed - the whole tumor was removed and we didn’t have any complications. This was followed by chemotherapy and what we thought was the worst 4 months of Jessica’s life. Jessica survived and we really thought that we had this cancer kicked when another spot was detected on March 9th, 2006. We were very fortunate that we caught this early, but the location of this one in the brain (near the main artery of the brain) was very critical. Radiation was really our only option to give us any hope. This treatment had seemed to work except for the fact that her brain started to swell 5 months later. Steroids followed to reduce the brain swelling along with some setbacks it caused but this strong willed girl just wasn’t about to give up. Jessica survived and then for the fourth time in six years they found another spot on her spine on August 22, 2007. This tumor again was irremovable (in a location housing all the leg, kidney and bowel functions) and the doctors’ only choice was to proceed with yet another set of radiation. Jessica survived. In September 2008, just shortly after her 14th birthday, during routine scans, they found another nodule in her brain. We opted for radiation--the radiostatic surgery for her treatment. This went over a 5 day period in October. After that was over, she started the oral chemo. Her hair has started falling but body tolerating it well and she was still going to school. When Christmas break was almost over, so was Jessica's blood counts. As of January 2009, she has been off of chemo for about 2 weeks but her blood counts are still declining. Her faith and determination to get her story out there is strong. Her faith in God has made her stronger and even more eager to help find a cure for this awful disease. Jessica is 14 years old because of ongoing research that organizations like CancerFree KIDS provide funding for. Jessica wants to help prevent anyone else from having to encounter the lifestyle of a cancer patient at such a young age so please support our family in the 3^rdannual Butterfly Walk for CancerFree Kids.

On February 5, 2007, Hannah, our two year old, had been running a fever for a couple of days and had a strange “rash” on her legs. A visit to the pediatrician led Hannah to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for blood work. What was thought to be a simple fever turned out to be Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). In an instant, our world was turned upside down. Even more difficult news came when we found out that the type of ALL she had was very rare and would require her to undergo a bone marrow transplant in order to save her life. Hannah’s transplant occurred May 25, 2007. Today we are thrilled to report that Hannah is 4 years old, is almost 2 years post transplant and remains CancerFree! She continues to work on building her strength through weekly physical therapy and still amazes everyone with her cooperativeness and sweet disposition. We are grateful to God for each day we have with Hannah and for her courageous spirit. We are also grateful for the outstanding medical care God has provided for Hannah. Even just a few years ago, they would not have had the knowledge to treat Hannah’s rare leukemia as effectively. Unfortunately, until this happened, we never really thought about how cancer research was funded. We now realize that without private donations life saving research, which has benefited Hannah and many others, wouldn’t happen. We ask that you pray for Hannah and all the other children who bravely face cancer, and consider joining us in supporting pediatric cancer research through the Butterfly Walk.

Hello Everyone! My name is Roman. I am 4 years old. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, N-myc non-amplified, on April 25th 2007 at the age of 18 months. I have an older sister Sheridan who is 6. My Mommy and Daddy have said over and over again that I have endured way too much for my very young life. I had surgery 2 days after diagnosis for a tumor on my right adrenal gland. Luckily it was small enough to be completely removed. The cancer had already spread above my right eye and also in my bone marrow. My eye was very swollen and looked like I got punched. I had a central line put in and had six rounds of chemotherapy, a stem cell harvest, numerous scans and tests, and blood and platelet transfusions. Far too many to count. I then had a seventh round of high dose chemo to knock out my bone marrow for a transplant I had on Oct. 17th, 2007. Then, in Jan. 2008, I went thru 12 rounds of radiation to the orginal tumor site in my tummy. I started oral ch emo (accutane) in Feb.2008. I had alot of trouble with the accutane because of my triglycerides being high. I only completed 5 rounds at half the dose. I also suffered eye pain and pressure and severe headaches from it. It has been a very long journey for my family since I was diagnosed. I have scans and bloodwork now every 6 months. Mommy,Daddy and everyone praying for me gets really nervous and scared around scan time. My Mommy, Daddy and my Sissy love me very much. I am also blessed to have the best grandparents in the world, my Derney and Duppy. My fight is far from over. Everyday is a fight for my life as we hope and pray Neuroblastoma stays far away from me forever. I hope you will walk this journey with me. I thank you for each and every prayer for me. I also have my own website...RescueRoman.org

On January 14, 2009, we took Leah to the doctor due to paleness of the skin, multiple bruises and minor bloody noses. We honestly thought we were going there only to be sent home. Leah was never sick. In fact, she hadn't been to the doctor's office in over 3 years. From there we were sent to Cincinnati Children's Hospital where we waited for what seemed like an eternity to be told that Leah had Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. After 6 months of living at the hospital, 4 intense rounds of chemotherapy, 2 trips to the ICU, 2 central lines, 3 picc lines, multiple blood and platelet transfusions, one lung biopsy, and one appendectomy, we are proud to say that Leah has won her battle against cancer. Although Leah is not completely back to "normal", she grows stronger by the day. She's back in school and has just been okayed to play softball. One of the biggest lessons we learned from this experience is the importance of giving. We now realize that without the generous donations of others, our daughter probably would not have survived this disease. We are so grateful for fundraisers such as The Butterfly Walk, organizations such as CancerFree KIDS, and generous people who donate for giving our daughter, and many other children, a second chance at life.

October 25, 2008, Elizabeth Lothrop, 14 year old, was diagnosed with ALL, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Liz was currently finishing out her volleyball season for Mason Middle School. Lizzy was very active and was never sick. She played Basketball for Mason and played AAU ball, she played Volleyball for her school too as well as Junior Olympic Volleyball for Sports Express, and ran track for Mason. Lizzy's back started hurting her the last two weeks of volleyball season; we took her to see an Orthopedic specialist who confirmed she had a fracture in her lower spin. Liz had a pars injection four days later in her lower spine and four days after that she spiked a fever of 103 and a massive nose bleed that took 28 min. to stop. We took her to Children's at 10 pm and by 4:30 am we were told that she had cancer; all of this took place within a five week period. It has been a battle since but cancer picked the wrong person this time. Liz is a true fighter and has an infectious spirit. Lizzy has just started the Maintenance Phase of her treatment and will continue on this course until her last chemo treatment on Feb. 17, 2011. She has endured weekly heavy chemos, blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, very long hospital stays, severe side effects of chemo, and complete hair loss twice, but has remained faithful to God, family, and friends. There have been several fundraisers for our family and for various organizations which we are passionate about. Because of the prayers and financial support we know that one day there will be a cure. Lizzy's wish is that they find an easier treatment protocol for people with cancer and of course, THE CURE!

This is her blog where you can view her journey from day one. www.glittergirlliz.blogspot.com

In the fall of 2003 Madelyn was an active 2 year old girl that could not wait until her 3rd birthday was here. After 2 weeks of being treated for an upper respiratory infection and not seeing any change, we were sent to Middletown Hospital for a routine x-ray to rule out pneumonia. From the look on the nurses face I could tell that something was seriously wrong with our little girl. We went immediately down to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to get a CAT scan to figure out what was wrong. Monday, October 6, 2003 we were admitted to Children's Hospital and sent to the ICU floor. On Wednesday, October 8th Maddie had her first of many surgeries and we were told the news that no parent should hear. Madelyn's chest was full of some sort of cancer that had erupted and at that point could be anywhere in her little body. She had 1/3 of her right lung removed and had a central line placed due to the apparent chemotherapy treatments which lay ahead. Maddie was finally diagnosed with Pleuropulmonary Blastoma (PPB) which is a rare childhood cancer that attaches to the lung. With me having had a childhood cancer called Wilms Tumor when I was 4 years old, we were fortunate enough to have the same wonderful doctor that I continued to see take Maddie's case. From the start we knew that the road ahead was going to be difficult but once we got into the treatments no one could prepare us for the ups and downs which you go through. The "PLAN" was to have 12 rounds of chemotherapy and 12 days of radiation. It amazed me how nothing seemed to go by the "PLAN." In November, after Maddie's second round of chemo we were admitted to the hospital for a high fever and extremely low blood counts. During this stay Maddie had a chemotherapy induced seizure which only happens to a small percentage of children. Due to the intensity of the seizure we were taken to the ICU to be monitored. A feeding tube was also placed in Maddie's nose that went directly into her stomach due to the weight she continued to lose. In December after a routine ECHO/EKG test she was diagnosed with Coarctation of the Aorta. On December 8th Maddie had a heart procedure which helped open up her artery because of its limited size. After her December chemo treatment we were admitted at 3am on Christmas morning due to another high fever. In January things continued not to follow the "PLAN." After her January treatments and once again being admitted for a fever and low counts, we realized if we did not lower the dosage of the chemotherapy treatments Maddie was not going to survive. We were hospitalized for 3 1/2 weeks and our doctor decided to lower her dosage to 50% due to the damage it was doing to her little body. In March she had 12 rounds of radiation that required her to be sedated for 12 straight days to receive her treatments. At the end of March, during a routine scan we were told something was growing in the same location of the lung where the original cancer was thought to have developed. After a failed attempt to get a sample from a biopsy the decision was made to go in and remove the growth through surgery. One week after Madelyn's baby sister Emma was born she had surgery. Due to our prayers being answered, it was not a recurrence of the cancer, just irritated scar tissue from the radiation treatments. Madelyn finished her last round of treatment in September of 2004. We all learned early on that Madelyn was not going to follow anyone else's "PLAN" but her own. Courage,determination, and a lot of prayers is what got Maddie through that year. In June of 2007 Madelyn had been blessed with having been off treatment for over 2 1/2 years and was feeling great. She was enjoying her summer break and looking forward to starting her 1st grade year of school. With scans now being scheduled every 4 months since we had hit what we thought was the magic number of 2 years off of treatment, we received the news that we thought we would never have to hear. On June 19th, 2 days after our annual "Relay for Life" event during her routine scans we were told that something was growing where the original tumor had started. She once again had surgery which confirmed that the original cancer had reoccurred. Maddie's "PLAN" is to have 4 rounds of chemotherapy, 23 days of radiation, and a stem cell transplant that will keep her in the hospital for at least 4-6 weeks straight. We learned from the first treatment that Maddie only follows her own PLAN." What we do know is that Maddie is a amazing little girl and with her strength and a lot of prayers she will make it through this and be CANCER FREE!

Randy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor called a medulloblastoma at the age of 11 months, Nov 17, 2005. A team of neurosurgeons operated and removed 100% of the tumor, which was the size of a large plum from his cerebellum. We started Chemo immediately and everything appeared fine. In February of 06’, we found that Randy’s cancer had spread into his spine. This dropped his chances of survival down to less than 10%. We were transferred to Cincinnati Children’s where Randy underwent a triple stem cell transplant, followed by more chemo and now we are happy to say that Randy has been cancer free since July '06. In Nov 2007, a full two years after he was diagnosed, Randy was officially free of all devices and medicine that were remnants of the cancer!! Randy started pre-school in December 2007 and has made excellent progress on recovering from the cancer effects. He is now speaking more and is able to walk on his own. In Jan 2009, we had another MRI and it was clear. Randy has now officially been in remission for 2 years! Randy just turned 4 and we consider him to be our little warrior. Randy met Hanna while in treatment and she always put a smile on all of our faces. She is missed greatly and is a lesson to all to enjoy life. God bless her.

Our beautiful girl Alyssa was healthy and happy, so energetic about everything, she never stopped. In December of 2007 she became very lethargic and was complaining of headaches. We noticed her right eye had started to cross. I took her to the eye doctor on January 2 of 2008, this was 3 weeks before her 8th birthday. We were rushed to Cincinnati Childrens hospital for a CT scan, the eye doctor had found her optic nerve was swollen -this is a sign of swelling in the brain- the doctors at the hospital then told us there was a mass in her brain and wanted to do an MRI. She had a brain and spinal MRI and was admitted to the PICU that night. We did not leave the hospital for 12 weeks after that. Alyssa had her surgery on January 5, three days after her tumor was found. She was in surgery for 4 1/2 hours. She came out with cerabellum mutisum and had to relearn how to read, write, speak and eat. She is a fighter and fought for 9 weeks to get her voice back and boy did she ever! Alyssa is doing well now, she is in school and extensive therapy. She has another tumor but it is small and is being monitored with MRIs every few months. We are so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. We walk in honor of her and her fight. She is the joy and love of our lives!

In Nov, 2006, at the age of 3, Chloe was taken to the pediatrician for what we thought was just a bad cough that would not go away. Chloe was sent to the hospital for a RSV swab and a chest x-ray, after sitting for what seemed like forever they came out and told my husband that the doctor was on the phone. The pediatrician told us they had found a mass above Chloe's right lung and we were being admited to the pediatric floor. The doctors did a CT scan and found that the mass was pushing on the airway so they moved her to the PICU. The next morning Chloe was to have a biopsy done of the mass, due to airway compression, the doctors were afraid to do the biopsy and Chloe was sent to Cincinnatti Childrens. It was on Dec. 1, 2006 that we found out Chloe had a ganglioneuroblastoma. Chloe underwent 2 rounds of chemo and the tumor was growing instead of shrinking so in Jan. 2007 they removed all but 2% of the tumor due to spinal chord involvement. Chloe then underwent 2 more rounds of Chemo and then had a MIBG scan March of 2007. Chloe is now 5 years old and remains NED with continuing scans every six months.