Monica's Current Status

It's been quite a while since this site was last updated. So much has happened, both good and bad. I will do my best to highlight the events of Monica's journey these past three months as it really is what you've come here to keep track of.

Here is where things stand today.

Catching up from my last entry...Monica's scans from last November showed uptake of the disease in her spine, hips, but most notably in her liver. She currently has six spots of disease with the largest being 2.5cm (about the size of a quarter). To say the least, this is not what we had been hoping for to bring in the new year.

In early December, Monica began a course of treatment to arrest the growth in her soft tissues. Her oncologist tried a combination of Cisplatin and Navelbine. Unfortunately, the severity of the side effects, most notably drastic drop in her blood counts (all key markers), extreme fatigue (she would sleep on the order of 16 hours a day), and severe migraine-like headaches forced us to regroup and pick a new treatment plan.

Enter Doxil. Unlike previous treatments, where Monica was on a three weeks on, one week off schedule, Doxil is administered on day one with a 28 day rest period. This pretty much tells you how harsh this stuff really is.

Her first cycle of Doxil left her in bed for five days after treatment. A harsh combination of nausea-related side effects put her out of public view for that period. She gained sufficient strength a week into her cycle and began living "normally" again for the following four weeks.

Her latest treatment was March 20. This was one week later than scheduled. She was given an extra week of recovery from her first dose as her counts were once again below legal limits. Expecting a repeat of her first dose of Doxil, we planned for her being out of commission for the next fews days. Much to our surprise, she was up and active the second day after treatment. We are convinced now that her oncologist made the necessary changes in her cocktail to get her on her feet sooner than later.

That leads us to today, April Fools Day. While Monica continues to fight on, her condition leaves her weak but in general good spirits. She, like everyone else who is fighting the battle, has good days and bad days. While she tries her best to lead a "normal" life, her body frequently tells her to take things slow. This is the part that she (we all) hates.

Regardless of the this latest news, life in the Cooper house moves on. Our two guys are back into the hockey mode with Joey playing spring hockey with Oakton High School JV squad and Jamie playing spring roller hockey with the Ashburn Mad Dogs. This is how we continue living. Monica attends to our needs as boys (me included) by making sure that we are fed, all of our homework is done, and that the yard and house is up to snuff.

We have big plans for the coming month. It's Monica's birthday month and I am honoring her by entering the Avon 2-Day Walk in Washington DC at the end of the month. Through the kindness and generousity of many folks like you, I blew away my $1800 obligation twice over! This walk will be my third major walk for breast cancer and I while I will not have Monica by my side this time, she will be with me in spirit. This is her birthday wish, and it is my time make certain that that wish is realized.

Monica is where she is today courtesy of her relationship with God, her incredible oncologist, our immediate family, our distant family, our extended family, our incredible circle of friends, neighbors and fans, our Reston Raider Hockey family, and our Floris United Methodist Church family.

But what has kept Monica with us most is Monica's own will to live. She has beaten the odds for this long because she wants to see us grow as a family. There have been times where she has wanted to quit, but it doesn't take long before she remembers just how much we need her as much as she needs us.

This is what life is all about.

Monica had her quarterly PET scans on Tuesday November 26. As with all previous PETs, we are anxiously awaiting the results of this test. Obviously, we are all hoping for good scans. This is the most anxiety-inducing part of her treatment as the results will tell us what is happening inside and will guide us as to where we go next (if any change is needed). We hope to get the word from her oncologist in the next day or two. Stay tuned. Regardless of the results of this test, we are planning on making this Christmas season the best ever. NOTHING can take that away from us!

Fundraiser Nets over $41K for Monica's Medical Costs

On Friday November 3, 2006, Reston Skatequest and The JD Lash Skating Foundation hosted a fundraiser designed to help raise money for Monica's ongoing medical outlays. Well over 300 people attended the event. Monies were raised in a variety of ways. The total figure was composed of private donations, fundraiser participation fees, bids on items sold at a silent auction, all proceeds from ticket sales for a 25-item raffle, and pledge money generated from a skate-a-thon held for the kids.

The Cooper family wishes to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of the following individuals and organizations for contributing their time, talents and/or items for the silent auction and raffle:

Reston Skatequest The JD Lash Skating Foundation The Cooper and Flippin Families Our Long-time Friends and Families Our Cross Creek Neighbors The Reston Raiders and Their Families The Virginia Statesmen and Their Families The Reston Skatequest Figure Skating Community The Reston U14 Girls Hockey Team and Their Families The Reston Skatequest Pro Shop McKee/Nelson LLP Channel 7 WUSA News (Doug Hill) WRQX	Olympian Michael Weiss Washington Redskin Mark Brunnel The Washing Redskins Hogettes The Washington Capitals Capitals Majority Owner Ted Leonsis The Tampa Bay Lightning The Virginia Tech Football Team DC United Evergreen Country Club Fairfax Country Club The US Park Police Glory Days Grill, Fox Mill Shopping Center Sweetwater Tavern

Account Set Up for Monica's Ongoing Medical Costs

After a lot of soul searching, the Cooper family created a special bank account specifically designed for the payment of Monica's ongoing health costs. We decided that instead of accepting pounds and pounds of food that would likely go uneaten, we would creat a special way for people to help us in the most beneficial way...to help pay off the hundreds of dollars in medical costs that Monica has incurred and will continue to incur over the course of her treatment.

The attached Word document describes the purpose of the account and explains how you can make an anonymous donation that will be used to help pay for Monica's continuing medical costs.

We want to thank all of the people who have already contributed to this account. We cannot overemphasize how your monetary gifts have given our family, not only a sense of relief, but a financial buffer that will allow me, her primary caregiver, to attend to her without the threat of losing valuable income. As a contractor, I get paid by the hour. If I don't work, I don't get paid. It's that simple. At some point in time, I may need to be with her constantly. This fund gives me the comfort of knowing that I can focus on her needs and not worry about putting in extra hours to meet our monthly needs.

Time is the single most important gift that anyone can give to another. Simply time. That is better than the nourishment that any single dinner can provide.

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