It has been forever since we have posted anything but I think we needed a break for a bit.  Not from posting, just from everything….make sense??  Our air went out in the house and if you live in Arizona, you know how awful that is!  It was 110 out and we decided to ditch AZ for CA for a week and a half and it was well worth it!  We stayed with my parents for most of the trip and it was great!  We went to Sea World with the the kids and they really enjoyed it.  The beach is by far their favorite place to be and I wish we could have gone there more but weather was not the best for the ocean.  We had a good time just getting away from everything.

We came back Sunday night to a cool house because of a new air unit and it is much better in here!  Jack had two doctors appointments today…he had to get an Echo and a EKG as well as do a pulmonary function test.  He did good with both and I am sure we will hear from Dr Eshun in the next couple of days with results.  I don’t anticipate them being any less than great so let’s just go with that!

Tomorrow Jack has to meet with a urologist.  During his last set of scans they saw that one of his testicles has moved back up and not descended.  After seeing Eshun and his pediatrician, they both wanted him to go see a urologist to see if he needs a procedure to bring it back down.  Most of the time they will just wait it out to see if it falls on it’s own, but with Jack’s past we will probably opt for the procedure.  The treatment that Jack has gone through may affect his chance to have kids when his is older as well as increase his odds for secondary cancer so we want to always do everything to prevent all we can.  When a testicle is not in the proper place, the temperature is not accurate and can be damaging for his future for both kids and testicular cancer.  Of course these are worst case scenarios, but like I said, because of Jack’s past we will do everything to prevent any more damage to his body….sooooo off to the urologist we go.  Probably more info than you needed, but it is what it is!

Today marks the beginning of International Neuroblastoma Awareness week…do us a favor, take the time to share Jack’s story with someone you know who you haven’t shared it with.  Send them his website…let them know how awful this beast is and how we need to do everything we can to help spread awareness and raise money for research.  Let someone know how many children are affected by this disease every year and how we need to do something to change this.  Here are a few facts:

Neuroblastoma is a cancer that develops from nerve cells found in several areas of the body. Neuroblastoma most commonly arises in and around the adrenal glands, which have similar origins to nerve cells and sit atop the kidneys. However, neuroblastoma can also develop in other areas of the abdomen and in the chest, neck and pelvis, where groups of nerve cells exist.

• Neuroblastoma is a common and often difficult to treat cancer, the most common cancer in infancy.
• In the United States, about 600 children are diagnosed with neuroblastoma each year.
• It is the most common tumor found in children younger than 1 year of age.
• Neuroblastoma is the most common extra cranial solid tumor cancer in children.
• Every 16 hours a child with neuroblastoma dies.
• There is no known cure for relapsed neuroblastoma.
• Nearly 70% of those children first diagnosed with neuroblastoma have disease that has already metastasized or spread to other parts of the body. When disease has spread at diagnosis and a child is over the age of 2, there is less than a 30% chance of survival.

We will share more facts as the week continues because we want to do all we can to help fight this disease.  As always, thank you so much for all of your support.  One day we will find the words to tell you how much we appreciate it…

Today Zac and I took the boys out to Longbow Golf Club in Mesa for the 8th annual Fore Noah and Friends Golf Tournament where all proceeds go to Neuroblastoma research.  Noah was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in 2005 and has been cancer free for 7 years now!!  His family holds this tournament each year and they have raised about $60,000 each year at this event.  We has such a great time out there today and we can’t wait to hear how much they ended up raising this year!  I got to chat with Lara (Noah’s mom) for a bit and I also got to see a family that I used to nanny for 10 years ago!  I can’t believe how the time flies.  The boys had a great time and I thought you would enjoy a few pics of the day….I promise Braden was happy on the slides!!

With the end of April being here, the countdown to Jack’s 5th birthday and scan week will begin.  Jack turns 5 on May 11th and we are so happy for that.  We are so thankful that we can celebrate another birthday with Jack…even more thankful that it is a birthday where he is cancer free!  Jack’s scans start on the 15th and we will hopefully know results by the 17th and then have an appointment with Dr Eshun on the 18th.  Please send all of your positive thoughts, energy, and prayers Jack’s way.  When these results come back clear, Jack’s scans will be able to be spread out to 6 months apart instead of every 3 months.  Of course that is terrifying that it will be so long in between scans, but it is just one small step further away from the day that the Devil knocked on our door and that is something that we cannot be happier about.

Get your bracelets today!!  For a minimum $5 donation, we will send you one of these bracelets that we all wear so you too can show your support!  They are bring green (Jack’s favorite color) with the letters being glow in the dark!  We have both medium (what I wear) and large sizes (what Zac wears) so please be sure to tell us which one you want!  Just click on the donate tab and make your donation today…when you do, be sure to note what size you want.  If you have any questions you can email me at lmorton@thejackmortonfoundation.org

Thank you!!!

We just want to send out a HUGE thank you to all of you who came to the event or made donations to the event because you couldn’t make it.  The night was a success and we know that next year it will be much bigger.  No matter how many people came this year, we are always humbled by how many of you are out there supporting what we want to accomplish.  We couldn’t make a donation like this to PCH without you and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We were flattered that Dr Eshun and “A” came out to the event in support of us.  When Dr Eshun showed up it was as if a movie star had walked in to the room!  So many people are so thankful for him and his team…I hope they know that!  We truly trust him with our sons life and with the lives of these other children that are fighting this disease and that’s why we wanted to help donate to his trials.  We believe in him and we believe that he would do all that he could to try and find a cure for Neuroblastoma.

There are two bit of info I want to fill you in on…during the comedy show, Boomer let you all know that if you make a donation in the envelope or on our website of $25 or more, we would be sending you 2 tickets to a show at Stand Up Live.  This still applies to all of you and even those who weren’t there!!  If you want to make a donation on our site, note your donations “Comedy” and you will get 2 free tickets to Stand Up Live!

Those of you that were at the event saw the amazing pendent that Scott Berger from Addison Taylor Jewlers makes for our Foundation.  Many of you told me how great it was and we want to let you know that the sterling silver one is available at any time from Addison Taylor.  You can call Scott and have one made for your for $250 and 20% of the proceeds comes back to the Foundation.  Please email me at lmorton@thejackmortonfoundation.org if you want me to get you in touch in Scott!

Of course I cannot finish this post without sending out some thank you’s of my own…thank you to Boomer for helping up pull things together and for making this happen for us.  Thank you for wanting to help and for wanting to make it a success.  We look forward to doing it again next year!!  Thank you to Jill Bryan, Travis Thurman, Mark Cordes, and Rich Vos for taking the time to come out and perform for us!  Thank you to PCH for letting us team up with you…especiall Meghan Pearce and Geneivieve Villegas for helping us with it all!  Thank you to Sue Dunn for all your help and running around that you did for me!!!  Life saver!  Big Thank you to my sister Nikki for always helping me with pretty much everything.  I can say that there is no way I would have pulled this off without you!  Thank you to my husband Zac who lets me get totally crazy and I am sure a bit moody when I am fully stressed with putting this all together.  Thank you for supporting me with everything!  Love you!

I am sure there are so many more people to think but I am going to cut it short for now.  Thanks to you all!!

We have a little more than 2 weeks left until our event with PCH, “Comedians for a Cure” and you need to get your tickets now!  This night means so much to us because all proceeds will go directly to PCH for Neuroblastoma research.  Without research we will not find a cure, and without your donations, we will not be able to fund research.  We know that less than 3% of all government funding goes to ALL childhood cancer research so all trials depend on foundations such as ours to help.  We never thought in a million years that our baby would be diagnosed with cancer but truth of the matter is that so many children are and if it could happen to us, it could happen to anyone.  We don’t want this to happen to our nieces, nephews, grandchildren, friends…we don’t want any child to have to go through what Jack has been through.  We don’t want another family to have to lose their child due to this awful disease.  We need your help and we are depending on you so please, click on the link and buy your tickets.

The night will be great and while we know we will have so many laughs from the amazing comedians who have donated their talent for our event, we also know that it will be a night filled with love and support for all children who have been diagnosed with Neuroblastoma and for all of those who have had to go through such awful treatment.  Your tickets will include entry to the show, dinner, and a drink and of course that feeling of knowing you are giving back and helping us fight against cancer.  There will be silent auction items as well as raffles.  SOME of the donated items include: a membership to CrossFit480, membership to The Joint, Cardinals game tickets, a 30 minute helicopter ride with the one and only Bruce Haffner, and and a wine tour trip to Napa with a stay at Hotel Yountville!!!

One amazing item that will be up for silent auction was donated by Scott Berger from Addison Taylor Fine Jewelry.  We met Scott at the event we did at Nove with Cheri Knoblauch and he is such an amazing person.  He asked if he could design a pendent just for The Jack Morton Foundation that could always be ordered, at any time, and part of the sales will come back to us.  Of course we were thrilled and he has come up with such a wonderful piece for us.  There is a sterling silver pendent that will be $250 and 20% is being giving back to the foundation. He has generously donated one for the auction that is made in white gold with diamonds and sapphires weighing 2.20 carats total valued at $5000.00!  We are beyond thankful and thought we would show you an image of the one that will be put up for auction!

So now, while you are reading this, go up to the top of the page and click the button and buy your tickets!  You don’t want to miss this!!