Mighty Hero Meg

Meet our beautiful July Mighty Hero Meg. 

Below is Meg's story written by her Mom Lisa. 

Our tough Meg, better known as Megatronstrong was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on February 25^th 2015.  When Meg began presenting weird bruising, wasn’t eating well, and this child, who we used to so lovingly call “fart in a skillet” because she never stopped moving, was too tired to finish PE, we knew something wasn’t right.  We took her to our favorite family PA and two days later we received the dreaded phone call. Leukemia.

We were rushed to Primary Children’s Hospital where her 2 ½ years of treatments began and we’ve been living, eating, breathing cancer ever since.

In the first 6 months of treatments we traveled to Salt Lake City from Idaho over 20 times. Meg knew what she had to do to win this battle and never fought going for treatments. Once when leaving the hospital she even said, “For some reason, I just can’t stop smiling.”  Because the first two phases of treatment did not produce the results that her doctors were expecting (low enough percentage of cancer cells left in Meg’s body) she was moved from a standard risk patient to a very high risk patient and therefore, last summer, all of Meg’s chemo had to be done as an in-patient stay at the hospital.  Even though she spent more than 20 days cumulatively of her summer in the hospital Meg’s good spirits rarely waned. She kept her spirits up through her long hospital stays by writing her own lyrics to popular songs. She’s written a total of about 10!

                                           

                                                         

This summer we feel so thankful to be in the spot that we are. Meg is currently in maintenance phase of treatment. Her hair is growing back (and is darling!), she got to attend a week at cancer camp, spends lots of time swimming, playing with friends and for the most part is just living the life of a “normal” 9 year old girl!

 She does take oral chemo every day, has chemo at the hospital and at the oncologist’s office once a month and does a round of steroids each month. Even though the oral chemo makes Meg feel a little whoozy every day, you’d never know it. She keeps on keeping on and being the incredible MEGATRONSTRONG!

We look forward, with hearts full of hope, for late June/early July 2017 when Meg will be completely done with treatment! Until then, we will continue to feel blessed for having this amazing strength, named Meg, in our lives, and for the love and generosity of those around us. We have been abundantly blessed by loved ones and strangers alike. We have learned time and time again that even amid heartache and trial there is beauty to be found.

#megatronstrong

To donate to Meg click here. www.psiadoreyou.com Every penny of your donation will go directly to Meg and her family. Meg you are a inspiration to us all. That smile you have lights up the room. All our love and prayers are with you. You are so BRAVE and so strong. #megtronstong

5 summer sunscreen tips every parent should know

Via

Summer is in full swing and if you’re like us, you and the kiddos are spending every waking hour taking advantage of water activities to help beat the heat!

With all the pool trips, water balloon fights and good ol’ playtime with the yard hose comes lots of exposure to the sun. And if there’s anything those tanning beds of our high school days have taught us, it’s that UV rays are NOT our friends.

We recently learned there’s a lot more to sun protection than slathering on sunscreen once at the beginning of the day. Read on for the best takeaway tips for you and your kids!

Via

Buy the right sunscreen. Not all sunscreens are created equal. Look for sunscreen that mentions both UVA and UVB protection, and has an SPF of 30 or higher. Avoid sunscreen that contains hormone-disrupting oxybenzone.

Apply before you get in the sun. Sunscreen takes about 15 minutes to reach its full effectiveness, so if you wait until you are in the sun to apply sunscreen, your skin is still susceptible to burn.

Reapply often. Even water-resistant sunscreen needs to be reapplied every time you get out of the water for a rest. You also need to reapply every hour even if you’re not in water, or as often as the bottle says.

Stick to creams. Spray-on sunscreens are harder to ensure coverage with, and release harmful chemicals into the air you breathe. Doctors advise parents against using spray-on sunscreen on babies, so it’s most wise to stick with cream sunscreen for the whole family.

Use other ways to cover up. Sunscreen blocks some of the sun’s rays, but even the strongest creams can’t completely protect your skin. For the best coverage, wear wide-brim hats, sunglasses and protective clothing. Children under 6 months should be especially covered up, since they do not yet have the melanin needed to protect their skin.

Our top 5 summer reads

Oh summer, how we love thee. To us, summer is equivalent to trips to the pool, grabbing Dirty Diet Cokes on the daily and eating Popsicles on the stoop nightly. And hopefully among all that hard work, we can squeeze in some quality summer reading time.

Our summer reading list has a few key requirements: captivating, light (sorry, we reserve the intense classics for winter time), and preferably set on the beach somewhere (because if we can't be there every day, we can at least read about someone who is!) Read on for our 2016 lineup:

1. This one has been on the NY Times Bestseller list for awhile, and for good reason. It's a mystery, suspense, drama — and the audiobook version has dreamy British accents. Win, win win!

2. This one is the ultimate summer novel, as it takes place on the beaches of Florida and is a quick, captivating read about a girl who enters a baton-twirling competition to win back the attention of her father.

3. "Beautiful Ruins" has been on summer reading lists for a few years now, because the plot line is completely irresistible, switching between current-day Hollywood and Italy in the 60s.

4. We recommend reading this one with a friend. The twists and turns of this summer mystery are so good, you'll be dying to talk to someone about it!

5. Another popular summer reading list title, "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" is quirky and laugh-out-loud funny. You'll love the musings of teenage Bee in the quest to find her missing mother.