Ellie Grace Volk

April 29, 8pm:  Just a quick update: we are headed to the hospital tomorrow morning.  Ellie is getting x-rays, scans, blood workup and a chemo checkup.  These will be our first big tests since January.  It seems very strange to have gone 3 months.  We originally were going to the hospital every day, then we went once a week for 6 months, then once a month for another 6 months, and we will now start going every 3 months.  It does make me a little nervous to only go every 3 months.  There was something reassuring about going in often.  We knew we would catch any reoccurence of cancer quickly.  Three months seems like a long time.  But we really feel like Ellie is doing great and we are prayerful that we will not have any surprises tomorrow.  I truly feel like God is going to allow Ellie to recover and He will keep illness away.

I will keep you updated!  Thanks for your constant prayers and support.  We are blessed by you!!

"I will never leave you or forsake you."  Hebrews 13:5

April 25, 4pm: Here is a picture of Ellie at the dentist with our great dental assistant, Sarah.  She had her first dental check-up this week.  We found that Ellie actually had 2 cavities.  We were told that those could have occured because of her chemo treatments.  Chemo drugs make the mouth very dry and not much salivia is produced, making it easier to get cavities.  We went ahead and had both of the cavities filled right away.  Ellie was a trooper about it all.

Next week Ellie goes in for a complete workup at the hospital.  She will get a chest x-ray, an abdominal ultrasound, blood workup and a chemo checkup.  I'll keep you updated on it.  They just want to make sure everything still looks good. Her appointment is Thursday. 

One day this week, Ellie went with me as I took Lexie to both an orthodontist appointment and a chiropractic appointment.   As we were leaving the second appointment, Ellie said to me, "You mean no one is going to do anything to ME?"  She was so surprised to have gone to two medical offices and none of it be about her.  It was a nice change for her!

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name, make known among the nations what He has done."  Psalm 105:1

April 21, noon:  We had an amazing time in South Dakota this weekend for the Make-A-Wish fundraiser. The theme was "Pretty in Pink" and we had pink treats, balloons, lemonade... everything pink! It was a celebration for Ellie's recovery and a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish. Many people came out to help us celebrate and Make-A-Wish raised quite a bit of money. Ellie and I shared our story and we were overwhelmed with the support we received. The room was filled with our "Ellie Grace Prayer Circle" bracelets. Many people whom I have never met, but who have been following the site, came out to meet us. It was incredible and we had a wonderful time. I am, once again, amazed and humbled by the generousity of others. This journey has certainly taught me how incredible people really are. Thank you to all who joined us!

Here is Lexie and me with the organizer of the event, Carol. Carol did so much work to make this event happen. I actually only met Carol at the event. She was moved by Ellie's story and organized the entire event without knowing us. You did a great job, Carol, and we thank you!!

Here is Ellie being sung to by Miss South Dakota, Alex Hoffman. Alex was so sweet to come and join us at the event. She treated Ellie like a princess and was so good to her. Ellie was in heaven!

Here is Alex and Ellie after Alex gave her her own crown! Thank you for your generousity, Alex!!

Here is Ellie with all of the "princesses" as she called them. We had beauty pageant winners from across the state come to celebrate with us. Thank you to all of the girls! Your being there meant a lot to us! Notice how they are all wearing pink! They were all very sweet to Ellie and made her feel so special.

We also celebrated with my family while we were in South Dakota. My dad retired after being the head athletic trainer for South Dakota State University for 42 years! Here is Mitchell and Ellie at his banquet. Congrats Dad!

I also have some other fun news. If you have been following the comments section of this site, you read a wonderful entry from a gal named Cindy. She decided to name her baby Ellie Grace, in part, because of our Ellie Grace. The new Ellie was born on Friday and here she is....

We were humbled and blessed to think that our Ellie could have influenced their decision a little bit. We are so excited to have a new Ellie Grace in the world. Congrats Cindy! She is beautiful!!

For "inspiration" today, I am going to put some of the lyrics that Miss South Dakota sang to Ellie. She sang, "You are a Masterpiece" by Sandi Patti. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Alex sang it. You can google the rest of the lyrics, if you want. They are powerful! Thank you Alex. The song was perfect. Here are a few of the words:

Before you had a name or opened up your eyes
Or anyone could recognize your face.
You were being formed so delicate in size
Secluded in God's safe and hidden place.

With your little tiny hands and little tiny feet
And little eyes that shimmer like a pearl
He breathed in you a song and to make it all complete
He brought the masterpiece into the world.

You are a masterpiece
A new creation He has formed
And you're as soft and fresh as a snowy winter morn.
And I'm so glad that God has given you to me
Little Lamb of God, you are a masterpiece.

April 13, 9pm: We had a great time at the Make-A-Wish fundraiser. Here are Lexie and Ellie watching the Hannah Montana movie (or "Hannah Tana" as Ellie says). Ellie was interviewed at the event by a radio station, but she only nodded or shook her head as she answered questions. That doesn't work too well on the radio! The event was great and raised quite a bit of money for Make-A-Wish. We were very excited to be a part of it!

Ellie is feeling really good and had a wonderful Easter. Last year, she was so weak at Easter and didn't have much energy to find Easter eggs. This year, she ran all over finding eggs. She loved it! Here are a few photos from Easter. We loved watching her excitement. We are just so thankful to be in a completely different place than we were last year, health-wise. What a difference a year makes!

To all of my South Dakota friends, there will be a fun celebration in Brookings on Saturday for Ellie and for Make-A-Wish. A wonderful friend of my mom's has organzied a celebration for Ellie and her recovery. It will also be a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish. Here is a flyer with the details: Pretty in Pink! Ellie and I will share our story at the event and we'd love to have you join us.

As always, I must thank you for your support. It has meant the world to us. Tom and I were a little emotional on Easter Sunday just thinking of how blessed we are. Foremost, that Jesus rose that day for us. That is the biggest blessing of all! We also are so blessed to have our girl with us 15 months after she was diagnosed with cancer. We know a big part of the reason she is here is because of our prayer warriors. How grateful we are to have the support system that we do. So many people praying for her. It is a bit overwhelming to think about. Especially when I get e-mails from people who have never met Ellie, yet they tell us they are praying for her. It has truly taught us so many lessons. I am constantly amazed at the generousity and compassion of others. It certainly makes us want to be better people. What a blessing you all are for us!! Thank you!

"He is risen!" Matthew 28:7

April 9, 11am: Ellie continues to improve. She is getting stronger and starting to get her spunky attitude back. It certainly took her some time to recover from this last health issue, but I think we are almost back to normal.

Ellie has also been chosen to be the "poster child" of the Make-A-Wish fundraiser that I talked about in the last journal entry. I will take a picture of her by the signage that has her picture on it when we attend tomorrow so I can share it with you.

We are feeling so amazingly blessed right now. I am almost overwhelmed with gratitude. Especially as we approach this Easter weekend. I think about how God sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins and it certainly makes our hardships and sacrifices seem insignificant. What we have had to bear is nothing in comparision.

I truly appreciate your continued prayers and support. Thank you so much!

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 21

April 2, 5pm: Ellie is doing great! She is eating well and gaining strength every day. I think her face is starting to look fuller and she is feeling really good.

Here is Ellie with Mitchell and Lexie at my Grandma Addie's 90th birthday party. My grandma is an amazing woman and we were so thrilled to celebrate with her. I am prayerful that those incredible genes have passed down to Ellie and that she also sees 90. Wouldn't that be great?!

If you live in the Lincoln area, here is a link to a flyer about an upcoming Make-A-Wish fundraiser: Make-A-Wish. They will be showing the new Hannah Montana movie. It should be a great time for the girls in your life! I will be taking Ellie and Lexie.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Ellie. We are so appreciative that, even though she is doing much better, you continue to pray for her. We are extremely grateful for our circle of supporters. You truly lift us up.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

March 25, 1pm: Ellie is doing really good. She is recovering from her latest surgery well. I think we may have our girl back. She was doing so good at the end of 2008, but then we had our setback in January and the surgery to remove her port this month, but I think now we are truly back to, almost, normal. She is gaining weight and feeling wonderful. She has a little catching up to do. She is now one of the shorter kids in her age group, but I know that will come. Before she was diagnosed with cancer, she was always one of the taller kids. But she lost 14 months and is now a bit smaller. I know once she has a chance to really start getting stronger, she'll be fine. We are just happy to have a healthy girl!

In our excitement of starting our year off with a surgery, I forgot to update you on our Make-A-Wish fundraiser. We had raised $1000 through our Mary Kay fundraiser and then Tom and I matched that so that we were able to send $2000 to Make-A-Wish. I asked Kiley from Make-A-Wish to give us an idea of where the money would go. She said that they had two families who were going on international wishes. Our money would cover 9 passports, enhancement gifts, and the sendoff parties for those families. Kiley said, "Your donation will help Shelby and Manizha's wish come true!" So thank you to everyone who donated to our fundraiser or prayed for our success. I am so grateful that, together, we were able to help two other children fulfill their wishes!

Thanks also for your continued prayers and support for Ellie. We are so extremely grateful to you! We feel very blessed. I cannot help but stare into those big blue eyes of hers and thank God that He allowed her to stay with us. I am thankful for each and every day with her!

"He is your praise; He is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes." Deuteronomy 10:21