Hello everybody! Finally I have a chance to sit down and write about Michael's adventures in the Relay for Life. If you haven't seen them already, please take a look at the pictures! What a fantastic time we had. If you have never been involved in the relay, I would strongly recomend finding a relay in your area and participating. You won't be sorry. On Friday after school, we went to the field where the relay was held and set up camp. Our team had tents, Michael and his brother William wanted to sleep there overnight, and tables and food. Our theme was "SURVIVOR: THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK" from the hit TV series. I wrote to CBS, and they were kind enough to donate some logo merchandise to us. We decorated with a large alligator, torches, snakes and a flag with the name of our "tribe," GAWUGA-A, which is Aboriginal for "head of hair." Appropriate for a team of cancer survivors! Michael and I also had a lot of fun the week before in a bead shop creating an immunity necklace (you would have had to have seen the show to understand). By 6:00 Michael had registred and received a Relay for Life button with a purple ribbon hanging down that said "SURVIVOR". The crowd then gathered for the opening ceremony. After the National Anthem, Invocation and welcome, I spoke to the crowd about Michael's experience with cancer. It was far more emotional than I had expected. It was the first time I had told his story aloud in a long time and it certainly stirred some old feelings. I then introduced Michael and explained that he was wearing a sash with the names of 100 children who's lives were affected by cancer. Next, the survivors stepped onto the track for the opening lap of the relay. During Michael's treatment, we met a 10 month old girl named Emma. On the day the doctors told her parents that her leukemia was in remission, a ladybug landed on her shoulder. She has since been the princess of the ladybugs. Well there stood Micheal front and center ready to walk, when along came a ladybug. Being 8, he of course thought it was a cool find and decided to carry it instead of the torch. Although he does not know how special the ladybug is for Emma, it made me feel it was a sign of support for Michael's work. Thank you Emma. So with the names of his friends draped around his neck off he went on the first lap, with about 75 adult survivors behind him. It was so overwhelming and joyous to see my son leading the way. The American Cancer Society hosted a dinner indoors for the survivors and their families after the first lap. At dusk, luminaries were lit all around the track in memory/honor of cancer victims. How beautiful to see the glow of the candles in the dark. I became very reflective thinking about the lives of the people whose names appeared on the bags. During the lighting of the luminaries, the names were read out loud one at a time. I turned in the list of 100 childrens names we had collected and had those read off as well. It was very emotional to hear what seemed like a never ending list of childrens names. We definetly made people sit up and take notice. But by far the most cathartic moment came, when I met the Grandparents of Amanda. Amanda died on January 12, 2000 at the age of 13 from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Her Mom, Aurora, who lives in Canada, sent me Amanda's name and put me in touch with her parents who also live in Palm Coast. Meeting Roxanne and Frank was truly the highlight of the project. The love they felt being there as a part of their granddaughters' memory made it all worth while. Thank you Roxanne and Frank for sharing this very special time with us. Michael also raised money for his team as a part of the relay events. He wrote a letter explaining that he had cancer and how thankful he is to still be alive. He went on to ask if people would please make a donation to support The American Cancer Society for cancer research, so that others may realize the same survival that he has. He hand addressed about 100 envelopes to send out his letter. He raised over $1100. His team mates gave him credit for some money they had raised, and Michael ended up winning the trophy for most money raised by an individual, over $3,000. His team also won for most money raised by a team, with over $7,000. Michael spent about 3 hours total on the track over the 18 hours we were there. He had his rollerblades and just kept going. He also helped the team captain at the "Relay Store", and walked around selling glow light sticks at night. He said he already has plans for being a part of the relay next year. When we came home from the relay on Sat., I checked my e-mail and found two more names. I let out a big "Oh,No", in dissappointment that the relay was over. When I told Michael about the names, he suggested that we continue collecting names to see how many we can get within the next year to bring to the relay. I am a Michael's biggest fan and will do whatever I can to support his efforts. So I am going to see if I can find a sponsor to help with the cost of keeping this project going. I will, of course let all of our new friends at SQUIRREL TALES know all the details when I have them. We took loads of pictures which will be ready on Wednesday. I will work on getting the pictures on the computer. (I still do not have a digital camera. what a relic I am!!!!) Last but not least, I must thank all of you for participating and supporting Michael and I on this project. I know how very special our children are to us, and am grateful to have had the chance to share so many of your stories. Some made me cry, some made me laugh but all of the stories made me love. God Bless all our new Friends. Debra and Michael Debra Naughton Palm Coast , FL USA - April 23, 2001 Thank you Debra for that beautiful story. —Rosaleen Perry