Written on May 12th

Happy 32nd Birthday Crystal I hope your weekend was exactly what you wanted it to be. You beat the odds to be here at age 30, and it is already two years later. You are a courageous warrior, we are blessed to still have you here with us celebrating, and we know how lucky we are as a family to have had so many miracles with you May 23rd we head back to Mayo already, hoping for good news. Crystal you have a busy year ahead, hope God agrees with your plans. Love You

Written on May 22nd

We are on our way to Rochester for Crystal’s 3 Month Check. Yes, we were just there April 11th for her procedure to remove a tumor from her lung, and it is already that time again. 

The heart races, the worry of the “what if’s” and then remembering to keep living through it all.

We should have our answers for her next step by 5pm tomorrow. 

With the sad story of the tornado in Greenfield, Iowa I think to myself with all that devastation and loss there, that you know someone on top of all of that, is also battling cancer, or some other form of heartache and struggle.

So I have decided to use Crystal’s words from April of 2013.

Me: In her intensive care room responding to a remark Crystal had said.

“Crystal is God in here with you?”

Crystal: “Yes, and at night when I can hear the lady crying in the other room, I tell him to go be with her because I am good right now.”

So prayers warriors, we know God is with us but we are doing well, so please send those prayers to Greenfield, Iowa right now.

Here is our fighter embracing the moment this last weekend with her Uncle Joey’s bike at his Memorial Ride. To think that a year ago tomorrow we would be at his wake and this year we will pray for good news.

Written on May 23rd

As we are doing our tests today, and of course have time in between them. Crystal brings up a young woman who found her on a podcast she did back in 2020.
The crazy thing about the podcast is Crystal and I have never listened to it. Crystal didn’t want to hear her voice and we already know her story lol
Anyway, today we will visit with this young fighter and her mom.
God puts people in your life for a reason 🙏🏻

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/project-purple-podcast/id1355013636?i=1000499565281

Written on May 23rd

What a beautiful day in Rochester, MN today. Our lunch was perfect on the patio and through out the day I could feel Joey saying, “It will be good Tiff”.

Waiting for her team to enter the room is such a scary feeling. When the door opens you feel like you are holding your breath.

As they enter we are surprised to see McWilliams, her main doctor come in as he was not expected to be there. It made us nervous as we felt maybe something was up, and then he says right away.

Her scans are good. Everything is the same. And he smiles. Everyone has shook hands and hugged. She will come back in September 💜

I really don’t know what to say except thank you to everyone who has followed her story, had faith, filled us with hope and Joey, I guess you were right💜

Music is on, windows down as we head home and I think, we really got good news and I get to enjoy life for a bit. Crystal, so happy for you sweetie 💜

Written April 11th

Crystal has gone back And her team of doctors are amazing and Hawkeye fans!

Gage and I happen to be wearing the same shirt today, not planned. So needless to say, it’s a good start to the day

Courtney & Cassidy here we go

Written April 11th

Thank you for the prayers & positive vibes. Crystal is in her room and doing absolutely wonderful The procedure was a success.

11 years ago, she was walking after a Whipple Surgery and today she is smiling after an Ablation Procedure in the right lung.

As her nurse said to us, I bet they have written her in the Medical Books. Crystal’s Story is a Big Deal here, as she is a walking miracle. Also Caitlin Clark is a Big Deal here too, which has been fun having everyone asking us about her

As for the ones asking about Bob and his Open Heart Surgery, one day at a time, but he is now in Rehab

Life sure is full of emotions, and trusting the path can be so exhausting but yet bring you peace

Written on March 14th

So Crystal has finally learned her news of her next step. It was a little crazy with three different teams of doctors figuring out the best way to get the tumor, that happens to be near a blood vessel. Then there is Spring Break and vacations with doctors/nurses so figuring out the schedule. She is not excited about it and is exhausted. She has talked pretty much to every team of doctors, and made them tell her the reason why we need to do it this way so she could understand and feel confident.
Her surgery will be April 11th. A cute story, as the ablation doctor Schmidt, switched his schedule for her as he wants to be the one to do this procedure, we are very lucky 🍀 He has done most of her ablations. He knows her, he knows us.
Thank you for your kind words and the messages wondering what has been going on. We have just been waiting to hear before I said something to our prayer warriors. You have been with us since the beginning, I wouldn’t forget you.
Here is a cute picture from yesterday that Cassidy took, I’m sure Courtney will be doing that with Cassidy tomorrow 😉

Written on March 27th

11 years ago today, I was in shock, disbelief, scared and terribly sad. We had received the news about Crystal. I cried so much, as Crystal watched and listened to everything I would say as I explained this devastating news to others. It still makes me tear up thinking about it.

So as your grandma Shari takes us out to eat to celebrate this cancerversary and prepare for another battle next month, your kind waiter surprises us and treats you. God has a wonderful plan and always knows when you need a lift. Thank you James.

On another note, I need to brag about this other daughter of mine, Courtney. 7 years ago on this day she started her new career at Coral West Dental, and such a gift that 7 years later she still loves what she does, I am proud of the woman you are Courtney. I never realized it was on the same day as Crystal’s New Birthday.

We are off, and look who is driving us, our fighter, Crystal Marie Barnett. We sure would love our prayer warriors keeping Crystal in their thoughts yet again for another trip to Mayo.

Crystals sweatshirt today:

PowHERful
She overcame everything that was meant to destroy her.

The last three/four months have flown by. We have enjoyed our holidays and the arrival of Hadley, that was just 9 days ago. We actually got to enjoy lunch at the hospital on Valentines with our daughters, which will be one of my favorite memories.

How is Crystal feeling? She really is doing great! Granted a few weeks ago, she was a little under the weather, with symptoms that resembled her cancer. That brings in a lot of anxiety and worry. However keeping busy, praying, finding the good, Crystal wasn’t in that place very long.
It was sad to think about the what ifs, to think of her worries, yes there were some tears as a mom.
But the day is here, tomorrow is a day of tests, tests and more tests and then…We hear the news. Is the treatment still working? Have tumors shrunk? What will be next?
God, I sure hope you hear how thankful I am for the gifts we have received, I feel like I have been so busy, and overwhelmed that I haven’t taken the time to tell you.

Waiting for the next step….

A photo of our coffee before the news….

As we are leaving Rochester it is snowing and getting colder.
We thank you for all the prayers, texts and messages. Actually they help more than you know, it is crazy how someone you have never met can send a note of kindness and make you smile.
So we have our news, here we go.
As the door opens, your heart races and you can feel the energy of the doctor, you know something is up.
Great news, nothing new, everything is stable except one in her lung. It has doubled in size and we need to take care of it. We will learn more on how they will be doing that, and could be doing the procedure in the next week.
As Crystal said in her words, very calmly…I feel good. I am not in pain. I am going to look at it this way as it can always be worse.
Courtney & Cassidy 💜

Some of your questions.

Good morning the sun is out here in Iowa and I have read almost all of your messages, thank you for sending them. The biggest question I’m getting asked is, how is Crystal really doing? Well, I can tell you watching my daughter’s face when she received the news was heartbreaking. As you could see it in crystals‘s eyes that she was shocked, sad, disappointed, wanted to cry but also deep down knew it could be worse news, so that kept her calm. I am sure knowing Crystal like I do she feels she needs to stay strong for Gage, the family and her mom. However, Gage is uplifting. He’s positive, I know why God put him in her life, in our families life. To me he is just a kid, but gosh I sure need him there with us. 

So, how is Crystal doing? She is taking it minute by minute. She is disappointed, she doesn’t want to go through another procedure, she is nervous, she has anxiety already about the next appointment and what they would find. Worry and fear can be very ugly. However, her team of doctors have always said she will fight this for the rest of her life, and that the goal is just do our best to stay ahead of it. This is where your Fighter says, “Mom I have no pain, I can walk, I can go outside, I can breathe. I feel good. I’m going to trust my team of doctors because I’ve already beaten the odds, and that’s really how I have to look at it. I feel good.” 

The next big question is the treatment is not working then? And has she been doing the treatment this entire time? The answer is the treatment is working, as we can see. The tumors have shrunk, and they have not multiplied, except for this one tumor in the lung that has doubled in size. The treatment that Crystal did do, which was four infusions that overtime is supposed to do what it is exactly doing. It is working, granted that can change at anytime but for now I am going to go with that it is doing its job. But those infusions are done, they continue to fight in her body. Now we wait, we do the every three month appointments and fight whatever pops up. And hoping we can always fight. If that makes sense. 

And the third question, how are you mom? Well, secretly in the back of the car while Crystal drove us home I cried. I was doing my best to keep you all informed, responding to all your messages and thinking of all the good that we do have. However I did tell a few very dear friends that, “I swear the devil is trying to bring me down”. 

Before I fell asleep last night, I started thinking of my last year. I was thinking last year I was getting ready to celebrate my birthday, put on a huge Spirit Show with some of my best friends, perform in Las Vegas, close my studio doors after 30 years on my terms, everything seemed to be going the way I wanted it to. It was going the way I planned it with the obstacles that had been put in my life. However, God filled me with hope so I pushed forward. I was proud of what I had accomplished in life, and yet I was so thankful that I had a guardian angel (my grandmother) making sure I would take the highroad in life when it would’ve been easier to not. I began thinking about how mad I was at God when I was growing up. I went to a Catholic school and I remember when I would pray I would think of all the bad things in my life that I couldn’t control and blamed him. I really didn’t talk to God much as I grew up, I believed in him but hated everything that seemed to be bad in my life.

As I grew up, raised my family, I slowly found blessings, it is hard to see them when you are young. A big blessing was starting this thing called the CR Spirits. I realized that God had put people in my life for a reason, and that reason really wasn’t about me. It was for others. With my daughter’s journey, fighting stage four pancreatic cancer, neuroendocrine tumors for the last 11 years, her fight, has help me find God. Her journey has opened my eyes to miracles. Her journey has helped me see my blessings through all the bad stuff that came with it.

But this last year, thinking that everything was going the way I wanted it to sure has reminded me how life can change and so can your thoughts. Gosh if the world could just stop for a moment so I can catch my breath.

I lost my brother suddenly. A simple man who unconditionally loved me, who had never hurt me. Really just like my grandma, she was perfect in my eyes, I was 9 when I lost her.

I have watched my mother cry the last 9 months more than I’ve ever seen her cry. I find strength in her but then my heart hurts for her. I’ve watched my nephew find himself again with some of the bad choices he has made which also tears at the heart. I have watched my brothers items be sold and yet realizing I need to get my stuff in order as I am 53.

Life really is hard, and choosing to rise above it takes work, daily. No one knows your story, no one knows what you have lived, and in 100 years we will all be gone so what is important? I guess sharing kindness, being honest and helping others. Staying away from negative people. Staying away from story tellers.

I have watched my daughters grow into the most beautiful women, and to be blessed with two granddaughters has made me smile, and it reminded me that there are other things that you can be happy for.

Devil, you are not going to bring me down…Today is a new day, you might have taken my night but not today, I don’t have time. I want to help others see the light. 

Guardian Angel up above, please protect the ones I love.

Written on October 30th, 2023 @ 6pm

Well Joey, it is that time. It is that time for Crystal to head back to Mayo. Oh I know you are with her, as she says she can feel it.

November 1st is almost here and we will be heading to Rochester. She will have her MRI that evening, with more appointments following the next day. And then, the big meeting with her team of doctors to learn if this treatment has been working.
As Crystal just recently said, “I am scared, and mom if it is not good news, I will need a few weeks to myself. I know Joey is watching over me but I think I will be mad and scared all at once if the news is not what I want to hear”.
As a mother it broke my heart to hear that, it actually made my heart race to even think of the treatment not working, and yet I sure understood everything she was saying.

How is Crystal? She looks great. She feels well too. She also continues to live life to the fullest. She takes things day by day. She is grateful that she has fought this cancer long enough to even have new treatments to try, but that doesn’t take away the anxiety, the fear, the worry. She is a fighter and somedays can even have survivors guilt.

Since closing our Spirit Doors in March, life sure has kept my family on its toes. The loss of my brother, Crystal’s uncle, has been extremely hard on our small family as we are close.
Over the years watching my daughter fight, I have learned so much about myself, about people, about God, about the power of prayer and how believing can give you peace.
The easiest way to find peace is do everything in life with love.
When I think of her battle, the fear, the worry, my mind protects my heart, it automatically thinks of something else. I can do that because my fighter is still here. She is still alive.
But when I think of my brother, our childhood, my grandmother and father who have passed, the hurt is overwhelming so much that when I go to think of something else the guilt sets in. It is like I am forgetting him, like I don’t want to think of him but yet I don’t want to forget him. I want to keep his energy alive but yet it hurts to think of him. Kind of a strange thought process, and writing it makes you cry and laugh at yourself. I am sure I am not alone.

You know I love photos, I think in a previous life I was a photographer. Hahaha
I think I love the moment when everyone is taking that photo, that smile, and in that split second everyone is together, but everyone’s memory of that day in that picture, will always be different. That is the beauty of it. And in the end that is all you have.
Family, friends, nothing is perfect but I sure like to surround myself with ones that build you up verses tearing you down.
As I would always say to my dance team, you will never be this young again, this size, and this moment will never happen again….Embrace it because it truly is a gift.

Thank you from our family to yours. Rod, Crystal, Gage, Courtney, Alec, Cassidy, James, Hazel, Baby Girl coming in February and Me💜

Happy Halloween to you all. Love and kindness is a beautiful thing to pass out that night. I thank you all for your prayers these last 10 years for my family. I feel very lucky that God guided me to write my beautiful daughter’s journey as she sure received many prayer warriors because of it.

Hello August, we are going home…

Thank you for the prayers, the positive notes and kindness. Gage is driving us home as Crystal rests her eyes. I can say this treatment went smooth compared to last time but it is still a rough couple of weeks. However, the treatment is now done. A total of 4.
November is when we will learn if it is actually working. We will learn if the tumors have shrunk, remained the same, have grown or multiplied. It is scary to think about as this treatment is $400,000.00, plus our time, the hotel rooms, the gas and watching her be sick while we wonder if it is working.
Courtney, Cassidy & Hazel I think Crystal is looking forward to some girl time.

And mom…thinking of Joey being here is comforting and sad. It is a blessing to take so many photos but then everyday there is a Timehop memory. Today, two years ago…We were going to Billy Idol, front row. I am so glad I took the time to get those tickets and watched Foxie sing to him. Joey loved every minute. Every minute. Gosh, I miss him but the perfect Guardian Angel we have.

Update…

Before we head to Mayo, Crystal & Gage thought we should go to the races!
A night with Gage’s mom & dad, and Crystal’s mom & dad🥰
Yes, it is that time for Crystal to go. We sure would take those prayers, those positive vibes you always send Crystal and our family. At this time it will be her 4th and final treatment before we learn in the fall if it has been working.
How is she doing? I think we are all doing well, with the one day at a time attitude.
2023 has been a little rough for our family and yet we try our best to see the blessings, to trust the path however, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been extremely difficult.
Thank you for showing us your kindness🙏🏻

3rd Treatment…

Written on Sunday, June 4th @ 8:45pm

Tonight I sit quietly in the den, it is time for an update. Oh how hard it is for me to write today but I can’t stop this tradition, as my daughter has been blessed with prayers from all over the last 10 years, so here we go.

As I sit here with a million things running through my mind, I take a moment and tap my chest three times. Now take in where I am, I can hear the humming of my air conditioner, looking out the window, I can see that my grass was excited to see some rain today. I quickly think graduation time, I missed a few this year, that makes me sad. Hmmmm I need to find Crystal’s graduation pic. Okay….Now what has Crystal been up too since April 8th. 

Crystal wasn’t feeling the greatest after this last treatment, it was a little rougher on her. But in about 10 days, she fights her way back to finding the positive. So here we go again, we will leave very early in the morning, appointments on Monday, radiation on Tuesday. Your prayers would be so welcomed and we thank you in advance. But this time, will be different trip to Mayo as our hearts have broken, before that happened tho…

We got to celebrate Easter together, Hazel turned the wonderful age of 2, Crystal turned 31 and Mother’s Day couldn’t have been better. To top it off, Crystal, my mom and I went to Madison, WI for the Shania Twain Concert! This was something that Crystal was determined to do. She wanted to see Hailey Whitters open for one of her favorite stars. So VIP it was! There is a cute story with the Whitters family and Crystal, but it pulls at the heart strings and I don’t think I can go there tonight with that. 

No sooner from the high of the concert, the perfect weather, getting home safely, and taking that moment to thank God for this time, this moment with my mother who is 72, and my daughter who fights everyday to be here, and then BOOM…Our world changed.

I received a phone call at 8:07pm from my brothers best friend. I was told he was being air lifted to the University, and it was bad. I needed to call my mom, whom I had just dropped off from a night of fun. I can’t type this all yet without crying. I will never forget those calls. Their voices. That night.

My brother was with his friends, doing what he loved. A beautiful night on a motorcycle, his midweek dinner rides with his buddies. I guess God needed him home, they believe he had gone into cardia arrest on his motorcycle. He never lost control of his bike, he just drove straight off the road. Some say maybe he could see the light and went home. My heart hurts. Our family will never be the same.

My brother was a simple man, kind and from his visitation/funeral we learned he had many many friends. I did my best to take in everyone of them and their stories. Isn’t that what life is about, finding the connection, the love?

As Crystal said so sweetly, with tears in her eyes. “Mom, when I go to Mayo, and when I get scared about what might happen to me. I now feel like I have someone on the other side waiting for me. Because I know him and I know Joey will be waiting for me. I am going to miss him so much”.

I am trying my best God. One day at a time. But please watch over my mom, because I don’t think I could handle another loss in this very small family of mine. 

We are home, Crystal is resting.

As I drove us home this afternoon, I was thinking about how different it feels to not worry about hearing the results of your cancer spreading, or growing. I mean right now she does the treatment, so you worry about how her body takes it but you can’t go to the next step of worry because you are remaining hopeful that this treatment is working. In a strange way, it is nice.

Also on this beautiful day in Rochester, I sat outside of Mayo to take in the sunshine for a bit. There, I met a woman named Judy. We talked for a very long time. I could tell when she sat by me that she needed an ear to listen, to visit with. However, I think God wanted me to hear her story, as she touched my heart, she inspired me.

What started out as a brief conversation of what she could eat and how checking into her appointments was difficult for her at first, I could feel that she had a kind heart by the way she spoke. Judy, a 78 year old petite, confident woman, was traveling by herself from Michigan, for a possible lung transplant in Rochester. Coming from a family of lawyers, listening to her thoughts and her opinions, I smiled. Her history, her stories, were touching. A very smart woman. I told Judy I was so proud of her for traveling alone, still fighting, not giving up. I shared a little of Crystal’s Story with her as we walked to get a water together, and as we part ways I could feel the happiness we both shared. I couldn’t wait to tell Crystal and my mom all about her.
Thank you God for letting me meet her today.
And to everyone, let’s say a prayer for Judy too. I hope that I get to see the age of 78, I hope that I still have that fight in me, that drive that inspires others.

10 Years Ago…

On this sunny day in Iowa, I sent in my kitchen with the sliding glass door open, the sun feels good on my face. I can hear the wind and my chimes outside and I think to myself on what I was doing on this day years ago.

Tonight I will prepare for Easter, very different than what I was doing 10 years ago. This photo of Crystal was taken in our hotel room in Rochester, MN on this day. Crystal wanted to look at her stomach one more time before there was going to be a scar, so we took a photo and then we laughed. Crystal was fighting for her life, we were not even sure she should would make it through the surgery, let alone beat the cancer that was taking over her little body. And here we are 10 years later, still fighting for her life and still smiling. She really is a miracle that she is still with us. That is why we have to believe in them.

I am sorry I have not really updated lately. It has been crazy busy for all of us. As many of you know I have closed the CR Spirits Dance Studio doors after 30 years. We had our sold out Spirit Show, “END of an ERA”, which was an amazing night. Then the team headed to Vegas to perform, a fantastic girl trip. When we got back to Iowa, we immediately began to move out of our Studio in the mall. However, we can’t forget the night that we got to see the Spirits Movie on the Big Screen, needless to say there has been a lot going on. It has been bittersweet. I wanted to go out on a high note, so 30 years was a good number to end on. I think in this last month Crystal and I have hit every emotion possible, which they say that means you have lived a full day when you do that, I would say we lived a full year then.

As for Crystal’s new treatment. It is scary, it is not a fun week afterwards either. She is extremely sick. And then, we will have no idea if it is even working until we get closer to Christmas. So we wait. To top it off, the issues with insurance. This one treatment cost $200,000.00 and she needs four of them, like that doesn’t add stress to our family. One day at a time we tell ourselves, we believe insurance is now on board.

How is Crystal doing? She has been great. She feels and looks good. Has she had a hard time with the Spirits coming to an end, yes. Her tears make me question the step I took, yet I also believe that God has a plan for us both and I trust him. With that being said, Crystal and Gage went on a vacation to Mexico. She made sure the studio was done before she would plan to book it. She has kept herself busy.

Crystal will celebrate Easter with family and then we will head to Mayo very early Monday morning for her second treatment. Next week will be very hard for her. She sure has had some highs, performing, traveling, shopping, and then some lows, sick with treatment, ending the Spirits, dealing with insurance. All in a month. I think acknowledging all those feels, makes you embrace each moment. Maybe that is what God is trying to tell us, to be hopeful, to embrace the moment, to live each day.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter. I hope you all find your true Spirit. And I thank you in advance for your kindness, prayers and support as we head into her second treatment. 

I am in shock, I can’t seem to shake it, so maybe writing about it will help.

2023 is suppose to be my year of TRUST. I am trusting God with this next part of my new life’s journey after the CR Spirits of 30 years comes to an end in March. I am trusting God that I am exactly where he wanted me to be. That I have fulfilled what he wanted me to do with the gift he gave me.I am trusting God with Crystal’s new treatment. A new plan for her life’s journey, that it will work and we will see no more new tumors, or growth of the other ones. I trust that she remains hopeful and positive through this change in her career, her health, her life.

But 2023 has started out with fear, heartache, worry and now anger. “Someone” I will not mention as I will not give her any more attention. “Someone” I have prayed for, that I have followed on social media. “Someone” that my heart hurt for her and her family. “Someone” I have never met but if I could help, I wanted to. That “someone”, well she was arrested yesterday for the fundraisers she has had with her battle with cancer, actually the same cancer as Crystal fights. Her GoFund Me has raised over $37,000 that is just GoFund Me! She was very close to the same age as Crystal when she was diagnosed almost a year ago. This has been going on for almost a year….WOW. So believable and yet a lie? Yes, she was arrested for fraud.

I can’t even imagine doing something like this. It hurts my heart and I am still in disbelief. The fundraisers we have had for Crystal has literally gone to medical, hotels, gas, bills etc.. We have never misused any of it. And as sad, as embarrassing as it is to say, we needed it. Rod and I needed it, Crystal and Gage needed it as it helped with hotel stays, those extra expenses, etc.. And as the fundraising money has gone, her expenses still remain and this next new form of treatment is even more costly. This time will need to be at Mayo for each treatment which is every other month, besides her quarterly check ups there. The money, the worry, again I find myself using my word for the year, TRUST, trusting God.And then I see this “someone” a young woman lie? Really?

Crystal’s journey has helped me find God again. It has helped me be a better person, as a women, a daughter, a mother, a wife, a friend, a coach, her heartache showed me that there is good people out there and we sure have lived through it the last 10 years.

Things you may not know, as I choose to only share with close family/friends over the years is:Crystal has had people approach her on this journey stating that she is lying of her cancer.

She doesn’t look sick. She seems fine.

One night out with friends, a group of women asked her to show them her scar because they didn’t believe her…People she never has met and trying to pick a fight.

But Crystal has graciously stayed calm, but I will be honest, her mother struggled.

I received a letter also in the beginning of this journey that Crystal’s path is because of the choices I have made…I was sickened but my fighter gave me strength and reminded me of who I am, and that my choices have been just fine.

The people that came into her sisters lives for support but were there for the wrong intentions, we have prayed for them. As a mom, I always reminded my girls to listen to how they talk, does their words match their actions. Look at them today, time heals as you get wiser.

The family that has stated their opinions to others, that has eventually come back to us, very hurtful, but we have risen above it. We can’t choose our family but we can choose who we respect and who we trust.

This fighter, this mother of a fighter has had friends/people suggest that Crystal uses this cancer for attention, that her mother uses it for marketing her business. Crystal has smiled and said mom, pray for them, they need it more than me, than us.

There are countless stories, shocking ones but not ready to share, not ready to give it attention.So when I saw this news last night of this “someone”, I couldn’t sleep, I dwelled on it. I feel bad for her next chapter in life, as her words have not matched her actions. Yet, I believe you are innocent until you are proven guilty. Just because you don’t look sick, doesn’t mean that you are not.

And as for Crystal’s prayer warriors, thank you for never giving up, for believing, for loving our family like it is yours, 10 years of fighting, I couldn’t imagine not having the support and prayers from so many.

On Valentine’s Day, Crystal will not be eating chocolate, she will be having an 8 hour radiation cocktail. The worry, the fear, I can’t describe for her but as her mom, it is heart wrenching. As Crystal has called Mayo twice now, making sure she will be fine to dance on the stage one last time. Saturday, March 4th END of an ERA!

TRUST….