RADIATION IS DONE!!

Yup, that's right, you read that correctly...

Beth is DONE with radiation.

She's not done yet - a few minor surgeries, but this journey is almost complete.

She can finally get her life back (much like her hair - which is looking FAB-U-LOUS by the way)

I can't even express how amazed I am at my friend.

She didn't give up.

She didn't curl up in a ball.

She got stronger.

She got braver.

This has made her realize how MUCH she means - to everyone.

She faced this battle with both guns blaring. Her resolve never wavered.

It's made her realize the truly important things in her life.

It's made her realize that there are somethings worth fighting for - and there are some things that simply aren't worth wasting time and energy on.

It's made her realize that she deserves so much.

And it's made me incredibly proud of her.

I'm thankful every day for you, Beth.

Surgery was successful!!

Beth had her surgery today. We went to the hospital at 6 am and they wheeled her back at 7:30 (I only got a LITTLE teary eyed). The first part of her surgery (the double mastectomy with lymph node removal) took about 4 hours, at which time the plastic surgeon took over and started the reconstruction. He finished up about 2 and a half hours later and she's now in recovery. They expect that she'll be there for another 2 hours or so and then will go to her room, where we can finally see her.

We've had lots of company coming in and out of the waiting room today, checking on Beth, offering to bring us food and drinks and keeping us distracted. We have been posting updates on Facebook, and that's usually where you'll see updates first.

Although Beth believes she'll be feeling well enough to go home tomorrow, this is major surgery and with three kids and three dogs at home, most of her family and friends feel maybe another day in the hospital wouldn't be such a bad idea :) But, that's a battle (and I do mean BATTLE) for tomorrow.

Once again, thank you everyone for the encouraging words and prayers for Beth.

It's been awhile!

But that's good news, because it means that there's nothing BAD to report!

Beth is now finished with chemo (YAY BETH!) and is preparing for her surgery, which has been scheduled for July 13th. We are looking for volunteers to help Beth that first week to ten days after surgery. She will have limited use of her arms and can't lift anything over TWO POUNDS. So, if anyone would like to volunteer to bring dinner, hang out with her during the day and keep an eye on the kids, clean the house, do her laundry, go to the grocery store and take her to her doctor appointments, please let me know.

Thanks so much everyone! And please say a little prayer for Ciana, who is now in Oklahoma City starting her 6 week round of radiation. She's a brave little girl!!

Sad News

Our thoughts and prayers are with Debbie Williams today, as she lost her beloved husband, Don Barnes, unexpectedly.

Debbie gives her heart, her time and her love to those who need it - and not just through PPF. She needs all of us now, so please say a prayer, send good thoughts, and take a few minutes to give your loved ones a hug.

We're thinking about you Debbie, and we love you.

Amazing....

That's the only word to describe yesterday. We raised nearly $17,000 at the concert and auction yesterday. That's on top of ticket sales.

Our grand total to Beth and Ciana?

$22,000.00

Amazing.

PRAYERS PLEASE

Ciana was admitted this morning to Hopkins due to a fever. Her blood counts are very low so they are treating her now.

Please say an extra prayer for this sweet baby girl.

WE'RE ONE DAY AWAY!!!!!

Tomorrow is the big day!!

Couple of things:

Yes, we will have a limited number of lunch tickets and concert tickets at the door.

If you have a concert only ticket, you will not be able to get in until 12:30, however if you want to upgrade your tickets at the door, and we have some still available, you can :)

The silent auction will begin at 11:00 and continue until about 3:00

Raffle tickets will be sold and we will have raffles every hour

The response from the community has been outstanding and "thank you" just doesn't seem enough...

We are going to have so much fun - I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!!!

Do you still need a ticket??

We can't take any more mail ticket orders because, well quite frankly, your tickets won't get to you in time. But, you can go to Champions and buy them ahead of time, or you can swing by the Citgo station across from the Barbara Fritchie restaurant on Route 40 and ask for Brian. He's got tickets for you there.

We're getting down to the wire here and we're crazy with last minute details to make sure this event is successful - not just for Beth and Ciana - but for all of you wonderful people who have helped us, sold tickets, bought tickets, made donations, volunteered your time, *cough* listened to me freak out *cough*, and helped in so many other ways.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Deb

1989 Lincoln Town Car

Here she is.......

LOTS of gadgets, completely loaded, garage kept, in excellent condition.......

The leather seats in the back don't even look like they've been sat on....

Sunroof

Lots of chrome.

About 86,000 miles. Over 21 years? WOW.

The trunk is HUGE

All of the original Owners manuals are here.

Shiny!!

"Signature Series" = LOADED

I can just see this sitting in your driveway......Can you?

The Eagle has landed.......

Erm, well, it's a big larger than an eagle......

We just picked up a donated car for the auction! 1989 Lincoln Town Car - Signature Series 5.0 liter V-8 LOADED - Garage Kept and SOOOOOOOO Clean. 84,000 miles and has had the same owner since 1991. Lots of gadgets and bells and whistles - pictures soon!!!!!

Thank you Mrs. Norris!!!!

Yesterday.

THE VIDEO IS NOW POSTED AND RUNNING

Misou Ho, a fabulous photographer (who also happens to be my brother's significant other, lucky me) took some photos yesterday so we could send them in to the TV station. (Those are her still photos you see on the broadcast.

Ciana - aka "Hurricane". Never would I have ever believed she's sick. She laughed and giggled and blew kisses and ran around.....

What a sweet face...

So then Misou said, "Let's go outside and take some pictures!" It was beautiful so we all gathered outside. Little did I know they'd make me do these things......

"you want me to do what?"

And there she goes....

She's already over and I'm still not sure if I want to do it.....

"And now you want me to do what???"

Hey! We made it!!

Um, please don't leave me up here....

(Those of you that know me are now in hysterics over the fact that, number one, I actually climbed a tree and number two couldn't get down! Beth certainly was!)

Seriously. Get me down please.

And here's where we realized the tree had injured me on my journey down. I had a boo-boo. Beth was quite amused. Me? Mot so much.

Tim & Beth - he's single ladies (He paid me to say that)

This is what talking to each other several times a day while organizing a benefit concert will do to people. We used to be friends.

It was great fun :)

Check out Misou's photo blog here : http://colormelife.wordpress.com/

Television interview

http://your4state.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=108265

I'm not sure if the video is up yet, but the story is there.

POST EDIT: The video won't be up until after the 11 0'clock news

Dawn, at WHAG-TV did a great job.

Thank you Dawn!

Now buy some tickets everyone!!!

Deb

ALL KINDS OF PRESS!!!

The feature article is out in the Frederick News Post.

Check it out!!!

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_horizon.htm?storyID=103520

Dawn from WHAG-TV did an interview with Beth and Brian Rutledge today. It's airing tonight (Sunday) on the Hagerstown NBC channel tonight at 6 and 11 so be sure to watch!!

We're still selling tickets and taking monetary donations. The auction list is almost done and will be posted very soon!! Stay tuned!!

We're Still Here!!!!

Just BUSY!!!

Who knew how much work it would be to plan a concert, plan an auction, finish Grad School (in my case), take of children (in everyone's case) and try to make sure Beth is OK?

Apparently we are all overachievers.

But, Beth just completed her fourth round of chemo and, while each treatment gets harder, the end of those nasty treatments is on the horizon. Not that we don't LIKE the chemo because, let's face it, it's working!

But it's hard on Beth. Very hard.

She still has surgery to get through and I know that's looming in her mind.

But she's pushing through this and can't wait to get to the finish line, where she will be cancer free, healthy, and probably have a head of newly grown hair the likes of which we have never seen.

The concert is a little over two weeks away and tickets are FLYING out of here.

We're looking forward to it and hope to see everyone there!

Deb

EASTER IS NOW MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY!!!!

So, the radiologist who read Beth's most recent PET scan wants to know when she had surgery.

Um, Beth hasn't had surgery yet. So.......?????

So, why did the radiologist ask that question?????

Because all of the tumors are G.O.N.E.!!! Outta there!!! Skedaddled!!!


Apparently the chemo and the prayers are working wonders and the doctor is amazed at how well she's responding to treatment!!

This doesn't change her treatment plan - she still has three more rounds of chemo (including the next one on Monday) and surgery to get through.

But the goal all along has always been to shrink those nasty little boogers as small as they could get them - and if they disappeared altogether??? Even Better!!!

Please give a prayer of thanks this Sunday. And thank you to all of you!

Happy Easter!!!

OK PEOPLE!!!!!

LET'S BUY SOME TICKETS!!!!!

I realize that it's tough this time of year with kids sports. My daughter has soccer games and soccer pictures on the day of the concert (natch) ... still working that one out.....

BUT!!!!

We need to get these tickets sold. We have a lot of people coming - but we want a SELL OUT!!!!

And we have SO MUCH stuff planned to keep you entertained! Two fab bands, an auction of some AMAZING stuff and a chance to get together, tell Beth you're thinking of her and supporting her, and have a good time.

Let's help Beth. Let's all get together and remember what it's all about.

It's about family, friends, and giving back.

So please, order your tickets now.

I can't wait to see everyone! And Beth is REALLY looking forward to it (and if we're lucky, she'll get up and say a few words :)

Love to you all,

Deb

HAPPY SPRING!!!

Happy spring everyone :) The weather is gorgeous and you just can't help but smile and be filled with hope....

Beth continues to do well with her treatments. She's halfway done with Chemo and it's working (BIG SMILES!!!!) The tumors continue to shrink, which is the best news yet. This last treatment was a little harder on Beth than the first two, but she's still doing amazingly well. Now that she's halfway through, she just gets more and more determined to beat this thing and has the most amazing attitude about it all.

She's incredible.

Keep sending those prayers, messages and keep calling to give her the encouragement to keep going. It means so much for her to hear that people are thinking about her and keeping her in their thoughts. Although she can't always answer the phone, or respond to every e-mail or message on Facebook, rest assured that she knows each one of you are sending positive vibes to her and it lifts her heart.

The concert is selling out fast so PLEASE don't wait to get your tickets. We'll have more information about the events planned that day coming soon, so stay tuned....

Thank you everyone - for the meals you bring to Beth, for the visits, and for the love you send her way. It means the world.

Deb

AUCTION FOR BETH AND CIANA!!!!!

MEADOWLAND AUCTIONS WILL BE DOING A LIVE AUCTION AT THE CONCERT!!!

If there are any companies or individuals out there who would like to donate something to the auction please let us know - remember it's all tax deductible.

You can donate services, jewelry, cakes, money, gift certificates, memorabilia, tickets to sporting events and a plethora of other things!

Shoot me an e-mail and I'll hook you up:)

Thank you all!!!!!!

Deb

TICKET INFO

Hey everyone!!

Ticket ordering info is available over there

(Is my arrow big enough? I wanted to make sure everyone saw it)

Please order as soon as possible - we need to get as accurate a head count as possible and will have to stop pre-ordered ticket sales in early April. Champions will be opening the doors to the public, which is why we have a limited number of tickets, and given the response we've gotten and all the press, it's likely that if you don't get your ticket ahead of time, you might not get in.

We're getting ready for the event Beth's neighbor Rachel is having this weekend!!

Do you dream in chocolate?

Come indulge all of your senses at a DOVE Chocolate DiscoveriesTM Tasting Party.
We offer an exclusive line of fine quality chocolate that is delicious, perfect for easy and elegant entertaining, and fun for friends and family.
Feel free to bring a friend - the more the merrier!

This party is to benefit Bethany Churco who is being treated for breast cancer.
20% of sales will be donated to the fund established for Beth Churco!
Additional contributions to this fund will be through several raffles at the event, such as: - Free shipping - Take home pre-ordered items - maybe Chocolate Mousse! -
Get a half-price discount
Please shoot an e-mail to allforbeth@gmail.com and directions will be sent.

MMMMMMMM..............CHOCOLATE............{drool}

Deb

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE!!!!

It looks like we'll have tickets and flyers for the concert this coming week!!
YAY!!!!

Please let me know if you can take some flyers and post them, if you want some tickets to sell or if you just want a ticket.

Anyone who wants tickets can shoot me an e-mail at allforbeth@gmail.com and I can tell you how to make out the check and where to send it. I'll then send your tickets back to you.

Thank you to everyone who's brought dinner to the family, bought groceries, taken the kids for a few hours (which helps them as much as it helps Beth) and has offered to help sell tickets.

Beth is still doing well with her treatments and continues to feel the love.....

Deb

BENEFIT CONCERT

BENEFIT CONCERT FOR BETH CHURCO AND CIANA RUTLEDGE

APRIL 24'TH, 2010

11:00am - 6:00pm
CHAMPIONS BILLIARDS SPORTS CAFE
5205 Buckeystown Pike
Frederick, MD


We have joined with the Patty Pollatos Fund in setting up a Benefit Concert to Benefit Beth Churco and Ciana Rutledge. We have two great bands that have graciously agreed to donate their time to raise money for Beth and Ciana at CHAMPIONS in Frederick, who have opened their doors to us for this event. Champions Rocks!

RUST - Remember Ronnie Kline all you WHS alumni?
He'll be on the drums and along the other members of his awesome band will be playing from 4 to 6.

Robbing Noll - a fabulous band that is sure to please everyone will set the tone for the day - which is to have fun, sing a little, dance a little and celebrate Beth and Ciana.

We will be posting more information as we get tickets printed up and work out all the little details, but we want everyone to mark their calendars NOW.

Lunch and the show $30.00/person
Just the show $10.00/person

Remember that ALL PROCEEDS benefit Ciana and Beth.

We can raise a lot of money to help these two families in just one day - and have a great time doing it!!

THE PATTY POLLATOS FUND, INC.

We are now all set up with the Patty Pollatos Fund.

All donations will go through PPF from this point forward.

I encourage you to go to the website and read about Beth and all of the other recipients of this incredible organization. I have included a link on the right, which will take you directly to Beth's page.

If you send a check, make it payable to "PPF, INC." and put "Beth Churco" in the memo. You can send them directly to PPF or to me or to Jami.

You can also make a credit card donation directly on the website.

Don't forget - IT'S ALL TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!

We have a big announcement coming later this week so stay tuned!!

Who says size doesn't matter?????

Because it does, very much.

So does shrinkage.

Seriously - I don't care what anyone has told you, it matters.

Especially when we're talking about Beth's tumors....because they are SHRINKING my friends!!!!

Thanks to the prayers, good wishes and love, the chemo seems to be kicking butt.

Pray for continued good results!!!!

What an amazing thing....

I saw people today that I hadn't seen in years.

The wonderful women that came to support Beth just warmed my heart.

She definitely felt the love.

It's been a long day, but I took pictures (mostly of people eating - ha!) and will post tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who showed their support, those that were there and those that couldn't be there but sent their love.

Beth has her second chemo treatment tomorrow so say a little prayer that this treatment is as easy on her as possible.

Thank you everyone......you are all amazing......

Update

Beth had her port put in today and she's home now and feeling good! Well, as good as you can feel after surgery, but at least this port will make her chemo treatments a bit easier on her.

We hope to see everyone on Sunday. Remember that Beth's immune system is a bit compromised now, so try to be mindful of that if you have a cold.

I have no problems slapping a surgical mask on anyone who sniffles in my presence :) Ha!

Our next event is scheduled and details will be posted soon.

I'll give you a hint ....




Intrigued?????

Stay tuned.........


Deb

DON'T FORGET SUNDAY'S EVENT!!

SILPADA & ARBONNE PARTY TO BENEFIT BETH!

February 21'st at 1:00

Deb's House

(Please e-mail your RSVP tp allforbeth@gmail.com and I'll send directions to you)

Hosted by Jami & Deb

Proceeds will go to help pay Beth's medical bills.

Buy something nice for yourself and help Beth in the process!

If you can't make it, feel free to peruse the catalogs and order directly.

MySilpada - Home

If you like jewelry, you're going to love Silpada Designs! And if you love Silpada Designs Jewelry - how about getting some FREE?
If you can't make the party this Sunday, feel free to browse the catalog and place an order directly with Cheryl. Make sure you mention it's for Beth!


www.arbonne.com

Browse the catalog and send an e-mail to ginnyknight@myarbonne.com if you can't make it but would like to order something. For those of you that have already given me your orders, I'll have Ginny get the totals to me as soon as possible. Thanks!!

Blizzard after Blizzard after Blizzard

All of this snow has slowed us down!

We are still working on getting all the paperwork in order for the PPF, but with the heavy snow, office closings, etc., it's taking a bit longer than we had hoped.

We're on for the Silpada/Arbonne party on February 21'st and we're getting a great response!!

We'd still like to see more people come and enjoy an afternoon of friends, food, drink and hope for Beth.

If you're coming, bring a friend! Heck, bring 10 friends!

The more the merrier and the more help we can give to Beth and her family.

If you need directions, shoot us an e-mail.

If you have any questions, shoot us an e-mail.

If you just want to say hi, shoot us an e-mail! Ha!

Stay safe and warm in the snow!

And let's all pray that the power stays on - especially at Beth's house!

Deb & Jami

Things are happening!!

We met with Debbie Williams of the Patty Pollatos Fund last night. What an amazing woman and what an incredible organization.

We hope to have Beth's page on the PPF website up within the next few days. We've started talking about some BIG fundraisers - with the PPF behind us, all donations will be 100% tax deductible and every dollar we raise will go directly to help Beth.

Every. Single. Dollar.

If we raise $10,000.00, it all goes to Beth's medical bills and living expenses.

How amazing is that?

Of course, $10,000.00 doesn't go far when you're talking about cancer treatment, so our goal is to raise even more.

We want her to concentrate on beating this disease, not worrying about how she's going to pay for her treatment, her medicine, her bills.

We'll be calling for volunteers soon to help us put these events together and help us raise money. If you want to help, please send us an e-mail allforbeth@gmail.com

We'll post the link to Beth PPF page as soon as it's up and running.

Deb & Jami

FIRST EVENT

SILPADA & ARBONNE PARTY TO BENEFIT BETH!

February 21'st at 1:00 Deb's House

Hosted by Jami & Deb

Proceeds will go to help pay Beth's medical bills.

Buy something nice for yourself and help Beth in the process!

We just got confirmation of the date, so mark your calendars!!


Beth is doing great, but with her medication costs alone, things are starting to get tight.

We'd love to see everyone, and will provide more details of the first event as soon as we can.

One Down, Five To Go

Beth had her first Chemo treatment today and boy is she tired!

I guess sitting for 6 to 7 hours in one place with an IV full of drugs will do that to a person.

I talked to her several times today and she was in good spirits. She was a little loopy - and she was slurring her words, which of course, made me crack up and keep asking inane questions just to hear her slurring (slurrage?) and then I would laugh some more. (You can all yell at me later - but it was FUNNY)

We started talking about random stuff and she mentioned that a Dairy Queen Blizzard sounded good to her. We used to go "shopping" (read - wander aimlessly through Wal-Mart and/or Target for hours at a time and then forget to bring home the toilet paper or paper towels we couldn't forget) almost every Friday night when our kids were younger just to get out of the house without the kids for a few hours. We would always say that we were going to grab some dinner while we were out.

We always ended up at DQ on the way home eating ice cream instead.

So, tonight I stopped by DQ on the way home to get my friend a Blizzard. I wasn't sure what kind would taste good to her and she TOLD me to surprise her so.........

I got her six.

Yes, SIX.

I know, I know, nothing like overkill, but they are all different flavors and this way she'll have a freezer full of fat and calories (and tasty goodness!) to choose from whenever she feels like it.

She looked at me like I was nuts when I walked through the door with a bag full of Blizzards:)

Deb

Round 1

Treatment starts tomorrow, so send Beth some good vibes......it's a very long day for her.

Thanks so much for all the support you guys have shown Beth.

She's trying to answer each and every e-mail you have sent but since no one is sure how the chemo will effect her in the coming week, it might be a while before she can get to them all.

Rest assured, she feels the love and support.

Keep it coming!

Deb :)

The Account is Open!!

Beth's incredible brother and sister-in-law have opened an account for donations to help defray the medical costs Beth will be facing.

Please send any donations to:

Kendall Morris fbo All For Beth
18515 Rutledge Ct
Hagerstown MD 21740

We've got some fundraisers in the works and will post information as soon as we have something firm.

Thank you, everyone, for all of the e-mails and good wishes for Beth.

She's too overwhelmed to even respond at this point but told me that it's heartwarming to know so many people are thinking of her and praying.

For those of you on Facebook, send her a message if you can. Or give her a call - if she doesn't answer, leave a message. It means a lot.

She's feeling the love - you guys are awesome!!

Deb

All for Beth

Beth Churco was diagnosed with breast cancer in January of this year and will be starting treatments in the coming week. Please check this website frequently for updates on Beth, as well as information on fundraisers we'll be having to help her and Chris pay for her treatment.

Beth has insurance, thank God, but has a $5,000.00 deductible, which means all the testing she's had done to date - PET scans, MRI's and X-rays to name only a few - will need to be paid out of pocket. As we all know, insurance won't cover everything after her deductible is met.

We want Beth and Chris to concentrate on Beth fighting this awful disease, and not worry about how they will pay for the treatments that will make her well. In the very near future, we'll be posting information on how to make donations, upcoming fundraisers, etc.

Beth has a lot of Friends and Family, and she needs us all now, more than ever.

Until next time, pray for Beth, send her some love, and keep thinking good thoughts.