Stacie’s battle against cancer has continued to have all the dramatic ups and downs of a roller coaster. At Christmas she was hospitalized for pneumonia and continues to battle the effects of that illness today. Her chemotherapy has been successful in combating her breast cancer. Originally she had six tumors. As of her last exam, she has three left: one has nearly disappeared, and the remaining two are significantly smaller than before. So although the chemotherapy has left her immune system very weakened, we are very thankful to see it so effective.

There have been other test results which are of concern, though. Cancerous spots have been detected on her liver, intestines, and one of her kidneys. We await the results of a recent biopsy to determine whether or not these spots are malignant. In the meantime, Stacie has started up on a new, additional form of chemotherapy, aimed at gastrointestinal cancer, and she will be undergoing radiation at some point in the future. Her cancer status, which was a mid-Stage III, has been increased to a high-Stage III, with not much needed to cross over into Stage IV. Stacie states that the best case scenario is that the new chemotherapy and radiation will address this quickly, though it will of course make her feel much sicker as she is treated. The worst case scenario will involve more surgeries.

Stacie continues to work hard to keep her spirits up and was greatly encouraged by a recent trip to Kansas City, MO for a Gilmore Girls-themed event. Friends of Support Stacie met over the last weekend in February to watch Gilmore Girls episodes together, sing, dance and pig out on junk food in a fantastic celebration of friendships, old and new. Although the trip was exhausting, it was a much appreciated boost for Stacie’s spirits, as well as a fundraiser that contributed $3,000.00 towards Stacie’s expenses.

Stacie’s medical expenses continue to be a big concern. With over $200,000.00 in medical bills now, as well as extremely high, ongoing expenses for her prescriptions and treatment, the Support Stacie community continues to be an enormous asset in helping Stacie fight cancer. The $6,500.00 raised by the Stocking Stuffer auction, for example, helped pay for Stacie’s pneumonia treatment as well as her many, costly monthly prescriptions and hospital payments.

So, please keep Stacie in your thoughts and prayers.  And thank you very much! You are each appreciated far more than we can begin to express.

Best wishes,
The Support Stacie Volunteers

Velvet Hippo is graciously donating a portion of the proceeds from her Etsy shop to Support Stacie from Jan. 31-March 1! The shop features beautiful knitting accessories sure to delight any crafter. 25% of any pink item will go to Support Stacie. In addition, on February 14th 25% of any item will also be donated.

Please stop by Velvet Hippo’s blog or her Etsy shop for further details!

Friday, February 27-March 2, 2009 at the Wallstreet Tower in Kansas City, SupportStacie.org will be hosting the Stars Hollow Meet & Greet.  The cocktail hour, dinner and silent auction are aimed at raising funds for the cancer treatment of Stacie Holeman, an uninsured patient diagnosed with Stage III Breast and Ovarian Cancer.

Stacie Holeman, a 36-year-old wife and mother of three, was diagnosed in March 2007 while still within the 90-day probationary period of a new insurance program.  Immediately forced to quit her job as an aide to mentally challenged children, Stacie and her self-employed husband have faced enormous medical bills and the frightening challenge of attempting to seek treatment without the means to pay for it. 

The Stars Hollow Meet & Greet includes a silent auction on Friday and Saturday, February 27-28, featuring autographed best-sellers, certificates to merchants, movie memorabilia, gift baskets and much more.  Donations are currently sought for the auction from businesses and individuals with merchandise or certificates to national chains.   The silent auction is expected to make up the bulk of the donations from the event, as the auctioned items will be available to online participants as well as those at the event.

Fundraisers led by friends of the Holeman family have been instrumental in keeping Stacie in the fight against her cancer.  “My friends and family have donated almost $17,000.00, but that’s just a drop in the bucket,” Stacie said.  “Currently we face over $100,000.00 in existing medical bills, with at least another year of treatment to go.”

In spite of the family’s financial sacrifices, sacrifice, the continued support of friends and community members remains essential to curing Stacie.  Without the donations raised by SupportStacie.org, Stacie would have no way to continue in her fight.

For information about the auction or tickets to the Stars Hollow Meet & Greet are available by visiting www.supportstacie.org or by emailing supportstacie at gmail dot com.

At last! Supporters of SupportStacie.org have the opportunity to celebrate Stacie’s life during a special weekend of bonding, food, fundraising and friendship! Join us as we pig out on great food, watch our favorite episodes of Gilmore Girls together, engage in discussions about the show, enjoy hilarious comedy and skits, and make friends for life! And did we mention the Karaoke and Cocktails evening? Viewing the Gilmore Girls episodes is free, but all the rest is all included in one package price as we make memories that will last a lifetime at this very special Meet &Greet event, hosted by Support Stacie! Come join the fun this February in Kansas City!

Mark Your Calendars! The weekend of activities will take place Friday, February 27 through Sunday, March 1, 2009 in Kansas City , MO !

The Wallstreet Tower: All activities will be taking place at the Wallstreet Tower , located at 1101 Walnut St. , in downtown Kansas City ’s famed Power & Light District. The Gilmore Girls episodes will be screened in the Movie Room, while the remainder of the activities will be taking place in the Entertaining Room. All meals will be catered by local restaurants and shops.

The Holiday Inn Aladdin: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Aladdin Holiday Inn is located in the heart of the downtown district, just 3½ blocks from the Wall Street Tower. This KC landmark has recently reopened following an extensive historic preservation which back the original art deco ambiance with a vintage hip approach for a fresh look at yesterday. Double rooms, which feature 2 queen beds, 32-inch Flat Screen TVs, DVD players with complimentary movies, and wireless internet service, are available to event attendees for $109 per room, plus $5 per person for breakfast.

Your Ticket Includes:

. Goodie Bag for all attendees;

. Friday: Dinner and activities;

. Saturday: All meals and activities (a punch card for complimentary alcoholic beverages will be available to guests over 21 during the Karaoke & Cocktails evening);

. Sunday: Breakfast;

. Shuttle service to and from the Kansas City International Airport .

Extras (At Your Expense):

. Airfare;

. Hotel accommodations (with breakfast for $5 per person) at the Aladdin Holiday Inn;

. Specialty merchandise and souvenirs;

. Silent auction;

. Taxi service (The hotel is within easy walking distance of Wallstreet Tower );

. Sightseeing in Kansas City (Sunday).

Registration Forms

Event Flyer

Agenda

Gilmore Girls fans are busy planning all the details of this memorable weekend! Event details are still in progress, and additional details will be added here as they become available. However, here’s a sneak peak at what’s in store for you at the 2009 Stars Hollow Meet & Greet!

Friday, February 27^th

Afternoon-Evening: Arrivals at Kansas City International Airport (MCI)

7:00pm: Buffet Dinner at Wallstreet Tower , featuring Gilmore Girls Trivia Game!

9:00pm: Screening of Gilmore Girls Episode #1 (Pilot) *

10:00pm: Panel Discussion: Implications of the Pilot Episode

11:00pm: Buffet Dinner ends

Saturday, February 28^th

6-9:00am: Breakfast at hotel (included with room fee)

10:00am: Screening of Gilmore Girls Episode #2 (Episode TBD) *

11:00am: Panel Discussion: Implications of this episode

Noon: Lunch (Subs & Salads)

1:00pm: Reenactments of favorite fanfic and canon moments featuring your fellow fans!

3:00pm:  Screening of Gilmore Girls Episode #3 (Episode TBD) *

4:00pm: Panel Discussion: Implications of this episode

5:00pm: Screening of Gilmore Girls Episode #4 (Episode TBD) *

6:00pm:  Panel Discussion: Implications of this episode

7:00pm: Dinner (Pizza), featuring Gilmore Girls Trivia Game, with prizes!

8:00pm: Karaoke & Cocktails

10:00pm: Screening of Gilmore Girls Episode #5 (Series Finale) *

11:00pm: Panel Discussion: Implications of series finale

Sunday, March 1^st

Time TBD:  Breakfast available at hotel for $5.00 per person (paid with room fee)

Time TBD: Optional - Goodbye Breakfast – plans in progress

Time TBD: Optional - Sight Seeing: Tourist information will be available if your flights are not until the afternoon, we would love to go sight-seeing with you.

* Screening of the episodes is open to the public.  However all other activities, including panel discussions, are limited to paid attendees.

Questions? Email supportstacie@gmail.com!

During the last auction, over $5,000 was raised, making a sizable dent in Stacie’s medical bills. Each auction participant made a very real impact in Stacie’s health as a result! Thanks to chemotherapy this fall, 1 of the 4 tumors in Stacie’s breast has disappeared, and the other 3 are now much smaller. Stacie’s doctor is in the process of doubling her chemo in the hope that the 3 small, remaining tumors will be “dissolved” by the end of December. Although she will need to remain on chemo until September of 2009, if all goes well her chemo may be reduced after the holidays, allowing her hair to grow back and her overall health to improve dramatically.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Please visit the Susan G. Komen site and learn how you can buy pink and help.

Once again I find myself trying to decide if I should post about the same crapola you all have to see on my LJ all the time. Since I don’t get to speak to alot of you as much as I would like lately I’ve decided to go ahead and let you know here what’s going on.

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve been getting tests done, the results came back and I went in to discuss the next step in my treatment plan. I’m still trying to figure out some of it, but I can tell what I understand so far.

The tumor they were worried about is not gone, however it is ALOT smaller, so small in fact they had a hard time finding it. This was great news, however they discovered 3 other small tumors. Very small. But still there. I’m going to be on Chemo pills for a year straight. I need 12 Radiation Treatments also in a year. It’s not the worst news, at all. I’m just tired. The hospital is stressing on me with the money factor, and I’m very tired of worrying about that on top of everything else. One more year of this…oy.

First off I should say, sorry it’s taken so long to let everyone know how things are going.

I need to express to everyone a big THANK YOU for everything that is being done, the kindness and generosity is wonderful. I’ve been able to get thru this with all of your help. Again thank you.

A campaign to raise money is in the beginning stages, keep your eyes open for all the great stuff my awesome friends are doing! IF anyone would like to help, please e-mail the site. We can use as much help as possible getting the word out.

I started Chemo, and I’m doing Okay. I have good days and bad days, just like everyone else I suppose. The Kids are back in school and adjusting.

The site will be changing and a personal page will be added with pictures, plus alot of other features. I love hearing from all of you, Thank you for all the e-mails, PM’s and kind words! Please keep an eye out in your e-mail boxes for a little something from me.

I will try very hard to update more often.

Pooh

We’ve got big things planned! And we need everyone’s help to get the word out. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we’ll add icons and sig banners that we hope you’ll use to help advertise and draw attention to supporting Stacie. The following icon is already uploaded at Roswell Fanatics. If you go to your profile, you’ll find the icon in the avatar gallery under Miscellaneous. Otherwise, you should be able to successfully upload the icon to any other message board. If you need help with how to use the icon or banner, please email me. You can hotlink these images, or save them and upload them on your own. Don’t forget to link SupportStacie.org in your sig banner!

We have added another new section to the site where you can buy t-shits, mugs, hats, bags, stickers, buttons and magnets to help the fundraising effort.

Please visit Cafe Press and show your support for Stacie’s battle against cancer. 

For ease of use, a link to the Support Stacie Cafe Press page has also been added to the Links section of the site.