Letter to the Editor – Wilson family

Dear Friends and Family:

I am sure most of you know Libby’s story, but if there is someone reading who doesn’t know, here is the short version.

Jason and I have been feeling for quite some time that we were so blessed by the healing that the Lord did in Libby that we needed to do something to help other children with cancer that are still fighting the battle. So we have decided to host an "Alex’s Lemonade Stand" during Chautauqua weekend (Sept.14-16.) on the square in Gallatin. "Alex’s Lemonade Stand" is a foundation that gives grants strictly to children’s cancer research.

It was all started in 2000 by a little girl fighting neuroblastoma cancer (the same type of tumor Libby had) that set up a lemonade stand in her front yard to raise money for kids with cancer. Now "Alex’s Lemonade Stand" is a national foundation that has raised over $10 million for children’s cancer research.

You can learn more about Alex’s story by visiting the web site at www.alexslemonade.org. Every year people all over the country are holding "Alex’s Lemonade Stands" and now the Wilson family is going to join in the effort too!

I am telling you this because to make this a success we will need your support! We will be offering lemonade and cookies/baked goods for a free will donation at our stand on Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday during the flea market. We will be asking local businesses to donate supplies for the lemonade and we would like to ask our family and friends to donate the cookies. Of course, any donation of any kind will be greatly appreciated. It all goes for a great cause!

It seems like a long time until September, but it will be here before you know it, and it is going to take some work to get this organized, so we are starting early. Please let me know if you will be willing to help us in some way. You can reach me at my phone number listed above or email me at [email protected]. You can also check out our fundraising event web page at: http://www.firstgiving.com/wilsonsworkingforacure – where you can also make a monetary donation if you won’t be able to make it to our stand. Don’t forget to stop by our stand at the Chautaqua and tell all your friends about us!

Sincerely,

After many months of running tests on our very sick little girl, Libby was diagnosed with stage 1 neuroblastoma (neuroblastoma is a tumor) on March 1, 2005, at the age of 16 months. After a total resection of the tumor and six months of chemotherapy Libby is now a very healthy little 3-year-old girl! If you would like to know the long version of the story you can check out Libby’s webpage at www.caringbridge.org/mo/libby and read our journal entries.

Abbey Wilson,

on behalf of the whole Wilson family