Download a Coupon for 30% Off with 5% going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Leukemia survivor, Lance Bigelow, is someone who knows first-hand the importance of Gap's Give & Get program benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). He participated in the spring campaign. Lance and his family knew that taking advantage of the Give & Get program's 30% discount, they would also be contributing to LLS' blood cancer research efforts, research that helps kids like Lance -- research that fights the number one cancer among children.

Thanks to the efforts of families like the Bigelows, the spring campaign raised $600,000 for research to find a cure.

By participating in our summer campaign you can help blood cancer patients live longer, better lives --- and look good doing it!

Just visit any Gap, Inc. store from July 30th to August 2nd to take advantage of the 30% discount offer. Please note that this offer is good from July 30th through August 2nd only! The Gap Give & Get coupon is good for purchases at any Gap, Inc. store, including Gap, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory Stores and Old Navy. The coupon is for in-store purchases only and is good in both the United States and Canada.

Remember, when you download a coupon for discounted clothes from this site you're helping The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fight the number one cancer among children. Send this page to your friends and family and help our cause even more!

For more info: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org//all_page.adp?item_id=552506

Lance's Story: http://community.lls.org/blogs/atlls/2009/07/27/licking-leukemia-with-lls-and-gap

Coupon (English): http://www.gapinc.com/giveandget/lls/

6 Months Out and Going Strong!!

Today is the 6 month anniversary of Tyler's transplant and I am thrilled to report that he is still doing well. He has some mild Graft vs Host Disease (GVHD), mostly affecting his eyes, but is improving in strength and health otherwise.

Thanks so everyone who has helped us travel this path! We're excited to see that our "infant" Tyler is making such amazing progress. In fact... He doesn't have to see the oncologist for 3 weeks (our longest break in a long, long time)!

We hope that you are surviving this crazy heat wave!

Marrowthon Success

From the Be the Match website:

Thanks to the amazing response of people like you, the Be The Match® Marrowthon, June 8 – 22, 2009, was a success. With the help of our supporters, we reached many thousands of people with the message about the need for bone marrow donors and financial contributions to make life-saving transplants possible.

Tens of thousands of people joined the marrow registry. And we’ve raised funds to add many more.

Thanks to all who joined, contributed financially, created their own marrowthons, helped spread the word and even ran on treadmills to raise funds. You are the ones who give patients hope.

The Be The Match Marrowthon is over, but it's not too late to get involved to save lives.

Even if you missed the deadline to register for free, you can still make a difference by volunteering as a donor today. Visit www.marrow.org for more information.

Tyler's Real Thoughts

Tyler snapped this photo when we went golfing in Sequim. I think it might show his true thoughts about my skills as a caddy.

Need I say more?

The Eyes Have It

Tyler has been struggling a bit over this weekend because his eyes have been acting up. It really started getting bad on Friday and increased over the weekend. Tyler actually cancelled several of his weekend activities because his eyes were hurting and he didn't want to make them worse.

His right eye was even more red than normal and seemed to be oozing a little bit on Saturday. On Sunday and Monday, his eyes actually crusted shut as he slept overnight and continued to ooze all day long. We were worried because he has had eye sensitivity from the lack of tears (which is most likely mild Graft vs Host Disease) and this new symptom seemed to coincide with a new reduction in his tacrolimus (the immunosuppressant drug). He's been reducing one of his two daily doses every couple of weeks or so. He is on .5 mg in the morning and evening this week, then .5 mg in the morning and 0 in the evening next week, and then he is DONE!!! This means we are rapidly approaching our important 6 month mark.

If Tyler can get completely off of the immunosuppressant, he is able to increase the number of activities that he can participate in. He can go swimming again, have plants in the home, go golfing, and attend sporting events again. He still can't do any gardening or pet exotic animals, but it is exciting that he is able to take the next step back towards health.

We called the doctor's office first thing on Monday morning and they prescribed antibiotic eye drops, which seem to be helping. We see Dr McGee on Wednesday afternoon and will hopefully get more information then.

Tyler's Good Luck Strikes Again!

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hosted a kick off party on Thursday, June 9th for the Light the Night walk this fall. Tyler and I were pleased to be able to attend the party and the Mariner's game as part of that group. We were also pleased to run into several of Tyler's coworkers from Children's Hospital who were there with another walk team.

The kick off party included an inspirational talk by another blood cancer patient, named Ken Sheets, emphasizing the many important programs that the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society helps to fund. I was very moved by his descriptions of his own battle and his philosophy of being "Never2Old" to fight cancer, to embrace life, and to make a difference.

After the party, we found our seats for the ball game and prepared to watch the Mariners against the Texas Rangers. My cousin, Bethanie, and two of her lovely kids joined us for the game part of the evening. I was pleased that Tyler was able to bring his good luck to the Mariners (and not just the Sounders), and they won 3-1 with a homerun in the bottom of the 8th inning. It was an outstanding pitcher's duel, made all the more exciting by the fact that Felix was also pitching for Tyler's fantasy team that day. :)

We would love to have you join us in supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this year. We will be walking around Greenlake on September 26th and are hoping to have friends and family around us to celebrate how far we have come in the last year. If you are interested in joining us, please go to http://pages.lightthenight.org/wa/SeattleL09/TeamFirefly and click "Join" at the bottom of the page.

Go M's!

Imagine our Surprise

While on the ferry to Sequim for Independence Day, we looked over at the car next to us and saw a very interesting driver. For some reason, we were a little bit nervous to drive off next to him...

We hope you needed a laugh today!

Weekend Away

Our small Bledsoe contingent strayed away from the compound this weekend for some fun 4th of July relaxin. Mandy, my grandma and I made the trek up to Sequim to visit mom and John and enjoy the comforts of their hospitality. We've had wonderful food, games, golf, sun, and conversation. The day we arrived Mandy and I went to the nearby golf course to play 9 holes, and she caddied for me. I started off triple, double, double bogey and she had a conversation with me about my swing plane being off. The last 6 holes I played at a combined +3 (3 pars, 3 bogey's)......so Im thinking about hiring her permanently!

We've been able to relax for a couple days and get away.......it always feels good to get away for a little while. Last night we went to a friend of their's from church for a barbecue and we had beef brisket, spare ribs, chicken, brats, and oyster's on the half shell. I kindly passed up the opportunity to enjoy the oysters as Ive had a previous negative experience with oysters! I think John had about a dozen and really was trying hard to get me to try. It was a fun time as we had great food, croquet, badminton, and bocci ball. We ended the night teaching my grandma how to play Yahtzee and watching my mom school us with a 400+ point game which included 2 Yahtzee's.

On our way back home today so Mandy can get back to work and I can continue my recovery. I hope everyone is doing great this summer!

Take care,

Tyler