Ana•149

Club Ana - Totals are In!

2008-03-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

The Club Ana • 149 netted over $95,000! This is an amazing accomplishment. We have achieved our goal of raising enough money to cover one year of Ana's treatments and also to play a role in stopping this current epidemic by joining forces with Fraser in Minneapolis, a nationally renowned non-profit organization that provides treatment for both Autism Spectrum Disorders and other special needs for children.

Thank you to all of you who donated the price of a ticket, those of who came to the event, dressed in black, white, and denim, and also to those who of you who participated in the auction to help us reach our goal.

A special thank you to all of the extraordinary people who participated in the planning of this event. Thank you for all of your support.

Ana's Story

2008-03-05T05:15:00.000-08:00

Ana has heavy metal poisoning and Autism. Ana's parents are pursuing a number of key treatments, and the costs are exorbitant and mounting (most of which are not covered by insurance).

Ana's current treatment needs include: hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT), chelation, QEEG (qualitative EEG), GI testing and scoping, and in-depth genetics testing.

TREATMENTS ANA HAS DONE SO FAR:

Chelation and detoxification to get rid of the heavy metals; hyperbaric oxygen treatment to treat the inflammation that arises as a result of the metals playing havoc with her system; antifungals to treat the yeast issues that result from heavy metals in the system, and that arise along with the heavy metals being pulled out; antivirals to treat the viruses that get dragged out along with the heavy metals; osteocranial treatments to address lesions in her system; intensive vitamin protocols to bolster the system so it is strong enough for all of these treatments; homeopathic detoxification; sensory programs, especially to address auditory issues; special diets (all organic, gluten free, casein free, soy free, phenols free, salicylates free, low oxylate and specific carbohydrate diet); infra red sauna to sweat out the toxins; physical therapy to address the gross motor deficits; occupational therapy to address the fine motor problems; speech therapy to address oral motor and speech and language issues; Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) therapists to treat the overall behavioral and cognitive issues and to assist her in school.

These treatments have cost over $200,000.00 to date.

Thank you to Club ANA 149 Corporate Sponsors! Gallup Consulting, Crave, Nash Finch and Bearpath Realty - we appreciate your generosity!!

2008-02-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

Join Us at Club ANA 149 on Feb. 23rd!!

2008-01-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

Club ANA•149

An Evening in New York!

COME CLUB IT

FEBRUARY 23, 2008 6PM

BEARPATH COUNTRY CLUB

CLUB ATTIRE: BLACK, WHITE AND DENIM

Food, Dancing and Silent Auction

A portion of the proceeds will go to Fraser in Minneapolis, MN

Your name is on the list. The bouncers should let you in
but watch out for the paparazzi!

Brian Shortly After Crossing the Finish Line at the NYC Marathon!

2007-11-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

Brian Beh Raises over $24,000 Running for Ana!

2007-11-05T19:43:00.001-08:00

Brian Beh completed the NY Marathon on 11/4, running on behalf of Ana. He was incredibly generous in giving of his time and energy to run for her. The $24,000 that he raised will be a great help to Ana's parents as they continue to pay her treatment expenses. Our family is so thankful to Brian and to all of those who supported him in running the marathon. WE LOVE YOU, BRIAN!!

'Evening of Autism Awareness for Ana' was Wonderful!

2007-10-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 6th, we had a gathering people at our home in Eden Prairie to learn more about autism and to kick off our grassroots fundraising efforts for Ana.

Susan, Niels and Ana were in town from New York and Susan and I talked about the autism in general and shared Ana's story - along with video of a typical day in Ana's life. Sometimes it was hard to watch, but it was very informative and educational for all. It was a wonderful, heartfelt evening as we listened to friends Brian and Charlie share their thoughts and experiences as well.

Thank you to all of our incredibly giving and generous friends who helped plan this special evening.

Save the date! On February 23rd, there will be a party to continue to raise money for Ana's treatments...MORE TO COME!

Mommy's Thoughts about Little Ana

2007-09-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

The photo of Ana on the beach is one of our favorites. We love the way she's gazing directly into the camera. We also love how it captures her sweetness. Not only is she sweet, she can also be very silly. We love this about her as well. She laughs and laughs--sometimes big, deep belly laughs. Here are some funny things Ana has done lately:

She adores animals. If we had a dog, according to Ana it would be called "a Ram-Sam-Sam" and if we had a cat, it would be named "oh CatLizard." We have no idea where these names came from, but we're going with them.

Penguins are one of her favorite creatures; she calls herself "Pinguino" and calls her favorite classmates penguins--"Isaiah the Penguin" and "Gabriel the Penguin.

She also has had a thing for cows. At her birthday party in Central Park last weekend, she started singing happy birthday to all of us in "moo" -- and we all joined in (meaning, "moo moo moo moo moo moo, moo moo moo moo moo moo, moo moo moo moo moo mooooo, moo moo moo moo moo moo!").

Along that "mooey" line, when she wants to say "hello" or "I love you" to her favorite people, she comes up very close, with her eyes and nose right next to ours and says a very serious sounding "moooo."

She makes up words to songs all the time. She started singing a song about a "mommy gooney bird" and when her mommy objected to being called such a thing, she ribbed her even more, and constantly adding more animal names that she knows will get to her mommy, such as "mommy hippo," "mommy elephant" (the worst!!!), "mommy lizard," and "mommy snake." When her mommy begs and pleads to be called "mommy butterfly" or something more graceful, she refuses.

On the flip side--and this gets back to her sweetness--the other day mommy and Ana were heading back into Manhattan after six days and nights at the Ronald McDonald House in New Jersey, where Ana endured countless detoxification IVs and HBOT sessions. As we pulled up to our building, she offered up "mommy, you are an awesome driver."

During that same trip, while eating lamb kabobs in a little Greek restaurant, she said: "Mmmmm, this tastes so . . . greeky."

She has a mad crush on twenty-something year old speech and language pathologist "Craigsalad" (so named because he eats egg-salad sandwiches at our house). Craig plays "duck, duck, patos" (duck in spanish) with her and calls her "Patos." So, for a while now she has been calling a lot of people Patos. Her latest variation of that is to add "os" onto the end of almost everything she says. For example, if she wants to make eggs (a favorite), she will say "let's-os make-os eggies-os now-os."

A somewhat alarming statement she made to Auntie Denise and her mommy the other night on the subway was: "I hear-os all-os and know-os all-os" (and indeed, we do think she hears and knows all--we better be careful!). She has caused a lot of people to adopt this pig-latinish way of speaking; the last time we were at the doctor's office getting her chelation IV, eventually all of the nurses and nurses aides were talking this way!

She is definitely the favorite of the doctor's office, as well as of her therapists. In part it is probably because there are comparably very few girls on the Spectrum, but in part it is also because she is so darn cute. I, her mother, can say that because she looks nothing like me . . . she looks like her Spanish-Peruvian father and her grandfather of Scottish ancestry.

And finally, when asked by the head of admissions at the Gillen Brewer School today what her name is, she testily and loudly replied: "I don't have a name. NO NAMES!" (We may have to kiss that school goodbye.)

Emmi, Sophie and Gracie Raise $134.28 for Ana by Walking Neighborhood Dogs!

2007-09-23T13:04:00.001-07:00

We are so thankful to Emmi Wheeler, Sophie Wheeler and Gracie Helgeson for raising money for Ana. They took the initiative to make flyers featuring Ana's picture and hit the streets of our neighborhood. They shared Ana's story, stating that she is Nicky Leivermann's cousin, and asked if they could earn money by walking dogs around our culdesacs. Thanks to all of you who donated and to these sweet girls for their loving gestures and hard work ethics - they worked for three days straight!

Learn More about Autism

2007-09-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Autism is sharply rising?

Today, one in every 150 kids has Autism. According to New York Times journalist, David Kirby, this statistic was one in every 10,000 births in the 1980s and one in 250 in 2000.

Generation Rescue: http://www.generationrescue.com/
Autism Research Institute and DAN (Defeat Autism Now): http://www.autism.com/
Evidence of Harm: http://www.evidenceofharm.com/
Safe Minds: http://www.safeminds.org/
Brain Matters: http://www.brainmattersinc.com/

Nicky Raises $270.00 at his 9th Birthday Party

2007-09-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

Nicky, Ana's cousin, lives in Minnesota. He had his 9th birthday party on 9/21 and instead of receiving gifts, he requested that all of his friends bring a small donation to help pay for some of Ana's medical expenses. His buddies were very generous and donated $270.00 Nicky had plenty of fun playing football, kickball and baseball with his buddies and was glad to help Ana!