Race Day Update and Details

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The Parkway Run & Fun Walk – Day of Event Information

Sunday, September 29th is drawing near and we are proud to say that your support has made TEAM NAYA the top fundraising team for CHOP, surpassing $50,000!  Also, with over 200 runners and walkers supporting us, we will have a very large turnout for Naya. 

Our family is humbled, excited and in awe of your support for Naya.  Thank you so much! 

For those of you who will be participating in the event on Sunday, September 29th, below you will find Day of Event Information about both general event details as well as TEAM NAYA specifics.  If you have additional questions, please contact me at ashah1@me.com for more information. You can also go to the event website www.parkwayrun.org.   

EVENT SCHEDULE

7:00am                        Registration Opens (If you registered through the website, bibs will be at our tent).

7:00am ish                  TEAM NAYA tent opens. Tent is next to the Dunkin Donuts tent. Pick up bibs at the tent.

8:00 am                       Opening Ceremonies (Naya will be recognized during the ceremony)

8:35 am                       5k Run runs FIRST, followed immediately by the Family Fun Walk
9:15am                        Four Seasons Breakfast Buffet Begins
9:45am                        Award ceremony

10:30 am                   Event concludes

WHERE & WHEN?

The event will take place outside the Four Seasons Hotel at 18th Street and Ben Franklin Parkway. TEAM NAYA has a tent that opens at 7:00am. Runners should pick up bibs no later than 8:00 am at the TEAM NAYA tent.  The Run begins at 8:35am followed by the Walk.  

The TEAM NAYA tent is next to the Dunkin Donuts tent, not too far from the main stage.

PARKING

Street parking is very limited. The nearest parking garage is at 18th and Cherry Street (one block from the race start). There are also additional parking garages in the area. Arriving early will pay off in attaining parking more easily.

 

 

Final Days to Give - http://giving.chop.edu/goto/TEAMNAYA

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The Parkway Run/Walk is coming up, and there are just a few days left to donate.  Hundreds of our friends, family, your friends and family, and many others have already given to our team.  Your donations are used to support pediatric cancer research at CHOP - a leader in treating and curing pediatric cancer.  Advances by CHOP are shared and used by the nation's pediatric hospitals and benefit kids all over the world.

With your generosity, we've raised over $46,000!  Donations can be given up to Saturday Sept 28th in case you haven't had a chance to donate.  Use the link below to get to our team site and remember to take advantage of your company's Matching Gift benefit.  If you have a matching gift, in the free form box of the matching gift form, type in "Please direct funds to the Parkway Run/Walk and Team Naya".  All donations are tax deductible.

http://giving.chop.edu/goto/TEAMNAYA 

Thank you again!  I'll send an update with race details later today for those of you who can join us at the Run/Walk on Sunday.

In the spirit of the season, I also thought I'd share a photo of Naya and Mr. Scarecrow from last Halloween.  We're resurrecting him this weekend.

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Rock 'N Roll with Naya

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We are in the home stretch week before the Walk/Run.  We've raised over $41,000 as a team, and will be joined by 230+ walkers/runners who are bonding together to find a cure for pediatric cancer.  CHOP is hoping to raise $1 million and hopefully our team will be a big part of reaching that goal.  All I can say on behalf of Naya and the CHOP team is THANK YOU SO MUCH!  You have all been so generous with your support and we appreciate it so much.

I will email the registrants and update the blog later this week with logistics about Sunday.  The one thing to remember is to find us at the Team Naya tent if you've already registered.  You don't have to stand in line if you've registered online, so save yourself time and join us at the tent.

Some of you have asked about Company Matching contributions.  If you work for a company that matches donations, here's what you do...Go the your company's matching site, and look up the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  Choose that option, and in the notation box, write in the following:  "Funds should be directed to Team Naya and the Parkway Run/Walk fundraiser for cancer research on September 29, 2013."  Your matching funds might not appear for a while, but the CHOP team will be able to eventually get those funds allocated to the pediatric cancer research fund.  Remember, all donations are tax deductible.

Quick update on Naya - On Thursday, she had her 4th round of chemo.  She was released on Saturday and is recovering.  It seems to get more taxing on her each time, but she keeps her head up high and powers through it.  We're giving her pre-meds to help her ward off an infection as her counts will be very low by the time Sunday rolls around.  Let's hope they do their job!

She's been talking more and more about the event on Sunday, and cannot wait to greet all of you in person.  Here's a picture of her with the tattoo, which will be distributed at the tent.  For you Alliquippa Stable fans, the pillow she is using was a gift from Paint Jack.  Just a warning...the tattoo stays on for days!  As you can see, she's ready to rock with you!

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ZUMBA - Shake it for a Cure

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Zumba Party is this Saturday. Come on out and Shake it For a Cure.  Donna is going to throw a crazy party so please help by participating.  She is raising money for Naya's Four Season's River Parkway Run in September - http://giving.chop.edu/site/TR/Events/ParkwayRun?team_id=12770&pg=team&fr_id=1500.

The event will take place Saturday, September 21, 2013 from 2:00-3:30pm (doors open 1:30pm) and will be held at the Brookhaven Community Center gym (next to Fire & Police Depts.) 2 Cambridge Road Brookhaven, PA 19015.

The cost is $20/pp, tickets are available in advance and at the door.  If you want to purchase an advance ticket please leave a comment and I'll email you back with how to get the tickets.

So get ready to shake it and have some fun for a great cause!

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SIGN UP FOR TEAM NAYA BEFORE DEADLINE

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TEAM_NAYA_final SEPT 20TH DEADLINE FOR ONLINE REGISTRATION - SIGN UP FOR CHOP WALK/RUN

Friends and Family,

We hope you can join us at the upcoming CHOP Parkway Run/Walk.  The deadline for online registration is September 20th at MIDNIGHT.  If you are thinking about coming, please sign up online to save time, and help us order enough shirts for the team.  If you miss the deadline, you can always register at the race.

At last count, we were at 160ish people joining Naya on this crusade to raise money for pediatric cancer.  Many of the walkers/runners are from Naya's school!  We have tattoos, shirts, donuts and buttons waiting for all of you who will join us.  Also, there will be a limited quantity of Team Naya water bottles for sale at the event with proceeds going to CHOP Cancer Research.

If you can't make it, we encourage you to donate for a good cause if you haven't already done so.  Thank you to all of you who have given to the Team.  With your help, our team has raised $35,00+!

See you at the Walk!

Good news - Another mountain climbed and conquered

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We just got off the phone with Naya's doc.  Her MRIs came back "great" today.  Her spine is almost completely clear, and significantly improved.  Her brain looks great too.  There is some residual from the brain surgery which showed up on the scan, but it's expected and likely caused by a mix of surgery healing and radiation. Her brain scan has improved from the last scans.

We also learned that Naya is 1/2 way through her maintenance phase.  She has 3 more cycles left.  This means we might be done with chemo by Christmas.  Then, we hope to be counting the years of remission.

She is going into her next cycle likely next week if her counts are good enough. This means she will have very low counts for the Parkway Run/Walk, so we're working with the docs to help make it easy for her to be there and great over 125 walkers so far that have signed up to be with Naya.  If you are with us, you may see her in a mask, but hopefully you'll understand that it's for her safety and not her desire!

Please comment back to show her your support and excitement.  I'd love her to get inundated with your comments :)  This is THE BEST news we could have hoped for.

Fruit Ninja Primer, Pre Second MRI

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I know you have been waiting for this and we are so happy to be able to provide it to you today. Yes, here it is, the Fruit Ninja Primer, at last, explained by none other than our very own Naya Summy prior to going in for her second MRI in as many days. We haven't received the report from yesterday so we are anxiously awaiting the results from both today.

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Happiness is going to school

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Today, Naya went to her first day of school - just like the rest of her class. She was beaming from ear to ear! I haven't seen her so excited about school :) She enjoyed seeing her friends,meeting new teachers and just getting back into her groove. Of course, science made the top of her highlights for the day.

As a parent, today was the best day for me. To see her so happy and excited was such a gift. And, it shows that taking things a day at a time is the best advice. Only yesterday, she was still inpatient at CHOP.

All of your prayers, support and good wishes have helped us get this far with a positive outlook. I wanted to share her good day with her followers. Please Keep sending your good wishes, energy and prayers. We love all of your for your generosity.

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Country? From my Rock Roots?

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Who knew? My daughter growing up listening to G&R, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Pat Benatar, etc., is a country girl. Check her out rockin out to Carrie Underwood in her CHOP room. The little wobbling in her voice is a normal side effect of the chemo.

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Waiting and waiting at CHOP

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Well, Naya has been at CHOP since Thursday. Her counts were very low as a result of the chemo about 2 weeks ago, which then exposed her to infection. With her counts so low and an infection, the protocol is to stay in the hospital and take antibiotics until her counts rise. We almost expected this to happen as it happened the last two rounds. She is in good spirits but pretty bored. We have watched a LOT of TV and are finishing some school work in preparation for 5th grade.

Her low counts gave her a big bruise from a minor shot. She wanted me to take a picture but I wanted to spare her followers.

We are hoping counts begin to go up soon so she can see her classmates and start school with everyone. One day at a time.

Getting Ready for School & CHOP Walk

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The week began with Naya's 3rd round of chemo. She had tough days on Tuesday and Wednesday, but is feeling much better now. 

Like all 10-year olds, Naya's gearing up for school to begin. She is finishing up required reading and in good shape to begin 5th grade thanks to great tutoring by her teacher Julie. On Friday, we went to AIS and bought some uniform items including her 5th grade kilt and other fun AIS garments! While there, we ran into her lower school principal who shared exciting news...5th graders are allowed to wear nail polish! Naya's sporting 5 colors now in various shades of blue/teal/turquoise, so clearly that was welcome news.

We are also gearing up for the September walk/run. If you haven't done so, please sign up to walk with us and/or donate.

I want to thank Sheri Reber for designing a logo for our team that symbolizes our cause with Naya's love for horses and her favorite colors. Sheri herself loves horses and is so warm and very talented. We are getting shirts for the walk made using the logo and ordering some tattoos for the walkers.Image

Shake It For a Cure - Oh Yea, Get Your Zumba On With Donna Fooks

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Zumba Party is this Saturday. Come on out and Shake it For a Cure.  Donna is going to throw a crazy party so please help by participating.  She is raising money for Naya's Four Season's River Parkway Run in September - http://giving.chop.edu/site/TR/Events/ParkwayRun?team_id=12770&pg=team&fr_id=1500.

The event will take place Saturday, September 21, 2013 from 2:00-3:30pm (doors open 1:30pm) and will be held at the Brookhaven Community Center gym (next to Fire & Police Depts.) 2 Cambridge Road Brookhaven, PA 19015.

The cost is $20/pp, tickets are available in advance and at the door.  If you want to purchase an advance ticket please leave a comment and I'll email you back with how to get the tickets.

So get ready to shake it and have some fun for a great cause!

ZUmba-Card

The Famous Mister Ed - Well...

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Naya starts her third round of treatments, out of 8, today but before she begins she went out to see all of her friends at Aliquippa Stables. So PaintJack, Scout, Camanche, and the rest of the gang. As always, she came back full of energy, giving me all the updates on all her horse friends and the late breaking events around the barn. She loves her horse buds but I'm going broke with all the carrot bribes!

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot!

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Naya rocked out last Thursday with Pat and Neil, yes Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. We had a blast and man can Pat still belt it out and of course Neil can make that guitar scream. We had a great experience backstage and Naya partied hard late into the evening. Check out her leather dress with chain link neckline!

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TIME TO SIGN UP AND SUPPORT TEAM NAYA

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We have less than 50 days to raise funds and sign up walkers! You can support CHOP and Naya by either walking with Zak and Naya, or donating to her team. Go to our team website TEAMNAYA and click on the Donate or Join buttons on the left side of the team page, and follow the directions. Your gift is tax deductible and greatly appreciated. Together we can make a difference for Naya and the lives of kids who have been affected by cancer.