This personal message was also sent by Simone.....

Dear Jeanette, Sean and all the other saints in England
Words cannot express my gratitude for all your efforts and help in
raising funds. Your time and effort means more to me and my family
than mere words can express. The money is most definitely helpful
and will be put to good use; hopefully towards a stem cell harvest.
We are praying that at least one of the two potential donors in
Germany who are currently undergoing further compatibly tests will
be a match.
But more than the monetary value, it is the thought behind all the
donations which I so greatly appreciate. This time has been difficult
for us, but knowing we have the support of so many of our ‘doggy
family’ certainly helps. Please know I won't forget your kind gestures.
Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for contributing
towards my journey to wellness!
You can follow the progress of our search and my journey on my blog
www.simzblog.info
Please also view the Sunflower Fund’s website;
www.sunflowerfund.org.za
Sincerely,
Simone van Kraayenburg and Family

This from Simone's blog yesterday:


I had my 3rd bone marrow biopsy this morning in 4 months! Definitely not used to this yet. I got a sedation pill that I had to drink 30min before the time. I drank it in the car on the way and was so scared I would be knocked out before we get there. Well, after an hour I was still wide awake… Had the biopsy, AWAKE. Just afterwards I fell asleep for about 2 hours. We then went home when I was sort of awake. So basically the pill didn’t knock me out when it was supposed to, it knocked me out till 4 this afternoon! It was very painful, but I am so glad it is over. Until the next one now. They said we should get the results end of the week, which is fast. It took 2 weeks in England. We have to ask the Doctor I had in England to possibly send us the bone marrow slides from the biopsies I had there, to compare if anything has changed. I pray for a miracle that God decided I am not cut out for this, and heeled me!
On Carte Blanche Medical tonight was a story about MDS and the new medicine ‘Vidaza’. I have mentioned Vidaza before. They weren’t very clear on what it does though. It is not a cure… It simply prolongs life. As MDS is really what the eldery get and as they said, a death sentence. They are too old for bone marrow tranplants-the only possible cure. By getting Vidaza they can keep it more stable. If the donor search takes too long and my illness decides to take a wrong turn, we will consider Vidaza for me until we find a donor. But it has a lot of side effects and is VERY costly. R30 000-00 a month! The medical confirmed last week that they will pay 80% of it which is amazing news should I need it. As its a new drug most Medical Aids do not cover at all and there is no generic.
Lets see what these bone marrow results bring us!

Please keep the donations coming in - there is still hope and every penny counts.

The stud dog draw will be made at the end of August. Please keep your donations rolling in - Simone needs your help - we have raised just short of £600 so far - wouldn't it be something if we could make it to £1000?

PM me for details on how to donate.

Please donate

Pauline and Derek Bignell have added Dechsline Wallace to the draw - thanks very much!

Please keep the donations coming in - if you haven't donated yet - please do before the draw takes place at the end of August.

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Simone is such a brave and positive person - here is her latest blog:

Only a few things to update!
Had a great 21st for those of you who wondered! Thank you to everybody!
Got some of the bone marrow results, its stayed the same as the last biopsy in March. So at least I am stable! Still waiting for final/complete results.
The donor sample is still on its way to SA, once it arrives it will take another 2 weeks approx to test the LAST 2 levels! This is basically confirmatory typing as we are a very good match. The other possible donor we had has fallen out, ie they do not match anymore. Apparently the possible donor is a male aged 24-25. They say a male donor is better than a female. The stem cells harvest better and at least I don’t have to worry that they will be unavailable to donate because they are pregnant or something!
Some thank you’s…
Colin Levy for helping with all my meds
June de Wit, Natacha van Zyl, Momenta and Alpha GSD Club for helping with the Frog Race fundraiser
Marius Bester, Adri, Mari for helping with other fundraisers and things
Jenni B for mobilizing half of Cape Town!
All the ’saint’s in England for raising a load of donations!
My ‘maatjie’ Alicia for all your support!
Everyone for their amazing moral support and overwhelming donations!
We have received approx R75 000 in just donations so far! I can’t begin to say thank you to everyone!!! Whether its R10, R100 or R1000, we are all very grateful for your kind gesture!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I am very grateful for all of the stud dog pledges and to those you have made donations so far but what we really need is money. Please donate if you can afford to - however much you can afford - you don't have to be entered in the stud dog draw if it is of no use to you!!

Thanks, Shirley

Please Donate

News from a fund raiser held in South Africa.....

WOW!!! The Frog Race was an amazing success! We raised an incredible R36 440! And it was sooo much fun!
Thank you’s.. where do I start!
Casper de Vries & Sharleen Surtie Richards for making it an EXTRA special night for everybody!
June – It would not have happened without you
Natacha
Momenta Club
Alpha Club
Mom, Dad and Darren
And of course it would not have been such a success if everyone had not attended!
All our sponsors for the races, vouchers and prizes!
Crawford College for the hall
Momenta Club
Alpha Club
Van Loggernberg
Midrand Club
Phoenix Club
Zimmerman family
Dr Celia who brought me into this world
Nolan family
Braysher family
Telana
Flip de Winaar
Marinda Annandale
Richard Crisswell
Wragg family
All the extra donations!
Babie van den Berg who came all the way from Bloemfontein
And of course all their guests and my family!
I apologize if I forgot anyone, but I want to thank all of you!
We are still waiting on the almost-there-donor’s blood sample, it should arrive this week. I think I hugged to many people on Saturday, because I am sick as a dog now! I hope it will pass quickly!

We have now raised just under £640 in the UK - thanks to everyone who has donated - if you can still donate then please do. It would be great to get to £1000

Hey Simone,

What about the Frogs, without them no race     love and hugs.    Mo

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