2-8-12 update for Carson

I am not bringing good news today. In the last month and few weeks especially, Carson has been showing rapid digression of the disease process. Warning, tough words and thoughts to follow.

His brain damage is effecting his brain stem, the control center of your body. We are seeing this through the shutting down of bodily functions. His heart rate has been very low, with times of irregular beats. He has had decreased urine output and bowel movements. With this slowing down, naturally his body is unable to handle much fluid intake. Carson has been requiring more oxygen because he is breathing shallow and has had diminished lung sounds. There have been two days in the last week that we were very worried and could hear God calling our son, however Carson was not ready. We are treating Carson to be comfortable during these times. Please keep Carson in your prayers and that he may have a peaceful and quick journey home to God.

Blessings- Sarah and Jeff

Carson's Crew has about 20 runners so far that will run in the Oz half marathon in Olathe Ks April 21st.
Want to support Carson's Crew but really don't want to run! No problem! The Crew have arranged for some great raffle prizes!

1. Week stay in lake Tahoe!

2. Two night Stay in Kiawah Island, Sc

3 Flip Camera

The goal is to raise $5000.00 for the Menkes Foundation
http://themenkesfoundation.org/about/mission.html

Tickets are being sold for these great prizes 1 ticket for $5.00 or 5 tickets for $20.00. You can either print your own tickets with the link below or write a check made out to the Menkes Foundation. Send to Sarah Bowman 15821 W. 150th Ter Olathe, KS 66062

Raffle Ticket Link-
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B2lVBcBgnR2jMGM3Y2E1ZWItNTg1Mi00NzRkLWE5ZjMtYzY2ZDJjMzViZWY5&hl=en_US&pli=1

Week stay in Lake Tahoe Info-
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B2lVBcBgnR2jNDRkZTUzOTUtNWY4OC00YTgzLTg1NjgtOTA1OTJmOTUyYWI3&hl=en_US

Kiawah Island 2 night stay in 2 bedroom villa info-
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13qUNqlmjxbixx8UwxZuinWH1QEqfwLANk6vU0J8XDaU/edit#

Carson's Crew 2012!

Here are the details of Carson's Crew 2012! We are increasing the milage.... a 1/2 Marathon! 13.1 miles. Please let us know if you are interested in joining the run! Happy training's!

Dear Friends & Family,

We are writing this letter to share with you a commitment each of us has made. On April 21, 2012, Carson’s Crew will be joining approximately 1200 other runners and walkers in completing the OZ ½ Marathon in Olathe, Kansas. The purpose of this letter is to invite you to join us at this race and of course, the after party!

There are a variety of reasons people commit to the months of training. It could be the exercise, losing a few pounds, getting in shape, or the camaraderie of doing this with family and friends. Whatever the individual motivations for the months of commitment, as a group, we have decided to raise money for the Menkes Foundation. The foundation was formed to advocate awareness of children afflicted with Menkes disease and encourages prenatal genetic testing for neurological related diseases.

In the beginning of the letter, we invited all of you to join us on this marathon. We realize that some of you may not want to participate in the race but you can join us by helping us reach our goal, which is to raise $5000. We plan to raise this amount by having a raffle drawing. The raffle tickets will be sold 1 for $5 or 5 for $20. 1^st place will receive one week’s accommodations in Tahoe, 2^nd place will receive a 2 night stay at Kiawah Island Golf Resort and 3^rd place will receive a Flip Camera. To purchase raffle tickets use paypal on www.carsonbowman.blogspot.com or send a check made out to the Menkes Foundation and sent to Sarah Bowman, 15821 W 150^th Terrace, Olathe, KS 60062. The drawing will take place on April 21^st at noon at Jeff and Sarah’s house. Join us for the race after-party. You do not need to be present to win. The Menkes Foundation is exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)3 as a non-profit educational organization. All of Carson’s Crew Participants will receive a Carson’s Crew running t-shirt to wear during the race. Extra shirts will be available for $8 during the event weekend. Each runner is responsible for registering for the race themselves at http://www.olathe.org/cvb/sports/Marathon/information_registatration.html.

We thank you in advance for your generosity and for joining us in this marathon to raise funding for the Menkes Foundation on Carson’s behalf.

Thank you and good luck with your training.

Carson’s Crew

Many Blessings

We have so many blessings to count this year! Happy Birthday Jesus. God blessed us with another year with Carson and to be able to spend Christmas with him and our new addition, Cameryn, was amazing! So many joyful moments. Cameryn is a bundle on the move and you can tell Carson loves being an older brother!

We were also blessed to be able to spend this holiday with ALL of our families. Kari from SC, Becky and Marcos from FL, Jen, Jules, John from MO, the Olathe and the Iowa clan! Loved every minute we spent will all of them! Thanks so much for traveling here to see us!

I have finally joined the facebook world, please find me if you like, Sarah Latshaw Bowman.

We hope all of you had such an amazing Christmas as us! Please look for our New Years cards this year (Christmas cards didn't make it).

Love- Sarah, Jeff, Carson and Cameryn

12-7-2010

Hello- We are looking forward to the holidays! Can't wait to celebrate with our new/bigger family. So many more firsts are to come. Here is a quick update...

Cameryn's first tooth popped threw yesterday! She loves pushing the kitchen chairs around...who needs a walker when there are chairs around. Carson continues to have his ups and downs. He is currently having 2-3 rough days a week. His digestive tract moves very slowly on these days and Carson can not tolerate any fluid intake, even getting all his meds in can be a challenge. Today is a good day, he is taking a nice nap right now.

God Bless everyone and for everyday we get to spend together!

11-16-2011

8 months old already! Big brother Carson, all smiles!

WOW!

It has been way too long from the last update! I guess you can say no news is good news! All has been well, we have continued to have our good days and our bad days. (More good than bad lately).

Thank you again for the amazing birthday party for Carson...each and everyone of you helped make it so very special. I would love to have pictures that you may have taken at the party, feel free to email (sarahn.bowman@yahoo.com) them to me, send them snail mail or just drop them by and say hi!

Carson has begun to react to us again! Smiling and just being wide awake (when he wants, after all he is a 4 year old boy!) His seizures are still down, he has not had any other kidney stones, and we have not had any sicknesses (knock on wood).

Cameryn is growing like a weed, She is 7.5 months! She is all over the place, walking along furniture and behind a walker. Not to mention crawling like a champ, she likes to keep up with all the other kids here. I have caught her looking up the steps wondering 'how do I get up there?' She has also tried to figure out how to climb on the fireplace. Cami is also eating everything, counting down the days to Thanksgiving! She likes eggs, toast and cheese for breakfast. She also likes spaghetti and meatballs! What a go getter...

Jeff and I just celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary! What an amazing 7 years, we have been so blessed and are excited for the future.

Please enjoy the pics!