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www.FredParent.NET • 17 A Cheering Squad Elizabeth Newsome says that she didn't realize how small her world was before her daughter Lauren's leukemia diagnosis. She muses, "I was just a stay-at-home mom raising her kids until one of them got sick and we needed help." She has been overwhelmed with the community's efforts to pitch in, and had not realized how many people were out there actively looking for ways to help. Newsome reflects, "How do you say thank you big enough?" Shortly after her diagnosis at the age of 3, Lauren lost her ability to walk and talk due to the cocktail of 12 cancer medica- tions she was taking. For 30 days, she was silent and immobile. The Newsomes used the Ronald MacDonald House in Washington, D.C., a place Elizabeth calls their home away from home for temporary housing during Lauren's treatments. When Lauren started physical therapy to learn how to walk again, she did the majority of it there and in the gardens of the Franciscan monastery nearby. Newsome says of their experiences in D.C., "We were there for seven-and-a-half months last year, and we met people who became our family. We've seen a lot of children who haven't made it, and we've been with families through that. They've seen our daughter really struggle, and now she's doing better." Dubbed the Peewee Newsome Club after a popular children's book series, Newsome says it's the family's bond that has rallied Lauren. They have always spent most of their time together, and Lauren often asked for the Peewee Newsome Club when she was receiving treatments. Newsome says, "Each family has to find their own way to deal with their diagnosis, but we've trained our thoughts to make sure we're positive. We cheer every needle stick, every blood draw and every step forward that Laruen makes." Today, Lauren is officially in remission, but she still has cancer in her body. She will continue chemotherapy treatments for the next two years to suppress the leukemia and ward off a relapse.