Alan's Angels

Welcome to my website in memory and honor of my stepbrother, Alan Winegarden, 1/20/80-10/25/04.

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Only A Moment

How quietly he tiptoed into our world
Softly, only a moment he stayed
But what an imprint his footprints
Have left upon our hearts.

~Author Unknown

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Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.

~Flavia Weedn

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The Rose Still Blooms

A rose once grew where all could see,
sheltered beside a garden wall,
And, as the days passed swiftly by,
it spread its branches,
straight and tall,
One Day, a beam of light shone through
a crevice that had opened wide--
The rose bent gently toward its warmth
then passed beyond to the other side.

Now you who deeply feel its loss,
be comforted--the rose blooms there.
Its beauty even greater now,
nurtured by God’s own loving care.

Many people enter our lives for just a little while--
others pause and plant flowers in our hearts
that continue to bloom forever.

Each day adds a flower to the beautiful bouquet of warm
and special memories we gathered along the way.
If a bud burst into bloom every time I thought of you,
All the earth would be a glorious garden.

~Catherine Atkinson

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I created this page as a tribute to Alan's courageous fight against rhabdomyosarcoma. At the age of 23, Alan was diagnosed with this rare childhood cancer (alveolar type, stage 3, pelvic region). The tumor was very big and apparently the biggest one Sloan Kettering has ever seen. Alan had eight rounds of chemo, surgery, radiation, and then experimental chemo. He fought a great fight for 21 months. Alan taught me more in those months than I have learned in my entire life. He never complained and took each day with what it had to offer. We are now Alan's Angels and hope to make him proud of us. I am keeping this page to honor and remember Alan. I thank all those who have been so supportive throughout this journey and now that my journey continues without Alan. Thank you for visiting. I will try to update the journal periodically to let you know what is going on in my fight to raise childhood cancer awareness and to eradicate this horrible disease.

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Donate money to alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma reserch at UPenn by visiting this website. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Visit Candlelighters, Childhood Cancer Foundation to purchase gold ribbon pins.

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Journal

Saturday, June 14, 2008 10:01 PM CDT

The 19th Annual Heel to Heal is on Sunday, September 28th at 9 am in Johnson Park in Piscataway, NJ. Alan's Angels will once again be walking in the event. To make a donation to our team, please visit www.firstgiving.org/alansangels.

Hospital Information:

At Peace in Heaven

Links:

E-mail Author: randigoblue@comcast.net

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