From laying in bed all day to walking?!?! WOW!

Hey all,

I just wanted to give you a quick update on Crystal. I went by my mom's house this past Saturday and was promptly called back to Crystal's bedroom. With some assistance from my mother she was able to sit up in the bed, and once she was stable was able to sit there without any assistance. Previously she would list to her left, and eventually fall over. Then she amazed me further by being able to stand with support from her bed. The smile on her face after seeing that was amazing.

As if that was not enough, her angel of a physical therapist had her walking with the assistance of her walker the other night. She was successfully able to walk from her bedroom to the living room (with a few breaks to sit down). Not only is it amazing how far she is progressing, but it warms my heart to see her smile because of her accomplishments.

Thanks again for keeping Crystal in your thoughts and prayers, because that coupled with a great physical therapist, and Crystal's will to get better is really making a difference.

Talk to you all soon,

Kevin (Crystal's Brother)

Where in the World is the Crystal Band?

Hey all,

We will be adding a new page to the site within the next few weeks, and need your help to make the page the best that it can be. We are asking everyone that has a Crystal Hope Band to take a picture of themselves (either as an individual, or with a group of Crystal Hope Band wearers) at a notable location near them and email the pictures to us. We are then going to add these pictures to the site.

All you need to do is take a picture of yourself (or a group of people) in a notable place, and email that picture to crystalfuindraiser@gmail.com along with the names of the people in the picture (similar to how they would be listed in a yearbook), and the name of the location. After that make sure to keep your eyes peeled for your picture to show up on the site.

So dont be shy, start taking pictures of your Crystal Hope Bands (and if you dont have one, feel free to email crystalfundraiser@gmail.com and we will be sure to get one over to you).

Thanks,

Kevin
(Crystal's Brother)

Crystal's Progress

Hi Everyone,

This is Crystal's Dad and Mom. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. This is going to be a good year for Crystal.

Crystal has been home from the hospital seven weeks tomorrow. Crystal went in the hospital one week before her 10th birthday for pneumonia. She was in there for her 10th birthday. Children's Hospital treated Crystal so special on her birthday. The art room and nurses decorated her door and her whole room while we were asleep. They had two clowns visit her and many presents from the hospital staff. The best thing for her was cupcakes from the art room. The nurses washed her hair the night before her birthday and braided her hair . All the nurses came in at midnight and sang Happy Birthday to her.

Crystal has many angels sent from God to help her recover. Four weeks after Crystal came home from the hospital, she had a visitor from the neighborhood, her name is Jeanine. We never met her before. She wanted to know if she could bring coloring books and crayons to Crystal. Unfortunely, Crystal had no interest in doing anything. She only wanted to eat because of the high dosage of steroids. She was at 12 mgs and now is at 2 mgs!

Well that night she started to color and ever since she has colored in coloring books and has been drawing pictures everyday - day and night.

Another angel sent to us is Nesrin her physical therapist. Crystal sees Nesrin Mon thru Fri. For the past three weeks. The first couple of days Crystal wasn't to happy to see Nesrin but she did what Nesrin wanted her to do. Everytime she sees Nesrin Crystal learns something new and surprises us by showing us. The very first day Nesrin had Crystal opening and closing her hand.

I'm sorry I forgot to tell everyone that Crystal came home from the hospital and couldn't move her left side at all and hardly moved her right side except to feed herself.

My goodness, what a blessing Nesrin is for Crystal. Crystal can move her hand from stomach to nose. Tap her fingers, move her head to left and right, up and down. She squeezed my hand with her left hand last night for the first time. While sitting in bed she can lift both legs up. Also she can move her upper body forward to her legs and back again. Two weeks ago, she took a couple steps for Nesrin and Crystal's sister Kelly. Last week she took four steps forward and four steps back to bed. She has assistance with all of her triumps but how amazing all she can do in just three weeks. Crystal looks forward to seeing Nesrin everyday and showing Dad and Mom what she can do. Crystal was our miracle baby born ten and a half weeks early and now she is our miracle child.

Love to all,
Ray and Theresa

5 of Crystal's guardian angels- Higher Hands

Here are 5 of the guys that played at crystals fundraiser... they are all wearing the wonderful crystal hope bands!!! Ya! For higher hands!

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T'was the night before christmas

Its Christmas Eve at the Krug/Bernhard household and Crystal is playing wii for the first time in months. We found a game that she can operate with only her right hand, and now she is schooling our mother in the game. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Kevin.

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Penny Wars at Brock Bridge Elementary

It touches my heart every time I hear about another group helping Crystal in her fight against cancer, and this one digs even deeper because it not only helps Crystal, but is also teaching young children how to help their friends (in a fun way).

This Penny War is being organized by Crystal's teacher from Kindergarten, and we just want to thank her, the students of Brock Bridge Elementary, their family, and the other staff at Brock Bridge.

Crystal's Bands!

Team Crystal Bands!!!

These cool and practical silicone wrist bands are another fundraiser to help raise funds for her medical treatment.

The band says "Stop and Erase... Cancer" on the front, and "Team Crystal" on the back. The slogan Stop and Erase is the name of a song by Crystal's favorite musical artist, Selena Gomez.

They make the perfect accessory to show your support for Crystal and her fight, are the perfect stocking stuffers, and help us raise awareness about this fight.

You can pick yours up at the Laughing Pint (3531 Gough Street, Baltimore, MD 21224) or if you dont live in the area you can email us at crystalfundraiser@gmail.com to purchase one. They are only $5 a piece.

Pictured Left: Crystal's family wearing their team Crystal hope bands