BE AN ANGEL FOR MISS AMBER!!

NOTE: The narrative in the paragraph below was written over 4 years ago.  Please check the updates link for the most recent information.  Amber Rose Pflughoeft is a delightful young lady in the midst of her 9th year of battling a devastating type of cancer, as well as the debilitating effects from various kinds of treatments, some experimental, that were taken to extend her period of survivorship.

Original Narrative:  In the fall of 2010, as she began 5th grade and was about to turn 11,  Amber was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma – an aggressive form of bone cancer that manifested in her right lower leg/knee area and lungs. She sat out the remainder of 5th grade due to chemo treatments, several lung surgeries, and a knee/leg bone replacement. The majority of her time was spent confined to Children’s Hospital or home.  After treatments ended, she started to get “clean scans” as the chemo did what it was supposed to and this started a period of remission.  Amber transitioned into middle school, had numerous follow-up procedures and surgeries, and managed to graduate from 8th grade in the spring of 2014, with Honors and on schedule with the rest of her classmates. Over that summer she achieved 3 years of “clean scans” so her future looked much brighter than in the fall of 2010.  Then, two weeks after her 3-month tests showed no evidence of cancer, she developed breathing problems and new tumors were found in her lungs, which required an emergency surgery. Amber made decisions to participate in an experimental chemo program and to continue her education as a freshman at West Bend West High School.  Because of treatments, this meant missing every 3rd week of school.

(Summer of 2010, before diagnosis)
 
That brings us to Amber’s current status.  This experimental chemo program was supposed to be limited to one year – in fact, for most patients it was terminated earlier than that because it was not proving to be effective.  However, being the unique person that Amber is, it has worked for her and she is getting good “scans”.  It is unknown what will happen if her treatments come to an end, so Children’s Hospital and the FDA have approved Amber continuing on this chemo and she is considered to be in “maintenance”.  As Amber begins her sophomore year, it is hoped that her future treatments will be on a 4 week cycle.  Amber is also being challenged by complications related to her leg surgeries, and may require future treatments and therapies for those issues.

I am honored to be working with Amber and her family on this fundraising initiative. It is something her mother and I have been discussing since last year, but we felt it was necessary to wait until Amber became comfortable with this process.  I have known Amber and her family since she transferred to Green Tree School at the beginning of 3rd grade and became a classmate to my daughter. 

The purpose of this effort is to help in 3 areas:

1)  Amber has been advised to live a purposeful life, to find enjoyable things to do now, to not put things off until she is older.  Amber will always be burdened with the knowledge that her life situation may change suddenly and drastically – that has happened to Amber and her family twice. While we all should live with that knowledge for ourselves,  Amber has already been “rocked” too many times in her young life.  With her committment to ongoing treatments and education, it may not be feasible for her to take a part-time job to earn money for extraordinary endeavors, like trips,  art projects, travel to Children's Oncology Services camps, drivers education, etc.  

2) Her mother Tiffany has been burdened with past and future extraordinary expenses that put stress on family finances, compounded by lost earning opportunities due to missing work when Amber is in treatment for a week at Children's Hospital, which is 35 miles from their home. She has an understanding employer who allows her to work when she can, but the lost income is not replaced.  Tiffany has had to pass on advanced job opportunities with full time hours and benefits because of not being able to commit to consistent hours. 

3) Amber has a 7-year old brother Ayden who absolutely adores his big sister. Since the age of 2, his life has been centered on Amber’s situation and he needs some positive quality family experiences too.

(Ayden & Amber - Spring 2011)

Please consider helping in any of the following ways:

1) Donate via this site.

2) Donate off-line, for those not comfortable doing on-line donations. Some may have other kinds of support to offer. There is also an ongoing need for gasoline cards and grocery store cards. Please find the "Contact" icon below to contact me.

3) Share this story via social media or email, with a personal message of your own attached.  People don’t go to sites like this to randomly find causes to donate to.  If you know and love Amber and her family and believe in this cause, let other people know. It is those efforts that give this cause credibility.  If you are too young to make donations, please share this information with your parents, grandparents, etc.

4) Offer up prayers for Amber and her family that they may remain on this path of survivorship.

5) Follow this site for updates.

Specific questions or concerns may be submitted via the "Contact" icon below.

Thank you,

Mark Hoefert, friend to the family of Amber Pflughoeft