Benefit Dinner Information

The Benefit Dinner & Concert for Aloshua will be held in the main cafeteria at the Bald Knob Schools. Admission is $5.00, kids 5 and under are free.

Dinner will be served beginning at 5pm. The menu includes: spaghetti and meatballs, cheese ravioli, garlic bread, dinner salad, fried chicken, potatoe salad, macaroni salad, pasta salad, baked beans, corn, green beans, chicken jambalaya, sausage jambalaya, pizza (pepperoni, cheese, sausage), as well as hot dogs & bologna sandwiches for the kids (or adults!) who prefer those items.

Desserts include: a variety of cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, & banana pudding, as well as items donated by members of the community.

Broken Chains will perform after dinner, followed by Hunter West.

Drop-off donations for the Ronald McDonald House, Make-a-Wish Foundation, and the March of Dimes will run for the duration of the evening, and information on each organization may be found at the Community Involvement table all evening.

Aloshua will be attending for those who would like to meet him, however, his family asks that you do not request to meet him if you have been or are currently ill. They have also requested that you use hand sanitizer and/or thoroughly wash your hands prior to meeting him, and that you don't feed him. This is not to be picky, but is for his safety and health. He is immunocompromised and gets sick very easily as a result. A minor cold for you could potentially result in Aloshua spending weeks in Intensive Care. He also has severe food allergies, as well as special food needs that must be closely monitored.

You will have the option of writing him a note for his mom to read to him after the event if you are unable to meet him.  :)

Door prizes will be raffled off throughout the evening. Items include gift certificates and items donated by the following: Which Wich?, Froyo, Barbara Louise Salon, Hour of Power Fitness, Beautiful Noise, Thrills on Wheels, Renae Cote, Lily Rae, & Clark's Drug Store, as well as candy bags and activity books for children, gift certificates to JC Penny's, Burger King, Little Ceasars, and a stylish clutch full of costume jewelry. Bald Knob native and Team Losh member Fallon Glenn, writing as A.K. Morgen, will also donate an ebook copy (for Kindle or Nook) of her debut young adult novel, Fade, upon release from Noble Young Adult in April of this year.

Additional raffle tickets will be available for purchase. They are $5.00 per ticket and will be at the admission table.

You can call Fallon at 501-348-0904 if you require any additional information.

We look forward to seeing you there!!

The big day is this weekend!

Hi everyone,

The online portion of the Team Losh fundraiser has officially ended, but Team Losh is still going strong. This Saturday, we will be at Bald Knob High School for the benefit dinner and concert, and we are so excited! Hunter West and Broken Chains will be performing for the community, there will be a ton of food, and we will have a lot of information for all of you on the Ronald McDonald House of Little Rock, the March of Dimes, and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

If you would like to make a donation to any of the three organizations or would like to sign up to volunteer, we will have all of the required information to help you do so. You will also be able to donate pocket change to the March of Dimes in our "Pennies to Pounds" jars, as well as drop off pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House, and refer the special children in your life to the Make-a-Wish program. We will also be collecting donations of household goods (such as napkins, paper plates, Lysol wipes, disinfectant spray, toiletries, etc) and canned goods and snack foods to drop off at the Ronald McDonald House of Little Rock after the event.

If you would like to sign up to walk with Team Losh at the March for Babies in Little Rock in April, or if you would like to sponsor Team Losh, you will have the opportunity to do so. You'll also have the opportunity to learn more about Aloshua's amazing experience at Give Kids the World through the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and about Baskets of Hope, an organization that provides gift baskets to children at Arkansas Children's Hospital through the Ronald McDonald House of Little Rock.

We are so excited to be able to bring together some of our favorite organizations and help make a difference not only for Aloshua, but for the other children in Arkansas that are just like him. Admission for the evening is only $5 (children 5 and under are free), and that includes food, drinks, desserts, and the concert immediately following dinner.

If you have questions, or need anything at all, please feel free to email us at teamlosh@gmail.com or to call us at 501-348-0904 or 501-247-6711. 

We hope to see as many of you there as possible!

 All our best, 

Your Team Losh Captains

Team Losh Updates - A Letter from Mom.

Dear Family and Friends,
I wanted to write to you all tonight to tell you how things are going for Aloshua and the Team Losh fundraiser. To be honest, when we started this fundraiser in November I thought it was a long shot. I had no clue that the community (both online and off) would be so supportive of our efforts. Throughout these last few months I have had the pleasure to meet and interact with many new faces, and catch up with some of old. I never thought that the fundraiser would actually make things happen, but boy have things happened!

- With the help of Stacey and the staff at Thrills on Wheels we were able to host our first event on January 22nd. Skate for Losh rasied a little over $1,000.

- The second event, hosted by the Homeschool 4H and Larry's Pizza on February 2nd raised $503!

- Our third event, which is a Benefit Dinner and Concert, is set to take place on the 18th of this month and we hope to report back with equally pleasing numbers. (If you are in the area we encourage you to come out, meet Aloshua, and enjoy some good food and entertainment, all while helping a little boy in need.) 

Needless to say, I am in awe of everything that has been done in support of our family. Your kind, caring words mean so much to us and we want each and every one of you to know that without you, none of this would be possible. I cannot express my gratitude to you all. We want to thank each and every one of you for your time spent helping our cause, for the donations, and most of all, for the prayers offered on behalf of Aloshua.

On top of the events, Aloshua's GiveForward page has raised $575, and many private donations have been received, bringing the grand total raised to a little over $3,000. While that is an outstanding amount and we thank all of those who have made this possible, we are still far from our goal. Here is where the nerves set in. Can we reach our goal?

 

When starting the fundraiser we had 3 specific goals in mind. These were to fund Aloshua's Tobramycin, purchase or repair Aloshua's IPV machine, and repair the family vehicle that is used to transport him to the hospital for his numerous monthly appointments and to his 6 weekly therapy sessions. We have not met any of these goals yet, but we are close. Through the fundraiser, we have met individuals and organizations who have helped and are helping find discounts and programs that will aid in the cost of these items. That means, if all works out, we will not have to raise the entire $18,000. That is great news, but much still remains left to be done. We are continuing to ask for your support and help in spreading the cause.

 If you are unable to attend a local event but still wish to help there are many ways you can donate.  

•  You can donate through Aloshua's Give Forward page until February 15th.
• Donations can be sent through paypal to teamlosh@gmail.com or by clicking on the Donate button to the right
• A Special Account has been set up in Courtney Schulist's name at First Community Bank in Searcy and Bald Knob, Arkansas
• Donations can also be mailed to Team Losh, PO BOX 982, Bald Knob AR, 72010 
• Team Losh items can be purchased through the Team Losh Zazzle store. A small percentage of every item sold goes to the fundraiser.
•  If you need additional information on how to donate feel free to call us at 501-247-6711

Thank you again to everyone who has been a part of Team Losh and for all of those who have helped us take these first steps toward reaching our goal. We hope that you will check back soon to find out the latest information and how you can continue to help Losh get what he needs.

Sincerely,

Courtney Schulist (Aloshua's Mom)

Larry's Pizza, the Compilation, and a new 'do

Hi everyone!

Pizza Fundraiser  in the Daily Citizen.

The Homeschool 4-H Club will be hosting a fundraiser for Aloshua at Larry's Pizza in Searcy, Arkansas tomorrow from 4:30pm to close. All tips received, as well as $1.00 from every buffet sold will be donated to Aloshua. If you're in the area, we encourage you to stop by, say hello, and grab a bite to eat!

If you've never been to Larry's you're missing out. They have some really great pizza! They also have arcade games for the kids, and an epic salad bar. :)

The Team Losh Compilation has officially been released! If you made a donation, but have not received it as of yet, please email us and let us know! We sent it out to all donors whom we had an email address for yesterday. If you can attach a copy of your receipt or donation confirmation when you email, please do so. It'll make it much easier to find you in our handy spreadsheet system!

Aloshua and his mom and siblings spent a bit of time at the local park yesterday, and had a lot of fun. Aloshua also got a haircut recently. He looks so grown up now!

Abby, Aloshua and Kaia at the park. 

His new 'do.

If you're wondering why he's half-naked in so many of his pictures lately, there is actually a reason for it that doesn't involve laziness. One of the medications Aloshua needs in a specific form requires approval from the head insurance honchos, and they took nearly a month to approve the patch refill this time. Since it's something he absolutely has to have for the health of his kidneys, his urologist had Courtney give him the less Aloshua friendly liquid version until the head honchos got the request approved.

The liquid, however, is really harsh on Aloshua. He gets easily overheated while on it. With him already running a fever and the medication adding to the misery, he's been more or less naked until the approval for the patch came through and Courtney could stop giving him the liquid again. The patch refill finally came through yesterday, though, and Aloshua said good-riddance to the liquid for another six months (aka until it's time to get another approval and the insurance people take forever to do it).

We hope to see some of you at Larry's tomorrow! 

Your Team Losh Captains

New Event and Test Results

If you follow TeamLosh on Twitter, you've probably already seen the latest, but for those of you that haven't we have a few updates for you!

Larry's Pizza Event:
On February 2nd, the Homeschool 4H club in Searcy, Arkansas will be hosting a fundraiser for Aloshua at Larry's Pizza in Searcy. From 4:30pm to close, Larry's will donate $1 of every buffet sold, as well as all tips, to Aloshua. A big thank you to Amelia and the 4H Club for putting this together for Aloshua. We hope to see some of you there!

Team Losh Compilation:
The Compilation has been sent to authors for review before being sent out to everyone, and it looks great. We are so excited to get it out to all of you! You can expect it to start hitting your inbox on January 31st. Please remember that we need you to forward your receipt or your email address and name to us so we can make sure that you get it! This is particularly important if you donated at an event, by mail or through GiveForward as we may not have your email address.

Test Results:
Aloshua had a lot of tests at his Pulmonology appointment last week and a swallow study with ENT today. We were hoping for good results from all of it, but they just were not in the cards this time around. While the pseudo infection hasn't gotten any worse, Aloshua has a staph infection in his trach and will start another antibiotic for that today. This isn't unusual for Aloshua. He gets staph very easily and is on contact precautions anytime he's hospitalized for his safety simply because he does get the infections very easily and they can get pretty bad for him. So, while discouraging, that news wasn't entirely unexpected.

The swallow study is a different matter altogether, however. During the swallow study, he did great with the solid foods, but aspirated (the liquid went into his lungs instead of into his stomach) both regular and nectar thick liquids, so he has to be put back on honey thickened liquids. He hasn't had to have thickened liquids since 2008, so we were not expecting that at all today. It's a little discouraging because it is a step back by about 3 years, but it's in his best interest, so naturally that's all we need to know to make it happen.

Hopefully the next round of tests will look better and he'll get some good news. It's definitely long overdue for him. But despite all of the recent setbacks and not feeling well, he's been in very high spirits and has been keeping his mom and grandma on their toes as per usual. We can't ask for more than that. :)

All our love, 

Your Team Losh Captains

Skate For Losh: So Much Fun!

The Information Table.

Sunday was the big night: our first community fundraising event for Aloshua, and we weren't at all sure how it would turn out. We got notice about an hour before the event that the weather was supposed to get really bad. Tornadoes, hail, strong winds, torrential rains, flood advisory... in other words, a typical January storm in Arkansas. Despite the incoming storm, we loaded up and headed to Thrills on Wheels for Skate for Losh.

Aloshua and his brother, Kaia, were excited all day about getting to skate. Kaia, protective brother that he is, informed us as we were preparing to leave that he was going to push Aloshua around first, and he was going to tell everyone that they couldn't play with him unless they used hand sanitizer first. While the adults got things ready to go, he and Aloshua practiced telling people to, "Please use hand sanitizer or don't touch my brother." Perhaps not the most diplomatic way of asking, but you have to give him credit for trying, right? :)

Kaia, excited to get to the rink!

Excited to get to Skate for Losh.

The event started at 4:30 and ended at 6:30. Despite the weather, about 55 people were in attendance. We raised $514.47, which was completely awesome. At the end of the night, the amazingly generous Barry Vuletich approached Aunt Fallon and informed her that he wanted to match whatever was donated, bringing the night's total to an amazing $1,014.47. Way to go, Team Losh!!!

Poster and photos of Aloshua announcing the event

Thrills on Wheels was completely amazing through the entire event. We honestly cannot say enough about how great they were to everyone in attendance, and how helpful they were to those of us working the event. If you haven't been to Thrills on Wheels yet and live in the area, you definitely need to check it out.We would love to go back and do another event sometime later this year, and are thrilled to work with the organization in planning this.

The kids played games for door prizes such as a prize pack, and free ice cream, and the lucky winners were Tony, Carly, Jaedyn and Trinity. At the end of the night, all of the adults in attendance lined up so Aloshua could randomly select a winner for an estimated $40.00 worth of prizes, including a gift certificate donated by KJ's Family Restaurant in Judsonia, Arkansas. He did not support this plan and tried to choose himself. Everyone got a good laugh about that, and then we decided we'd probably have more luck if Aybra handed out the goods. She selected Sean as the lucky winner. Congratulation, guys!

Azariyah and Rob getting ready to skate

Azariyah and Aybra playing arcade games.

Fallon and Courtney, posing for a picture at the event.

Some of the kids having a blast

Aloshua posing with Barry Vuletich, who matched the night's total.

Aloshua posing with Tony, one of the prize winners, and his family.

Aloshua skating with Uncle CJ.

Aloshua posing with Carmen and his great grandma, Lois.

Aloshua posing with winners Carly and Trinity, and their families.

Aloshua and Janice cheating at Skee-Ball.

Michael and Aloshua posing together.

Aloshua and his grandpa Jerry, posing with some of Aloshua's ticket loot.

Aloshua posing with winner Sean and his boys, Azariyah and Aaron.

Courtney, Jerry, Aybra and Aloshua taking a break for a photo.

Courtney trying to convince Losh to pick a winner.

Michael and Tabitha.

Cody, CJ, and Jayden posing for a picture.

A very happy, and sleepy little boy.

As we loaded up, the storm really hit, and it was ferocious. Hail, strong winds, heavy rain. The roads flooded quickly, but we all made it home safely with two very tired little boys asleep in the backseat. We cannot wait until Team Losh's next event, a benefit dinner and concert in Bald Knob next month, and we hope to see all of you there!

A huge thank you to everyone who was in attendance, to Thrills on Wheels for sponsoring the event, and to Barry Vuletich for his generous matching donation. With your help, we've raised over $3,000.00 for Aloshua's medical fund, and have gathered over $1,000.00 worth of prizes. Team Losh is blessed to have each and every one of you on the team!

Until next time, 

Your Team Losh Captains

XRay Results & Skate for Losh

Losh and Abby testing out his new bed today. Thanks, Stacey!

We have this theory that it's never good news when the doctor calls us with results from Aloshua's tests. Today was no exception. His pulmonologist called today with his X-Ray results, and as usually happens when we get those calls, it wasn't good news.

Aloshua's diaphragmatic hernia has reopened (which we knew), but pulmonology was concerned about it, so he has been referred to the surgery doctors.

He's had the hernia pretty much from birth, but in 2009, he got really sick and was in a lot of pain. We took him to the local ER and Urgent Care, and they kept telling us it was just a respiratory infection. We knew better so when he started throwing up (which he's not supposed to be able to do at all), we rushed him to Children's.

Turns out, that little niggling feeling we were having that something was seriously wrong was... well, right. His stomach and bowels had shifted through the hernia into his chest cavity and had gotten completely clamped off, causing all kinds of havoc in there.

An army of surgeons and ER doctors descended on us in the ER and rushed him back to surgery in the middle of the night. They weren't sure they were going to be able to save the bowels (which is really bad), and cautioned us not to expect a miracle. Thankfully, they were wrong and we got another miracle. They got him into surgery in time and were able to save the bowels, repair the damage, and close the hernia as best they were able with his shunt drainage tube in the way. It was pretty touch and go for a while there though, and we were all scared we were going to lose him.

So, the surgeons took a look at the X-Rays today and didn't see any really drastic changes, but there's cause for concern that the stomach and intestine/bowels may shift through it into the chest cavity again. Since his diaphragm is partially paralyzed already and he's already been through so much, they don't want to do another surgery on it until they have to do so though. So, we're just going to keep monitoring him closely for now as we have been, and at the first sign of stomach problems, they'll take him in for surgery.

Aloshua is nothing if not a champion, and if we've learned anything from him in the last six and a half years it's that we can do this. We can do this, and we will.

In the meantime, we're going to continue on as we have been, and hope you will all join us. We'll be at Thrills on Wheels in Searcy for Skate for Losh on Sunday at 4:30pm, and would love for you to come out, say hello, watch us fall (a lot), and meet Aloshua. :) We'll be there until 6:30pm and Aloshua is so excited to go "state" with everyone (which means he fully intends to make as many people as possible take him and his wheelchair for a spin around the rink)! 

Thrills On Wheels is located at the end of Main Street, just over the highway 67 overpass in Searcy, Arkansas. From Highway 67, use Exit 42. After exiting, go south 1/2 mile, and you'll see it on the left.

All our love,
Your Team Losh Captains