JENESSA NICOLE “BOEY” BYERS

Beth is a beautiful warrior princess who is fighting for her life right now. Let’s give this cancer some serious Boey TUDE and storm the heavens for her healing. We can feel Boey with us as we pray because Boey is praying for her beautiful Beth right along side us.

Our hearts are broken, and all of us are devastated. This as you all know, hits to close to home. This is why Boey fought so hard for a cure and her legacy and the foundation is so important. No child should EVER have to suffer from this hideous monster. Thankyou with all our hearts for your prayers and uniting for our children. We are so close to getting the CCCA bill signed.  Boey taught Beth and the entire world how to believe.

Pray for healing and God’s love, comfort and protection to surround this beautiful family

PLEASE LEAVE THE FAMILY UPLIFTING COMMENTS OF LOVE PRAYERS AND ENCOURAGEMENT AT BETH UNANGST’S CARINGBRIDGE SITE

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bethunangst

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!YOU DID IT!! THANKYOU FOR UNITING ON BEHALF OF BOEY AND ALL HER BRAVE AND BEAUTIFUL FRIENDS!!! BECAUSE YOU BELIEVED FOR BOEY ALL OF HER DREAMS OF FINDING A CURE WILL COME TRUE!! THANKYOU FOR CONTINUING HER EXTRAORDINARY LEGACY BY NEVER GIVING UP AND STANDING UP FOR OUR PRECIOUS CHILDREN WHO ARE SUFFERING.

BOEY IS REJOICING IN HEAVEN WITH ALL OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON BEHALF OF HER AND ALL HER FRIENDS!! IT’S TRULY AMAZING TO SEE HER PRAYERS IN HEAVEN BEING ANSWERED HERE ON EARTH!!

THANKYOU FOR ALL YOUR LOVE, SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT DURING THIS VERY DIFFICULT TIME. EVERYTHING IS SO SURREAL AND I HAVE A FEELING IT WILL STAY THIS WAY UNTIL WE JOIN HER IN HEAVEN. GRIEF DOES NOT JUST GO AWAY, IT’S THE PRICE OF LOVE AND WE LOVE HER BEYOND WHAT ANY EARTHLY WORDS CAN EVER EXPRESS. WE ARE SO ABSOLUTELY HONORED AND BLESSED THAT GOD CHOSE US TO BE HER PARENTS FOR EIGHT EXTRAORDINARY JOY FILLED YEARS.

HER WEBSITE HAS BEEN BOMBARDED WITH AN OUTPOURING OF LOVE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. WHENEVER THE PAIN BECOMES TOMUCH TO BEAR, EMHE AIRS OUR SHOW AND HER WEBSITE IS INUNDATED WITH BEAUTIFUL MESSAGES OF LOVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT. PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE BEEN DEEPLY TOUCHED AND THEY ARE SHARING THEIR TESTIMONY OF GIVING THEIR LIVES TO THE LORD BECAUSE OF BOEY’S FAITH AND LOVE FOR HER KING.

WHAT A POWERFUL TESTIMONY OF A PRECIOUS CHILD WHO KNOWS THE VOICE OF HER HEAVENLY FATHER. BOEY WAS A RADIANT VESSEL OF HIS AWESOME LOVE HERE ON EARTH AND HAS TOUCHED MILLIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD.

WOW!!

WE MISS HER MORE EVERYDAY BUT GOD IS GIVING US SUPERNATURAL STRENGTH AND CARRYING US THROUGH THIS UNEXPECTED TRAGEDY.

WE ARE WARRIORS FOR CHRIST AND FOR A CURE!! WE WILL NEVER STOP BELIEVING AND FIGHTING FOR BOEY AND ALL THE CHILDREN!! VICTORY IS OURS!!!

THANKYOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF THE BOEY STREET TEAMS AND EVERYONE OUT THERE WHO IS UNITING FOR OUR CHILDREN AND WRITING THEIR SENATORS.  ALL YOUR HARD WORK HAS PAID OFF!!!! BOEY’S SPIRIT AND BOEY TUDE IS STRONGER THAN EVER AND WORKING THROUGH ALL OF YOU TO KICK SOME MAJOR CANCER BUTT!!! YOU ROCK!!

THE LATEST ON THE CCCA BILL:

Senator Wyden’s office was very excited and honored to share the following information.

There were only 7 cosponsors before Boey’s letter to Sen Wyden and before he signed on in June of 07. Almost all the other co sponsors signed on since Ron’s floor speech in June, 2007 and 19 more signed on since October. The airing of EMHE was an enormous boost raising awareness of pediatric cancer and getting more cosponsors. The Boey Street Teams and all other foundations and cancer organizations have had a huge impact with their letters and ongoing campaign for the CCCA bill.

The bill has 60 cosponsors in the Senate now and the future of the bill in the House looks promising. We encourage everyone to continue to contact their Congressional representatives (S.911 for Senate members, HR 1553 for House members.) Also, this morning there is another cosponsor on S911 - so now we have 61.

The House version of the bill passed thru Health subcommittee In the House, they can’t hold up bills until they have 60 votes like in the Senate (that’s why it’s important to have 60 cosponsors in Senate). A simple majority passes most bills in the House. Now it’s in the House Energy and Commerce Committee (of which Health is a subcommittee) and that’s where they’ll bundle it with some other appropriation bills and pass it thru to be voted on in the full House. Then it should come over to the Senate for a vote, where, hopefully it’ll be Coburn-proof.

Again, there’s no timeline for this but I believe with all the powerful support the bill will be signed into law very soon!!!!

Also, this morning there is another cosponsor on S911 - so now we have 61.

WHOOOHOOO!! SO EXCITING!!

“Let’s find a cure already”!!! Boey

With each passing day, the pain becomes more unbearable. We miss our extraordinary precious daughter so much, there are simply no adequate words to express our heartwrenching unexpected tragic loss. We survive the days by living to honor God and Boey’s amazing legacy and everything she stands for. There are no earthly words that can ever adequately express how deeply I love my baby girl.

Cancer messed with the WRONG family when it messed with our Boey. We are living every day to make sure this nasty evil hideous disease is completely annihilated! I’m so sick of seeing our beautiful children suffer and die from this demented sick and cruel demonic beast. We will continue until the CCA bill is signed into law and a cure is found!!! Boey showed us all how to fight, love and live like there’s no tomorrow, to never give up and to always BELIEVE.

  St. Baldrick’s Foundation is an organization that was formed in 2000. Their mission is to raise awareness and funds to cure kids cancer by supporting cancer research and fellowships. Last year St. Baldrick’s raised almost $13,000,000 for childhood cancer research. They are one of the few foundations that focus strictly on childhood cancer, and this year they have already raised over $8,000,000.

http://www.stbaldricks.org/#

- Boey’s warrior mommy

Sidenote from ROB: Rachel really wanted to shave her head but I reminded her of all the times Boey cried when she wanted to shave her head bald. I feel Boey would’ve wanted her mommy to keep her hair and so do I. She really was disappointed but I was glad that she listened to me.

          My life has been blessed. I experienced tremendous blessing but it has not come from what you might think. The first thought one might have could be the support from church and community or that my family was selected to be on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Yes these were most definitely massive blessings but I am going to write about a different blessing. It is the blessing that I received in a strange way. It was the blessing I received by battling cancer with my daughter.
         

           My family lived with the diagnosis of malignant cancer for one year. This was followed by a worse diagnosis of metastatic cancer resistant to Chemotherapy for an additional year.  These pronouncements change your life in drastic ways. I was blessed in a very strange sort of way. In writing this blog I looked up a synonym for blessed and it said “set apart.”  That could not be more true!! Our lives were completely set apart and again, in an unusual way it was blessed.

          To spend so much time with my Boey, to know her like no other and to be the Support and the Love that she needed. Her Mom and I spoke many times how it was such an honor to be there for her. To wipe the vomit, to brush her hair back, to run to the store for the craved doughnut, to find the right crayon, to get the nurse for more pain meds, to pray with and for, to speak words of encouragement ,pride and love and LOVE LOVE LOVE our little girl. Not everyone is blessed with taking the time to do these things.

          Those were the difficult times that bonded us so much. To intuitively know what to do to comfort and to extend that to our battling warrior was beautiful and fulfilling. There were also the common times that I took such pleasure in. This shadow of death brings clarifying light that brings energy to spend time on the important things. When Boey went back to school I made it a point to walk her home. That was awesome. That memory is beautiful. I would show up to the school and she would smile and smirk almost uncontrollably. She sometimes would try to be like some of her friends and act embarrassed that her parent was there, but eventually she would stop and she would run to me. We would hug. I would tell her how proud of her I was. I knew the difficult road she had to take in her battle to get to go to school. We would walk home together. As the ritual would go I would always ask to take her backpack  full of books and strong, independent BOEY would always decline.  I then would take her small hand in mine and we would hold hands all the way through the grass field, past the chain-link fence, on to the street and all the way home. Our hands would remain clasped together as we talked of her day; her friends, schoolwork, recess. It felt so good for her to be living her beautiful life. She would lovingly look up at me with her beautiful brown eyes and I would melt. I can’t adequately describe how good that felt. We kept our hands palm to palm only letting go so she could run to her mama and tell her how her day went. I did that frequently, even coming home from work early because it was so fulfilling. A WALK HOME FROM SCHOOL!!! That was SO fulfilling. I am certain that if we never had been in cancer world the cares of this world would have prevented those appointments from happening. Our lives were truly set apart and blessed.
          

           Rachel and I just had a conversation tonight. At first we lamented that after she was in remission the first time we did not do enough; we were thinking about things like enjoying Disneyworld or other places we wanted to visit and share. I thought for a moment and then we comforted each other with our realization that we did not have to; the simple things in life like a walk home, hand- in- hand from school were the destination. They were the fulfillment that the destinations try to capture.
         

          What is life anyways?  One definition of life could be the time you spend with the people that you love. With that definition, my family has lived a very full life. We have cherished more completely, loved deeper, laughed more uncontrollably, nurtured more wholly, admired more fully, had compassion more completely than I could ever hope for. I only wish that I could have many more years. I believe that one day in the future  I will have a several thousand more years of that and more  with NO Cancer and no goodbyes…but I’m going to have to wait for that reunion. I know I am blessed though because of the times I have spent.

           I know that I have no regrets for the time and the devotion with which I lived with my daughter. The time that I spent in the hospital and coming home to walk with my daughter is gone but the memory and the assurance that I was a good Daddy is something that I will have forever and ever. The change is also something that is very real and permanent in my heart. It is very strange that I, in a way, can attribute the learning and experiencing of that Love to our battle with Cancer; a very powerful enemy. Jesus said, “in this world you will have trouble. But be of good chear for I have overcome the world.”  Death has no power over my family’s life. I know where my BOEY is and I will join her in a beautiful reunion one day. On that day I will kiss her and thank her for enduring because she helped me to see and learn what truly being blessed is all about.

LOVE those whom you love.
ROB

           I am amazed at my daughter. The more I think about her the more I am amazed at the way she fought her battle. She fought with incredible courage and fortitude.
           In the brutality of the fight I liken Boey to an Ultimate Fighter. You know the guy that choose to be in a ring with another man trying to kick, punch, slam and force their opponent into submission. This is the nature of fighting. These guys train by fighting and wrestling for hours, running miles, slamming  their bodies and learning to slam others. This is how they gain strength to fight their battles. But how did my Daughter train for the fight that she was in? In a sense I was her trainer. I was her trainer and her mother and brothers were other trainers.
           A  fighter learns to kick and box and the skills of grappling. These are the skills that carry the fighter in the ring. My daughter learned how to relax and know that she is loved. These were the skills that she needed in her fight. The hospital stay for chemo including the stomach pain, vomiting, nausea and diarrhea were much longer than the 3 minute rounds of an ultimate fight. For her second bout with cancer they were for 5 days at a time! If the going gets tough in an Ultimate fight, and they can get brutal, the fighter can tap the mat to prevent a broken arm or to stop from passing out due to being strangled. Boey did not have the assurance that she could tap out if she felt she couldn’t take the pain anymore. No “tapping out” for her. Once she set foot in the hospital she was committed.  She needed to wait for 5 days for the suffering to end. I never remember her leaving her “warrior mode” once she entered it. She was fierce but she had a sense of peace at the same time.
          Her assurance was her mom and her dad at her side every moment. We were there praying, cheering her on and assuring her that it would be ok and loving her deeply from the heart. She would go into her fight mode where she would rarely talk and only answer yes or no or ask for what she wanted. She knew we were there to take care of her physical needs and she spent her energy to calm herself and be at peace. This was her battle ground and she was good at the fight and she never gave up.
           The nature of a fight in the ring is different than a fight in the hospital. The very nature of a ring fight breeds aggression and anger. If properly controlled this aggression can provide  an edge over your opponent. The adrenaline fuels the strength needed for the goal. Boey knew how to find her edge. She was very skillful at calming herself and closing down her focus on her outward suffering to find her peaceful center.  It was a center where GOD spoke to her and whose foundation was birthed and fueled by our love. 
           Boey found strength in GOD, found in her own spirit, strengthened by our love for her. It was this strength that we all enjoyed and I am learning more about now as God speaks to me to strengthen and encourage me now as I am in the “fight of my life.”  I wrote this blog 2 months ago and as I read it right now it is reinforcing what I sense God speaking to me. Boey was remarkable because she fought by calming herself and centering herself in GOD. This is what I have been learning to do because I have no real strength in myself anymore. I long for the strength I have found in GOD. I want more of what Boey had; the ability to calm and find center in GOD. Having this strength will insure that I will never tap out.
Love to all, ROB

Here is Decypher Down performing “fight like this” BO once rocked out with me to these guys in Medford!