Otstott Family

We are the Otstott family and we live in Harrisburg. Our family consists of Dad ~ Bob; Mom ~ Sharon; Ashley (our Four Diamonds Child) age 10 and Dani ~ age 7. Ashley was diagnosed with Leukemia in September 2001 at age 4. She was on treatment for 26 months, taking her last Chemo in November 2003. She is still in remission today. This year we will be attending our 7th THON, it is a weekend we look forward to more and more each year!! Our Adopt-A-Family Organizations are: Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Chi.

We have many wonderful memories from all of the THON's we have attended, and have formed many special bonds and friendships over the years. We enjoy all of THON weekend, but some of our favorite parts are: the Variety Show, Family Hour and the final few hours when all the adrenaline is flowing! We feel like our family has grown by hundreds!! Becoming a part of THON and the Penn State community is the "best" thing to have come out of Ashley's illness.

After Ashley was diagnosed, we learned to live life one day at a time and did everything together as a family. Some of the family things we like to do are: go on vacation, we love the beach!!; have family movie nights; we are involved with girls softball, both girls play and we coach their teams; go to Penn State tailgating and to football games; go to amusement parks; attending THON events and spending time at THON with our "extended family!!"
We plan on attending THON as long as we keep getting invited back!! Ashley has a few years to go before deciding her future, but right now, says she'd like to go to Penn State and get involved in THON from another aspect and hopefully dance someday (as many Four Diamonds Children did before her.)

We'd like to tell you how "proud" we are of ALL of you for all that you do to make THON such a success!! Your hard work, dedication and determination mean more to us than you could ever know. Seeing the joy and happiness you bring to Ashley when she is with all of you and the smiles you put on her face, are "priceless" to us as parents of a child with cancer. We didn't see that at home while she was going through treatment. We saw the pain, fatigue, nausea, mood swings and everything else that goes along with it.

Thanks to all of you, Ashley is still here with us today and has the chance to grow up and live a long, happy, healthy life!! We are eternally greatful to you for that!

Keep up the good work and hopefully in the not too distant future, together WE WILL ....... "Conquer Childhood Cancer!!!"

For The Kids,

Sincerely,

Bob ~ Sharon ~ Ashley and Dani Otstott