How Johnny heard about the bracelet, "Life is short, have fun" - Dustin

Please note that this information is posted here on JDR with the express permission of Lori Butterworth at the Children's Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition. Please do not repost this info or Dustin's picture. Contact me by email at johnnydeppreads@aol.com regarding permission to repost. Feel free to post a link back to JDR. Thanks.


I asked how Johnny came to wear this wonderful life affirming bracelet and this is what Lori told me:

"Melissa Gilbert – former president of SAG – is on our board of directors. She gave Johnny the bracelet for Christmas – Dustin wanted to be an actor and Melissa granted him his SAG card 2 weeks before he died. Dustin was one of our very special children and a very close friend to me – an unbelievable young man! Johnny wore Dustin’s bracelet when he put his hands in the cement on the Hollywood walk of fame – the ultimate act for any actor. I can’t tell you how much that meant to us that our sweet Dustin was there with him."

Dustin's favorite thing to tell people was: "Today is a gift...have fun!"

Here is Dustin's picture: (posted with permission of the Children's Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition)


Again, please place your order using their website, please do not phone them! Thanks

Click here: ChildrensHospice.org Online Store

Their website is: www.ChildrensHospice.Org

I just went to Childrens Hospice website to order another bracelet. It seems that a few more have been added. Now, I can't decide which one to get. Wish I could afford one of each. If you've not checked them out before, they're worth every penny, and every penny goes to such a worthwhile cause. Now, back to my decision making....

Thanks for the heads up Ellen--you're right, some nice new ones there I hadn't seen. I just get choked up reading the descriptions of the kids underneath each one. I love the silver one I ordered, my daughter chose the leather braided one like Johnny----both of ours have held up very well, so I like the quality. I think I may need to another to my collection---

-Donna

I will have to look into getting another. The one that I have of Dustin's is wearing very well.

Nicci

My heart breaks just looking at those beautiful children's pictures.
I have never owned one of these before so I bought the braided one that Johnny wears. I love the words 'today is a gift'.

Thanks Ellen for the updates!!!

I have had my bracelet for over a year now and I feel naked when I don't wear it. At one point I thought I had lost it and I was totally crushed. It not only is a connection to Johnny, but Dustin's message is so pertinent to me and I try to keep it in mind every day.

It's a great item to have. I have it on as I write this.

Thanks, Dustin.

After much deliberation, I ordered my "Just Love" bracelet. It's become painfully personal. A little girl named Esther, who will be five years old the end of this month, has been diagnosed with neuroplastoma (sp?), a very agressive cancer. She has stage four cancer, and her survival rate is less than 20%. Here' s part of an email I received about her condition:

"As many of you have already heard through email or phone calls, our oldest daughter, Esther Joy, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. Stage 4 means that the Cancer has infiltrated her bone marrow, which allows the cancer cells to be easily spread through her whole body, by her blood stream. The main location of the cancer is a large tumor that runs along her backbone, from the about the top of her kidneys down into her lower pelvis. The tumor encases her aorta and other blood vessels in the pelvis area making it impossible to surgically remove it. Additional scans confirm that there are other areas in her arms and legs and vertebrae as well.

She began chemotherapy early Friday morning. This is the first of six chemotherapy treatments, each treatment consisting of 72hrs of IV Chemotherapy with two to three weeks of recovery time. After five treatments she will have a surgery to remove what can be removed of the tumor. Then she will have one more treatment to finish off the chemotherapy. Once she is finished with the chemotherapy she will need to have a bone marrow transplant. The doctors hope to be able to use a healthy sample of her own bone marrow for the transplant. The transplant itself will require a large dose of chemotherapy to kill off her current bone marrow before they transplant the new.

After the transplant she will need radiation treatments to kill off the remaining areas of cancer. This whole process will take nearly a year to complete."

If anyone could think good thoughts for Esther's recovery, I would be most grateful.

You bet, Ellen. My daughter lost a friend to neuroblastoma about 3 years ago; he had been diagnosed when they were in 1st grade.

Rose

You bet, Ellen. My daughter lost a friend to neuroblastoma about 3 years ago; he had been diagnosed when they were in 1st grade.

Rose

The cancer came on so fast. She seemed normal one day and five days later, she was in the cancer ward at Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital in Cleveland.

I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your daughters friend, Rose. Thanks for thinking of Esther.

I'll definitely keep Esther and her family in my prayers Ellen.

-Rose

Thanks Rose. I'll keep you all posted with updates on Esther.

Esther will be on her way home to Oklahoma tomorrow. She'll be hospitalized there for further chemo treatments. Her white blood count was up enough for her to go home. Thanks for the good thoughts for Esther. She's a long way from beating this, but her family continues to take one day at a time.

Thanks for the update on Esther, Ellen!

Ellen, I've just caught up with the the information on Esther. My heart goes out to her and her family.

-Donna