Amelias Long Journey

Hair today … gone on Saturday
John L. Smith
Thursday, Mar. 04, 2010

The lights go up and the hair comes off starting at 2 p.m. Saturday in the annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation fund-raiser for childhood cancer treatment and research. Headquartered at McMullan’s Irish Pub at 4650 W. Tropicana Ave., this year’s event includes participation by Fado at 9470 S. Eastern Ave. and Nine Fine Irishman inside the New York New York.

Daughter Amelia is scheduled to shave my lopsided noggin at 4 p.m. The event lasts until early Sunday morning and will include appearances by members of Cirque du Soleil and a host of celebrity emcees.

St. Baldrick’s raises the most money of any private charity for childhood cancer research.

Amelia and John L. Smith are photographed during their visit to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on December 4, 2009. Photo by Craig L. Moran, Courtesy of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Review-Journal columnist and daughter recall her fight against cancer in new book

By JOHN PRZYBYS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Regular readers of the Review-Journal know John L. Smith. And, if they know Smith, they have become acquainted with his daughter, Amelia, who has made numerous appearances in her dad’s columns during the past 13 years.

Readers experienced the day Smith and his wife, Patricia, welcomed Amelia into their family and shared, vicariously, such child/parent milestones as Amelia’s first day of school.

But, during the past five years, readers also witnessed the most daunting challenge the Smiths have faced: Amelia’s battle with cancer.

Fortunately, that’s a story with a happy ending. And, now, in Amelia’s Long Journey: Stories About a Brave Girl and Her Fight Against Cancer ($14.95; Stephens Press, which is a sister company of the Review-Journal), Smith and his daughter recall Amelia’s medical struggles via Smith’s columns and previously unpublished family photos.

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by Krissy Hawkins
Each year, the Vegas Valley Book Festival (VVBF) presents its Crystal Book Mark Award to an individual who has significantly advanced the cause of literature in the Vegas Valley. This year Jim Frey, chairperson of Nevada Humanities, presented popular columnist and author, John L. Smith, with the award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the advancement of literature in the Vegas Valley.

Smith carries the distinction of being a fourth-generation Nevadan, an award-winning columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the author of a dozen nonfiction books, including Sharks in the Desert and Bluegrass Days, Neon Nights, as well as a contributing author to Restless City, the serial novel project of the book festival.

This event marked the second annual presentation of the Crystal Book Mark Award. The first went to Kris Darnall, one of the originators of the Vegas Valley Book Festival and a colleague at Nevada Humanities. The rules dictate that the award cannot go to anyone currently on the planning or literary committee of the VVBF and that the recipient must have made a major contribution to the encouragement of reading in the community through service or through a body of work that enriches, clarifies, or encourages reading and writing in and about the Vegas Valley.

This year’s presentation took place at the Clark County Library at a panel led by Smith entitled “Amelia’s Long Journey: The Challenge of Writing What You Know.” In Amelia’s Long Journey (Stephens Press) Smith tells of the joys of becoming a parent and raising a beautiful little girl, and the terror of almost losing her. With the skill of a journalist and the heart of a father, Smith lovingly chronicles Amelia’s life: her early carefree years, the diagnosis of a cancerous brain tumor, the surgeries, the treatments, the remissions, the relapse, the recovery, as well as the courage, humor, and optimism she showed throughout.

Amelia’s Long Journey is not only a story about a brave girl’s fight against cancer, but a story about a precious little girl’s love for life. Proceeds of the book benefit Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada, Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, and St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

When our Amelia was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, we were thrust into a world of doctors and difficult decisions. Although family and friends rallied to our side, and strangers contacted us from across the country, we often still felt isolated and at times very much alone.

That’s when a group of new friends appeared. They represented the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. They carried with them gifts for Amelia and a message for us: “You are not alone.”

When Amelia was at last out of the hospital, we learned about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and its focus on fund-raising for childhood cancer research. We saw the money raised during its annual day of head shaving stay in our community to help treat children on the front lines of their cancer fight. The message was repeated: “You are not alone.”

Thanks in part to the efforts of these charities and other worthy foundations, Amelia received a boost to her spirits at crucial times in her journey. For that, the Smith family will always be grateful.

The message of hope echoes through everything they do.

Since 1993, the Mission of the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation has been to work side by side with the medical community to provide social, emotional, educational, financial and psychological support services and programs to families of ALL children diagnosed with a life threatening or critical illness such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, sickle cell, hemophilia, renal disorders and immunologic diseases.

The NCCF is a non-profit organization serving critically ill children and theirfamilies living in Southern Nevada and offers over 25 programs and services including the first and only in-patient classroom in the state of Nevada.

The NCCF continues to create new programs and services to fill the voids that exist in helping critically ill children.

Visit NCCF at www.nvccf.org, phone 702-735-8434

The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Southern Nevada grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Children undergoing long term medical treatment keep busy schedules filled with doctors’ appointments, hospital stays, painful and invasive medical procedures. The wish provides moments of wonder and delight to so many children and the families who love them, in need of relief from the daily stresses and uncertainties associated with the diagnosis of a life-threatening medical condition.

“The granting of our daughter’s wish was so much more than the materialistic aspect. Although everything we needed was provided by Make-A-Wish, the biggest blessing that you provided for our family us very hard to put into words. The wish gave us a distraction, a goal to look forward to. We were able to take a break and focus on reinforcing our love for each other. We cannot put a price tag on that.”

www.snv.wish.org, phone 702-212-9474

Chartered in 1978, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada was founded by two families, each of whom had a child being treated for cancer. They believed that families could find strength, knowledge and comfort by banding together during difficult times. They wanted to use their experience and resources to lessen the burden of families they knew would follow. Since that time, Candlelighters has assisted more than 2,000 families. Through its many programs, Candlelighters provides assistance for quality-of-life issues that are a large part of the childhood cancer experience, including disease-specific education and emotional support. In certain circumstances, Candlelighters also offers families much-needed financial support. Some of the most vital services Candlelighters provide include: patient advocacy, emergency assistance, travel for treatment, family counseling, survivor scholarships and other programs and services such as meal tickets, hospital visits, toy boxes for out-patient clinics, financial aid guidance, bereavement support and much more.

www.candlelightersnv.org, phone 702-737-1919

Despite tremendous progress in research, cancer remains the #1 disease killer of children in the U.S. and Canada. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is an IRS designated 501(c)(3) charity that raises money for childhood cancer research, primarily through head-shaving events. Volunteers, sponsored by family, friends and employers, go bald in solidarity with kids who typically lose their hair during cancer treatment.

Proceeds are granted to the world’s leading childhood cancer research institutions. Since 2000, St. Baldrick’s has united volunteers in one vision — to fund a cure for every form of childhood cancer, and to ensure each survivor has a high quality of life post-treatment.

To get involved, visit our website at www.StBaldricks.org or call 888-899-BALD.