In the last update (which has been almost two months ago now), I mentioned that Ashley was in the hospital, and had been there for almost two weeks. The doctors were finally able to get the infections and fevers under control, and Ashley came home on Friday, February 27, after being in the hospital for seventeen straight days. All together, Ashley ended up spending 21 of February's 28 days in the hospital. Fortunately, March turned out to be a much better month.

STRAIGHT TO THE MALL

When Ashley was released from the hospital on February 27, we went from the hospital straight to the Galleria Mall in Dallas. Ashley had an appointment at Nordstrom to select her outfit for the Children's Cancer Fund's annual "Beyond The Rainbow" Fashion Show and Luncheon. I mentioned this event briefly in my January Update. Now, let me fill you in on some of the details.

CHILDREN'S CANCER FUND OF DALLAS, INC.

The Children's Cancer Fund of Dallas, Inc. was formed by a group of concerned parents of children being treated for cancer at Children's Medical Center of Dallas. The organization was formed for the purpose of raising funds for pediatric cancer research conducted at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's Medical Center of Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

"BEYOND THE RAINBOW"

On March 4, 1998, the Children's Cancer Fund of Dallas held its tenth annual "Beyond the Rainbow" Fashion Show and Luncheon. The purpose of "Beyond the Rainbow" is to raise funds for cancer research. Many local celebrities were on hand for the event, including Honorary Co-Chairs Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, several other Dallas Cowboys, local radio and television personalities, Dallas Mavericks, and many influential people from the Dallas business community.

CALENDAR GIRL

Pediatric cancer patients from Children's Medical Center were chosen to be Calendar Artists and Fashion Models for the "Beyond the Rainbow" event. The Calendar Artists submitted drawings which were featured in the 1998/1999 Children's Cancer Fund Calendar. Ashley was chosen as a Calendar Artist, and her artwork appeared on the February 1999 page, along with a wonderful picture of Ashley and a short biographical sketch. Click here to see Ashley's calendar page.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the calendar (and helping fund pediatric cancer research at the same time!), just send $13.00 ($10 for the calendar, plus $3 for postage) to:

Children's Cancer Fund of Dallas, Inc.
12720 Hillcrest Road, Suite 120
Dallas, Texas 75230

The calendar goes all the way through March 1999.

(September 2002 Note: It is doubtful that copies of the 1998-1999 calendar are still available. However, for more information about the Children's Cancer Fund of Dallas, please visit their web site at http://www.ccfdallas.com/.)

STYLIN'

In addition to having their artwork featured in the calendar, Calendar Artists also got to select an outfit from Nordstrom to model at the "Beyond the Rainbow" Fashion Show and Luncheon. We went straight from the hospital to Nordstrom for Ashley's fitting. She had several people waiting on her, bringing her clothes to try on, taking them back, and bringing more clothes. Ashley is rather picky about what she wears, so this little game went on for quite a while. After trying on LOTS of different outfits, Ashley picked one that was just right for her. It was a purple (go figure!) sleeveless dress, with a dark purple sweater to go over it. She also picked out a hat and necklace. Then it was time to choose a pair of shoes to round out the ensemble.

Ashley had a wonderful lady from Nordstrom assigned as her "fashion consultant" to assist in selecting a wardrobe. She took us over to the Children's Shoe department to search for just the right pair of shoes. Right when we walked up to Children's Shoes, I noticed a pair of purple hiking boots (they were kind of hard to miss!) and pointed them out to Ashley. I jokingly made a comment that those would go perfectly with her outfit. That was a mistake! Ashley fell in love with the purple Doc Martens, and from that point on, nothing else would do. The fashion consultant didn't think the purple boots would be appropriate with a dress, so she nixed the idea right away.

We must have looked at every pair of shoes they had, but Ashley didn't like any of them. She had her heart set on the purple hiking boots! We even went to the Women's Shoe department to see what they had over there. Ashley is at that age where she can fit into either the larger sizes in children's shoes or the smaller sizes in women's shoes. But alas, nothing was found to suit Ashley. After seeing that this was getting nowhere, Ashley's fashion consultant confered with her boss, and they decided that maybe the purple hiking boots wouldn't look so bad after all. And so, on February 27, 1998, Ashley O'Rear created a brand new fashion statement that is uniquely her own. Who says purple hiking boots can't be elegant?! (And if you want my opinion, the purple hiking boots were the perfect finishing touch!)