Update
Hello angels!
It's been a while since I've added to this blog, but I thought you'd like a brief update on everyone I've heard from recently. There's good news and bad news.

Great news from Peggy Glass Matlock! Her son Marshall is on the mend after his bone marrow transplant and 100 day recovery in isolation. Peggy herself is back to work and Marshall is getting better and better reports from each check up. Peggy literally lived with Marshall four almost four months after the transplant, steriliziing surfaces and sharing an amazing recovery.. The Matlock Angel fund eventually contributed over $13,000 to support Marshall and the Matlock's through a grueling six months of expenses without income.

Over the moon! That would be Julie Johnson Barnard who's Oklahoma Beta daughter Meredith just delivered Julie's first granddaughter, Isobel. She's beautiful! And Debbie Gosney Forshee is a proud new MiMi as her Oklahoma Beta daughter Callie just delivered her first daughter, Avery. Also a beauty!

I heard from Lyn Field that she's started a new job.

Susan Parks Dornblaser has had her hands full dealing with moving her parents into assisted living from the home they lived in for 36 years. I can certainly relate as I deal with the challenges surrounding my dad who had to be removed from his home for his own safety. Barbie Herzig Benson has just moved her Pi Phi mom to Enid with she and Eric. Barbie's daughter, (also an Oklahoma Beta) has just moved to Australia!

JoNelle was just a champion in organizing the Matlock Angel Fund. I want to be on her team whenever there's a project. She also came over to Stillwater for a day in August when we ran a four day Bone Marrow Registry Drive to "Pay it forward" for Marshal Matlock. Barbie, Julie, and Susan also worked as volunteers on the drive that registered 324 donors.

Cissie is still moving back and forth between Plano, Tx and Angel Fire, NM and enjoying being a grandma to lots of little ones. She hosted a dinner in Frisco, TX in August and Debbie, Ginny and I got to see Jan Mahan and Nancy Martin.

Ginny's had the best and worst of times in the last six months. She lost her dad in November. Debbie and I attended the funeral that was a real celebration of Seabrook Griffin's life. Then in December, we saw her son Scott marry a darling OSU Theta. Now her husband, Terry is very ill and in Presbyterian Hospital in OKC. Debbie and I are hoping to take her to lunch on Monday.

That's pretty much all I know (and I can't guarantee I got all the above facts straight) but I do know, without a shadow of a doubt that we're all very lucky to have each other's enduring friendships as we face life's challenges.

love,
Lea Anne

Dinner with Peggy

Hey Sisters!

I thought you'd like to see a scene from the dinner that hatched the Matlock Angel Fund and hear the "story behind the story."

JoNelle Langdon Parks is really the brains behind the plan. She actually set up the account at the Credit Union where she is a manager.

Debbie Gosney Forshee has written a letter to the CEO of Cerner, Marshall's employer, who turns out to be a pledge brother of her husband, Richard.

Susan Parks Dornblaser provided valuable editing expertise and critical e-mail addresses. (But we're always looking for more so send them on)

But the ball is definitely rolling with Callie Synar Ezell (Debbie Forshee's daughter) circulating the e-mail to her pledge sisters and Rebecca Matlock(Peggy's daughter) doing the same with her pledge class. And that's Lynn Field Morris on the far left, her daughter was just initiated last fall.

So the Pi Phi tradition continues when we need it most.

Ring Ching!
Lea Anne

Call to Action!
One of our sisters needs our help!

Dear Pi Beta Phi Sisters,

Peggy Glass Matlock was in the Oklahoma Beta Pi Phi house from 1971 through 1974. Her daughter, Rebecca, was in the house from 2001 to 2004 and her son, Marshall, was a Sigma Chi at OSU from 1998 to 2003. Just a few months ago, Marshall, at age 29, was diagnosed with AML or acute myeloid leukemia.

Marshall works for Cerner Corporation in Kansas City and is getting excellent care at the KU Medical Center there. He took a leave of absence from Cerner in hopes of getting treatment and returning to work in August. Unfortunately, his leukemia is operating on a different schedule. He needs a bone marrow transplant but no one in his family is a match and fewer than 2 in 10 of those needing such a transplant find a donor.


FIRST!! Click Be the Match dot com to learn about becoming a bone marrow donor. Today, it's a simple matter of going to participating blood banks (check the list on Be The Match dot com) and swabbing your mouth to enter the donor registry. In Oklahoma, if you have any Native American blood, you can be tested at the Oklahoma Blood Bank and they'll waive the $30 processing fee. Like many Oklahomans, Marshall has some Native American blood and there's a real shortage in the current registry of donors with a mix of European and Native American heritage. You may be surprised to learn that donating bone marrow today is as easy as giving blood. Please get informed and get registered!



SECOND!! In order to survive until a donor is found, Marshall must undergo three intensive rounds of chemotherapy. It's not going as well as hoped. He was expected to begin the second round several weeks ago but his blood counts are not rebounding to the levels required. It's now looking as if his return to work could be delayed by many months.


His parents, Peggy and Randy (also an OSU alumn) both grew up in Stillwater where their dads were on the OSU faculty. Today, they live in Moore where she is an elementary school principal and he is a pharmacist. They have been alternating weeks in Kansas City with Marshall when he is hospitalized or waiting at home for test results. He must stay in a germ free environment as his immunity system is so compromised at present.


And now he's received his final pay check and must begin paying his own medical insurance premiums in order to maintain coverage. Of course, there are mortgage payments, utilities and groceries to say nothing of the medical bills looming. The financial uncertainty is becoming as scary as his medical prognosis.

We've established a "Matlock Angel Fund" at:
Red Crown Federal Credit Union
5001 E. 91st Street,
Tulsa, OK 74137.

Our dream is to raise more than $3000 in the next ninety days to provide Peggy, Randy and Marshall funds for medical premiums, travel expenses, mortgage payments or whatever will allow them the peace of mind to concentrate on Marshall's recovery.

No gift is too small, but we're hoping for at least $25 from each of you. We're sending this message to Pi Phi's who were in the house from 1971 to 1974 and from 1998 to 2004. Please forward the letter to other angels who can support a sister in need. We're also hoping to organize a Bone Marrow Registry drive at OSU in the fall.

Marshall is an outstanding, Christian young man who's facing a very difficult path with a great outlook. You can read more about his plight on his Caring Bridge

We need Angels to become warriors for Marshall Matlock. Please register as a bone marrow donor and send a check today. And most important, include Peggy, Randy and Marshall in your prayers.

Ring Ching!

Lea Anne Brown Watkins and JoNelle Langdon Parks

Oklahoma Beta 1971.

Call Lea Anne at 405-747-0925 or e-mail at natalea@pldi.net with any questions.

News and Happy Thanksgiving

Hey sisters!
Guess what? I just got e-mail from the Arrow and they're doing a story about our reunion and the BLOG. They really wanted a picture and even though I thought the one at the pool was the best I knew you would kill me if I sent it so I sent the one of all of us in the lodge right after we got back from the pool. I realize that with no make-up and two hours of sweat we weren't at our best, but that was the only one with the whole group!!! and the editor who looked at the blog really wanted that one.

OK. Now here's some news: Lynn Field's daughter pledged Pi Phi and Julie Barnard and Lynn attended her initiation this Fall. Barbie Herzig has just agreed to go on House Corp. Barb and I had lunch in Enid when I was there for a 211 meeting. Susan Dornblaser has been facing a very challenging time relocating her parents to an assisted living center after more than 30 years in the same home. She, Julie B and I are avid readers of a New York Times blog on caring for your parents. Ginny's son and daughter-in-law just had twins and Grandma Ginny is in heaven sending out adorable pics. Debbie Forshee has added a grandson, Brody and is learning that boys are different after raising daughters and having one granddaughter. Debbie broke an ankle this Fall but is out of the cast. Cissie's family has had some health challenges that have had she and Ron spending more time than they planned in Dallas instead of Angel Fire. Not much to report from the ranch: no broken bones at the moment and still staying way too busy helping with United Way, 211, the Therapeutic Riding Center, the Emeriti Association and OSU's NCAA Recertification plus a little writing on disability issues.

It's really time for some of you to write in and bring us up to date.

Happy Thanksgiving and Go Pokes! What a year our team has had.

Also if you get a chance, check out OSUGreekCentennial.blogspot.com
Greek Life at OSU is planning a really neat monument to 100 years of Greeks on campus and you can read all about it on their blog. (OK, I helped with that one too)

Love
Lea Anne

Blog test from Peggy

I'm testing first before I blog...so far unsuccessful.
Peggy

How to Post

Hi sisters
We're getting great comments and interesting family news in the comments on our blog but everyone is having a hard time adding a post with pictures, etc.

Here's what you do: first, sign in. You don't have to have a g-mail account, I've added your usual e-mail address to the author's list, but you will need to register and choose a password. After you sign in, you'll come to a page where you can choose "ADD A POST" it has a little green plus sign on the left hand side of the page. (NOT ADD OR START A BLOG!! at the top of the page) Then you just type in the box and use the symbols to add pictures or change fonts, etc. Good luck!

Here's an exciting update from the July 25-27 Reunion:
You can watch the pics I have in a slide show!