Prayer Request for Ella Newmiller

Ella is doing great. She continues to be full of life, energy and fun. She will have another MRI in a couple of weeks, and we will post as it gets closer. We thank you for continuing to keep her in your prayers. We ask you to join us in prayer today for Andrew Smith and his family. Andrew continues to do well neurologically, but he is fighting a myriad of other issues. You can read a full report from Sandy, his mom, on his website: www.caringbridge.org/visit/aws This is the family's request: "In short, we are in the place of needing to make some very crucial--and complex--decisions. We are in a place you can not possibly begin to understand...unless you have been there yourself. But God knows...and He cares. We believe in the power of God, and we believe in prayer. We do not believe that prayer is a magic ticket--a way for us to get whatever we want. Instead, we believe that prayer is a way to seek the mind of God--what He would have us to do for Andrew in this situation. Even though prayer is an integral part of our daily lives, we have chosen to set aside some time between 1:00 and 3:00 Eastern Standard Time to specifically pray for clear direction and peace. We invite you--wherever you are--to join us." Please take some time to pray for Andrew and his family this afternoon. Many thanks!! Love & Blessings,The Newmillers Yesterday, Ella had her clinical exam and bloodwork at Duke. Nurse Melody said she looks like a million bucks! We go back to NIH in a month for another MRI. We thank everyone for praying for Ella and ask for them to continue. Happy Birthday Ella!(May 2) Enjoy each moment! The Newmillers The Lord is truly smiling on us! We got back this evening, and what a WONDERFUL time we had! We can not begin to properly thank the people at Eastern North Carolina Make-A-Wish, our wish granters - April, Rebecca & Susan, and the Scillitani Family for providing us memories we will always cherish. The people at Disney Cruise Lines really know what they are doing. It was spectacular. Ella felt great and had an awesome time watching plays, swimming in the pool and ocean, shopping in Nassau, getting kissed by a dolphin and, of course, being her sassy self. We'll post pictures soon. We all had a blast and loved every minute of it! We are so thankful and live for every smile, laugh, hug, kiss and day together - it is amazing how fast time passes. We are looking forward to celebrating Ella's sixth birthday next Saturday! She knows what present she is going to ask for from her Grandma and Grandpa.....another Disney Cruise! This weekend is going to be a busy one for us! The Angels Among Race & Family Walk is Saturday, which raises money for brain tumor research at Duke University. The run is at 8am and the family walk is at 10:40am. At the end of this post is all the info. We'd love it if you can join us! A BIG thank you to Scott and Jeanne for setting-up Team Ella! On Sunday, at 4pm at Edenton Street UMC is the Race of Grace 5K Walk & Run. The number one reason we encourage folks to join us for this is all the proceeds go to help fight hunger here in NC. The second reason is it marks one year since our world began to be turned upside down. Last year, after spending the day helping to get ready for the race, Renae left 20 minutes prior to the start of the race to take Ella to urgent care. Over the course of the next two days, we were told that our sweet girl had one of the worst types of brain tumors and had less than a 10% chance to make it a year. Well praise the Lord, because here we are nearly a year later playing with dolphins and hanging out with Mickey! While we are not out of the woods, we have so much to be thankful for. We would love for anyone who can, to join as we walk this great race - to help others and to thank God for the continuing gift of Ella. You can register at www.raceofgrace.org or on the day of the walk/run (Sunday) beginning at 2pm at Edenton Street UMC. Finally, on Sunday evening at 7pm there is a free concert in memory of Julie Lee, a young woman who passed away last year from a brain tumor. David Bailey, an amazing musician who also has a brain tumor, will be preforming at Holland United Methodist Church in Raleigh. Any love offerings will be given to Brain Tumor Center at Duke University. More info. about Julie and the concert can be found at www.joggingforjulie.com. Oh yeah, Jack has a soccer game, the kids both have birthday parties to go to on Saturday and they have their piano recital on Sunday afternoon prior to the Race of Grace! Wow, it is so wonderful to be busy with activities! We are blessed! Love,The Newmillers ANGELS AMONG US EVENT INFO:PARKING: At the corner of Erwin and Anderson Rd 5k runners: Event Day registration, 7-7:45am (and race packet pick-up).Race begins at 8am, corner of Erwin Rd and Flowers Dr - Duke Med Ctr Campus Strollers, wheelchairs, and dogs are welcome but must start behind therunners. Team Meet-up: There will be a Team Tent next to Registration (Erwin rd andFlowers Dr), we will need to meet there at 9am! We will have a sign-just incase you can't find us. 9-10:30am - team check-in, team pics, kids activities, entertainment10:20 am - Ella & Jack's friend Jacob will say a poem on stage for Ella!10:40 - Family Fun Walk to Duke Gardens11:30 - Lunch and Entertainment (chick-fil-a sandwiches will be provided butthere will be plenty of other venders there, so don't forget your $$-- andremember the proceeds benefit the Brain tumor center so SPEND away!12:00 - Closing Ceremony and announcements We look forward to seeing everyone who can participate! On an Ella note, she is doing great! Last Friday we received the official report from her last MRI. Even though it said the tumor remained stable, there was a new change that made us worry a bit. We pray it means nothing and that the tumor will continue to dissolve for good. Ella is running around and enjoying life, so we are thankful for today and very hopeful for many tomorrows. The kids are very excited about our upcoming Make a Wish trip, which is next week! A big thank-you to the Scillitani family, our wish granters and the folks at Make a Wish! Hope you all have a very blessed day. Love, The Newmillers Be joyful in hope, patient in affiction and faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 We hope your Holy Week is off to a great start! Ours began with Ella waving palm branches, dancing and singing at church on Sunday. What a sight! She is in liturgical dance and choir. All of the children were so precious, and God was surely smiling as they sang His praises! Sunday afternoon Ella finally learned how to ride her bike without training wheels! This is huge. Last fall she couldn't even walk a straight line - now she's walking, running, skipping, dancing and bike riding with great balance! Praise God!! We have some friends that need prayers this week. The first is my (Renae) friend Valerie. Valerie was one of my classmates growing up. She is battling breast cancer and is in intensive care. I have such fond memories of going to her (and her twin sister Vickie's) house as a child. They have many brothers and sisters and it was a very exciting house! This summer my mother and I were talking about Valerie's cancer returning and Ella asked what we were talking about. I told her I had a friend who was sick that needed our prayers. Ella does not know Valerie, but fell in love with her name. Now, every doll she has is either named Valerie or Ava (her baby cousin's name). Please pray for Valerie, her children, husband and family. Ellie Willaert's family celebrated her 6th birthday last week without her (www.caringbridge.org/elliewillaert). Please keep their family and all the families who have lost a child in your prayers. Andrew needs prayers to have good ANC and platelet counts that enable him to do his chemo today, to be able to stay on schedule, and that his bone marrow won't take such a hit this time. (www.caringbridge.org/visit/aws) Caleb is having an MRI tomorrow. He has been having vision problems and they want to know if it is tumor related. Please pray for peace and calmness (Caleb gets nervous about having MRIs), clear results - that it is not the tumor causing the vision problems, clear direction for his parents, and God's healing hand to be all over Caleb. We are constantly amazed by the strong faith of so many of the families with children battling these tumors. Below is an excerpt from a post by Caleb's mom that I thought I'd share with you. "And, amid all of this, we will endeavor to keep our hearts and minds focused on the truly important aspects of this week. It is Holy Week. Our Savior, God in flesh, miraculously taking human form, was born for the cause we celebrate this week -- He was born to die for our sins and to conquer death, rising again. As I consider the enormity of the sacrifice, the gift, I am overwhelmed. Jesus was completely human. He was so scared during the days leading up to his arrest, torture and crucifixion. He begged his Father to accomplish the goal in another way. Yet, he was fully willing to do what he was asked to do. We are so blessed to be loved by a God who has first-hand knowledge of our purely human feelings such as fear, pain, and dread." (www.carepages.com/keepingupwithcaleb). Peace and blessings to you all! Love,The Newmillers

We're happy to report the tumor is still stable!! The CHO levels have gone back to three (the wrong direction!), but Ella is doing great so we'll keep praying for the levels to go down and try not to worry about it. As long as she continues to do well, we'll skip May! Going for two months without an MRI will be wonderful, and a real treat for Ella's birthday, which is at the beginning of May. Thank you so much for the continued prayers - it is evident God is hearing them! Reading the posts and knowing we are surrounded by such love, faith and prayer means a lot to us. We're excited to head back to Raleigh and get back to some normalcy! Blessings & Love,The Newmillers

Back to Maryland It's hard to believe it has been nearly a month since our last post (my intentions are to do a better job updating - my follow through is really poor!). Ella is great - wide open, sassy and full of life. Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! We're heading back to Maryland/NIH today for another MRI. Ella will have bloodwork, and doctors exams tomorrow. She will have her MRI at 9am on Wednesday morning. We're supposed to get the results around 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. We ask that you pray for our safe travels, for Ella's tests to go smoothly, low anxiety (for Ella and us), for us to feel God's presence this entire week, and for results that make everyone shout with joy! A long list of things I know, but we're so thankful for these prayers that lift us up and help to carry us through! There are several kids & families for whom we'd also like your prayers. The first is the family of Ellie Willaert. Ellie passed away on Feb 19th. She was diagnosed with a DIPG on the same day as our Ella and was the same age. Please lift up her parents Niki and Pat, and her siblings Desi and Cole as they miss their precious little girl. (www.caringbridge.org/visit/elliewillaert) Please pray for Andrew Smith who I believe is currently at NIH for an MRI (www.caringbridge.org/visit/aws) and Caleb Spady who will head to NIH next week for his next MRI (www.caringbridge.org/visit/keepingupwithcaleb). Andrew and Caleb also have DIPGs. (Some have mentioned that they don't know what DIPG stands for. It is a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. I really like the Daily I Praise God take on it better, but in the cancer world it's an inoperable tumor in the brainstem.) Two more prayer requests - Sydney Gaylord is a young mother who had her third child in December and was diagnosed with a brain tumor a few weeks later. Please pray that God's hand be all over her treatments, that the tumor be completely destroyed and for Sydney and her family to have peace and patience during their journey to recovery (www.caringbridge.org/visit/sydneygaylord). We were recently emailed a prayer request for a sweet little girl named Molly Rowlee who has Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. She is doing chemo and could really use some prayers (www.carepages.com/mollyannrowlee). Thanks for all the prayers for us and others! Have a blessed week! Love, The Newmillers "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

We are happy to report that Ella continues to look and feel great and be her sassy self! And we continue to praise God for this each and every day! This morning we watched Ella and her friend CeCi run up the church sidewalk and commented on what an incredible blessing we've been given. A year ago we wouldn't have really thought much about Ella running, we took it for granted. Today it makes us stop, grin ear to ear, and say thank you God, thank you God, thank you God! It is hard to believe it has been 11 months since our world was turned upside down, shaken, shocked and left in total disarray. Ella has come such a long way from the puffiness from the steroids and balance problems. We have come a long way from the confusion, despair and total helplessness. We thank God for getting us to where we are today. His presence has been evident in so many ways, but especially through all of you, from your well wishes and prayers to the amount of personal time and financial sacrifice people have given for our sweet girl. We have met so many incredible people along this journey and consider ourselves truly blessed. Tomorrow we will head back to Maryland/NIH. Ella will have bloodwork on Tuesday morning and will have her MRI at 9am on Wednesday. As with each NIH trip, we ask for your prayers for safe travels, for all to go smoothly with Ella's tests and MRI, for Ella (and the rest of us) to feel God's peace and presence throughout the week, and for news that continues to make us shout for joy! We also ask that you continue to keep all of the DIPG families in your prayers, especially Andrew (www.caringbridge.com/visit/aws) and Caleb (www.carepages.com/keepingupwithcaleb). Have a blessed week! Love,The Newmillers "Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:1

Praise GOD! Scan looks better than last time and the CHO ratios are lower! More later-we could not wait to share the happy news. February 3 We are in MD for Ella's monthly MRI. We arrived last night and spent today at NIH doing blood work, two doctors visits, vitals and a pre-anesthesia meeting. Ella did a great job! We are now at our friends' house relaxing. Ella is scheduled for a noon MRI tomorrow, although we may be able to go earlier (which would be great because Ella can't eat or drink prior to the MRI). We ask you to join us in praying that the results bring wonderful news - that her CHO levels are going down to 1 or lower and the tumor is dissolving. We'll post once we have some news. Thank you for all the prayers for Mark's mother Ramona. She passed on Friday night. While we are sad, we're happy for her - she is now with God and Mark's dad, and free from the dementia that trapped her. On Saturday night Ella said she thought Grandma was picking flowers in heaven, and Grandpa was playing golf. I think she was right. As always, we thank God for all of you who have been so kind and have kept us in your prayers. You will never know how much your support means to us. We hope the rest of your week is full of blessings! Love,The Newmillers I will sing the Lord's praise, for he has been good to me! Psalm 13:6 After a long day, we are very happy to report that Ella's tumor has shrunk! While it is still there, the MRI shows it is much smaller and Ella's CHO ratio overall is low! Additionally, Ella was such a trooper and everything went very smoothly. Once again, we PRAISE GOD and thank you all for your prayers! We will have more specific information after tomorrow's PET scan (we won't have those results until next week). We still ask for prayers for tomorrow's PET scan - Ella to be brave, the anesthesia and PET scan to go smoothly, results showing low CHO:NAA ratio, very encouraging scan results and for the tumor to be dying. We also ask for God's guidance in whether or not to do the clinical trial. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Blessings,The Newmillers It is hard to believe it has been a month since our last update. We had planned to be better at this! Since radiation, Ella has been doing great! She has been busy with school, playdates, piano, dance, choir, being Mary in the kindergarten play, and being her sassy self. It is a huge blessing and wonderful to see! Praise God! Today Ella will have an MRI to see what the radiation has done to the tumor. This will be done at the National Institues of Health in Bethesda, MD. Ella is participating in an imaging study that is very thorough. We have been in MD since Monday evening. We spent most of yesterday at NIH registering, having Ella's vitals and bloodwork checked and meeting with Dr. Warren. We are very blessed to have dear friends who live five minutes from NIH and have been staying with them. Their daughter and Ella are only a few weeks apart in age and have been playing non-stop, which has helped to keep Ella's mind off of pokes and tests. Today's MRI will be three hours long, so Ella will need to be sedated. Tomorrow's PET scan will be an hour long and she will be sedated for that too. Our original plan was to go home on Thursday afternoon. However, the kids and Renae are now planning to stay through Friday. There is a clinical study that Ella may be able to do, but to qualify she will need to stay to have a neuropsychological exam on Friday. We are asking for some specific prayers: 1. That Ella not be afraid of the MRI, PET scan and Friday's exam. 2. That all goes smoothly and well with Ella's anesthesia, MRI (we go into today at 11:00 and the MRI is at noon) and PET scan (we go in at 8:15 and the scan is done at 9:00). 3. That the MRI and PET scan results show a low CHO:NAA ratio (we don't fully understand why this matters, but it is important). 4. That the MRI and PET scan results are very encouraging - showing God's healing at work in Ella. As always, we thank you for all the prayers and support. Even though we do a poor job of updating the carepage we hope you are continuing to pray for Ella. The Bible says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. We know this is true and we're thankful that God hears all of the prayers being lifted up for our sweet little girl! Blessings,Mark, Renae, Ella & Jack P.S. Here is a verse we like to use with Ella's name. "For I know the plans I have for Ella," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper her and not to harm her, plans to give Ella hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow! Ella finished her radiation treatments last week! For what it was, she had a great experience. No side effects, no steriods and quite a comeback to her old self. She's running, dancing, skipping, laughing and is once again full of energy. Praise be to God! We were very blessed with wonderful doctors and technicians that made the six weeks (30 treatments) of radiation go smoothly. We were also very blessed that Ella was able to go to school everyday and stay for most of the day. Ella is so excited to be able to stay the full school day now! Mark and I will be talking with Ella's doctor this week about next steps. Ella won't have an MRI until December so we won't know how much the tumor has shrunk until then. No matter how much it has shrunk, we just pray it is part of God's healing plan for Ella, and that God will continue to guide us in our treatment decisions. We cannot thank you all enough for the prayers - please keep them up! We also ask that you keep the Gillespie family who lost their sweet son Gunner two weeks ago in your prayers as well as all the children, and the families of the children, who have DIPG tumors. Blessings,Renae, Mark, Jack & Ella

Ella is excited to finish her last 5 radiation treatments! She has done fantastic and the radiation has served its purpose. She is all but symptom free. She is back to her old self and lives each day as any "normal" kid can do.....relatively speaking since her parents are anything but "normal". We thank God for allowing Ella to come through the treatments with no side effects...except for a little redness and dryness on the scalp. God continues to hold and carry us everyday. We continue to pray for a miracle. Even though Ella is doing great, the radiation (historically) provides a honeymoon phase before the tumor rages back. We have FAITH. God will not abandon us, and I can't help but think about the "footprints" poem. I never realized how true it is. God as shown his love through all of you, and each act is so powerful. I can not tell you how much just a nod of the head means to us, let alone your time, prayers, words, deeds, gifts and thoughts. Many people have said they wish they could do something...You have "shown up" and that is everything. With much Love,Mark, Renae, Ella and Jack

God is Good all the time, and all the time God is Good. Ella has completed 10 treatments, 20 more to go. It has become "just part of the day" now. She is in great spirits. We have not seen any side effects of the radiation. She has not had to go back on steroids! Ella continues to go to school for most of the day, although getting going in the morning is a struggle. We continue to thank God for everyday. Thank you to all of you, we cannot imagine how we could wake p everyday without all of your love and support. We truly are in God's embrace. The Newmillers

Update: Ella and Jack had a great weekend last week visiting with their friends Caroline and Christopher from Atlanta. They made a long trip in a short weekend and we had a great visit. Ella and Jack had a great time and it really helped take her mind off of the appointment at the hospital. Ella was absolutely stoic as she had her CT scan and mask made on Monday. We were concerned that she may have to be sedated in order to have these things accomplished, but she was very brave. The mask will help keep her head lined up to the mapping done for radiation. It starts out as a hard piece of mesh plastic. They dip it into a warm liquid which makes it like a washcloth. They spread it over her face and then they mold it. She was able to see and breathe through it. It hardened in a few minutes and it was all set to go. She will start radiation therapy on Monday September 22. It should last somewhere close to 6 weeks. We pray that God's hand is in the radiation and takes the tumor away. She is doing pretty well and will continue to go to school. She is in good spirits and does not seem to be apprehensive about the "lasers". She has been reassured that she will feel nothing and all she has to do is stay still for a few minutes. As always we thank everyone for their support, thoughts and prayers. With every message, thought, and prayer, you are moving mountains. Please keep the families that we have met along the way in your prayers as well, especially Skylar. with Love, The Newmillers

Ella and the rest of the family are extremely happy to be home. Everyone says that Ella looks great, and she feels great too. She still has some balance issues along with mild drooling and the weak left arm, but doing well. Some wonderful people redid her and Jack's room while they were in Arizona. Jack and Ella were thrilled, as were we. Ella has been very busy with playdates. She loves playing with her friends and seeing everyone. Excited to be home and ready to start school in a few weeks. Jack made it through security with the scorpions (in Dad's checked bag), unfortunately they got a little dried out and crushed. Jack turned 8 today. VERY happy to have had a party at home with friends (who came on VERY short notice!) He is also very excited to see his friends and looks forward to starting school. We can not thank everyone enough for your kind thoughts and prayers. Please contine to pray for Ella, and all of the families that we met while in Arizona. God is good, all the time! We know miracles are taking place, while at church I had a wonderful, warm confidence come over me. The Newmillers

Ella has started to show more symptoms in the past week. She has some balance issues and some drooling. Other than that she continues to do well. She is very excited to be coming home this weekend (we all are). She will continue to take some of these supplements orally. It seems like it takes all day to get through everything. Jack has found baby scorpions all over the skylights in the house (thankfully trapped on the inside) and has enjoyed watching them crawl around. He hopes security does not stop him going through the airport with the dead ones. If they do, we will continue walking like we don't know him. ;) Grandma and Grandpa leave tomorrow. We can't thank them enough for staying and helping out. We continue to pray for a miracle- that these treatments are working and that a cure is found. We ask that you pray for Meaghan, Kaylea and their families. We look forward to seeing everyone when we get back!

11 treatments down. Ella's appointment with the oncologist yesterday went well. He thought that the symptoms (mild weakness in left arm, right eye not tracking correctly and her smile is not symmetrical) are due to the removal of the steroids. He did not think that the symptoms warrant starting them again. She continues to do well and her spunk is back in full force. She does not go long without having her hands on her hips, her head tilted to one side and her eyes rolling about something...usually it concerns something that Jack or dad has done (she is her mother's daughter!) We continue to thank God for all of your support. We cannot thank you enough for the prayers, positive thoughts, packages, time, labor, organizing, etc that you have put forth. God is good, all the time! A new girl started treatment today...Sophie. She is Ella's age. Please lift up her and her family along with the other kids receiving treatment. Seeing the other families brings great sorrow to know that others are experiencing similar circumstances. We miss home and look forward to day we can walk through our own door. We may only have visitation rights to our dog Max, he is extremely happy in his new environment with the Morgans. With much love, The Newmillers

Ella has completed 5 treatments and is doing well. Each days brings her back closer to her oldself now that she is off the steroids. That has made a huge difference. Found a live scorpion in the house yesterday... Everyone misses home. Please pray specifically for her spinal fluid to flow normal. The tumor blocks the flow which builds pressure in the brain. There are 3 other children(two 7 year olds and a 13 year old) at the clinic with the same diagnosis. Kaylee, Gunner and Megan. Please pray for them as well.

A huge thank you to "Team Ella", everyone who supported the fundraiser at Marbles, and those of you who continue to keep Ella in your prayers! Ella has her first treatment tomorrow morning. Renae, Ella and Jack have settled into the house and they are enjoying (much to the dismay of the neighbors) the pool every morning (5:30am). The time zone change has not been a huge factor, except for trying to keep in touch with everyone back in the eastern time zone. The temperature has been hovering around 112 everyday. BUT IT IS A DRY HEAT. (It actually is bearable, but still awfully hot) On a side note, the exterminator came today to spray for scorpions. We received the preliminary results of the MRI that was taken last Friday. The tumor has not changed and is "stable". Not the news we were hoping for, but positive news none-the-less. We will update after a few treatments to let everyone know how she is doing. The plan is 4 weeks of treatment, then another MRI to see what is going on. Thank you again for the positive thoughts, kind words, prayers and support you have shown all of us. Keep it coming...it is getting crunch time and we need it more than ever. In God's Grace, The Newmillers

The love, generosity and prayers from all of you has been overwhelming and inspiring. We ask that you keep Ella & her family in your prayers as they travel to Arizona tomorrow and please keep praying for Ella's miracle! "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." Isaiah 43:19 (NLT) Thank you for being a part of "something new!" In His Service, Team Ella

Update: "Ella continues to do pretty well. We have completely changed her diet, and she has accepted it well. Her appetite is amazing. She eats non-stop. We have not decided on treatment, but we are leaning toward no radiation. We appreciate the prayers and positive thoughts, they really have carried us through. The support from around the globe has been overwhelming, and we feel blessed to have felt the Power of God's love through all of you. We continue to ask God to heal Ella. With Love, Mark and Renae"

Update: "Ella's port is in. She went in very early this morning and made it through fine. Thankfully, she did not follow through with her verbal threats of assaulting the doctors. She is home resting and hopes to be at school tomorrow to show off her scar. We are working on a decision on treatment and WILL have one soon. Your prayers and thoughts are carrying us through. We can not thank you enough for your support."

I just received this from a Bible Study Fellowship friend. Please add this precious little girl to your prayer list. Love and thanks, La Juanna

On Sunday, April 27th, Ella Newmiller and her family attended church at Edenton Street United Methodist, in Raleigh, as they do each week. Ella is in my son Scott's, 4 year old Sunday School class. Ella did not feel well that evening. Her parents, Renae and Mark, took her to an urgent care facility. On Monday, they found themselves at UNC Hospitals, being faced with the news that their precious daughter has an inoperable brain tumor. It is located at the base of her brain, inside the brain stem. Friday, May 2nd, was Ella's 5th birthday. Friends at Edenton Street pulled together an amazing celebration for 'Pri ncess Ella'. She arrived in a horse drawn carriage and was greeted by over 100 friends dressed in their royal best. 'Mr. and Miss Wolf' from NC State, plus 'Stormy', from the Carolina Hurricanes joined in the celebration. There was a DJ, beauty queens, bubbles, balloons and presents. Ella's mother, Renae, commented, 'We don't need meals or errands. The only thing we really need is PRAYER.' Renae asked me to tell friends, 'even if they don't know Ella', to please pray. She asked that those friends ask 10 friends (even if they don't know the Newmillers) to pray. So, I am asking you to pray daily for Ella Newmiller, for the oncologists and physicians directing her care, for her parents, Renae and Mark, and for her brother Jack (2nd grade). Pray for God's healing hand. Pray f or both direction and comfort for Ella's family. Also pray for strength and courage for Ella. Thanks~ with love, Louise