Knott's Service was WONDERFUL!!

The Memorial for Sandy at Knott's Berry Farm last night was incredible. It was a beautiful service that included 2 slide shows, a live band of Sandy's friends and several speakers that were close to Sandy. It was held in the Charles Shultz theater and several hundred people attended.

We want to thank all of the Knott's family for a wonderful tribute to Sandy; and for all of those talented people that made it all happen. We know why Sandy loved working at Knott's all those years: you are all such wonderful and amazing people. Thank you.

Tawnda and Dave Perry

---some highlights linked below:
Bobby Albright tells a Sandy story

Cassie sings a song for Sandy

Craig tells a funny Sandy story

Sandy's Bodyguard

Purple Rain

Sandy Memorial at Knott's

It official: The date for the Sandy memorial at Knott's Berry Farm has been scheduled for Monday, October 4th.
Follow on Facebook or see details below.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=151525161536979

Monday, October 4, 2010

7:00pm - 8:00pm

Charles M. Schultz Theater, Knott's Berry Farm

8039 Beach Blvd.

Buena Park, CA

You are invited to a celebration of the life of Sandy Graham. This is an open invite to all who knew Sandy, family, friends and fans, so please feel free to share this invitation. Please be sure to RSVP so that we can ensure the venue meets the capacity of those attending.

Please wear purple and black, as those were Sandy's favorite colors!

Out of respect for the venue, the following rules will apply:
- NO CHILDREN under 18 will be permitted to attend.
- NO SMOKING will be permitted inside the park.
- NO ALCOHOL or illegal substances will be permitted inside the park.
- Please DO NOT BRING loose glitter into the venue.

Parking will be permitted in the grass lot next to the employee lot, located on Western between La Palma and Crescent. Lot will open at 5:30pm. Please enter through the Western gates. Gates will open at 6:30pm. Service will begin promptly at 7:00pm, so please be on time.

If you have pictures you would like to share, please email them to magicstitches101@gmail.com.

If you have any questions about the ceremony, please email them to sandymemorial@gmail.com.

Remembering Sandy

Here is a slide show in loving memory of Sandy.

Memorial Update

Due to the overwhelming response we have received from all of the people that would like to attend Sandy's memorial service, we are still searching for the right venue and appropriate date.
The services will most likely be the last week of September or the first week or October.

Memorial Services

We're trying to finalize memorial services for Sandy. We have had such a response from all of her wonderful friends, that we need a place large enough for everyone to attend. We are looking into a few options at Knott's Berry Farm and are hoping to hear something soon. We are tentatively planning for the end of September of beginning of October.

Thanks to everyone who has emailed, called and wrote such nice things on this blog.

Sandy Passes

On Sunday night at 11:20 pm. Sandy passed away here at our home. She was asleep and was in no pain or discomfort. Thank you to everyone for your love and support. Sandy will truly be missed.

Queen Sandy

On thursday, Sandy was having trouble taking her medicine without choking.
On Friday, Sandy was having trouble eating and drinking without choking.
I called Hospice on Friday morning and they sent over a nurse who evaluated Sandy and advised us that Sandy's body is starting to shut down. They have told us not feed her or give her liquids anymore because there is a good chance that she could choke to death and that would be a traumatic and horrible way to go. She is currently resting very peacefully, not in any pain. The nurse told us that it could be any day, and probably not more than 3 weeks.

Scavenger Hunt -Sunday AUG. 29th

Christine (Syren) has planned a great benefit for Sandy. It's a scavenger hunt that will take place at DisneyLand, this Sunday, AUG 29th. Check in time is 9am in the picnic area next to security check point. Cost is $20 donation for the scavenger hunt. Entrance to the park is separate.
Contact Syren: ScareMyFriend@phobia1.com to register right away!

Please copy and paste the link below for more details. It sounds like a lot of fun!
http://phobia1.com/Queen Sandy.html

I Believe In Sandy Claus shirts FUNDRAISER

Hi everyone,

For anyone who hasn't yet ordered an "I Believe in Sandy Claus" shirt, you can still do so. Just e-mail Cassie at sharingadream@gmail.com. She'll get your size, address, etc. and let you know how to pay for it. See a closer view on the right column of this blog.

Pictures from Elaine

Elaine and several others visited last week and Elaine has sent us some pictures from a past party, Sandy in full fairy make up, and of the visit here at our home.

Update on Sandy

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with the blog. Things have been very busy around here. Bobby Albright and his wife Kasia came to visit last week and he wrote a little bit about his visit with Sandy. You'll find that below. If anyone has time and would like to send me an e-mail about your visits with Sandy, I'll post them also. I think it'll help everyone to be more informed about how Sandy's doing. Thank you Bobby for doing this and thank you to all of you for just being the amazing people you are!

BOBBY: On Sunday, August 8th, Kasia and I stopped by to visit Sandy. She was weak due to the medication she is on. Her left side isn't functioning well at the moment but her grip with her right hand was strong as she held our hands, squeezed, and rubbed as pulled them in close to her face as if to give us a kiss on the top of the hand. She looked at us with her beautiful eyes with a message of love which she always has. Her ability to speak has diminished, but she can still say a few soft words. I was telling a story to her family about a joke I played on her at haunt. She squeezed my hand and everyone heard her give me a pffff! as if to poke me. We all broke into laughter and she cracked a smile. As we left after a couple of hours of visiting, She pulled my hand in close again and gave a big squeeze up next to her face not wanting to let go. Bobby Albright

Sandy's Condition

Sandy's condition has not changed after getting some rest the past 2 days. Sometimes she's able to answer me when I speak to her and sometimes not. The nurses and doctor can't tell me how much longer she has, but they have told me that the tumor has probably grown within the last few days, which is causing her to have more severe symptoms. This happened much quicker than we all had expected. Although Sandy has a hard time speaking right now, and is very weak, she is still very much aware of when people are around her and knows who they are. So anyone who is able to make it out here can still come and visit Sandy. It defenitely brightens up her day to have visitors. Unfortunately I can't predict how much longer Sandy will be aware of her surroundings, so if you're planning on visiting it should probably be as soon as possible. Our address is 23594 Underwood Circle, Murrieta, CA 92562. ph.# (310) 480-7514 and e-mail is tawnda@verizon.net.

Update on Sandy

Hi everyone,

Sorry it's been so long to get an update to all of you. It's been hard for me to find time to keep up with everything. Sandy is on a lot of different medications, one is steroids which helps to reduce the swelling in her brain. Unfortunately the steroids also makes her muscles very weak and also just makes her very, very tired. It takes two people to assist her in walking and then she can only take a couple of steps. It's becoming more difficult to transport her from one place to another, but not impossible. As long as Sandy's is up to it and it makes her happy, I will try to get her out of the house to any events that come up. Sandy for the most part has been in a good mood and definitely has not lost her sense of humor. I did notice something that just started a few hours ago that's worrying me. She seems to be having difficulty in talking and it's taking her a lot longer to answer me when I ask her a question. She had to stay in an assisted living place over the weekend so that we could take our son to cub scout camp and I'm hoping that maybe she just didn't get alot of rest there and she's just really tired today. I'll see how she is after a good nights sleep tonight and will post another update tomorrow to let everyone know how she's doing. Thank you to all of you! This is a very scary time right now for us and knowing that you're all out there sending love and good thoughts our way makes it a little easier.

Sandy being released Friday

Hello everyone,
We just found out this afternoon that Sandy will be released Friday (today) evening 7-16-2010 from Torrance Harbor Medical. She will be coming back home with us for the time being. Her condition is still the same, but this is what the doctor has decided. Sorry if you were planning on visiting Sandy, we thought she was going to stay until Monday.

We were at the hospital for over 24 hours waiting and seeing lots of different doctors before we were told what was going on with Sandy. They took a CAT scan that showed lots of swelling which means the tumor is growing back. Most of the doctors have told me that Sandy has a 12 months at the most to live. Although there were some who said that they will not put a time on how long Sandy lives and want to try a couple more medications. One doctor did say it could be 1 to 2 years. I'm sorry I didn't have better news to be giving you right now. I've admitted Sandy into Harbor UCLA in Torrance for a few day. They'll continue to do tests and help me to figure things out. After that, if things go the way I'd like them to, she'll come back home with me. Please go and visit her if you are able. She's on the 4th floor, East, room 13D. One more thing, Sandy does not know that the tumor has grown back or any of the details. I believe in positive thinking doing wonders for the body so as far as she knows, she's there to get some tests done but everything is okay. Thanks again for all the love and support. I'm going to be leaving for the hospital pretty soon. I'll try to keep up with the blog as much as possible and try to keep everyone informed.

Hi everyone,

About a day before Sandy's last doctor's appointment which was on June 29th, Sandy started having a little harder time walking and seemed to be a little off balanced. The doctor felt it could be from her out patient physical therapy not starting yet. Since then she has continued to get a little worse every day. In the last couple of days her thought process and her speech seems to be getting worse also. Her next appointment is on the 27th of this month but we're making lots of phone calls today to see if we can get her in earlier. I've e-mailed her Oncologist doctor for advise and he told me that the kind of tumor Sandy has is very bad and is at stage 4. Although they did get all the tumor out, the bed that the tumor lived in still remains and that alone can cause the tumor to grow back. Of course everyone including the doctors felt that there was plenty of time before the tumor would grow back since the last time it took 12 years. I'm not sure what's going on with Sandy yet and I'm definitely not giving up! I will be posting a new blog everyday to keep everyone informed of how Sandy's doing. Thank you for all the e-mails that have been sent. Please keep them coming, it really lifts her spirits.

Scavenger Hunt Benefit For Sandy

Hi everyone,

Christine (Syren) is planning and organizing a great benefit for Sandy. It's a scavenger hunt that will take place at Disney Land. Please copy and paste the link below for more details. It sounds like a lot of fun!
http://phobia1.com/Queen Sandy.html

Sandy's Dr's Appointment

Hi everyone,

Sorry it's been taking me so long to update the blog. Hopefully things will be settling down a bit around here soon and I'll be able to keep up with it better.
I know everyone's been waiting to hear how Sandy's been doing. We had doctor's appointments on Monday and yesterday to see if Sandy would be able to receive radiation or not. The doctors have decided that it would be too dangerous for her since she had so much after the first surgery. She will be starting chemo probably in a week or two and I believe it will be in pill form. Besides that, Sandy has a very positive attitude and does her exercises every day. I've been printing out all the e-mails that have been coming in and I read them all to Sandy. It always puts a smile on her face so please keep them coming! I'll make sure they all get to her. Thanks again to everyone for all the love and support. Here's a short video of Sandy. tawnda@verizon.net

Update on Sandy

Hi everyone,

Sorry it's been so long since the last update. It's been a little crazy around here lately. Sandy's doing good, just a little frustrated at the speed of her recovery. I have no news on her radiation and chemo yet. Her doctor went out of town so we had to re-schedule her appointment for June 29th. I was hoping to attach a little video of Sandy with this blog entry but she wasn't feeling up to it today. She said maybe tomorrow and if so, I'll be posting another blog tomorrow! She did want me to tell all of you thank you for all the love and support you've been giving her. She misses you all very much. I know it's kind of far away, but if anyone wants to come visit you are all welcome! Just call or send me an e-mail to let me know when. My number is (310) 480-7514 and e-mail is tawnda@verizon.net. Thank you again to all of you!

Dinner With Sandy At Fuddruckers

Hi Everyone,

We're taking Sandy to dinner at Fuddruckers in Buena Park this Wednesday, May 26th. We'll be there from 5-9pm. If able to, please come and join us. Below is a link to a flyer to print out and bring with. Fuddruckers will give a percentage of the sales to Sandy for all orders placed with a flyer in hand. I'll have extras with me for those who aren't able to print one out. Thank you and we hope to see you there!
flyer here.