Markie F. - Quilt Finished in 2009
Born: July 28, 1992
Illness: Lupus SLE, Lupus Nephritis

A Thank You From Markie's Family!
4/21/09

Thank you so much for this amazing quilt. It means so much to me and the amount of time spent on it is incredible. I know how hard you all have worked and the quilt is awesome. It was a total suprise to me and i couldn't ask for anything better. I sleep with it every night along with my favorite frog named Floppy. I can't even beging to describe how much i appreciate this quilt and all the hardwork and time that was put into it. Thank you so much for chosing me. Everything you all do for children is so heartfelt and uplifting.
Thanks again,
Markie Fenger

From Webpage 4/23/09

I have waited until the Prom chaos passed to post this.......The LOVE QUILT arrived right before Easter...we waited a while to give it to Markie...we wanted her to have the time to understand and read about LOVE QUILTS.  All I can say is that the quilt is Beautiful! They captured Markie's love for frogs and made it into a work of Art. There are squares from all over the US as well as other Countries. Markie Loves it and was very surprised as she knew nothing about it. The Center square was done by her Grandma Fenger...it says "TOADLY SPOILED".....I will post photos and please check out the website WWW.LOVEQUILTS.ORG and read about what these amazing, caring people do for children they have never met.

THANK YOU LOVE QUILTS for all the time and love each of you put into Markie's Quilt!
She will cherish it!

Love,
RaShelle

Markie F.'s Story
Written by Markie's mom Rasehelle in July 2008

Markie became ill April 25th 2007....she had been gaining weight for about 10 days... we thought our tiny 96 lb... 14  year old was finally "growing".  After a 8lb gain in less than a week I took her to the doctor.  They ran tests and sent us home, 2 hours later we were called and spent 3 weeks in the hospital.  She gained 28 lbs in less than 2 weeks.  She did not respond to the meds as she should have, went into FULL kidney failure and on dialysis, high blood pressure, liver and nervous system issues from the Lupus. 

We were concerned with the treatment in Omaha as they don't see her disease or treat it as it is so rare in teens and she had it so bad.  We had her transfered to Chicago.  Dr Lane re-did all her meds, took over her treatment and was able to get her off dialysis.  She went thru 6 months of Chemo and 100mg of daily steroids along with weekly IV pulse steroids, along with 13 other meds.  She missed 2 months of school at the end of the year and had to be tutored.  She has missed so much about being a teenager.

She is now down to 7 med. She will be on meds for life and the Dr's in Chicago told us she was the sickest child they have treated with Lupus Nephritis. She is a very bubbly, upbeat teenager after all she has been thru and knowing she will deal with up's and down's of her disease throughout her life. We have been getting labs once a month and traveling to Chicago. We go again on July 15th and hope they will space her trips and her labs as she is doing so well!!

Markie is a straight "A" student, loves school and her job at a nursery...YES she loves to work :) Right now Life is going good for her!! One day at a time at our home!

Here is Markie's story in her own words:

My name is Markie.  I am 15 and was diagnosed with Lupus Nephrits in April 2007 at 14 years old.  This is very rare in kids my age.  I went into full kidney failure and was on dialysis.  I have had 6 months of Chemo.  I was being treated in Omaha but it was out of the Dr's league and they were pretty much experimenting on me so my parents had me transfered to Northwestern Children's Memorial in Chicago where I have the BEST team of Dr's!  Dr. Lane is the BEST DR!!!  I am so lucky I went to Chicago.  I am off dialysis and able to go to school.  I look  different due to  strong steroids and other meds but I am being as positive as I can.  I have good days and bad days but my parents love me very much and I have a sister who is there for me too.   I hate that I will have this for life and I am still trying to accept and adjust to everything that has happened since April 2007.  I will beat this with all the awesome support I have from my family and friends!  THANK YOU CHICAGO DR'S FOR GETTING ME THIS FAR...EVERY Day is a new day and I try to be happy and positive!!