Hunting for a Cure!

Meet The Leonards

Derrick Leonard and Lauren Conley were married March of 2009 after building their home together in the small town of Church Hill, MD. Derrick and Lauren were high school sweet hearts that never grew out of it, and after 8 years finally tied the knot. Lauren found out she was pregnant and life was good. They knew 2009 would be the most exciting year of their life but had no idea just how exciting it would turn out to be. They had everything they ever wanted, a great relationship, a brand new house, great careers, and a baby on the way.
On August 19th 2009 their son, Darren Alan Leonard was born. Darren was a perfectly normal and healthy baby who stole the hearts of every nurse, family member, and friend who set eyes on him. Darren wasn’t like most babies, he only cried when he was really hungry and was a laid back new born who loved cracking smiles at everyone. The Leonard’s were a truly blessed family living the American dream.
In mid October of 2009, Derrick, Lauren, and Baby Darren went on a trip to PA to visit with Darren’s Grandparents on a camping trip. During that trip, Lauren noticed a subtle laziness in Darren’s left eye and on the way home was already scheduling a appointment with his pediatrician. After getting home and meeting with Darren’s Dr. the Leonard’s were referred to an ophthalmologist at A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, DE.
On October 27th 2009, Derrick and Lauren packed up Baby Darren and headed for their trip to DuPont. When they arrived there they met with the eye doctor who immediately called the Emergency Room to send someone up to bring Darren down for a CT scan. After a long wait in the ER, Derrick and Lauren were advised by Drs. That Baby Darren had some type of mass on his brain and needed to be taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Derrick and Lauren felt as though they had been struck by a train. This was a total shock, going into a routine eye Dr. Appointment with only the clothes on their back and somehow ending up in the intensive care unit that night with their two and a half month old baby boy.

Following being admitted into the PICU, Darren was given lots of IV’s, blood draws, and other unpleasant things no baby should ever have to experience. The next day in the PICU the Oncologist at DuPont came in the room and told the Leonard’s the most devastating and shocking news they ever have heard or would hear. . Their baby has cancer… Not just cancer, but a brain tumor the size of a golf ball. The oncologist told them they would need to do a biopsy of the tumor to remove a very small amount and send it out for identification of what type of cancer it is and then treatment options would be discussed.
Darren had a brain tumor biopsy and the tissue was sent out. The Dr. advised that due to the size and location of the tumor, removal was not an option. After the results came back Darren was diagnosed with a low grade glioma brain tumor. The only treatment option for Baby Darren is chemo and the Dr. started him on a once a week chemo schedule for one year. The Dr. told the Leonard’s that there was only an 80% chance that the chemo would keep the tumor from growing larger, let alone shrink it.
Darren began his chemo treatments while Mommy and Daddy started to adjust to their new hospital life. Lauren didn’t leave Darren’s side for one minute while in the hospital and Derrick took up residency at the Ronald McDonald House across the street. After being admitted in the hospital for almost half of Darren’s life the Leonard’s finally got to come home to Church Hill. They only made it home for less than 24 hours before having to go back to DuPont because of medical complications.
The Leonard’s have made plenty of late night emergency trips to DuPont and Darren has had a central line placed in his chest to access for his treatments as well as blood draws. Darren also had a shunt placed in his head due to spinal fluid pressure on his brain. His shunt runs from his head to his stomach to drain and is visible under his skin.

The family has recently learned that not only has the chemo stopped the tumor from growing, but in the last MRI showed signs of the tumor shrinking. The family still has a long way to go before being out of the woods and Lauren had to leave her career as a compounding pharmacy technician to take care of Darren’s many round the clock medical needs. Derrick is back to work his 24 hour shifts at the county 911 center and makes lots of time to spend at home with the family. Without the love and support from friends, family, and even some strangers, the Leonard’s would be having a much harder time than they have already been presented with.

If you or anyone you know would like a camo hunting for a cure cancer support bracelet that were made in Darrens honor, simply send a donation to Darren of any size to Derrick Leonard PO Box 205 Church Hill, MD 21623. Checks can be made out to “fund raiser for darren leonard”. Be sure to include a return address for the bracelet/bracelets to be sent to and include the number of bracelets you would like. These donations are to help offset the loss of Lauren’s income while caring for Darren.

New in 2010~ Camp Wild Girls “Hunting Parties”

Well it’s official. To kick off the New Year we are going to start having Camp Wild Girls “Hunting Parties” featuring Prois Hunting Apparel.

What is a “hunting party” you might be asking yourself? Well remember all those home parties that you didn’t really want to go to because they didn’t have anything you really wanted to buy? Well we are going to change all that. As one gal put it “Oh it is like tupper**** party only for kick @$$ chicks!” Exactly my friend!

You will  now be able to try on all the Prois Hunting apparel, and Camp Wild Girls clothing in the comfort of your own house or maybe a friends. It will be  getting a bunch of “wild” gals together for a wild  kinda time!

If you have an interest in attending, or throwing a party or possibly even becoming a rep, please contact me at party@campwildgirls.com. Please be patient until we can get to your area since this is a very new program.

Jan 2010’s “Woman of the Wild”-Kim Pezzeminti

Kim Pezzeminti, explorer, huntress and creator of things.

“Woman of the Wild” could not be a more perfect description for this explorer!  As a young girl, I would create some of the most amazing places in the wild of the outdoors.  The most memorable is of my playhouse underneath a GREAT big maple tree!  The dirt floor was swept daily and the luscious and green moss became the carpeted areas of this delectable place.  I served mud pies topped with the flowers of the Forsythia bush.  My Grandmother Ruby would always be there to assist in my projects.  I credit her for blessing me with creativity.  She taught be how to see pictures in the clouds and how to make something out of nothing. (Which by the way has been a wonderful trait to have through my adult years!)

My Mother and Father are also very instrumental in the development of my creativity Through many years of camping, seeing, doing and just sharing added the element of honesty and integrity.  My Dad would take me fishing atop Mowbry Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee.  I caught my first 3 pound bass on a Zebco 202 rod and reel and I was hooked.  I began to scream to my Dad across the pond…”Daddy, Daddy, Daddy” as I drug the most incredible, awesome fish ashore.  Daddy came just a running and was so proud of me!  I went home, took my hands up to my Mom’s nose and said smell…I caught a fish!

As I grew and developed into a woman, all of these experiences and skills would ultimately become the foundation for my work world success.  After spending almost 20 years in the tile industry, I found it ironic that I was selling “baked dirt” for a living. (Hmmm, thank you mud pie).  I was able to work with ceramic engineers from France, Italy and Spain to take clays, silica sand and glazes to make beautiful tiles for homes and buildings around the world.  This job also enabled me to travel where I was constantly in sensory overload!  As this Tennessee girl traveled to the West, it was if she had found her home.  Wyoming became the place that every chance I got, I would go there, place my feet into the vast forests and just be on cloud nine.  The grand mountains would bring my creativity out like flowing lava from a volcano!  I spent several summers in the Teton National Forest on Horseback and I never returned the same person.  I am so thankful for these days in the woods.

As I traveled, I became the Platinum Princess on Delta Airlines.  Spending over 200 nights a year in a hotel was quite and experience.  I never knew what I would receive from all these frequent flyer miles but I found out a little over four years ago…the award was my darling and precious soul mate.  As we sat side by side on a flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta (thank you Delta) we talked about deer hunting, which I had never done, but my Dad loved to deer and turkey hunt.  I told him about the back strap my Dad cooked every Christmas morning.  Needless to say, this was love at first flight!

We married 2 years later on the Bell Tower of the Hotel Colorado ( Interestingly, this hotel became the White House of President Teddy Roosevelt, while he bear hunted…I think I must have felt his love of the West) then we jumped in our jeans and headed Elk Hunting for our Honeymoon.  My hunting buddy taught me to shoot my first gun and ultimately harvesting my first deer.  We make being in the WILD a priority for our extra curricular activities.  I escorted my husband on this 50^th birthday celebration to Namibia, Africa where I watched my mentor focus and harvest.  We have Elk Hunted together in Colorado and Wyoming.  Our most favorite place is our hunting camp in Georgia where we work on the many aspects of the Whitetail Deer.  Living now in Merritt Island, Florida, we are anxious to someday find a little cabin hidden in the woods where I can sit on my porch and listen to the creatures sing their songs.

Once again my experiences would take hold of my creativity and I from this my company Doeville would be born.   This is a place for women to come and capture items created by women and made in the USA.  The products and artists are a direct result of my many years of traveling and meeting people all over the world.  Our tag line is “Accessorize Your Spirit” which is what the places in the wild have done for my spirit!

My message to all women is to explore, not only places but also within you.  There are many treasures to be found!