Rinnie’s Page

Rinnie Hopkins

This page is dedicated to Rinnie Hopkins, who is Pam Hauser’s daughter. Rinnie has just been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment in Atlanta. Rinnie is a rising 8th grader at ArtSpace Charter School. She has been a gymnast most of her life and has always been very physically and socially active! We have so many friends who want updates, and Pam wants to be free to focus on Rinnie’s health and not be talking on the cell phone all day about details concerning cancer. We believe that what you focus on grows! So Pam will keep this page up to date with Rinnie’s physical and emotional condition, and, yes, pictures.

It’s almost school time and Rinnie is both excited and concerned about returning to school.  She is still unable to sit and tires easily.  I am in the process of making her a cushion to sit on and a mat to lie down on during the school day.  We met with the director of the school, all of her teachers and the new school counselor on August 8th.  School starts on the 12th, so I wanted to talk with them, have them see Rinnie and know what her special needs are for the new school year, and brainstorm as to how she can be in school, able to learn and not be a disruption.  The meeting went well.  We feel blessed that she goes to such a wonderful school!   It’s also a plus that she is a smart person who really does not have to try very hard in school.

Rinnie has been undergoing treatment for two months now and is progressing well. She named the tumor “Theodore”.  Rinnie is in a LOT less pain (she takes the occasional plain Tylenol or Aleve) and that is also a big indicator for us. She was on strong narcotics for a while. She is nausea free and able to eat, although her appetite is not yet back to her norm. She also still tires easily, but I figure she is spending her energy on healing. We look forward to the day when she can sit again. (Theodore is located around her tail bone and started growing after she fell while on the balance beam, bouncing onto the wood with her tail bone. This particular form of cancer is known to occur following an injury.)

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers! We believe that they are a large part of her healing process. We are so very grateful for our community and daily send you love and appreciation for you and yours.

Pam has been blogging all summer, (look in the upper right hand corner of this page for the link.) You can go there and leave a comment directly to Rinnie if you wish to. Pam took some time off during Rinnie’s testing, hospitalizations, and treatment, but is now back at work.  Rinnie will be continuing her treatment in Atlanta, but will no longer require weekly treatments.  She is down to every 2 - 4 weeks at this time.  Pam has gone into some detail about Rinnie’s treatments in a recent blog.  You can go there to read about the alternative things that she is doing.

Here’s a link to a website that was designed by Jen Spector, the mother of one of Rinnie’s friends. www.rinnierocks.com There is a PayPal link on that page if you would so choose to make a donation towards Rinnie’s care and well being. She initially wanted a flamingo pink laptop from Dell, but her uncle convinced his work to donate one to her. It is purple, but that is fine with her.  We are so grateful, Michael! The laptop has gone with her to the beach, to Atlanta (where we stay with either Melony and David or Nicky and Fred) and can stay in her room if she doesn’t want to come out to the living room where her desktop computer is. It is another way for her to stay in touch with her friends. This is VITALLY IMPORTANT to a 13 year old girl! (This link is there for your use ONLY if you want to and there is absolutely no pressure here at all! But we’ve been asked by many people who want to donate, so that’s why it is there.)  Donations have paid for her medical treatments, gas to get to Atlanta, food for us to eat, a trip to the beach for 3 days (the Meyer Baba Center in Myrtle Beach), a shopping trip to the mall in Atlanta where she bought some school clothes and more.  This has allowed Pam to be by her side and not worry about the money end so much.

Thank you for all of your love and prayers. We are well blessed. Rinnie has given permission for you to share her website with your contacts. There is a slideshow on rinnierocks.com of that wonderful spirit who is Pam’s daughter.

There are a couple more pictures below:

Rinnie sitting on diving board at Nicky’s house in Atlanta. (Pam’s friend from massage school.)  She is sitting with one hip raised.

This is Rinnie taken through the screen. She is taking a picture of a squirrel resting on the side of a tree. This was taken at the beach cabin. Pam knows a wonderful place where the rates are very cheap, in a natural setting that focuses on healing and retreat.