The final few moments.

As clique as this sounds: the year really did go by fast. I can't believe that I'm writing this final blog with no title... I'm saddened that I'm no longer Miss North Metro Outstanding Teen, but I look forward to what is in store for me.

The day started with meeting all of the ccontestants. There where 6 competing in the Miss North Metro portion and 3 in the Teen portion. We all meet early on Sunday morning and went through what the day would consist of and the girls started rehersing. I'm not going to lie, it was nice to not have to worry about competing! Beth and I just sat back and watched and read our scripts a little because we were the emcees for the pageant.

After a little rehersal, the girls started to get ready for their interviews. The morning had already flew by, and I had about 3 hours left of my reign. The Teen contestants went first and I prayed that they would all do well. I knew that any one of them would make an amzing titleholder and I wish that 3 titles could have been given away that night.

Once the pageant finally started, I tried not to focus on what was coming up.... my farewell. I focused on making this pageant entertaining, while also enjoying every moment and soaking up any minutes I had left with my crown on.

The pageant went smoothly as ever, and I would like to congradulate the new Miss North Metro, Mary Peterson and the new Miss North Metro Outstanding Teen, Maren Anderson! I'm so proud to call them both my friends and I know that they will have an awesome year together and will not disappoint.

With that, I would like to say thank you. I thank everyone who takes time out of their busy schedule to read my blogs, and to everyone who has ever supported me with a kind word or gesture. I don't think you truly realize the affect it has on me. I'm so grateful to be surrounded by such awesome people who care so much about me! Thank you for making my year a great one.

Although this will be my last blog post on this website, I encourage you to follow my other blog at http://www.beonthemove.weebly.com/
Here you will find everything you could ever need! Pictures, blogs, and info about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

And with great sadness, I say goodbye. But not forever :) Minnesota hasn't seen the last of Bailey Wachholz! I can assure you that.

Thanks again for everything you have done for me and in helping to make my year the best yet,
XOXO,
Bailey Wachholz
Miss North Metro Outstanding Teen 2010

The 3 Teen contestants!

Maren!

Mia!

Corrina!

One last picture with our director..

Bethany and I emceeing the pageant

Performing for the last time as Miss North Metro Outstanding Teen 2010

The new Miss North Metro OT, Maren Anderson!

The 2 new titleholders, Mary and Maren!

My Brainerd family :)

A week of purple!

Saturday was a pretty fantastic day, and I would like to start this blog off by saying how incredibly thankful I am for the blessings that God has provided me with. He is so powerful and I am blown away by his incredible power. Thank you Jesus for being all around awesome! :)

On Saturday morning I was asked to speak on WCCO 830 radio with Denny Long about my story with Alzheimer's and statistics about dementia and Alzheimer's. I spoke from the heart and what I knew, and I hope I did the Alzheimer's Association proud! It went so well and we were invited back. I had an amazing time speaking to Denny , the host, his mother passed away from this awful disease a few years back. Although waking up at 5AM was not fun, being in the studio and seeing the rooms and rooms of equipment was! Crazy how much machinery goes into produceing a radio show that reaches all over the state of Minnesota.

On Monday, the Brainerd Area Walk to End Alzheimer's committee and our Honorary Chair family "Painted the Town Purple" in order to raise awareness about Alzheimer's and our upcoming Walk on Saturday! Purple ribbons were tied around lightpost and around businesses. If you live in the Brainerd Area, make sure to look for them! Also make sure to look for the giant purple ribbon wrapped around the historic Brainerd water tower... it was wrapped around on Friday and will be there until Monday, so make sure to drive by and take a look! :)

A few hours ago, I arrived home after an awesome day in Walker, MN. My schedule was absolutely packed, so I was looking forward to the day. My morning started early, and I arrived at Hope Lutheran Church for a conference on aging. Lori, my contact person who got me connected, introduced me. Immediately after, I was escorted by members of the Interact Club to the Elementary school where I did about 10 presentations to 2nd-4th graders and presented them with the book "What's Happening to Grandpa" by Maria Shriver. Following that, I attended the Rotary Meeting and had lunch with them and the Interact club. Then we raced back over to the high school for my final 3 presentations of the day. The first one was to 5th and 6th graders, which I wasn't so nervous about because I had spoken to that age group many times before. The last two were to 7th-9th graders and then 10th-12th graders. These I was increidbly nervous for, as I had never spoken to a group of students my age! Both ended up going better than I had originally thought, which is great! :) I would like to thank the Interact Club for escorting me around and to Lori Gooch for setting all of this up. My very first trip to Walker, MN was a SUCCESS :)

All-in-all, I've had a pretty crazy week! And it's only the begining. Tomorrow is World Alzheimer's Day (wear your purple), then Saturday is the Walk to End Alzheimer's in Brainerd. With only 18 days until I give up my title, I'm happy to pack as much as I possibly can into these next few days. Thanks to everyone who has made this past year so incredible. Hope to see you all at the 2011 Miss North Metro and Miss North Metro Outstanding Teen pageant on October 9th!

Blessings,
Bailey

Miss Moorhead and Red River Valley Outstanding Teen

As I was driving to Moorhead on Saturday, reality finally sunk in. I was on my way to the Miss Moorhead and Miss Red River Valley Outstanding Teen pageant when it hit me that this is the last local pageant before North Metro. That was my last time making an appearance at a local pageant as Miss North Metro Outstanding Teen 2010. Crazy how fast time flies by. It will be extremely weird going to a local pageant and not sitting in the "queen" section and having a title.

Of course it's always nice to see all of the lovely pageant ladies and catch up! We always manage to get a few good laughs in before the evening is over. After the pageant, I went out to eat with Paige, Miss Perham. It was great catching up with her and hearing how college is going.

Congrats to Ellie Bachmann on winning Red River Valley Outstanding Teen! I competed with her at MMOT 2011 when she was Frazee OT and I am so incredibly happy and excited for her! I know she will have an awesome year with her new sister queen, Ali Vail, the new Miss Moorhead.

The past couple of weeks, I was debating whether I wanted to compete for Teen again or move up into Miss. But I would like to clear everything up by saying that I am indeed competing in Teen again and my next pageant is Miss Brainerd's Outstanding Teen on January 7th :)

Also, the Walk to End Alzheimer's is coming up! Send me an email if you would like to join my team :) bailey.wachholz@gmail.com

Hope to see everyone there! :)
Bailey

Count your blessings... Seriously.

This morning I lost a long-time friend , Conor Smith. I can honestly say that the past 2 days have been some of the hardest I have experienced.

Conor and I grew up together. His mom and my mom were really good friends and we did so much together. We always had a fun time together!

Conor was first diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2007, which was treated with chemotherapy and a few months after that he was diagnosed with leukemia. Chemo treatment after chemo treatment, he thankfully went into remission. I think that all of his family and friends finally took a deep breath. The type of leukemia he had was the easiest to treat and cure in children, so we all had high hopes that this was the end of his cancer journey.

But in August of 2010, he relapsed. That awful thing that I thought would never come back... did. For the past month, all he did was struggle. He was going through intense chemo to try to get back into remission so he could have a bone marrow transplant that would have saved his life. But of course, obstacles were put in his way. First he got a fungal infection in his blood, and that led to him getting bacterial meningitis, which is almost impossible to cure. After going through so many rounds of chemo, he had no immune system. His already fragile body couldn't fight off the invader that was taking over his body. The meningitis spread throughout his body and to his brain, which put him in a coma with no hope of getting out.

My Mom and I felt compelled to go down and see him one last time. We made the drive to Amplatz Children's Hospital yesterday to see him and his family. I hadn't see him for over 2 years, and when I saw him in that hospital bed unconsious, I didn't want to believe what was happening. He breathing was shallow and his blood pressure was dropping by the hour. I knew it wouldn't be long, but I'm so lucky to have been there to bless him with oils and pray for his journey into Heaven. I blessed his hand and I couldn't help but think how lifeless he looked. Half of his soul was already in Heaven.

My mom was the one who blessed his ear, and I wondered if Conor could hear while in his coma. They say that if you are in a coma your hearing is sharper. It wasn't until his mom started talking to him and I physically saw his blood pressure go up that I knew he could hear. Later we realized that that was God's gift to Conor after my mom had blessed his ear. Christ gave Conor his hearing so he could hear all of us celebrating the good times in his life and saying goodbye for the final time. I don't think I've ever felt anything so powerful.

We stayed for a few more hours but realized that there was nothing we could do anymore. We blessed him and thats all we could've done besides wait. With much sadness, I had to say my final goodbye to Conor knowing I would never see him with a heartbeat again. That was one of the hardest things, I can't even put it into words.

It's hard to imagine Conor not being here anymore, but I know that he and God are having a good time hanging out and playing video games :) I can still hear Conor in his sarcastic voice saying "shocker". That was his favorite word.

Conor has made me realize how precious life really is. Never was he negative about his situation. He was always a posistive person, and I want to live my life more like Conor. So as the title of this blog says.... Count your blessings, people. Seriously. One day you'll blink and realize you've lost a friend. Don't ever take anything for granted, including your health. Be more positive and don't ever forget the simple power of the word "thank you". Trust that God's plan is greater and try to be apart of something greater than yourself.

Conor may never have his first girlfriend or his first kiss. Nor will he graduate from high school or college. He won't ever get his first house or his first real job. He won't ever fall in love, get married, and start a family. But Conor will get to walk with Christ for all of eternity. He gets to wake up to the beautiful face of our Lord and live in a place that is pain and cancer free. He won't ever have to worry about anything. He will get to do all of those things that he couldn't do on Earth in Heaven.

Conor, thanks for being such a great friend. I'm sorry I couldn't always be there for you, but I miss you already and I love you. Make sure to save me a spot in Heaven. I know you're smiling down right now on all of us.

Christ, I'm trusting that you took this 15 year olds life for a reason. I have no clue what that reason is, and as unfair as I think it is, I'm putting my complete trust in you. Keep him safe up there. Thanks.

Bailey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YMLmlHfehQ

A week in the life!

It has been a busy week in the life of Bailey! Last Friday, I volunteered at the Univita "Golf to End Alzheimer's" event at Braemar golf course. All of the money raised wen't towards Univita's Walk to End Alzheimer's team. Univita won the Angel Award last year for raising the most money for their Walk team, so I was honored to be apart of this and help them exceed their goal for this year. I hosted a Tee 17 and we told the golfers that they could hit it with their club, but them had to donate $5 or they could just throw it with their hand and not to pay anything. This worked out very well because most people didn't want to throw the ball so just ended up donating. After 6 hours of sitting out their, we (my mom and I) were relieved of our duties and turned in our money. We found out that we raised the most money at our tee that day so we won the prize! It happened to be 4 bottles of wine (obviously not for me but it's the thought that counts) :)

The next day was a day dedicated to shopping :) Gotta hit the good shopping when you can! Corrina came with us and we wen't to the Burnsville Mall and Southdale. We went to Southdale specifically for the Mestad's fashion show with the Miss Minnesota High School and Collegiate girls. I have gotten to know the director's, Suzie and Allyson, alot over the past 2 years. They have helped me tremedously and have given me unwaivered support! Simply put: they are amazing!

I competed in the very first Miss Minnesota High School pageant in 2009 for practice and ended up getting 3rd runner up in only my second pageant! I was then asked to represent North Dakota at the Miss High School America pageant, so I have Suzie and Allyson to thank for all of those incredible opportunities.

For the past year, my Mom and I have volunteered to help with any small tasks or backstage before the pageant and this year was no exception! It's weird watching all of the girls get ready and reherse and not have to compete! I can just sit back and relax :)

So after the pageant on Sunday, my Mom and I finally headed home and geared up for the Team Wachholz's biggest fundraiser for the Walk... the Cut-a-thon! This was the 3rd annual Cut-a-thon at the Deb Schey Salon and it was an enormous success!! Since my mom is a hairdresser, she and her 2 other co-workers cut hair all day long and ALL of the money went to Team Wachholz for the 2011 Walk to End Alzheimers. It's always a fun and rewarding day, and at the end of the day when I added up all of the totals, I found out we raised $2,417! And we're still going! People were so incredibly generous and I praise God for allowing us to have such an awesome day! Thank you to everyone who took the time to come out :) It is much appreciated!!

XOXO,
Bailey