FAIRMONT —
It’s all about the kids in the Anselene family.
Parents Rodney and Cindy do everything they can for their children: Alexis, twin boys Justin and Caleb, and Ashley, who lives in Kentucky.
Rodney is a health and physical education teacher at East Fairmont High School and Cindy works for Fresenius Medical Care in Fairmont. With her job, Cindy sometimes has to travel, leaving it up to Rodney to make sure everyone is on time.
Their oldest child, Ashley, recently started a new job in nursing at a hospital in Kentucky. She tries to visit at least once a month.
From the early spring through the summer, Rodney and Cindy’s schedules were busy.
“Our schedules this year have kind of slowed down and changed direction,” Rodney said. “But we’re still as busy as ever.”
The twins played travel soccer for West Virginia United year-round while playing other sports such as basketball, cross country and track when they went to Fairmont Catholic. Now the twins are in high school at Fairmont Senior and are on the soccer team.
Also keeping them on their feet was their daughter Ashley. She recently graduated from Marshall and was a cheerleader for the Thundering Herd.
“That kept us very busy,” Rodney said. “We also chased around Ashley when she was cheerleading.”
Along with all the hectic sports, Alexis — who had an initial transplant when she was 6 months old — has had some medical problems over the past few years and had a second liver transplant in March.
“She got so sick that she couldn’t go back,” Rodney said. “We basically spent all of January through June at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.”
Alexis had been recovering from the transplant when she came down with a rare form of meningitis in May.
“She’s battling the meningitis as well as recovering from the transplant,” Rodney said. “She’s had a very tough time.”
About once a week the family travels to Pittsburgh to take Alexis to the Children’s Hospital for check-ups. During the summer it was easy for Rodney and Cindy to care for Alexis because Rodney wasn’t working. During recovery, Alexis is now able to take care of herself, which helps because Rodney is at work.
“She needs an I.V. and she is able to do that by herself now,” Rodney said.
Great family support has helped Rodney and Cindy make sure every kid is OK. Alexis’ grandparents would stay with her when her parents couldn’t so that Justin and Caleb wouldn’t miss a game or practice.
“We were able to keep everybody in whatever they did,” Rodney said.
Justin and Caleb have provided help as well, being supportive of their sister and helping her when needed.
Rodney said that because Justin and Caleb are twins they are each other’s best friend. They may have different personalities, but they look out for each other.
“I think Caleb is a little more funny while Justin is more serious,” Rodney said. “They have their disagreements but never one to hurt one another.”
Email Emily Gallagher at egallagher@timeswv.com of follow her on Twitter @EGallagherTWV.
Family Times
Related Photos
-
It’s all about the kids in the Anselene family. That’s especially important to Alexis, who has had some medical problems over the past few years. The kids’ grandfather David Snyder often helped take care of Alexis while she was in the hospital. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Top priority
Despite hectic schedules, Anselene family puts daughter’s health first
- Family Times
-
-
Easter traditions are ideal ways to celebrate holiday
Hop into Easter traditions that give families a new way to celebrate one of the oldest holidays in the world. Not only will your family love these traditions now, but like any good tradition, your kids can enjoy them with their kids, too.
-
Cave Spring is home to water, passion and preservation
Empty milk jugs travel to Cave Spring with people who plan.
-
Help children study, prepare more for tests
Here’s something many parents might not realize: Teachers often don’t coach kids on how to study for tests.
-
Kids will adjust to time change with some help
Daylight saving time begins Sunday, March 10.
-
Emerging trend
Tyler Johnstone handed his Algebra I students sheets of paper one day last week emblazoned with a letter and separated them into groups. He asked one student to find the greatest common factor.
-
Enthusiastic response
Old-fashioned sodas are the hottest thing in cold drinks.
-
Get creative to beat those winter blahs
It’s the end of February — the least wonderful time of the year. Anything remotely novel and romantic about winter has become stale and overdone.
-
Prized collectible
Alex LeBlanc is the owner of what may be the first dated baseball card in history — a rare 1865 mounted photograph of the Brooklyn Atlantics amateur baseball club.
-
Help kids put Valentine’s Day in perspective
Valentine’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to show appreciation for people we love.
-
Quick responders
Louie and Jackson are quick to respond to a tragedy. They come armed with a smile — and a wag of the tail.
The golden retrievers serve a mission: Helping communities recover from a disaster. - More Family Times Headlines
-
Easter traditions are ideal ways to celebrate holiday
