Fundraising Success

It's been a long couple of weeks. Hank's fever came down from 106' and never went back up. (huge sigh of relief!) And just as Hank got well, Charlie (age 5), came down with it! Charlie's fever hasn't shot up as high, but has gone into his ears...poor little guy! The way things are working out...Lucy should have this by Friday, starting the 3rd week of illness in our household!

Hank's high fever scared me. Knowing that Hank has Parry Romberg's amplifies any little ache, pain, sniffle, fever...for me. It puts me on the alert...like I am sitting on the edge of my chair, watching to make sure he's OK. But he happily went back to school on Monday and seems to be feeling fine and enjoying the last few weeks of second grade.

We had our first fundraiser at Rubio's in Elk Grove this past Friday. It went all day and we had a tremendous turnout! Jeff received a call from a friend who told him that "the lines are out the door" at lunchtime.

I know a lot of us had lunch and dinner there! Good thing we like the food!! We took the whole family there for dinner and were truly overwhelmed at the turnout! Friends, baseball teams, families from Moore's Karate, more people from the Montessori school, members of not just our church, but other churches as well! Friends of friends, neighbors, co-workers, business associates...awesome! I asked Hank what he thought of all the people there to support him..."Pretty Good" he said with a huge grin.

As I write this, tears come to my eyes just thinking about the public support for Hank and the rest of our family. Our loved ones (and Jeff and I too) worked so hard to get the word out and it really showed. I didn't want to take this public, but found ourselves in the position of having to... and now that the word is out, I am amazed at the generosity and willingness to help that has come from so many different directions!

Our family, extended family, and close friends have really been working hard to get us to New York. You kind of expect that your family will do whatever it takes, but then you step back and see how busy they are...with work, kids, school, life...and you are amazed that even though they are buried under their own burdens, they take the time and energy to devote towards someone else.

It's funny, the people and organizations that you think will come through for you don't necessarily...and then others that you never expected, come through with flying colors! I've learned that nothing is at is seems...that you can't make people want to help or do what you think is the right thing....that has to come from within themselves.

We have had donations coming in from people we don't know....a man I sold a crib to at our garage sale, (over a month ago) showed up at the fundraiser and handed my sister-in-law $100 for Hank's fund...he didn't come to eat, just to donate. He remembered my telling him about Hank...well, he probably remembered that I wouldn't come down to $65 for the crib because I was trying to "raise money for my son's operation"! But bless his heart for remembering and then taking the time to come down and donate.

Overwhelming! Amazing! Inspiring! In spite of this unknown illness and difficult time ...We truly are blessed!