Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Quest for a Cure total!!!
Quest for a Cure was an amazing success!!! About 400 people walked, $40,000 was raised for research, the weather cooperated and everyone had a great time! 
Annie's A-team did great, raising over $4,000 and having 38 walkers!!! Here are a few
Thank you to all who donated and walked:
John Aurelia
Carole Holcombe
Terry & Shawn Lilly
Katie & Craig Jaenicke
April Fullmer
Bobbi Carroll
Mark & Cindy Emmelkamp
Jessica Jones
Chris Nosis
June McIntyre
Katherine Wybo
The Vavrick family
Katie O'Neill
Judy MacDonald
John and Pat O'Neill
The O'Neill family
William & Sharon O'Neill
The Barrett Family
Maureen Schlum
Mary McClorey
Janice and David Smith
Shelly Herzog
Shannon Curcuru
The Wittkopp family
Pastor Doug Schmidt
Twyla Tripp
The VanDenBrouck family
Claudia and Patrick Cassidy
Helen Paletko
Jeremy and Jennifer Brown
Next year as our 2nd annual Quest for a Cure continues we hope to have many more corporate sponsors - if your business is interested please let me know and I will make sure to have you on our list!
Mark your calendars for October 2011 when we will walk again, maybe next year Annie will be walking with us!
Friday, October 15, 2010
It could always be worse.
So lately with the kiddos going back to school, Annie getting a whole new team, training said team, Gracie starting a new school and having some ( OK tons!) of separation issues, trying to get involved with a new PTA, trying to volunteer in all 3 classrooms, not to mention the typical stuff, therapy, church, Awana (Wed. night church) and of course Annie's allergies and sicknesses, oh and the new eye gaze computer that we've been trying to figure out, and the upcoming IEP, did I forget anything? Oh, the rett syndrome walk-a-thon, Rett syndrome awareness week, James getting 3 teeth pulled,
hmmmm, OK, I think that's it.
Anyways, with ALL of that going on I have been pretty wrapped up in myself and my family lately. Which is a good thing most of the time but some times it can feel VERY self centered.
That's really the way I've been feeling lately.
Self-centered, bitter, angry with my circumstances, and feeling a total lack of support and empathy for anyone dealing with anything other than rett syndrome. Seriously, I have been horrible. I just can't see past rett syndrome I can usually strain myself to find at least one "silver lining" or back door blessing but lately......... nothing!
I've been a bitter person looking at the tree huggers and animal rights activists (and the many other organizations that don't mean a thing to me since my daughter was dragged into rett) like they are CRAZY. WHY in the world would ANYONE in their right mind support an organization like THAT when there are CHILDREN suffering and DYING???!!!
There, I said it, I'm a terrible person! BUT, (and here's my saving Grace), BUT, I don't like this person, I hate this person, I don't want to be this person at all. I have been trying to pull myself out of it for the past couple months but nothing has worked until..........
a magazine arrived the other day from Samaritans Purse. If you're not aware, Samaritans Purse is a Christian organization that assists the hurt, and impoverished. So they have this Christmas magazine that explains in detail different ways you can help improve the lives of these very deserving people. As I read through this magazine I thought,
"wow, it really could be worse".
There were ways to give to mothers who were having babies, no prenatal care, no postnatal care, there were ways to give milk to children, ways to save little girls from trafficking, and then, I saw it
every other need is so worthy, but I was moved to tears when I turned the page and saw this little girl in a wheel chair, wringing her hands (classic sign for rett syndrome) and the caption read "transform the life of a disabled child".
Wow!
OK God,
I GOT it.
I have it pretty, stinkin' good! And so does my little Annie. Although suffering daily from Rett Syndrome, she is suffering in a warm house, with a family that loves and cares for her, an extended family that will always support her. Resources, physicians, health care, insurance, adaptive equipment, therapy (with the best therapists in the world I might add), and support that will never quit as long as her mommy and daddy are here.
This beautiful little girl in the magazine, rett syndrome or not, is suffering WITHOUT any of these "luxuries". She is most likely alone, abandoned by a family who couldn't afford to take care of her. I imagine her fear, her loneliness, and her sadness. It's almost too much to bear. No child should live her life alone, no child should live her life in a chair, no child should live her life unable to communicate, no child should live in poverty - NO CHILD, EVER! But when these things collide and leave a child in the most helpless of helpless places we should never allow it.
There is always someone worse off and I challenge you to find a person more deserving then an abandoned, handicapped, impoverished child. No tree in the world, no animal, takes precedence over THIS child.
Sooo, the world can scream "go green" or "save the whales" but I'm going to scream back "Lets save our kids first!"
If you agree with my bitter rantings would you join me in helping "transform the life of a disabled child". I know it's early to think about Christmas and I know that special needs parents no matter what their income typically don't have "extra money" to shell out, but I pray that we can raise enough money to help just 1 little child just $250 from now until Christmas to show an abandoned, disabled child that someone is thinking of them, that someone cares, that someone understands a little part of their suffering. Click the link if you agree and scroll down to #7, every $1, $5, $20 donation will get us closer to helping a child who is so truly deserving.
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