Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Walk for Wishes 2014



The Make-a-Wish organization is very important to our family. Zach was diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition in 2010 and received his wish to go to Disney World in October 2012. Our family had a wonderful time in Disney, it was a week without doctor visits, hospital trips, anxiety over what’s coming next. It was awesome, our family needed the break from the routine of having a sick child.
And like our family, there are lots of other families that need that break.

Make-a-Wish grants thousands of wishes each year, each wish costs about $6000 to grant and Make-a-Wish is a completely non-profit charity. So our family dedicates a team each year to help raise money for Make-a-Wish by walking in their Walk for Wishes.


Walk for Wishes is a walk through Tanglewood, through the
Festival of Lights before it opens for the public. On November 15, hundreds of teams will walk and there will be over 3,000 people in attendance. Most teams are wish families and walk to raise money because we know the tremendous power behind the wishes that our children have received.

This is how we give back to an awesome organization that put a smile on Zach's face like it does to thousands of children with life threatening medical conditions.

Although Zach has had a lot of medical problems and has spent more time in the hospital in his 5 years than most people do in their lifetimes he is doing better. There were times he faced infection, sepsis and even a transplant evaluation. He has been through feeding tubes, central lines, blood transfusions, IV nutrition, too many tests and surgeries to count or name and too many days away from just being a kid.
Make-a-Wish put a smile on his face when they asked what he wished for. "Mickey Mouse house" was his exact words, he loved Mickey Mouse and every time he watched a movie and the castle appeared in the previews, his face lit up. So when Make-a-Wish told him he was going to Disney World he was ecstatic!

To people who do not have special needs children or do not know what it is like to sit by your Childs’ hospital bed day and night and just wish they could come home, you might not understand the value of Make-a-Wish.


But to us… and to all the other families that have been touched by them, it is unexplainable. To get a week of no tests, no appointments, no hospitals. Just your child being a kid, and playing and laughing; it will be forever in our hearts what it was like for that week.

And some kids are not like Zach, some kids do not recover or get better or have remission. Knowing so many families that have lost their children to these life threatening medical conditions, makes me cherish Make-a-Wish so much more. Even those some of the children are no longer with us, their families remember the joy and time they got to spend seeing amazement in the eyes of their little ones.

So to ensure that every child going through the diagnosis of having a life threatening condition is able to receive a wish, we give back.

Team
Superman in honor of Zach will be there showing our support of this amazing organization.

Please join our team and help us provide a wish for another child


For more information or information on corporate sponshorship opportunities contact me




                                                                  (Walk for Wishes 2013)

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Monday, September 08, 2014

Empty nest...

Kindergarten 2014
 
It happened... the first day of school (insert crying here) ok well maybe not the first day or week....haha but eventually yes, I did cry. 
 
As much as I wanted the quiet house, it is a lonliness that I wasn't expecting. To think that my baby boy is off to kindergarten is heartbreaking.
 
Did I pack his meds? does his teacher know what to do? does he know what to do? will he eat lunch? will he miss me? what if he does miss me? will they call me?
 
How do you control all the emotions of putting your faith that your child, who at one put in his life was considered failure to thrive, medically fragile and probably wouldn't live to the age of 5, with a stranger for 8 hours a day???
 
But, I did.... and yes, the teacher has spoken to me almost everyday about him but the transition is going better than I expected. I still cannot believe he is in kindergarten. My baby boy is growing up...please stop growing baby Zach :(
 
Everyday seems to get easier though, he likes school and he is making friends. He says he has 2 girlfriends and 1 boyfriend so far.. oh the innocence of a sweet 5 year old. I wish I could keep him this innocent forever but eventually society will get to him and he will learn the importance of his mix of friends.
 
With Zach's health issues still at hand and with several relapses over the past month, he does have special accommodations in school. He cant play in recess or in PE until It gets cooler weather outside. But he is okay with that most days, the first week was a bummer when everyday he would come home telling me he couldn't play outside. Now he doesn't mind too much, he gets to play with the Ipad and is pretty content with that.

I am guessing this whole empty nest feeling will eventually surpass, but oh how I miss the days of snuggling on the couch with my baby boy all day.
 
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