I am not going to try and sugarcoat the fact that looking at the glass "half full" is really difficult in a situation like this. There are times, like this morning after being told Jake had the flu, that it is darn near impossible. However when the cup seems be at its minimum, something or someone comes along and points your attention to the good. In the past 5 weeks since we heard the words that would change our lives forever "It appears there was no infection", we have seen the absolute best in our nature. From family, to friends, to people we only see on rare occasions and exchange pleasantries with, the outpouring of support has been beyond overwhelming. We have a list of thank you notes that we need to write, which is quite lengthy, and seems to grow with each passing day.
From financial help, to help watching our children, to something as simple as offering to be an ear to yell at when we want to let it out, it has all been appreciated. In our true time of need, the very best is what we're being shown.
We also see it from complete strangers. Today I was going to the laundry room here and noticed some boxes stacked up with a note that said "Please take one". They were called "JoyJars", and they were inspired by a young lady named Jessie Rees. I brought it back to the room and showed it to Jake, and he was delighted to see it was full of little toys, a tambourine, and a little hat with the intials "NEGU" embroidered on it, which stand for "Never Ever Give Up". I did a quick facebook search and found the Jessie Rees Foundation:
http://www.facebook.com/JessieReesFoundation?ref=ts&fref=ts
When I read the story I was inspired....you see Jessie lost her battle with brain cancer at AGE 12, and still wanted to help others. I repeat...SHE WAS 12...DYING OF CANCER...and was thinking about helping others. Her vision has turned into a wonderful example of what we can all do if we give a little time.
A little later one of the nurses came in and told me that if I went to the family room there was a group with some food and a gift for all of the children. I worked my way over and by "some food" they meant about 25 feet of sub sandwiches....and by "a gift" they meant a mountain of toys with instructions to take whatever you wanted. They were putting the hard sell on too..."here take this"...."I'm sure your son would love this"....I left with a small race care, a coloring book, and a little battery powered flip car. About 20 minutes later they were walking by and I asked them who they were with and to thank them again. They were a small local group called "Aiden's Army", and they said he had been a visitor here and they were just paying it forward for all of the gifts he had received.
Again....quick facebook search:
http://www.facebook.com/aidensbuffalosoldiers?ref=ts&fref=ts
I read over the story and Aiden lost his battle to brain cancer as well....at 18 MONTHS OLD. Again...these people suffered the ULTIMATE loss a parent can be dealt at that young of an age....and they come up here and give away their time and money to help others? The story goes on as in about 15 minutes they came to the room and had a box of toys for Jake. They gave him a couple of monster trucks, Thomas trains, cars from the Cars movie, and many more. They also gave each family a $25 Walmart gift card....the words "Thank you" are so inadequate in situations like this.
To those reading this with facebook, please take the time to go to these pages and support their causes.
These are just a few examples of the countless acts of kindness that we have experienced. We are so incredibly grateful for everyone's help during this time. It is just so incredible to see the absolute best of who we are as a people. How much we are willing to put other people's needs before our own. I told my buddy Dave Savino while we were bowling Thursday night that we "had no idea how big our family really was until this"....and that is true. We love our family and friends more than we ever have, and we are so blessed to be surrounded by so many good people.
I said above that "Thank you" is inadequate, and someday we will pay all of this kindness forward, but for now we can just genuinely say:
Thank you
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