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THIS IS OUR FAMILY BACK TO SCHOOL!
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Our family is close knit, we are concerned with our children, making sure that they are close to us and close to each other. Also we have a strong bond with our God, Jesus Christ. We are a non-denominational Christian Family in an AWESOME church!
Our youngest son, just 3 years old, was diagnosed this summer with Retinoblastoma, he is a super kid, and we were taken to St. Jude's hospital for treatment. The tumor had already metasticized and was contaminating the whole eye. Radiation and Chemo were options but it wouldn't have necessarily saved his eye. He instead had an enucleation (removal of the eye & some optic nerve) on July 2 this year. We have been totally devestated but know that this is just the way it is. There is no explanation, just a sporadic gene mutation that only occurs in 250-300 kids in the US a year!!
We encourage you to talk to your doctor about the red-reflex test they do in the office, our doctor missed it becuase it came out of the periferal not out of the back of the eye like it usually does, make sure yours doesn't. Most children are diagnosed shortly after birth to 1 year, obviously Robert was past that age group.
We went in August for his first prothstetic eye that was hand crafted by a master at eye replication art. It is truly amazing! I mean truly! No he can't see but he can do everything he did before and maybe even more than that. He is a great kid and a beautiful testimony to God's love and enduring nature that will get you through anything. He thought we could handle it so we did. What other choice was there?
EBAY now allows us to travel to St. Judes every 10 weeks for the next 3 years and 2-3 times a year for the next 12 after that. (no we are not kidding) It is a pretty seriously long drive for us and with finding arrangements for the kids while we are gone, pretty intensely crazy too. SO, thank you for your purchase as you are helping us help our son to be cancer free.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Wew appreciate in advance your prayers and your purchase and taking the time to read about us!
ALSO: our ministry is donating DVD's (PG13 and under) to the MEMPHIS GRIZZLY'S HOUSE where we stay when we are at St. Jude - we stay for FREE, all paitents do. We stay, we eat, we have our gas expense paid for, and we have the BEST medical care in the world for free. Every dollar that is generated to the St. Jude institution, over 85% of it goes to RESEARCH!! only 5% goes to administrative costs!! NO KIDDING!
The sad reality is that these children are dying, many of them, or are hurting immensly from cancer treatements and other things like radiation, surgeries, being away from home or school, or family. DVD's Xbox games (rated E) and PS2 games help them keep their minds off the cancer and on the fact that they are kids. It helps mom's and dad's and there is a DVD player in EVERY room in the Grizzly's house. So children and families can have time to escape.
If you are interested in donating DVD's, games or anything, please contact us at homemom5kids@yahoo.com and we will direct you on how to do that so that each DVD and GAME gets marked and numbered to be enjoyed by children and families for hopefully years to come. (each DVD and GAME are marked by our family to remind children not to destroy or take home movies that way everyone can enjoy them also it saves the staff time and energy as well marking them) THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO HAVE CONTACTED US and DONATED DVD'S!!
THANK YOU AGAIN for READING OUR PAGE and SUPPORTING St. JUDE!
CHILIS and DOMINOS THANKS and GIVING campaign is coming up soon!! They are trying to raise 5million dollars for these kids, kids like our Robert to receive treatment without cost to families, just like us!! (click here to find out more about THANKS and GIVING!: http://www.tg.stjude.org/)
ALL THOSE WHO GAVE TO CHILIS for ST JUDE! YOUR donations added up to 7million dollars last year at Chili's ALONE!!! FAR exceeding the anticipated 3 million they hoped to raise!! WOW!
NOVEMBER is DOMINOS PIZZA donation time! THEY gave 1.35 MILLION dollars in 2007!!
SO EAT up and GIVE!! (it's just a dollar to you, it is a miracle to us)
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