Before Christmas, Elena and I learned about a little boy her age that lived in Kentucky. He was trying to break a Guinness World record and receive more than 30,000 Christmas cards. He reached his goal and surpassed that with a whooping 700,000 cards!!! Elena was happy to participate by mailing a card to Dalton and signing it with a note, "Hi Dalton, I'm Elena. I want to break a Guinness World record one day, too! I hope you do it! P.S. I'm eight and have Cystic Fibrosis like you. Praying for you! Love, Elena".
We learned on Sunday that he went to Heaven on Saturday night. Our prayers are with this young family.
When I learned the news, I talked to my kids about the loss like I do all others. We talked about all the wonderful things Dalton accomplished. We discussed how his body is perfect now and he can breathe easy. We then ended the conversation like we always do, "How exciting it must be for him to be in Heaven with Jesus!" The kids all nod in agreement with giant smiles on their faces, we say a prayer for the family and continue our day. This time however, Elena asked, "How old was Dalton, mom?" I froze up and Joel answered for me, "We don't remember?"
We are not ready for her little mind to have to contemplate her own life expectancy. She has been to enough CF events and heard about too many losses in our CF community so she knows people can be taken from this world what seems like too soon because of Cystic Fibrosis. However, we don't think she has made this connection to herself...yet. We know the day is coming that we will discuss this with her. She is too analytical in her thoughts (MUCH like her Daddy) to let this conversation slip by without more thought.
We attend Cystic Fibrosis fundraisers, we join CF committees, we spend time with CF families, we create CF fundraisers (actually Elena did that!), and we immerse ourselves in helping toward the cause of raising money to help CF patients and their families. We do this because it helps them, it helps Elena, but it also helps Joel and I feel like we are doing something! We don't want to feel like we are allowing CF to take over our family. Volunteering, fundraising, and participating helps us while helping others.
Please consider donating towards the cause by visiting HERE.
Got Kids or nieces/ nephews or grandchildren that are Pre-K and up (yup, no upper age limit..so come join us Grandparents! ) Join Elena's CF fundraising creation, ROSEBUDS on March 9th 2013 by visiting HERE and select Rosebuds. This year we are trying something new! It is a race like the TV Amazing Race! I know parents, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents...EVERYONE can participate and EVERYONE will have fun! Our family will be there and we would LOVE to have you join us! Our webiste will describe the details of the event. (as of this morning they are still updated the site so be patient...or send me an e-mail and I will send you the flyer in PDF.) We can't WAIT to try a fun twist on a race!
Run, walk, or volunteer with our team 65ROSES this March 17th, 2013! Join our team by clicking HERE. I'll be running and Joel will be at the finish line with all the kids! I'd love to have a group of running partners and I know my kids would enjoy some company at the finish!
There are so many ways to join our fight!
Won't you join us in the fight against CF for Elena and her friends?
