Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Pay it Forward
December is full of so many memories and blessings for our little family.
It is hard to believe that this time last year we were temporarily living in Charleston and waiting to hear when our three month old would be released from the hospital following his first open heart surgery. We had no idea we had just boarded a roller coaster that would lead to six months worth of hospital stays.
Thinking a little further back, five years ago this week we were living our lives as a family of two. Just about 10 days prior we found out that we would be adding a five month old baby boy to our family and were anxiously awaiting the day that we would meet him for the first time (December 19th).
The Lord always seems to find a HUGE way to bless us this time of year and we are looking forward to paying that forward this year.
I am very excited about the opportunity that we have this year to serve the families of the GHS Children's Hospital. Last year was tough spending the holidays in the hospital, but so many people played a part in helping us through. This year is our turn! I am so lucky that my Happy Wheels* day this month happened to fall on Christmas Eve. This means that myself and a friend will be pushing the toy cart through the Children's Hospital on the 24th letting each child choose a gift.
As if that is not exciting enough, on the 26th Bryan and I will be back at the Children's Hospital serving lunch to the parents. We're having a traditional Christmas lunch so that these families can get a little taste of home even while their children are sick. Our friend Josh Trammell will be with us as his organization, Take Heart, will be donating tablets to the PICU and Pediatric Cancer Units. These will be used for educational and therapeutic purposes for the kids and their families. We love our PICU family and look forward to seeing them and being a part of the presentation.
We still need help with lunch! If you would be willing to cook, please let me know. We are serving ham & turkey, green beans, macaroni & cheese, sweet potatoes, bread/rolls, and dessert. The hospital has told us to plan for 60 families, so we need lots of help! Please contact me at projectbrinkley@gmail.com if you are willing to cook any of these items. Also, if your buisness would like to get involved we could use gift cards for paper products (Costco, Target, WalMart).
Thank you for helping make this a reality for us. I assure you that the families we are serving will be blessed by your willingness to give. We can't make it happen without you!
*If you or your group would be interested in collecting new toys for the Happy Wheels cart I can get you information!
It is hard to believe that this time last year we were temporarily living in Charleston and waiting to hear when our three month old would be released from the hospital following his first open heart surgery. We had no idea we had just boarded a roller coaster that would lead to six months worth of hospital stays.
Thinking a little further back, five years ago this week we were living our lives as a family of two. Just about 10 days prior we found out that we would be adding a five month old baby boy to our family and were anxiously awaiting the day that we would meet him for the first time (December 19th).
The Lord always seems to find a HUGE way to bless us this time of year and we are looking forward to paying that forward this year.
I am very excited about the opportunity that we have this year to serve the families of the GHS Children's Hospital. Last year was tough spending the holidays in the hospital, but so many people played a part in helping us through. This year is our turn! I am so lucky that my Happy Wheels* day this month happened to fall on Christmas Eve. This means that myself and a friend will be pushing the toy cart through the Children's Hospital on the 24th letting each child choose a gift.
As if that is not exciting enough, on the 26th Bryan and I will be back at the Children's Hospital serving lunch to the parents. We're having a traditional Christmas lunch so that these families can get a little taste of home even while their children are sick. Our friend Josh Trammell will be with us as his organization, Take Heart, will be donating tablets to the PICU and Pediatric Cancer Units. These will be used for educational and therapeutic purposes for the kids and their families. We love our PICU family and look forward to seeing them and being a part of the presentation.
We still need help with lunch! If you would be willing to cook, please let me know. We are serving ham & turkey, green beans, macaroni & cheese, sweet potatoes, bread/rolls, and dessert. The hospital has told us to plan for 60 families, so we need lots of help! Please contact me at projectbrinkley@gmail.com if you are willing to cook any of these items. Also, if your buisness would like to get involved we could use gift cards for paper products (Costco, Target, WalMart).
Thank you for helping make this a reality for us. I assure you that the families we are serving will be blessed by your willingness to give. We can't make it happen without you!
*If you or your group would be interested in collecting new toys for the Happy Wheels cart I can get you information!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
No Pomp & Circumstance Needed
Today marked an anniversary for our family. It's the anniversary of an event that has made a significant impact on our family. You'd think that this would merit some sort of celebration, some amount of pomp and circumstance, but that was not the case. In fact we didn't really even talk about it. I don't know if Bryan even realized that it happened and I am sure that Reese and Brinkley had no idea.
One year ago today Brinkley and I walked into Dr Raunikar's cardiology office and left in an ambulance. That ambulance took us to the PICU at GHS Children's Hospital where we spent the night. The next day we boarded a plane and were airlifted to MUSC where we prepared for Brinkley's first open heart surgery.
This morning we made that drive again. I couldn't help but think about it as I pulled into the parking lot at CHOC for Brinkley's doctor appointment. Today's appointment was with sleep medicine and not cardiology, which helped ease my anxiousness a little.
We've come a long way in the last year. Just a few weeks ago Dr Raunikar gave us a wonderful report and scheduled us to come back in February. Brinkley is taking his bottles well and has not used his feeding tube since August. His respiratory problems (with the exception of asthma) are practically nonexistent now. Great strides have been made in therapy and he is exceeding our expectations. As of today, we are attempting CPAP therapy to treat his sleep apnea.
Brinkley was not going to let the day go by without something to make it memorable, so he decided to surprise us and break 15 pounds. He hung out at 13 pounds for a few months and then finally hit 14 pounds two weeks ago. Reese was not going to miss out on the action and had a great day too! His kind heart brought tears to my eyes this afternoon as I watched him make friends with a little girl that has a disability.
There may not have been any outward pomp and circumstance today, but there was a lot of praise and thanksgiving for how far we've come! We are truly blessed.
One year ago today Brinkley and I walked into Dr Raunikar's cardiology office and left in an ambulance. That ambulance took us to the PICU at GHS Children's Hospital where we spent the night. The next day we boarded a plane and were airlifted to MUSC where we prepared for Brinkley's first open heart surgery.
This morning we made that drive again. I couldn't help but think about it as I pulled into the parking lot at CHOC for Brinkley's doctor appointment. Today's appointment was with sleep medicine and not cardiology, which helped ease my anxiousness a little.
We've come a long way in the last year. Just a few weeks ago Dr Raunikar gave us a wonderful report and scheduled us to come back in February. Brinkley is taking his bottles well and has not used his feeding tube since August. His respiratory problems (with the exception of asthma) are practically nonexistent now. Great strides have been made in therapy and he is exceeding our expectations. As of today, we are attempting CPAP therapy to treat his sleep apnea.
Brinkley was not going to let the day go by without something to make it memorable, so he decided to surprise us and break 15 pounds. He hung out at 13 pounds for a few months and then finally hit 14 pounds two weeks ago. Reese was not going to miss out on the action and had a great day too! His kind heart brought tears to my eyes this afternoon as I watched him make friends with a little girl that has a disability.
There may not have been any outward pomp and circumstance today, but there was a lot of praise and thanksgiving for how far we've come! We are truly blessed.
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