Students with Heart

I'm so proud of my daughter Paris who spent her birthday yesterday sharing and raising money for our dear little friend Emily's BandAid Drive.  We know this is a time that studying and making it through these last few weeks of the semester is the focus, so a special thank you to the students of LC that donated to help the children of Children's Hospital. Paris is her mother's child so she spent a lot of the day yesterday in tears because nothing is more moving than seeing the hearts of people come together to help and bless others.  That's what its all about creating awareness, paying it forward, being the blessing. Emily came in to our lives close to three years ago at the beginning of our medical journey with Severe Aplastic Anemia.  She and Mireya became very close friends and looked forward to seeing and spending time with one another in and out of clinic. This little girl is pure joy and a fighter. Keep Emily and her family in your prayers for complete victory over Neuroblastoma. Visit her site www.emilyhubbel.com to learn more about this special little girl and her journey. Last year Emily and her family raised over 3000 boxes of bandaids.  This is her 2nd Annual Band-Aid drive and we are so happy to be able to participate in this effort.  Band Aid donations are being collected through this week.

To my girl Paris and friends...you are awesome!

Emily's On a Mission ~ We All Can Help

Meet our dear, sweet little friend Emily Hubbel.  Many of you may remember previous posts I've shared about Emily and Mireya.  The girls met on the Bone Marrow Unit last summer during their transplants.  Reya and Emily both love princesses, painting nails, and FaceTiming each other.  Being in the clinic all the time is no fun, but on days the girls are there together, illness and treatment are the last thing on their minds. They truly enjoy seeing one another and just hanging out being giggly little 5-year olds.  

Emily and Mireya are true warriors!  Emily was diagnosed in December of 2010 with Neuroblastoma, one of the most aggressive childhood cancers.  Mireya was diagnosed in the Spring of 2011 with Severe Aplastic Anemia, a syndrome of bone marrow failure affecting the creation of new blood cells.  Week in and week out they endure and undergo so much to maintain treatment plans to live and beat their respective diagnosis. 

So often we wish there was something we could do?  We all have the opportunity to do exactly that.  Emily has had so many help her, love her and support her and she wants to give back!  Emily and her family are hosting a Band-Aid drive for the Children's Hospital of Richmond's Pediatric Hemotology/Oncology Department (where Emily and Reya's receive care) and Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Michigan.  Emily's Oncologist is located at Helen DeVos. 

#TeamBolton is asking everyone to buy a box of Band-Aids (or more) and either send them to the Hubbels or drop them off with me and I'll deliver them all to the Hubbel Family.  If you would like to participate, you can mail your Band-Aid donations to:

Hubbel Family
PO Box 5383
Midlothian, VA 23112

If you want to help with Emily's 1st Annual Band-Aid Drive, but you don't live close by and shipping is a concern, SmileMakers was very happy to offer a code, not only for free shipping, but also for 10% of all bandage purchases for this drive.  The code to use at checkout is 'MissEmily'.  This offer will be valid through 12/3/2012. 

http://www.smilemakers.com/Shop (search put Latex Free Bandages)

If you are ordering from SmileMakers or any other company that will not deliver to a PO Box please use the following address:

EMILY HUBBEL
3530 POST OFFICE RD #5383
MIDLOTHIAN, VA 23112-9998

The Hubbels would like to have all the donations in by December 3, 2012 so they may present them to the hospitals when they make their next trips. Here is the info needed for the Band-Aids:  

• any brand is fine

• latex free (since some people are allergic)

• regular sizes needed to cover when children have shots or ports accessed

 If you are interested in reading more about Emily's journey, please visit www.emilyhubbel.com or www.facebook.com/emilysjourney.  Thank you so much for helping to make this happen and please share with others.  

Life Threatening & Life Loss

 A life threatening illness and/or it's diagnosis will instantly throw your life into a tail spin.  Week in and week out, I see so many lives that have been altered by aplastic anemia, sickle cell anemia, leukemia, hodgkin's lymphoma, neuroblastoma and other childhood cancers and blood diseases.  I see very innocent, yet courageous, kids who are fighting for their lives and parents that are doing all they can to take care of them, provide the best medical care they can and give them some semblance of normalcy.

I love Mireya and I know we are blessed.  I believe with everything in me she is cured and we will continue to reach milestones and take strides over hurdles until we reach the end of this race victorious.  I spent most of the night crying my eyes out as I learned through little Emily's Mom of two little angels that lost their battles this week to cancer.  One is a beautiful ten-year old girl named Faith, who like Mireya, loved all things princess and was also dubbed a 'Warrior Princess'.  The other, an adorable five-year old girl named Gabby who just after three short months passed away from brain cancer.  I don't know either of these families but my heart is broken for them.  I can tell from their pages and sites that these precious little lives have touched and reached many.  I didn't get much sleep and I've been consumed by the pain I know these families are going through.

There is nothing that prepares you for the diagnosis of a life threatening illness and certainly not for the loss of your child.  Hug your child(ren) tight, tell them you love them and cherish every moment you have with them.  The good ones, the bad ones, the ugly ones and everything in between, regardless of their age.  Make those wrongs right.  Tomorrow is not promised.  My personal prayer is that everyone know Christ as their personal savior because outside of the life we are not promised on earth, we are promised eternal life with Christ.  It's a simple confession.

Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Christ, the Son of the living God and that You died on the cross for my sin. You say in Your word that if I confess my sins and ask forgiveness, You are faithful and will forgive my sins and remember them no more.  You will not hold them against me and You will give me everlasting life. Come into my heart, I receive You now and make you the Lord of my life.  I thank You for the blood You shed on the cross just for me.  In Jesus name, Amen  

If you said that prayer, it's a blessed assurance!  If you're not at a place to do so or you don't have full understanding of what it is to be a Christian and have a relationship with Christ, I encourage you to get connected. I'm not the officiant on Christianity, but I am counted in that number and I love the Lord with all my heart, soul and strength. I don't know where I would be without him in my life.  I don't know how I would have endured all that has transpired in our lives this year without Christ in my life.  There is so much more I could go into here, but let's keep it simple and to the point. My heart has been so heavy.  I don't take this lightly, it is extremely important to me.  We all have faults and no one is perfect.  We miss it some times, but God forgives us.  He extends his grace and mercy to us beyond what we deserve, but that's the kind of God he is. God is love and I strive every day of my life to share and extend love to others and in turn I have been so fortunate to be on the receiving end of God's love for me and my family exhibited through the hearts and kindness of so many.

My heart goes out to these two families who have lost their precious little girls.  My thoughts and prayers are with them as they find the strength to endure this.  Live your life intentionally, let go of things that, in the grand scheme, just don't matter!  Don't sweat the small stuff, be thankful and give thanks for your life and the lives of those you care for so dearly.  Smile (your on Candid Camera), be kind, show love and most of all, have compassion for others because you never know what someone else is going through.  You have the power to make a difference!