Not an ordinary Friday

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." --  Albert Einstein.


Well, we did it. William made it through day 10 without having to go to the hospital! Furthermore, he woke up this morning, day 11, with a big goofy smile on his face and a spunky little attitude. Those of you that follow me on Face Book know by now that there was an incentive behind his happy demeanor; however, regardless of the of the motive, I was still thrilled to wake up to an energetic,happy, smiling, and joking William.  


Before I get into the fun and happy news about today’s events, let me just mention that during our clinic visit this afternoon, William did end up getting a blood and platelet transfusion along with a bolus of mixed goodies (k-phos etc.)  The dreaded Disease Assessment has apparently already been requested by the BMT team and to my surprise is scheduled to begin on the 25th. Please keep us in your prayers, we need God to bless William with maximum cancer death, minimum disease, strong lungs, strong heart and the continued strength off his personality!    Yes, I am a nervous wreck!  I am thankful that the assessment has been scheduled, but my scanxiety (scan anxiety) is now on full alert…Sigh…..


Let’s move on to happier thoughts, and granted wishes in which I admit I take some pride in knowing that I had a part in fulfilling.  As you know, William and I now live at the Ronald McDonald House. It is here, where we met a young guy by the name of Patrick. Patrick, has been diagnosed with a blood disorder called Aplastic Anemia. Aplastic anemia is a condition where the bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells.  The only cure for severe cases of this disease is a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor. Unfortunately, Patrick’s transplant has been denied by his insurance and he has officially been removed from the Bone Marrow Transplant List.  Patrick is by himself, and without the support or guidance of parents, he has faced the daunting battle with the insurance company, a task that had emotionally and physically drained him.  Seeing

the look of defeat on Patrick’s face, I decided that the only way to help him was to give him a reason to fight. Patrick needed to be inspired by laughter, fun, kindness and adrenaline. I knew enough about Patrick to know that he adores all things related to auto racing sports, and this gave me a starting point.  A few days ago I placed some calls to a friend, and to my absolute delight I was successful in making contact with Samuel Hubinette, one of the best drivers in drifting, and a Hollywood stunt man. Sam is well known for the stunt driving  he as done in the following movies -Fast Five, Knight and Day, Fast and the Furious 4, Crank 2, and Fast and the Furious 3.
Today, Patrick, William and I, spent the day at the Irwindale Raceway where we had the great pleasure of meeting not only Samuel Hubinette, but also Mike Ryan, a fellow Hollywood stunt man with over 500 feature films, television shows and commercials to his credit.

Yes, today was about Patrick and his dreams and wishes but, the mommy in me encouraged William to participate too.  I am so incredibly proud of my son. I wish I could capture the pure joy and unrestricted curiosity he had about the cars and drifting. On several occasions I had to hide my tear filled eyes behind sunglasses, the joy of seeing my child happy, carefree, and feeling normal was an absolute blessing!  Today no one stared at his bold little head, and no one made any comments about how skinny he is.  Today William felt normal and that was the most important thing to him. William and Patrick both had the opportunity to go drifting with the pros. William went in the Freightliner Race Truck with Mike Ryan and Patrick went in the Dodge Challenger with Sam Hubinette. I can say with absolute certainty that both of the boys thought the experience was amazing, fun, and memorable. William described it as “Waaaaayyyyy cooler than any roller coaster because you don’t feel like puking afterwards” This is the video of William’s ride with Mike -

Sincere gratitude and appreciation to Samuel Hubinette and Mike Ryan for taking the time to make dreams come true! You guys ROCK!!

“I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known”. ~ Unknown

This is William's journey and we will Keep on Keepin on' and Live Strong with God in our hearts and courage in our souls.