It's about Sharing

On thursday we played Santa as we delivered roughly 200 toys to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh on behalf of Rooting for a Reason.  We owe this to the generous individuals and businesses who came together to bring smiles to patients this Christmas! Thanks to everyone who sent their toys to me, to Liz McNulty, and to our drop off sites at Studio 2 Advertising, Aw Else Boutique, Doud's Furniture, and Community Pediatrics Natrona Heights. 

The McNulty "Elves" in front of the toy donations.

On the morning of the delivery, Reed woke up with pink eye.  He was so bummed to miss out on the toy delivery and a birthday party planned for him and his buddy Case. I was disappointed too- I wanted to him to experience the joy of giving. Still, I was relieved that our greatest problem for the day was only pink eye. I kept Ramsey home as well, just to be safe. 

We're trying to teach Reed the importance of sharing and saving. When Ramsey was hospitalized, a sweet 4 year old gave him his own birthday money.  All who came to his party were asked to bring a few dollars instead of gifts. The money was placed into three jars- a save jar, a share jar and a spend jar. When asked if he wanted to share the money with Ramsey or with an animal shelter, he picked Ramsey...and threw some extra cash into the jar! We decided to get three similar jars for Reed.  We made three banks labeled share, spend, and save. He calls the spend jar his "tractor store" bank because he loves to buy toys from the Tractor Supply Store.  We've been a bit disappointed (and slightly amused) that his spend bank is much heavier than the other two. I hoped that he would learn the lesson on his own, without us pushing the issue.

As we prepared the toys for delivery to CHP, my proudest mom moment occurred. Reed gathered 10 envelopes along with his "spend" bank and put a handful of money into each to give to the "sick kids".  That spend bank might remain the first one that he fills, but if he's willing to share it then I'm a happy mom! 

Christmas Gift Collection

We want to continue the tradition of helping and encouraging others just as we were supported during Ramsey's sickness. Along with the help of Ramsey's buddy Case's mom (please LIKE his new Facebook page), we are spreading smiles this Christmas season through our project, Rooting for a Reason.

We're Rooting for Patients!

We know first hand how hard it is to spend time in the hospital beside a sick child. We also know the warm feeling that spreads through our hearts when someone comes to our sweet child's hospital room with a gift. This Christmas, please join us in spreading smiles to patients at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. We'd like to donate Christmas gifts to the children who can't go home for the holidays. From now until December 13th we'll be collecting donations. Please view these gift suggestions from Children's that are sure to make a little boy or girl smile this Christmas. Please note, in the hospital, infection is always a risk. To protect patients, the hospital can accept only new items or those items that are clean and in excellent condition. We appreciate your support and know how meaningful this gesture will be to patients and their families. We'll be rooting for hope and spreading joy to those not able to be where they should be for the holidays...home.
 
Paypal donations can be made below and will go directly towards the purchase of items from Children's suggested wish list.

Prep, Delivery, News, and Surgery

I have enough information for 4 posts. Here's a quick summary and a lot of photos!

The Preparation:

Last week, with the help of some great volunteers, we assembled 70 bags for delivery to the Ronald McDonald House. These friends and family were among the many who helped us during Ramsey's hospital stay so it was great to have them with us while we prepared to honor him!

Artwork thanks to Reed and fellow students at Barbara Thompson!

 

I had a little photo shoot with Ramsey...well based on the volume of photos, I guess it wasn't exactly little. He was so cooperative and offered all sorts of unique expressions. 

The Delivery:

Today I woke up feeling almost as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. We were finally set to deliver the bags, and that just made my day! Our family made the trip along with my mom. Big brother Reed was happy to help and so excited to visit both Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the Ronald McDonald House. He sees both locations as one and the same...he sees them as a happy place.  He watched in anticipation for the colored "stripes" of the hospital. It is a beautiful building inside and out and somehow, Reed looks forwarded to visiting it like it is more of an entertainment venue than a hospital. "There it is...we're here...I love Ronald McDonald", he exclaimed.

We were happy to talk to and provide the bags to the same staff that worked at RMH during our stay there. They might distribute them this summer at a Luau party on June 20. When you See the end of my post, you'll see just one of the reason that date is perfect.

The News:

Marie McCandless, news editor of our local paper, the Latrobe Bulletin, featured an article about Ramsey and the welcome bag project. I'm thrilled for the awareness that it raised!!

The Surgery:

Ramsey had a checkup with surgery today. His X-Ray looks good. He still has a curvature of his diaphragm, but the patch seems to be holding well. His doctor feels now is the time to do the surgery of his abdominal hernia. He has proven that his lungs and heart are functioning well and that the chance of any pulmonary hypertension is slim. His surgery will be June 20th (the same day as the aforementioned Luau Day at RMH). His stay will be about 3-5 days. To be clear, this does not mean he reherniated. The patch on his diaphragm is still in place. However, Ramsey has a hernia on his belly. When they repaired his diaphragm and moved his stomach and bowels where they belonged, there was essentially not enough room for everything in his tiny, once empty belly. Thus, they used a mesh patch to help. As expected, the mesh patch is no longer doing it's job. His surgeon will operate at the original incision site. Now, he has enough extra skin and room to reconnect the muscles/lining of his abdomen without the use of a patch. In essence he'll be having a little tummy tuck. The results? No more giant bulge on the left side of his belly. Hopefully greater ease with bowel movements. And quite possibly, a lesser scar than he already has. Thank God for cool surgeons!

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

We are thrilled that the Ronald McDonald House collection in Ramsey's honor was such a success! Our goal was 61 bags. We have enough for 70+ well-stocked bags. I can't say thank you enough to each of you that have helped to make this a success! We couldn't have done it without the help of friends, family, churches and businesses who supported the project. In addition to the products that were donated, we received enough in monetary donations to purchase custom tote bags! We also have enough money left to purchase a few items that we still need, and possibly some extra to go towards preparing a meal for the families at RMH on the day we deliver the bags. We hope to prepare the bags in April and deliver them in late April or early May. We're so excited to support over 70 families in Ramsey's honor!

My basement is packed with donations!

Ramsey displays some of the goodies!

Now, about the bags...you may remember the logo I created to raise CDH awareness and prayers for Ramsey. We used it on Facebook and even ordered cute buttons that our family, friends, and eventually the staff at Children's Hospital wore in honor of Ramsey.

We were (and still are) amazed at the immense support we received. As I planned this project, one thing I wanted was a way to allow other families to praise and honor their loved ones...to share their story, to request prayer, to seek consolation from other's who have walked in their shoes. That's when the idea for the tote bag graphics came along.  I modified the "Rooting for Ramsey" logo so it just says, "Rooting for _______". Each tote will include a marker so the family can fill in the blank with their child's name. I had tags made to attach to each bag that briefly explain why we wanted to honor Ramsey. They invite each recipient to visit our new Facebook page, Rooting for a Reason, to share their story. I hope the page might grow so each family can benefit from the support and prayers of others just like we did!

Firsts!

Ramsey had his first hair cut! He didn't like wearing the cape, but he handled it well! Honestly, he doesn't look much different in the before and after pics, but considering he had a 1" mullet since his ultrasound pics, I think it was long overdue. (Not to mention the comb-over)

Today, we are featuring our first child on our new Facebook page, Rooting for a Reason. Adison is a beautiful 8 year old with a heart of gold. Read more about her at Rooting for a Reason and be sure to offer her some encouraging words! While you're there, don't forget to "LIKE" our page.

Rooting for a Reason

During Ramsey's battle with CDH, we found comfort in sharing his story. From his prenatal diagnosis, to his NICU discharge, to his first birthday celebration, we have never ceased "Rooting for Ramsey". We received prayers, support, inspiration, and encouragement through friends, family and even Facebook and blog followers whom we never met. We found satisfaction knowing our son's story had inspired others. We found hope as we raised awareness of his condition and met families who walked a similar path.

Our wish is to offer a platform for other's to share their journey- a place to offer praise, request prayer, or just say how proud they are of someone special. We want to join in rooting for other's, no matter what the reason might be!

::   Are you Rooting for a Reason?  ::

If you have a story or blog to share, visit our new Facebook page to comment or share a photo. The more "LIKES" our page receives, the more support and prayers each posting will be honored with! LIKE us now, please :)

In addition, we hope to feature a different individual each month. A photo and brief description will be requested along with any relevant blog links. Contact Lisa Barnhart Razza via Facebook to nominate your loved one.