Get comfortable...this is a long one

A big thank you to everyone who supported the Children's Hospital radiothon. Unfortunatley, none of my family / friends won a jersey, but we raised a little more than $100,000 through the EISI matching program. In total, the radiothon generated $628,000. That will go a long way for families who rely on programs at the Children's Hospital. Once again, thanks.

Along those lines, BIG kudos to Christa. She shaved a minute off last year's time and came in 3rd for fundraising in last Sunday's marathon. With your help, she collected $3,300 for the Canadian Cancer Society - woo hoo! Hayden excitedly waited near the end and jumped in to finish the race with her. The marathon may not have been easy for Christa, but the finish was awesome!

Speaking of Hayden...

Tom took H back to the clinic on Tuesday for a blood test. His neutrophil count was 1.21 so back on chemo, at 50% (again). The next test is May 18 - we're expecting he'll still be in the zone...then what? Dr. Stoffman may try bumping up some of the chemo med doses. More to come on that.

Last Friday, we attended a fundraising dinner for the Rainbow Society. Every year, they kick off the live auction with a video to show how generous bids make a difference in the lives of families with sick kids. That video was about us - Shaw TV produced it. When it hit the big screen at the convention center, all I could think was 'man, I look fat' but I'm told there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Hayden giggled at his part and again when they asked his Dad to come to the podium and say a few words (I might have giggled a little then too...and a lot afterward).

I didn't know this but they auction off upcoming wish trips, among other things. That got me to thinking and I asked Grace, the executive director, if she could introduce us to the people who 'won' last year's bid for Hayden's trip...and she did. That was definitely the highlight of the evening. They were thrilled to meet Hayden and learn about his trip. We were thrilled to personally thank them for supporting the Rainbow Society. For the rest of the evening, Hayden was treated like a little celebrity...it was soooo cute.

The video aired on Shaw TV today. If you missed it or aren't a subscriber, you can view it from their Web site. I'll publish the link in this blog when it's posted.

And now, as we movie-industry-like-type folks say, that's a wrap.