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Posted by Renee LaFountain (68.76.177.232) on 14:31:42 11/02/05
In Reply to: Update 164 Email for Joey posted by Laura Tubo
Very nice message. Nice of you to think of those following behind you. I think you know this, but this is a good opportunity to say it again. Your decision to share Joey's story with all of us was instrumental in us getting Christian diagnosed as quickly as we did. Because of you, we knew that "minor" symptoms could be something major. So, you've been doing your part to help others all along!
: The following is an email I sent this past week to Matt Patrick of WKDD as part of the Have a Heart, Do Your Part Radiothon...
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: I begin this email like so many you have received, by telling you that I have listened to you for as long as you have been on the air. Your show has started many days for me, but none like today. I want to thank you for airing the "Why Me" poem. I have had a copy for sometime now because I am one of those mothers God has chosen. Last year at this time, my then 3 1/2 year old son, Joey, was diagnosed with a rare cancer. It was February 19, 2004, and Joey said his leg hurt. We had no other warning. We took him to Akron Children's Hospital on the advice of our pediatrician for a precautionary x-ray. Twelve days later, we were sent home with a port in his chest and his first round of chemotherapy behind us. He had a solid tumor in his abdomen that had metastisized throughout his ENTIRE skeleton. We were not given a good prognosis. In the past year, Joey has had six rounds of chemotherapy, at least that many hospital stays for fevers due to treatment, major surgery, a bone marrow transplant and radiation. Today, he is free of cancer. He is free of cancer because good people chose to act. The people at Akron Children's Hospital certainly have seen us at our worst. But, because these people gave of themselves to save our son, they are now seeing us at our best. There are gifts in a struggle like this. The greatest of these gifts is the gift of each day. We will never again take for granted life's little interruptions. Every time we clean fingerprints off the window, pick up a toy or share a story, we are thankful because we can. Our son is special, but he is not unique. Children's Hospital is full of little hereos like him who teach adults like us the true meaning of strength, courage and love. For years, I was one of those people who meant to act. This year, I am a Change Bandit. I hope to make a difference for the children like so many before me did for my son. We must all realize that our lives can change in a moment. We must also realize that in that same moment, we can change a life.
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