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Merry Christmas!
If you are reading this blog entry I extend my sincere gratitude for following my family through the last 20 days leading up to this morning. We are visiting with our family in Kalamazoo and having a really nice time. The children all slept great through the evening, although we did hear one report of reindeer on the roof from our three year old niece, Claire. We were unable to confirm these reports with any physical evidence – so Santa remains elusive, yet his presents were under the tree and well received by the children.
The “Christmas Miracle” that I asked the world for three weeks ago was delivered swiftly; the world’s response was inspiring and life changing – our family was made strong at a time when we needed strength. There aren’t words that can describe how thankful I am that my prayers were answered, in a way that was inconceivable to the man who wrote that email.
I can talk about money for a moment; a number of you are wondering about that, and because so many people opened their hearts (and checkbooks), I would like to cover that topic briefly. The amount raised was beyond comprehension, and it was accumulating faster, and faster, and faster. By the second day we had raised over $20,000 with pledges from families, friends and businesses for more. On day three I started receiving contacts from television shows and magazines… that is when things became clear and I needed to bring my wife into the conversation. I don’t buy a pair of pants without consulting her, so I suddenly felt a little bit outside of my comfort zone. Not to mention, I don’t have days off from work available, so who has time for television shows.
Most donations were accompanied by a brief note, often regarding a personal hardship that the donor was coping with. Many of these situations seemed more challenging than my own – and clearly there was an ethical responsibility to ensure that other people’s hard-earned money was not squandered. As I promised, my wife has sound judgment and quickly realized that anything short of full charitable incorporation would be a disservice to those whom we promised would be assisting families in need. Suddenly we were in a position to do more good for a government in need, than a group of families with disabled children. As you know, we chose to shift our focus from the money to the beautiful letters of prayer and support. Those letters hit home and I won’t trade them for anything in the world with the exception of the health of my baby boy.
Some people were mad that we returned their money, others thought that we were offended in some way, and a third group just wouldn’t accept no for an answer. The last group, mainly consisting of close friends, family, and our friends at UPS made it clear that they were going to give Jaime support regardless of our attempt to back-pedal. That group left us with enough to pay off all of Jack’s existing medical bills, as well as the ability to cover his health insurance and out-of-pocket costs for the entire year of 2012. In addition, there will be enough to immediately pay forward to another family like ours… a conversation that we haven’t had yet, and one that will be pragmatic and well thought out.
The notes that we received from people in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia were the true miracle. We saw the goodness of the world, not what the media shows; police spraying students with pepper-spray, politics, crime, reality TV – it makes one think that the world may have lost its sense of goodness. I can speak from experience in saying that there is no lack of love, generosity, hope and goodness in this world.
The passion that drives my need to make life better for other people is strong; my wife showed me a Facebook post yesterday that I am going to share with you now, it speaks to me – and is yet another demonstration that I am not alone in this journey:
***
We are now on this journey, and that is what it is – a journey, not a race. We are going to move forward and we will make this world a better place for as many people as we can. It will take some time, because we need to do this right, and we have a very special little angel to take care of while we manage our family and careers. The miracle email lead us to a wonderful group of people that will help us take what was a solitary effort and turn it into a real resource for those families that are just “landing in Holland.”
If you have been a part of this, you aren’t off the hook yet – you’re going to get another email from me someday, with another request – and I can only hope that you receive that email half as well as you received this one.
Never, ever forget that the world is good, prayers do get answered, miracles can happen, and an email can pick a father up off the ground and make him strong again.
I hope that you are enjoying the day with your family as much as I am enjoying the day with mine.
Thank you so much, Merry Christmas, and God Bless.
Jack’s Dad
P.S. - I love you Jaime, thank you for being my best friend, wife, companion, and bringing meaning to my life. Merry Christmas - 2011.
Blessings Nephew....Aunt Anne
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