So we don't forget

Those of you who don't know me may have heard me mention about my almost 4 year old grandson who passed away last April 18 or Neuroblastoma Cancer after a two year struggle. I think this month is a cancer awareness month so thought I'd post this picture taken in the hospital Christmas 2009, just before he was released to go home with Hosipice. I just found this picture on Facebook. Just so we don't forget---not about Braeden but the horrible disease that took him. He wanted to fix cars and modocykos when he grew up. Dad and mom gave him a set of Home Depot power tools


for his last Christmas. He thought they were massive.

God bless your family Esther.

His family was here last night for the birthday dinner. We were talking about Braeden and some of the awareness stuff we all are involved in and I could tell my son was having trouble with his emotions even now.

Kevin gave me a new "rubber awareness" bracelet. It says Beat Pediatric Cancer --- and Gold the New Pink. It is a phrase that they came up with to let people know that breast cancer isn't the only one out there. It seems that everybody has jumped on the pink wagon and forgetting about the rest. Of course they don't mean to take away from the pink thing because who knows, maybe someone will find something that works on the pink and use it on the gold too.

God bless, Esther I think you'll be having the one year anniversary of Braden's death in a couple of months-right? We will be thinking of you and your family. This will be a tough one.

Yes, April 18 about 2:30 in the night they were awakened when they thought he was going to throw up. They quickly helped him sit up and Dawn was holding a pan for him. Kevin was rubbing his arm to try to comfort him. As they realized he was struggling to breath, they told him to relax because Jesus would soon be holding him in His arms. Dawn looked up and said, "He's gone." And sure enough he went home to glory.

I can't imagine experiencing that, the little guy they had worked so hard to keep alive for two years. Dawn spent almost every moment with him when he was hospitalized. When little children have Chemo, they are hospitalized for about 5 days, so every three weeks it was 5 days in the hospital. That is how my summer went that year as the other two were here. Then there were two times he was hospitalized for at least 30 days + all the other treatments etc. I don't know how they did it. Kevin kept the home and other kids together while she was gone and then she up and had a baby boy on 9-11- the fall before Braeden died in April. Somehow God helped us and them work it all out so the kids were able to not miss school and Kevin was given vacation days by his work mates so he could get a full paycheck all along. Everyone was so amazing. The ladies at church brought in meals off and on for two years three days a week. But the meals were always huge with lots of leftovers for the freezer. Even a little boy scout troup that they weren't connected with in any way had a food drive for them. The middle school kids had a penny drive.

This one is most amazing. Kevin's company changed life insurance companies. So when he filled out the form, he listed the three healthy kids and bought a small policy for them. The lady who did the insurance at his company called him and told him he didn't list Braeden. He said, "Of course, he doesn't have long to live and this is a preexisting condition." She said it didn't matter but he didn't do anything. A few days later she again called him and asked him to come to her office because there was a rep from the insurance company there. Kevin goes in and after the introductions were made, the guy says to him, "Jeanne here has told me that you feel it is immoral or illegal for you to list your son on a new life insurance application knowing he probably won't live very long. I just want you to know-0-----our company does not ask if there is an existing illness with children when the app is filled out and it is NOT wrong in any way to buy insurance for him." So with shakey hands Kevin listed Braeden on the app. In the meantime, the funeral home had slashed the fees something fierce and so when Braeden passed, they were able to pay them. Their church and his company had volunteered to pay the funeral expenses to start with. Also, because of this, they were able to get their driveway fixed. It is rather long and has a spot that goes out badly every spring and leaves terrible ruts. So the company brought in lots of sand and gravel and raised it above the surrounding lawn a bit. We'll see this spring how it worked. So even with all the pain and hurt, God provided in so many ways.

Yup, and lots of times He is providing when we don't even know we need something. Sometimes we don't even like what He provided. LOL We're like the Isrealites in the wilderness when God gave them manna. They got tired of it and complained instead of being grateful that God was feeding them every day.