Hockey Games & Donations

If you follow my blog posts at all you will remember that we ran a fundraiser for our Grandson, Sawyer's, care.
Sawyer was born with a one in a million, genetic condition called Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP for short).
The family will be taking a trip to Baltimore the end of February for testing, and we wanted to help defray unexpected costs for them. not just on the trip, but in the years to come for Sawyer's care.
If you want to see the original post/video of me interviewing Jeff (our son) and Sawyer you an click HERE
One of the donations came in the form of free tickets for our local Hockey team, the Grand Rapids Griffins.
What a fun night out we had with Jeff, Jess & Sawyer.

This is Chas, the very generous donator - and a total stranger to all of us - this is why it makes it even more special, that we are getting the word out.

 Sawyer and mom, Jessica before the game

Before the game Sawyer got to high-five the starting line-up of the game, and then after the first period he was visited by Griff, one of the team mascots.

Griff gave Sawyer a hockey stick that was signed by the team.  He had to give Griff a hug, but somehow I missed getting a photo of that, but believe me, it was a very precious moment.

After the second period, Finn, the other team mascot came and showered Sawyer with gifts

It was "super-hero's & villains" night at the VanAndel Arena so Finn gave Sawyer a Griffins super-hero cape (because, frankly - Sawyer is our super-hero), Not only that, but he kept turning around and pulling gift after gift out for him. A winter scarf with the Griffins logo, a hockey puck that was used during the first period and signed by the team, and a replica of the Calder Cup trophy,

We were blown away by the generosity! and how Chas set this all up to happen for Sawyer.

I wanted to give a shout out to the VanAndel Arena for their excellent care of me as well. This was one night I didn't want to miss, and it was my first big outing since my surgery on December 11th. When we came in the door we asked for a wheel chair.  Not only did they supply a wheel chair, but we also got 2 assistants who took us exactly where we needed to go with as few steps as possible. After the game they were back to escort me back to the front doors. I never would have been able to walk that far, let alone maneuver the crowds.

MORE!! Can you handle more good news?!!

We received a check in the mail from Dale's brother who did his own fundraiser on facebook as a part of his birthday wish. I'm sure you have all seen people have a cause that they collect money for in honor of their birthday and this is what Phil & Sherry decided to do was to raise more money for Sawyer. The grand total after this generous donation put the fundraiser over $3,000.00!!

The look on Jessica's face tells it all! (that's Lily there with them)

While we were there (the first time I've been to their house since surgery) was a big treat for the kids and Sawyer had to show me his new "drum set". This kid loves the drums, and was using everything imaginable to pound on. So Daddy decided to make him his own drum stand using buckets. They color coded the "drums"  Notice the symbol - he had to make sure I knew what that was,

 This blue one down here is the base drum and they plan to add a foot petal

This one here is filled with pennies for the sound of a snare drum.

Sweet music to our ears!

We are told that when Sawyer wakes up in the morning he hits the ground running.  They hear him pick up his hockey stick and shoot the puck on his way over to his drum set.

They are thankful for some of his quieter hobbies such as building with his trio blocks or designing with his drill set that we gave him for Christmas.

Thank you for coming along on 

this journey with us!

And thank you for stopping by today 

Christi

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