Day 78- RIPPLE EFFECT

When we were back in the PICU, my friend Virginia surprised me with a beautiful handmade quilt for Redden, complete with a beautiful superhero 'R' right in the middle, designed by her husband Matt. I'll never forget how it felt to receive a gift like that... so thoughtful and beautiful. I put it on the chair next to my 'bed' and it was one of my favorite things to see every day. 

Then another friend Amanda, inspired by the quilt, contacted this amazing company to get it made into a tattoo. She then handed them out to our entire Bible study group who wore them on their forearms to remember to pray for Redden. When I saw them on their arms I burst into tears. 

The boys wear them every single day. And I hear them telling their friends about the tattoos being for their 'superhero baby brother who's fighting cancer.' It's a tangible way to continue to honor and acknowledge all that Red is going through. Plus, they're adorable and they make me smile. 

When the tattoo company heard about Redden's story, they sent us 1,000 tattoos. Unbelievable. We are beyond overwhelmed at the generosity that continues to flood through the doors and wrap us in support and love.

I feel like I'm watching something out of a movie, and I'm standing in the middle. Seeing person after person doing something good around us, and watching each thing create the ripple effect. All because of my little guy and his really brave self. 

In that spirit of generosity we want to share the love with these amazing tattoos. One of the most touching experiences for us has been all the cards, pictures, and messages we've received from children. And we would love to give them something little and fun to thank them for loving their favorite little superhero.

SO, if your child has been praying for Redden, please send an email to [email protected] and let me know: Your name, address, and your child (or children's) names. It may take a couple weeks to get them out, but I will get to you as soon as I can! We will keep taking requests until we run out of tattoos.

In return, if you are financially able, please do us a small favor and donate $5 to CURE Childhood Cancer. CURE is a non-profit organization that has been with us from the start. Not just in the hospital survival bag they gave us, or the meals they brought, or the volunteers that came by to hug us, sit with us, or just smile at us. Not just in the gas cards they provided us, or the counselor that they have set up for us. But because the first day we found out his official diagnosis, CURE's founder called me and said 'My son had cancer too. And I called to give you hope.' And she let me cry with her for an hour, pouring my heart out, because she truly understands. And every single person I've encountered with CURE is the same... they understand. And they are committed to making it better. They have impacted our journey immensely, and I've seen them impact other families as well. We would love to know that while we can't do much to give back right now, we can somehow spread the love to other families through CURE. The link to donate is HERE.

Let's keep the ripple going.

Thank you EVERYONE.

Thank you Red.