Praise Reports!!!

Not All Heroes Have Capes, But This One Has A T-Shirt

We travelled to Maryland today for Haley to have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Henderson. He was absolutely delighted at her progress and said that she looks wonderful.  He examined all of her scars and spent some time working with her on correct posture. He thinks that her headache is due to the imbalance in her neck muscle strength. He wants her to re-learn how to stand up straight with her head directly above her neck. He thinks that in time this will cause her headaches to lessen and maybe go away entirely!!!

After he was through with the exam, Haley presented him with a lovely card where she expressed her gratitude to him for "saving her life". He seemed genuinely touched and made sure he had the card as he gathered his papers up to leave the room. Then she pulled out one of her "Fight Like a Zebra" t-shirts and gave it to him. He was very thankful. Here is a picture of her presenting him with the shirt:

 

 

And here is one of the two of them with the shirt:

 

 



 

 

When the appointment was over, there were hugs all around. Dr. Henderson was genuinely happy to see that his care had made such a difference in the life of this patient. And, of course, we are forever grateful for this man, his gifts, and his compassionate care.

 

We are all so delighted that God led us to this wonderful doctor. His waiting room has several scrapbooks filled with thank-you notes, pictures and testimonials from grateful patients. This morning, as I was looking through them again with our dear friend, Kendra, (who came along for the ride), I realized how all of these stories are so similar. There are so many people just like Haley who have searched for years for someone to help them. Some of the stories sounded exactly like Haley's. It's amazing to think that God has gifted this man so specifically to help these people.  We are truly blessed.

Speaking of blessings, we finally have a total from the Hope for Haley Party with a Purpose. And that amount is.........(drumroll please)...........

$14,080.36

 

 

We are absolutely blown away by the generosity of our family, friends, and even perfect strangers who have donated this money to help us with the hospital bill. We still don't know what our portion of it will be, but we know that we have something in the account toward whatever part of the $64,000 we will have to pay.

 

Prayer Updates

Please continue to pray for Haley as she still struggles with headaches and some other body pain. She also has some nausea and vomiting, even though that is much improved since her surgeries. We are so grateful for everyone's support and will continue to pray that God will bless you all as you have blessed us.

What A Party We Had!

Beyond Our Wildest Dreams

The Hope for Haley Party with a Purpose was a smashing success. None of us had any idea what to expect in terms of turnout, but my oh my, I was blown away. There were so many people that it looked more like a sea of people. Our friends successfully transformed an empty lot into what looked like a festival. There were several tents with vendors underneath and a makeshift bandstand (a flatbed trailer). Also, folks brought lawn chairs and blankets, plus we borrowed tables from Covenant Presbyterian and folding chairs from Eastern Mennonite University. I tried to capture it in photo form, but I'm not sure these picture do it any justice.

Donations came pouring in from everywhere. Local businesses generously gave gift cards and goods to be raffled off. There was a 50/50 raffle that, when won by a gentleman named Nick, was donated back to the cause. So incredibly generous. Thank you, Nick. Also, T-shirts were snatched up and adorned many of those in attendance. Fight like a Zebra!! We still have several in all sizes and colors. Send me an email at chicofam7@msn.com if you want some. We would love to sell out of these before too long.

 

Other things that were sold were these decals. These were made by our good friends, Lori and Mark Huenerberg at their business in Virginia Beach, Tidewater Emblems. They are a great way to show your support for Haley and show a zipper (for her scar) opening up to a new sunrise, which depicts the hope we have that her life will improve. It also has two butterflies (new life) and a Bible verse about our hope in the One who delivered her from the brink of death. These are very cool and are a steal at $2.00 each. I would love to see them on cars all over. In fact, this morning as I was leaving church, I noticed one on the care next to me!! (Go Gina!!) How encouraging that was to me. Here is a pic of the decal...

(If you want one or more, contact me at the email address above.)


Live music was provided by The Responders, Peter Driver,  Burress McCombe, and Mike and Seth Marsh. We are so grateful.

As for the food, what can I say?  Kathleen and her crew did an outstanding job of keeping up with the unbelievable demand. The line snaked down to the end of the parking lot for the entire event. People waited for an average of one hour for the delicious Grilled Cheese Mania offerings, and it was well worth the wait. In fact, at least one person said that he stood in line for an hour and a half! Those are some dedicated people waiting for some delicious food!! Kathleen never even got out of the trailer/shed to meet any of my family or visit with the jillions in attendance. She did peek out a few times to behold the sight! She said that she never even had time to snap a picture!  But I did...

How in the world can we begin to say "thank you" to everyone for their help. I saw people who had travelled from different cities and states just to support our family. It absolutely amazed us. We had friends come whom we had not seen in 15-20 years. Haley said it felt like it was her wedding or something, because so many came from far away. (I reminded her that she, in fact, does not have a groom!  Ha ha.) She was decked out in a tiara and sash in honor of her birthday, which was the day before. Here is a picture of her with our roaming 50/50 ticket seller, Steve. (There's Haley sporting that million dollar smile!! So great to see!)

 

 

 

Two birthday cakes were donated so we could all celebrate Haley's 21st birthday. One of the cakes even had the Hope for Haley sticker made out of icing on it! So cool!! Thanks Jerry and Grace! Here's a pic of that cake...

 

 

 

There was a sign thanking all of the businesses and individuals who had donated things to make the event so successful. It's really mind-boggling to see how many generous folks there are in our community who care so deeply about a sick girl and her family. It really warms my heart and humbles me greatly. I only hope that we can one day return these kindnesses.

Thank you, again, to all who helped in any way. We are so very grateful. If anyone still wants to donate, you can either use the "donate" button to the right of this blog, which is linked to a PayPal account that deposits money right into the Hope for Haley account. Or, if you would prefer, you can make checks payable to Hope for Haley and send them to  PO Box 570, Harrisonburg, VA 22803. I will let everyone know how much we raised when we get the final tally. So stay tuned, and, again, thank you everyone, a million times over. We love you all so much!!!