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Dear everyone,
OHMYGOD, what an unbelievable evening we had this past Friday night! Our excitement actually started earlier in the day with the arrival of Marge Sullivan, Travis' donor. It felt so natural this time (versus last time, so nervous and excited about all the unknowns) to have her here with us -- like a member of the family coming home. Joe, Marge and the boys all relaxed and played in the afternoon while I finished work -- and then we were off to Milwaukee for the big benefit evening at the Bradley Center. What an amazing event -- a sellout 17,000 person crowd.
The organizers of this evening had asked me to speak about how it felt, as a parent, to have an anonymous donor identified to save our son. So, in 90 seconds (yes, me!) my message on the Jumbotron focused on four things -- the phone call I'll never, ever forget (as Deb Richards, our transplant coordinator from Children's Hospital of Wisconsin asked me if I was sitting down -- and then, when I was, she informed me that a perfect match had been found for Travis -- a woman who was eager and totally committed to go forward with the transplant -- and that a date had been set); the gift of hope that our donor had suddenly given us, as well as the CHANCE and choice she gave us -- to be able to move ahead with the transplant; what that gift has now become -- Travis' having his first day at school, going swimming, and mostly, playing and enjoying every single day with his best friend and brother, Spencer (at which Spencer was SO proud, with us on the field); and lastly, thanking Marge for being such a selfless role model for us all, for being our hero and for giving our son life.
Then the spotlights came on all five of us, as Marge and I hugged and cried, and Spencer gave Marge a huge hug as well, then Joe, and for all we knew at that moment, it was just the 5 of us in the whole place. Truly, it was the most surreal feeling as we relived so much in that short segment of time. We then walked off the field together as Rock Rote then introduced Mia Hamm, from the world champion Women's National Soccer Team. Mia is the sister of Garrett Hamm, who passed away after a BMT several years ago (for aplastic anemia) -- and instrumental with 5 dedicated organizers in Milwaukee, for making this Garrett Game come about. Mia talked about her brother, about the importance of marrow donation and of giving back -- helping those in need. We missed most of her remarks as we were "recovering" in the lobby area before finding our seats. But from the newspaper report the next day, it was clearly very meaningful and touching to hear her heartfelt remarks. And it was Mia who convinced her teammates to come and play in this benefit game, which took place during the half-time (two 20-minute periods) of the Wave Game, when they challenged the Women's National Collegiate All Stars. Their game was fast-paced and exciting. The people in the crowd were going wild over the energy of this exhibition game. And all to raise awareness for registration in the NMDP as well as to raise money for the Mia Hamm Foundation and the Garrett Hamm Foundation -- to support marrow transplantation.
A few other important notes about this night, we were seated in the stands together with Travis' doctors, nurses and their families. It was such a tremendous feeling to be together with them, cheering wildly and celebrating with sheer joy during the games. And we whooped it up big time when the announcer had all the transplant and clinic staff from Children's Hospital of Wisconsin stand to be recognized. These people are such unsung heroes -- facing much sadness and uncertainty every day. And now celebrating some wonderful successes with our own children -- healing, due to their efforts. (We sat with Dr. Dave Margolis -- who popped up every 5 minutes to return a page, or check on one of the kids in the skybox -- read on -- as he was the Dr. on call. And between those pages, he was the master cheerleader, trying to roust the stadium crowd to "do the wave"! Spencer had a ball helping him with that -- he thinks this doctor is WAY cool.) Another beautiful recognition came when they announced that several children who had recently had transplants were at the game, sitting in a skybox generously donated by a local benefactor, as these kids could not be exposed to crowds, but wanted to enjoy the celebration. We could see the kids and their families waving from behind the skybox windows. One of their first steps back into "the real world." Gulp.
And later, my heart wrenched more than ever (along with everyone's) as a young girl's voice spoke a beautiful message along with her picture on the Jumbotron above. She said that she and several other children couldn't be there this evening, as they'd just had their transplants, but that they'd wanted to share their thanks to the hospital staff, the players and the fans for their support and love and hope. And one by one, their pictures came on the screen, as this child read their names, ages and dates of their transplants (all VERY recent), and ended with the picture of a sweet 10-month old baby, who, as she said, was receiving her marrow at this very moment -- just as we were all enjoying this game. Oh man, need I say more? I could hardly breathe through my gasps and tears. Marge and I looked at each other, we each knew such a unique perspective on this very moment. Unbelievably powerful.
As we were leaving the stadium, many people stopped Marge (still wearing her gold medal -- engraved on the back -- For Giving the Gift of Life, 1998) and gave her hugs and expressed their thanks for her heroism and inspiration. Marge was so surprised and touched by all the recognition and the whole evening. (FYI, next year's Garrett Game will be a double header with the Waves on Feb. 14, 2001 in MKE.) We stayed overnight in Milwaukee -- and I drove BACK to Chicago at 6 a.m. for my NINE-MILE group run with Leukemia Society's Team In Training! I'm so proud -- I DID it!!! And it wasn't as bad as I'd thought it might be. It is TRULY a mind over matter thing. I'm convinced of it. And I have one hell of an inspiration, so that makes it much easier for me to keep going when I feel like "ok, a few miles was plenty, now I'm done, right?". And my new buddies with the program are so supportive and interesting -- we're really helping each other along. Anyway, after the run, I stretched, changed, ATE, and then drove BACK to Milwaukee to catch up with Joe, the boys and Marge! Anyway, we then spent the afternoon showing Marge the HOT Unit at the hospital, as she'd requested. I showed her the room where Travis had his transplant, and a few of the nurses came and gave her big hugs and gave their thanks to her. Unbelievable -- and very difficult to describe. It was a pretty somber moment for us. Marge was pretty quiet as it all soaked in. She said it helped her round out the picture of what Travis and we all had experienced. We then gave Marge a tour of the Ronald McDonald House, which again felt like home the moment we stepped into that cozy, warm and safe-feeling place. Marge was especially touched as we came to a little boy who was sleeping on a couch in the main atrium area, with his family quietly busy around him. It turns out, this boy, Tony -- bald, masked and quietly resting, had just been released from Children's last week, and had been at the game the night before with his family. Talking with this family from Pennsylvania, I felt like I was reading an old chapter from my life. Their faces were quiet, grateful, hopeful, scared and tired. They were so moved to meet Marge. It twisted my heart to really understand the unknowns they were facing and how totally, completely draining that is for any individual and family. It felt so good as they told us how important it was to see Travis, so healthy and strong, helping them have a picture of hope as they move through their journey. Oh, what a visit that was, again, meant to be.
The rest of our weekend was spent at home, resting (Travis and Marge both got whacked with whopper colds -- funny, that's a coincidence in timing!) and taking it easy. (Yes, my legs are sore!) We watched videos from Marge's first visit and then of our wish trip to Disney. And then, another goodbye at the airport, as Marge returned to Colorado. But we know we'll be seeing each other again. Not sure how soon, but this is a bind that we know will last.
So, it's Sunday night. We're all drained. A bit shell-shocked from the enormity of this weekend, but also greatly enriched with the beauty of it all. Tomorrow is Travis' next checkup -- the first in a LONG time here at Lutheran General Hospital, instead of up in MKE. He's tired and drippy from his cold, but otherwise, we feel confident that this child is doing REALLY well. (-:
Thanks for your love and support everyone. And thank you, too, for such a tremendous response to sponsor me with donations to the Leukemia Society. This organization is one of the many which has gotten us to see this day with Travis. I'll keep you posted on more as it happens. Hopefully it will only be more good news from here on in.
Love and deep gratitude,
Melanie, Joe, Travis and Spencer