Tag: community support

An evening to remember

It’s been two weeks since Patrick’s Hope Concert and I haven’t blogged about it yet because, well, how do you even try to capture something like that? It was something we’ll never EVER forget!

Friends, families and even strangers came together in amazing ways.

Brian met the sound crew and musicians at 1:00 p.m. I think he had a great time tagging along during sound checks.

Meanwhile, our wonderful friends and family worked to set up the silent auction.

It was after 5 when I got Patrick’s afternoon medical care taken care of and got back to the school where the concert was being held. What I found was amazing! All the auction donations displayed on tables looked so different than they have sitting in my basement. The community was so generous! There was far more there than I’d realized had been given.

The auditorium seemed to have been transformed. When we toured the school months ago it had seemed like a shabby school auditorium. Now, with instruments on the stage and Patrick’s image filling the wall, it looked like a concert hall.

Before long, volunteers and guests started arriving. Soon the lobby was shoulder to shoulder with people we love. Our adoption caseworker was there. So were some of Patrick’s favorite nurses. Co-workers. Friends from church. Family. His doctor. I wish there had been more time so we could have visited with all of you.

We decided to watch the concert from the balcony. (It wasn’t officially open).  We wanted Patrick to have lots of room.. and to watch the concert where it wouldn’t matter if the applause scared him or if he was too sleepy. This was a good thing because his only nap was 11 a.m. and the concert started just half an hour before bedtime.

We owe a huge thank you to Paul Cardall for all he did to put together an amazing concert! He had me crying from the start. The other musicians deserve a thank you, too.. For giving their time, talent, and even equipment to make the night work. So thank you Charley, Sam, Mindy, Steven, Marshall, Kevin.. and to the other musicians who I may not have met but who came and shared their time and talents.

It was so fun to see everyone in Patrick’s “Got Guts?” t-shirts! Just one more thing that made us realize that this night really was for our family!

A big thanks is also owed to Seth Mitchell who worked miracles in getting us a concert quality sound system, donated no less, and a crew of very talented engineers who mixed sound, ran lighting, and otherwise put together the look and feel of the concert. We couldn’t have done it without you!

While I’m expressing thanks..Thank you to my mom who put so much time and effort into pulling this event off! Neither one of us knew what we were doing, but you certainly stepped up and figured it out. Thanks to the rest of our friends and family. Dad, Dick, Phyllis, Jill, Cindy, Michelle, Jay and friends Kirstie and Tifanie who came to meeting after meeting and worked to pull everything together. Thanks to the many friends and family members who came to staff the event. Thanks for keeping me sane!

Thanks to the businesses and individuals who gave to the silent auction. I was touched with each donation that would show up. I wish there was space to put all the stories here.. as almost every item has a story behind it.

And finally.. thanks to all of you who came to share the evening with us! In that big auditorium, we looked few in number.. but there were several hundred of you there. The event definitely made a difference! We more than doubled the donations received thus far. I don’t dare publish a number, because my doorbell still is ringing with people giving more.

Beyond helping with Patrick’s transplant fund, though… You helped us a lot by heart, too! Knowing that there are so many of you who would give up a Saturday evening to come and celebrate Patrick’s life with us was means so much!

This has been a tremendous journey with Patrick. Each day with him is a miracle. I feel as though he’s outlived his expiration date time and again. It was wonderful to be able to take a night and celebrate that miracle with the people who mean the most to us.

“Pennies for Patrick” – Edison Elementary

For the past month, Edison Elementary in Salt Lake has been doing a fundraising drive called “Pennies for Patrick.”

Today, they asked for Patrick and his family to come and be interviewed for their morning school news. What a treat this visit was! We got to meet the 5th grade class who’s been spearheading the fundraising efforts. (Pictured above).

I was amazed at how much they knew about Patrick already. And at how well thought out their questions were. They wanted to know about his TPN. (They knew it by name). And why he needed his nutrition to go to his heart instead of his belly.

Two kids took us to the faculty lounge where they did an interview that couldn’t have lasted more than 2 minutes. It was so well rehearsed, though, and very professional. When we told the kids that Brian had gone to school here years ago, they were pretty excited. But when the camera’s rolled, it was all business.

All of the kids were so excited to meet Patrick! Brian’s mom is the secretary at this school so some kids put 2 and 2 together when they saw her with him. We started to hear “Is that Patrick?” whispered as soon as we entered the halls. Soon, kids were chasing us down the halls to be able to meet him.

My favorite quote of the day was from a little hispanic girl who said, “I thought he was all white. But he looks a little brown.” In school where the “minority” population is the majority, it was nice that Patrick, with his Korean features, fit right in.

The generosity and kind-heartedness of these children is amazing! For weeks, they’ve been sneaking in before school to put money into donation boxes. One teacher lifted theirs today and struggled under the weight.

I met a girl who put together a yard sale all by herself to collect money for Patrick. She came to school with a jar full of cash she collected. She told me today, “I knew a little girl who was 8-months-old who was sick and my church helped her. When I heard about Patrick, I wanted to help. I like helping babies. I want to be a doctor when I grow up.”

Pennies for Patrick was scheduled to end last week. The school voted to extend it till the end of this month, though, because they were having such a good time.

My heart was so touched. I wanted to cry, but couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as we talked with all of these children. Edison is not in a wealthy neighborhood. Many of these families don’t have much themselves. But they are so proud to be giving to help our son.

Thank you Edison Elementary!