Today is a special day for us. I’m sure my sister will post her own thoughts on today when she gets the chance but I’m going to jump in here and give you a peek at how I’ve felt over this last year.
As many of you already know Zoe got her new heart last year. One year ago today as a matter of fact. For me, this day trumps all other national holidays. Christmas, New Year’s and even Thanksgiving no longer hold a candle to December 2nd.
My nephew lovingly dubbed it “Heart Day” in a text message last year to my sister. He sent her a text on his cell phone a month or two after the transplant that simply read, “Happy Heart Day.” As this year has passed, I’ve tried to mark each Heart Day with a silent prayer and a thank you to the family who gave so selflessly. Without their gift… well, we don’t think about that. What I do think about is how blessed we are, how much we love this little girl and how complete she makes our family.
Chrissy and I used to joke when our girls were smaller about “the future” and what kinds of trouble the two of them would get into. I can’t speak for Chrissy but when I think about our girls now, I am excited to see the trouble and adventures the two of them may have together. They are as close as cousins can be; I’d dare go so far to suggest that they are as close as sisters.
I don’t think about what this year could have been like if a heart hadn’t arrived in time. Instead I think about how funny it is to watch Zoe come to my house and care for the cows with my son, how in a two hour span she can go through every “dressy” piece of clothing my daughter owns while playing, how sweet and kind she is with Noah, how her and Ethan seem to be cut from the same stubborn mold, and I even laugh a bit when she gets angry with me for telling her No or taking on a diva attitude when I lay down the law while she visits. Zoe may not think it’s funny at the time but to me, it is. It’s a part of her growing up that I couldn’t wait to see.
My sister and Zoe have seen the passing of a transplant sister and another one back in the hospital as she is placed back on the transplant list. Watching Zoe reach this milestone has been nothing short of a miracle. We know that and we don’t deny it.
Last year when the call came from my sister that a heart had arrived, I was shaking and I was in tears. I skype called a group of moms I’d been chatting with and IM’d a dozen more people and cried to them that I was on my way to the hospital because a heart had finally come. They must have thought I was nuts and maybe I was a little bit at that moment but it was a day that we’d wanted for so long.
Every day since then has been a miracle. Every day forward will continue to be a miracle.
As Zoe approaches her one year anniversary with her new heart, we can’t help but know and feel how truly blessed we have been. When I reminded my oldest that we were coming up on a year, he seemed to be in a bit of disbelief over the fact that almost a year ago that we received the best gift in the whole world. But then he sat down for a minute, looked very thoughtful and said, “Is that really possible?” Of course it’s possible, hard to believe, but here we are.
As Chrissy had mentioned though, we expect the cost of her medicines to rise. I read a very scary news articleabout a woman who received a new kidney and then had to have another transplant because Medicare stopped paying for her anti-rejection medicine, since she couldn’t afford her medicine on her own, she rationed her medicine!
Luckily, Zoe has medical coverage outside of Medicare/Medicaid but the reality is that this could happen to anyone, even a child, and as anyone knows, even the insurance companies could change their policies and leave Chrissy struggling more than she is now.
That’s why we are always thinking of ways that we can make sure Chrissy is able to pay for Zoe’s medicine. Last year’s fundraising was a success but we’re looking towards next year and anticipating costs rising again.
We quickly put together a garage sale to start off fundraising this fall (more fundraising information to come in the next few weeks, I think we’ve got something for everyone!) We kicked it off today and even the rain didn’t keep people away!
The garage sale will run through Saturday and Sunday, we’re hoping that the weather evens out and cooperates a little bit.
The garage sale opens at 9 am Saturday and Sunday and closes at 5pm each day. Here are some of the items we have available:
4 place setting china with crystal stem ware
Porcelain Dolls (including a bride doll)
Cabbage Patch doll
Collection of Scarett figures in globed stand (I think there are 6 or 7 of these)
Electric Lawn Mower,
Dessert fondue
Sleeping bags (Kids)
Bikes
T-Fal Safety Fryer
Electric Wok
Yogurt maker
Ice cream maker
Pasta machine
Kabob it cooker
Collectible tins
Mixer set
Galloping Gourmet roaster/cooker
Lego set
TV Trays
Leather and Suede jackets
Jewelry
Books
Movies
Kids Stuffed Animals
Girls Clothes (sizes small to large)
5 piece living room set
Computer Games (kids and family)
Housewares items (sheets, etc)
Antique Style working telephone
Wooden Rocking chair
Outdoor lantern (hangs on the side of the house? – still in box!)
I’m sure I’m forgetting some things but you get the idea – there is a lot to choose from!
All items came from our homes and generous donations from family and friends. Except for a few items, all we ask is a donation, meaning we are taking offers for nearly every item listed.
The garage sale is located at:
44553 Hallauer Road, Oberlin OH 44074
If you’d like to come out and look, please do! If you’re not a fan of garage sales (or you’re too far away), you’re welcome to use the donation button in the sidebar. All monies received go directly to help cover the costs of her medicine this next year.
We are tentatively planning two other fundraisers and will have more details on them and how you can help in the next few weeks.
Last but not least…
When Zoe was last in the hospital, right before her 7th birthday, her and I spent the evening making a slideshow on my laptop to pass the time. Zoe picked from the pictures I had stored on my laptop, the song, the order of the pictures and even the effects. Before we put the finishing touches on it, I asked who the slideshow was for, and she said “my mom and dad”. I shared this slideshow once on my site but time got away from me and I forgot to post it here. I hope you all enjoy it.
It’s late and I am working on some projects but I couldn’t help but come over here and let you all know that while Zoe and Chrissy have been through hell and back this last year (and are in the hospital again, as I write this), once again, Chrissy has yet to amaze me.
In the midst of working as many hours as humanly possible, seeing her girl through a heart transplant and trips back and forth to the hospital, Chrissy graduated from LCCC with not one but TWO associate degrees. She graduated this month with an Associate of Arts and an Associate of Applied Science. She is the first of us to graduate from College and doesn’t plan on being done any time soon.
This fall she returns to LCCC through the University Partnership to attend Bowling Green State University and receive her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology.
She told me on the phone that she missed the Dean’s list by a QUARTER of a point, but in the grand scheme of things that matters little. I’m very proud of her!
Please feel free to drop your congratulations and good wishes here in the comments. I know it would mean a lot to her!
Last week I saw an interesting project starting online. It’s called Why Moms Matter. I saw it and said… Oooh I know someone.
Right away I KNEW my sister was a mom that mattered. She’s been a huge inspiration to me and I’ve watched her grow and change so much in the last year and I could not be more in awe of her strength and her beauty and how she’s handled everything that has been given to her – whether it’s something she’s wanted or not.
You could assume that this has to with Zoe but in so many ways it does and in just the same number of ways, it doesn’t. On one hand, I can’t imagine what it’s been like to be in her shoes now or when Zoe first got sick as a baby. On the other hand, I’ve always known how amazing she is and continues to be and I always tell people, “You should meet my sister. She’s awesome”.
Chrissy is beautiful. Hands down. The thing is that I wanted the world to know how fanfreakintabulous she is.
So back to the Why Moms Matter – I had to nominate Chrissy. I’ve always been in awe – she’s always been MY HERO, she completely ROCKS in my kids eyes (she’s far cooler than I am), and I can’t imagine her not in my life. I feel immensely blessed to have her for a sister.
I can go on and on about my sister but I’m afraid if I do, she’ll come along and delete this post… so I better get to the point.
The people behind the project Joshua Unfried and Danielle Smith (no relation that I know of!) has selected Chrissy to be their first recipient of their Why Moms Matter project. I got the email at three in the morning and almost woke up the house.
Now for the most amazing and unbelievable part – We will be on Blog Talk Radio tomorrow (Friday March 6th) at 3:30 EST. You can listen to Chrissy and I talk (HA!) HERE. Plus, my sister will be featured at Extraordinary Mommy tomorrow also.
Since I know it’s impossible for everyone to meet Chrissy, this is the next best thing I could do to share her with the world. I’m hoping she doesn’t mind too much.
She’s been asleep for a couple of hours but it’s a nap that I think she’s deserved. It’s not often I get to come up here and spend some time alone with her so when I do, I drink it all in. I take no giggle, snort, or eye roll (and I’ve gotten all three today) for granted.
Shortly after I got here we took a ride in the wheelchair (I pushed, she rode) down to the cafeteria and the gift shop. Zoe talked me into a chocolate muffin (naturally) and even though the gift shop was closed – the ride out was nice change of scenery for her.
Today was the first chance I’ve had to see what the doctors will allow Zoe to do. They want her to exercise those jello muscles. She isn’t fond of them and I don’t blame her. When I saw her doing the exercises, I was reminded of the old PBS shows with the little old ladies sitting in their chairs and kicking their legs out in front of them. I told Zoe that she was doing old lady exercises, to which she eye rolled and giggled at me.
We also had to take a walk. Mommy will be glad to know Zoe got her nap in but not glad to know that she didn’t walk every two hours like the docs want. We did go down to the fish tank and watch the Circus fish (that’s the name we gave him) flip and then swim upside down to get out of tight spot he kept getting himself into. If I can, I’ll get a quick video of Circus fish doing his acrobatics and upload it later.
I think we wore ourselves out on the walk back though. We got to laughing so hard at each other… you know the kind, one person starts giggling and then you start giggling because they’re giggling, and the more you try to stop – you just giggle more?
Yeah. It was like that.
At one point we had to stop in the hallway. Not because Zoe was tired but because of the giggle fit. We really couldn’t walk and giggle at the same time anymore. So we stopped. And we giggled. And I said that if we didn’t stop giggling, we’d need the nurses to come and get us and wheel us back to the room in wheelchairs because we were giggling too much to walk back… And in my best “oh dear please help us” voice, I pretended to call out to an imaginary nurse, begging for help in getting us back to the room. Which. Was. Just. Funny. So we giggled some more.
But we did make it back, all giggled out and ready for some fun. Lunch was served and we picked at it. We played with Webkinz, and finalized two new pet adoptions there. We got a visit from Nana and Uncle Justin (looking fabulous in his Soldier outfit) and we giggled more at Uncle Justin’s ID with no hair. While we visited, we picked at lunch and played with our dolls.
We had a good day I think. Nurses, doctors, everyone seemed pleased today. I saw some color in Zoe’s face and her freckles popped out for a bit when we were busy giggling. The freckles really popped when she got mad, first at me, and then at mommy on the phone for making her do the old lady exercises.
She kept touching her eyeball today simply because it grossed me out. She tee-heed at me when I told her about Noah and his gross toddler habits.
Indeed this day has been one to remember. Maybe one day when she’s older and all of this is barely a memory. I’ll remind her of the Circus fish, the giggle fits, and the fun we had.
OK this is for my sister. She already knows but this is my public apology.
I broke Zoe’s site. Yup. It was me, the professional blogger (how ironic?)
What happened was when I created the post about the fundraiser and listed the donations we received, I had actually copied and pasted the list from a Microsoft Word document. Well, when you do that, Microsoft inserts all of its own coding and thus messes up the coding in Wordpress. Silly me, thinking that Microsoft Word and Microsoft Internet Explorer wouldn’t get along and fight like they did. They’re created from the same family so maybe it’s a sibling thing.
At any rate, I’m sorry I broke the blog for a day. I hear there was wide spread panic and chaos in the streets over it. We should be back to normal and all is right in the bloggy world again. If not, leave me a comment and I’ll get the fabulous Erica, who discovered this mistake, to take a look at it.
I’ve been informed that some people are having trouble seeing Zoe’s site the way they are used to.
Unfortunately I don’t have a fix for it but I was able to find out that the people who are having trouble are those who are using Internet Explorer – and we don’t really know why because it’s likely that you’ve been here a hundred times before today and never had a problem.
The only thing that I can recommend is to be patient with us while we figure it out or download Mozilla Firefox, which is another Internet Browser. From what we can tell anyone with Firefox does not have any problems viewing Zoe’s site.
I apologize to anyone who’s trying to see the most recent posts, we’re working to straighten this out!
I can’t tell you how excited I am… OK, I can and I’m going to. Since Zoe entered the hospital we’ve been hard at work putting together a benefit dinner for Zoe and her parents. Donation letters have gone out, my step mom has pounded the pavement talking to area merchants, friends, family and coworkers have offered their time to work the benefit, my dad has offered his pool table up as the temporary home for donations, items for auctions and an assortment of odds and ends, I’ve emailed my connections and used the power of the Internet to receive donations, and finally… FINALLY… things are pulling together in a way that I can only describe as incredible. I know that there has been far more done than those few things but it’s late at night and this is what I’m thinking as I’m typing (and the picture of my dad’s pool table strewn with toys, sports items, hair care products, knitting items, stuffed animals… it makes me smile!).
Oberlin Inn has generously donated the spaghetti for the dinner, East of Chicago Pizza in Oberlin has donated the spaghetti sauce, Orlando Bread Co. is donating rolls, salad from a local store, handmade cakes, pies and deserts… and that’s just the beginning!
This is a run down, off the top of our heads, of the companies that we have received items from SO FAR!!
There is more still coming! If you’ve got some time, read through the list – especially if you are planning on coming. Some of the items will be auctioned off and some will go up for raffle.
Cleveland Indians: Autographed photo with certificate
Tickets to local Morning Show: That’s Life with Robin Swaboda
Cleveland Metro parks Zoo tickets: (4) courtesy passes worth 40.00
Regal Cinema tickets: (6) movie passes worth est, 48.00
Subway: (5) tickets for 6 in subs approx value 25.00
Puffers flower shop: $25.00 gift certificate
Time for Treats: Doggie Treat Gift bag 7.50
Ginkos: Christmas tree ornament 8.00
Dave’s Army surplus: Swiss Army knife 40.00
Aries Salon: Shampoo/Gift card for free haircut 30.00
Smith furniture: 2 balls of yarn 16.00
Oberlin bookstore: Sweatshirt, bookmarkers, and 2 tiny ducks that quack 30.00
Lake Erie Monster’s Hockey club seats (4) $100.00
Cleveland Cavaliers: Autographed hat with certificate
Columbus blue jackets: Autographed hockey puck and picture both w/certificate
Hand crafted Yard Art
IGA: $20.00 certificate
Cheesecake factory $25.00 gift card
Basket of stuff animals
35th Anniversary Barbie (in box w/book)
Maddy’s Tie Chairs: Child’s Tie Chair (so unique! This is a child’s chair with the seat made completely of men’s ties! It’s beautiful!)
Detanglez: Gift basket to include a 20.00 card,
Advanced auto parts: bucket with car care supplies
Amy Avon: basket with Christmas stuff
Cedar Point two tickets
Locke’s: Poinsettia
Village Market: Fruit Basket
Pat Catans: Yarn Craft basket
Bronze Tableware for 6 in Wood case
Harley Davidson Stein – Collection series
5 pc luggage set
Cleveland Browns Gift bag: nylon bag. License plate holder, T-shirt
Christmas comforter and shams.
Several pampering/fun baskets
Longaberger basket and bear
$20.00 Cub Cash from Build a bear
Autographed basket ball Ben Wallace (Cleveland Cavaliers) w/certificate
Handmade jewelry, including bracelet and earring sets, necklace & earring sets, necklaces. Beautiful pieces!
Marble Run Set for children from http://www.oh-toys.com
Nanastar book, CD and plush doll from http://www.nanastar.com
Bill Doraty Kia: Detail Package totaling $139.00
There have been many people asking me if we are still taking donations – to that I say Yes! We are asking that items either be new or handmade. We have numerous baskets that are being auctioned off and each one is filled with some fantastic items (some with foods and chocolate!!! YUM-O!). So you may see them here on the list and you may not as I’m really not sure how those are being put together.
A lovely woman from PA sent me a gorgeous handmade quilt and asked that it either go in auction or to Zoe directly. I took the quilt to Zoe and she immediately decided that she wanted it. I’ll get pictures of that posted but to Pat S. in PA, thank you!
If you are still planning on sending items, we need to have them by December 17th at the latest (our benefit is on December 19th and you can get those details here: http://www.zoesheart.com/?page_id=40and here: http://www.zoesheart.com/?p=49. Anything we get after that date or does not get sold in the auction, will likely be added here and turned into an online auction.
OK so you’ve read through the list and you want to donate still; here’s what you need to know!
We need to have no later than December 17th. You can email me first if you like: nicholesmith AT verizon DOT net (remove spaces and insert an (@) and (.) for the words. Items can be mailed to:
Nichole Smith, PO BOX 122, West Salem, OH 44287. If you need a street address, leave a comment or email me and I’ll get it to you.
I’m going to try and get some pictures up of some of the items… maybe of the pool table too??
I can’t tell you what everyone’s generosity has meant to me, to Zoe, her parents, grandparents… it’s AMAZING and even that word doesn’t do everyone who has been involved justice.
Every now and then the sun shines on even the darkest of days.
That’s how we were beginning to feel as the Thanksgiving weekend came and went with no heart for Zoe. Our family and the doctor had gone out of town and returned back to us with no news.
But at 7:30PM last night that all changed.
A potential heart had been found. We waited on pins and needles until the official word came that this was THE HEART. Low and behold, three hours later I was on my way out the door to the hospital because this indeed was the Heart that the Doctors, nurses, family, friends, and especially Zoe had been waiting for.
Though I couldn’t stay for the entire surgery, my sister saw the heart, in its box and it’s transporter come off of the elevator at 5:30 this morning and by 9am, her heart, Zoe’s heart, was beating on it’s own in it’s new home.
My sister has seen Zoe since then, still sedated but back in her room and already she looks good.
I know my sister will have a much better post than I do, complete with details on the surgery, but right now I hope she’s getting the best sleep, the most sound sleep she’s had in months.
We’ve waited, we’ve prayed, we never gave up hope, and now here we are… December 2nd 2008, and Zoe has her heart. Just in time for Christmas.
As a final thought, I want to say Thank you to the family who gave us back our Zoe. Though we may never meet or know where you are, we are forever grateful that you were able to give us the best Christmas gift one could ever ask for. Your decision was difficult I am sure of that but what you’ve sent us, the life you’ve given us, can’t be measured in words, in blog posts or in tears. Instead we measure it in the smile of a little girl that we love, we measure it with her laugh, her energy and her life.
I’m pretty excited. Today I’m going to be on Blog Talk Radio (radio shows for the Internet – Whoulda thunk it!), talking with Connecting Women about Zoe and her story.
I’m pretty pumped about doing this because it means we are going to reach a massive audience of people and you never know what might come of that. While I doubt it would bring us a heart, I am hoping that it will bring in more people who want to be involved in the fundraising efforts we’ve been doing for Zoe and her parents. I’ve been told that the bills from Zoe’s care are starting come in and this is only the beginning.
If you’ve got no plans for this afternoon and want to take hear Zoe’s story and what we’re doing right now (maybe you’ve already got your Christmas shopping done and will be doing some wrapping or Holiday baking), you can click on this link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectingwomen and listen at 12:00PM EST time.
Many thanks to Zoe for her beautiful drawings which made picking colors and a theme for this site so fun and easy!
Artwork pieced and theme modified by Techno Mom Designs.
Entries (RSS)