Our ASLD Angel: March 2013

Monday, March 25, 2013

Delta Angels run for Batson's Palliative Care

Believing in Miracles......

Brent and I are overwhelmed with joy and excitement as we reflect on this past weekend. Hayden was one of many DELTA ANGELS that was represented in the Color Me Rad 5k. My husband and I have a huge part of our heart in Jackson, MS. I firmly believe that every Children’s Hospital is truly amazing. I believe Hayden lived a longer and amazing quality of life because of the people at Batson. Many people never expected him to live a year. We on the other hand kept HOPE for longer. We received a long and wonderful 14.5 months because of the people at Batson. I am so thankful for the HOPE that 2c nurses and Palliative Care gave us.

My sweet friend Jordan James contacted me in October about the race. We had HOPE that a few people would join us in supporting the Palliative Care team. The team exploded with many angels in heaven and on Earth having huge support groups. We were in tears of excitement as the team grew into 3 different time brackets. We were amazed at the support the Delta was giving. The race gave us the opportunity to have fun with family and friends. Our team eventually sold out and became one of the largest Color Me Rad teams ever!

Palliative Care is the reason for our love, strength, and encouragement. This group of individuals gave us the opportunity to stay positive. We love the fact that the Delta Angels T-shirts along with the WS Drill Team and a Church donation allowed us to receive over 5,300 dollars to donate to this great group of individuals. The palliative care team is vital to families like ours. We firmly believe in loving, encouraging, and supporting them as they grow to be a huge team for Mississippi. If you are reading this and have not voted for them to win a 10,000 dollar grant, I would love you to do so by following the directions on the picture below. They deserve this more than anybody I know.

www.vote.livestrong.org click on Mississippi region then Advanced Certification for Batson Palliative Care.

From the bottom of our hearts, we cannot thank each of you enough for your love and participation in this past weekend. I truly felt as if it was the first time since Hayden’s death that we had fun and laughed all happy smiles without tears while doing something in his memory. We had the best time with our prayer warriors, family, and friends. We cannot wait to continue this tradition of getting COLOR BOMBED FOR MANY YEARS AHEAD. The Delta Angels will be BACK in 2014 with only one small change. Our team captain will be getting married so our password will be changing to TROTTER. I am so thankful for the dedication of a friend that worked many hours to make this possible. Thank you so much Jordan, Charla and your family and friends from Belzoni. You are truly amazing people. I hope you enjoy the pictures below!

Even the guys had a blast.......

Thankful for supportive friends on good and bad days....

I love these like my own...

the best daddy in the world.....(besides mine)

so thankful to have so many people in our community that loved our son and the other Delta Angels...

I love my family.....

family friends win most team spirit...

my 27 break crew.....

Delta Angels everywhere.....

All these amazing people that believe in fighting for Mississippi's kids.....

Love them.....

an angel friend on Earth....

Even Hayden's speech therapist ran with us.....

my sweet Arkansas friends......

I give all my thanks to Jordan.....

best friend rocking her blue for her favorite little man.....

crazy is an understatement.....

just good family fun....

amazing time with an amazing family.... we miss our Hayden so much.....

sweet RAD friend.....

friends everywhere.....

5k ready......

here we go.....

simply amazing...

wow...

so messy and so fun.....

we MADE it!!!!!!!!!

More of Hayden's amazing nurses......

BaTH tIME???

So glad you made it!

until next year....

Delta Angels will prepare for 2014

halo's, wings, and color bombs

Can not wait to GROW a BIGGER team in 2014!

See You There!!!!!!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Radiothon 2013

Wow! Spring is approaching. I cannot believe that our sweet Hayden would have been two years old in just a few short months. We are often asking the questions of “I wonder”…… Luckily, we are able to look at the sunshine and remember our angel in Heaven.

A few short weeks ago, Brent and I had the opportunity to speak on multiple radio stations to talk about our love for Blair Batson. This is not a surprise to any of you. I have spoken about Hayden’s story often since Hayden passed away. The truth is talking about him is my healing method. Brent on the other hand has never publicly talked about Hayden. He was extremely nervous. Brent did extremely well speaking about our Palliative Care team and Second Floor nurses/doctors. He spoke from his heart and the phones began to ring. I was so thankful to see my husband speak about the hospital we love most.

I was very nervous about going to Batson that Friday. I cried many tears on our two hour drive. I was scared. I love the hospital so much. I love the people. Unfortunately, I was going without Hayden. We started the day by going to eat lunch with the Griffin family. They have a cute daughter and son that brighten our day. Carter is so proud of his wheelchair. When I look at his blonde curls and chubby cheeks, I am reminded of Hayden. It was such a blessing hearing about all of his milestones. He is a precious reminder that miracles do happen.

We headed towards the hospital. Our interviews were late afternoon but we had plans to spend the entire day with our friends at Batson. I started crying like a baby. Brent started smiling. He reminded me that they were the reason Hayden had 14.5 months with us instead of a few months. We should be happy. They were the reason for all of our amazing memories with our son. Well, it did not help the situation. I was still a nervous wreck. I knew that we would be meeting a very special family. Kambree is a beautiful girl that reminds us to never lose HOPE for children like herself and Hayden.

We met one of our sweet nurses and her daughter outside. Grace is a gift from God. She was smiling. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to meet this beautiful Earth Angel that I have heard so much about. Karen and I spoke together at the SCHWARTZ ROUNDS in December about HOPE.

We were welcomed by Kambree and Gina at the front door. It was an amazing opportunity to meet another miracle. Tears began to flow as Kambree had a sunflower headband on her head. She was showing us her support for sweet Hayden. Hayden and Kambree never had the opportunity to meet. Yet, Kambree has Hayden signs often. The color yellow is simply amazing. She sees yellow flowers before all of her Doctor appointments. The hardest part of losing Hayden is the fact of him being a past memory. Kambree reminded me that Hayden is remembered every day. Hope for Hayden is a team of prayer warriors that will now guard Kambree through all of her doctor’s appointments. I firmly believe that Hayden is looking after this precious family. Our color run team T-shirts has the exact same Bible verse. This is an example that Kambree and Hayden are similar. She was given yellow flowers on Homecoming Court. She wore a yellow shirt in the Batson Calendar. They gave her the HOPE FOR HAYDEN blue color paint when doing the color run commercial. We all cried as we met for the first time. Gina and I then had the privilege of sharing Hayden and Kambree’s connection with a few of the radio stations. It was an amazing day. I look forward to my sweet friends meeting “Kambree’s Krew” at the color run! I firmly believe that Hayden is Kambree’s Guardian Angel.

Brent and I were able to see all of the people that we consider family. We saw some of the kids that were patients when Hayden was in the hospital. One of the sweet girls even remembered me. It warmed my heart for her to say, “Hey, it’s been awhile.” This reminded me of our love for this hospital. All in all the Radiothon raised over 400,000 dollars. We were proud to help Mississippi’s ONLY children’s hospital exceed last year’s goal. It truly changed my life to listen to all of these stories.

Enjoyed Lunch Sweet Friends!