We Walked

I was going to wait until I had the final numbers of money raised at the walks we all walked in this weekend before posting about them, but I dont know when that info will come so I figured, what the hey. This weekend, team Doin It For Drew walked in Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. The weather here was absolutely perfect. My neighbor turned two of our t-shirts into onesies for the twins so that they could match the rest of us and off we went. I would be lying if I said I didn't have any anxiety about taking Drew to the walk. I'm afraid he's gonna catch something horrible when he's not even around anything even potentially harmful to him, so "exposing" him to an environment where there would be hundreds of other kids and adults with CF was making me want to vomit. But when we got there, I realized that all of the other parents there felt the same way I did - they didn't want their kids catching anything from anyone just as much as I didn't want drew being exposed to nasty CF funk, and we stayed away from each other. They gave the folks with CF red leis to wear so that they could be identified. I think I've mentioned before that the only real restriction or guidance that the CF world gives you is to stay away from other people with CF. You or I can't "catch" CF, but for people already suffering with it it's easy for them to pass the harmful bacteria back and forth to one another. Staying 4-6 feet away is the general guideline I've heard, and that goes as well for when you are sick and around someone with CF - just keep a few feet away.

Anyway, the walk in Cincinnati this year seemed a lot bigger than last year. Whether it was or not I'm not sure. The goal was to raise $400,000. I hope we exceeded that. Ill update when I know for sure. We had a nice little group of our great friends there to walk with us and it was amazing. More than anything i'm glad that I took Drew. Once we got there the anxiety died down. There were so many people there that no one even really bothered with him, which is always my preference. We had gone to the zoo the night before because it was Zoo Members Night and Barney was scheduled to make an appearance. It was just the 5 of us that went, something that rarely happens. There always seems to be something else going on that prevents us all from doing things together as a family - frankly, the hassle of it all is probably the biggest - but when we do get out we have fun. ( I'm going somewhere with this, bear with me). When we got to the amphitheater to see Barney, Drew freaked out...it a good way! He was jumping up and down and clapping and squealing with delight. My shy guy might just not be so shy after all, I've just kept him sheltered. He loved every second of the show and every minute we were at the zoo. Being outside and left alone helps my germaphobia, but what helps it even more is seeing how much he loves doing the same things that his sisters adore doing as well. At the walk, we got the same behaviors. He wanted out of the stroller and wanted to play with Ella and Lily. He wanted to hold our hands and walk around and explore everything around him. And I was so happy to let him do all of that.

It was a hard winter, because every time we got a cold we ended up sick for 2 months, and then another cold would move in. We didn't go anywhere for months, and even now, the thought of a germy playground skeeves me out quite a bit. But I'm starting to see that not all germs will land him in the hospital. That he will be just like you or I and build up some resistance to common germs. Sure, there are many things that will continue to be dangerous to him, but that's what my friend Dr.Clancy is working on (he doesn't know we're friends yet). As a parent, when you see your kids having fun, it brings joy to your heart. It was a fantastic weekend. Between the zoo and the walk, a friends birthday party and a family trip to Graeters, this weekend was just what the doctor ordered.

Hopefully I'll be able to share some more about our walks and our fundraising as the numbers roll in. My Mothers Day present was an iPad [because if you know Martin you should expect that any gift will be both electronic and something I've been talking about so much that he will do whatever it takes to shut me up] and it's taken my household productivity to an all time low. Everything from laundry to blog updates have gone to the wayside as I spend every free minute discovering the new and very cool things that the iPad can do. That and the fact that the weather has been so nice have kept me from my website that I do want to keep up to date.

Thank you all again, everyone who helped us to meet and exceed fundraising goals this year, and especially to those who were there by our side as we walked for hope. We hope we can count on your for continued support. And I promise to post pictures from all of our walk...just as soon as I can figure out how to do it on the iPad!