Got EBB?

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES!!!

Yes, that’s right things have been pretty sweetalicious with a super duper chocolate covered cherry on top around here!  This EBB movement is giving me chills!  How do I even describe to all of you how my heart feels right now.  Who would have known that the one phone call I could bring myself to make yesterday was going to lead to soooo much incredible sparkle and goodness today.  Because I will tell you, these days, for me making a phone call is quite difficult.  And yes, I know many of you would say it was difficult for me before all of this to pick up the phone and call.  And I would say you are absolutely right.  But, right now, I would describe myself as walking in and out of consciousness.  The shock of your five year old daughter getting cancer hits like a ton of bricks and then bricks randomly being thrown at random moments along the journey.  One minute I am ready to take on the world and schedule a meeting with the President so that he can look my daughter and the other thousands of kids in the eyes and tell them why there is so little funding to save her life.   The next minute, I feel like a Mama Bear in hybernation and want to never leave my bed.   Well, this morning was one of those mornings where I thought to myself, “If I cover my head long enough, maybe all of this cancer will just go away.   Nope, cancer is still very much happening.  It’s happening to more and more families every single day.  I WILL NOT WAIT.  I WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!  Cancer isn’t going to wait so why should I.  Kids are diagnosed every single day.  Kids die every single day.  I would never wait two years to try to make a difference when it comes to a child’s life.   Today, I made one phone call and it led to something really spectacular!  I can tell you that this one phone call that I made will help get EBB Foundation to reach super duper amounts of people.  It was very significant  in our little world.  It was a very generous donation from an anonymous donor and it truly has made me think about where all of this can go and the difference EBB can make.  Thank you for over-flowing my heart with rainbows, right now.  I’m seeing rainbows everywhere I look and this so makes my heart sparkle.   I am including the letter I asked to be passed along to this anonymous donor.  I thought you all would enjoy reading it.  If there is anything I can pass along to you today is… make that phone call, the one you have been putting off.  Whether it’s too say your sorry, share our story or tell someone that you love them.  It could change a lot of lives for the better.  

Dear Anonymous Donor,

My heart is full of flutters today as I received the most generous news.  We talk a lot about what makes a person beautiful around our house these days.  You are the perfect example of that beauty.

 This past August, our daughter, Elizabeth Brooklyn Blair, at the age of five, was diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Hodgkins Lymphoblastic Lymphoma.  This news, as you can imagine, was devastating to our family.  One minute we were living the “perfect dream” to the next minute living the “biggest nightmare.”  Elizabeth had a bad fall at preschool and hit her forehead.  The bruise did not seem to be going away.   Eventually, the bruise turned into three small lumps, which ultimately formed into a large tumor.  After a period of ten months of watching the area, x-rays, MRI and many doctor visits, a biopsy was done and confirmed that our youngest daughter had Stage IV, childhood cancer.  Not only was the cancer found on her head, but it had also spread to her bones and was found in both her upper and lower arms, upper and lower legs and both of her feet.  Elizabeth is now five months into her two and half years of treatment with some complications along the way, but we continue to pray and stay positive as a family.  The more my husband and I learn about is awful disease, the more of a difference we want to make for other families who will receive the same devastating news.  I started writing weekly updates on Elizabeth’s care for friends and family from the beginning.  These updates quickly turned into an amazing journal that is inspiring a lot of people to do a lot of beautiful things.  I have now transferred it to a blog site and have over 6000 hits in one month.  Our three children have raised over a thousand dollars themselves for childhood cancer.  As their mom, I could not be more proud!  My husband and I are in the process of starting a non-profit organization called, EBB Foundation.  We want EBB Foundation to “fill hearts with rainbows.”  As a parent dealing with this first hand, I cannot turn my back and do nothing, when pediatric cancer is the number one killer by disease in children.

 I will say, I have never witnessed more beauty in my life than I have in the past five months.  Our community has come together and delivered dinners nightly, fundraised to help with additional expenses, and sent so many lovely cards and letters, which touch my heart daily.  And then there is you.  Someone anonymously donating to help a family you have never met.  This gesture sparkles with such love and beauty and I thank you from the dearest place in my heart for listening to our story, for touching our lives and mostly for being beautiful.

With much love,

The Blair’s

Brooke, Heidi, Bryce, Kate and Elizabeth