Mixed Nuts: Our European Sister

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Our European Sister

I know I have mentioned this before in regards to our RDH12 Fund for Sight, but I find it even more important to mention now.

When we first started our endeavor last fall, and decided to become an official non-profit, Dr. Bennett (our researcher) said she knew of a family in Europe that had a child with RDH12 and she put us in contact with her.

We liked Sylvaine right away. She called and we talked for hours. She is tough, strong, and aggressively searching for a cure, just like we are. She isn't afraid to approach researchers, doctors, anyone to get answers to her questions. She is amazing.

So - she became part of our efforts right from the beginning. The problem we ran into is how to incorporate the money she raised in Europe with what we were raising in the United States.

But Sylvaine quickly solved that problem, and opened our sister European part of RDH12 and called it "Candle in the Dark". (Isn't that the best name?) Click HERE to visit their site. (or if you cannot see it, go to our RDH12.org site and visit from there.

So far, Candle in the Dark has raised $25,000 for RDH12 research. This money is on top of all the money we have raised here in the United States. As you know, our new goal is $250,000 to be reached by March, 2012. So far, we have over $30,000 here in the United States raised toward that goal, and $25,000 in Europe toward that goal - making us almost a quarter of the way there. Already.

We have a long way to go. But we have faith that we will reach that $250,000. Sylvaine and her family promise to fly to the United States to be here with us when that happens.

So - we have 5 American families so far, and one great big European family that will help us cure RDH12. We are so excited that Dr. Bennett introduced us to Sylvaine. Her "I will not take no for an answer" attitude is exactly what we need to get that cure.

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I wanted to clear up that Finley is not adopted. She is our biological child, and unfortunately, it was Mat and I who passed LCA on to her. I only say this because we have several people searching our blog for Finley an adopted child. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but Cainan is our handsome boy from China who we adopted in 2008. You can read more about his story to the left.