My attention was brought to this via facebook. A friend of mine from high school posted this status:
"Maddison Ford is 2 years old. She was born with a congenital heart defect and has braved through open heart sugeries.She has recently suffered multiple anyerisms and the doctors anticipate that she may soon leave us. Her father, Michael Ford, is the sole provider of his family of 4 since Maddie's mother has stayed home to tend to Maddie's medical needs.
Our goal is to raise money for funeral arrangements and so that Mike may take time away from work so that he may spend valuable time with Maddie and his family.
We are holding a bake sale this Friday 7/1/11 at Geico. If you have the time to make any baked goods so that we may sell them it would be very appreciated. We are also accepting cash donations or you may donate at any Bank of America using account number 229-036-893-907.
Please pray for Maddie and her family and let me know if you can help in any way.
Please pass this event on.
THANK YOU!!!"
Our goal is to raise money for funeral arrangements and so that Mike may take time away from work so that he may spend valuable time with Maddie and his family.
We are holding a bake sale this Friday 7/1/11 at Geico. If you have the time to make any baked goods so that we may sell them it would be very appreciated. We are also accepting cash donations or you may donate at any Bank of America using account number 229-036-893-907.
Please pray for Maddie and her family and let me know if you can help in any way.
Please pass this event on.
THANK YOU!!!"
Of course, meeting needs, and fundraising is a strong passion of mine, so I immediately messaged her some info to help her set up a facebook event that could be on going for not only the day OF the bake sale, but the entire month of July, so the event wouldn't "expire" and it would allow her more time to use the wonderful world of social networking to help raise funds for this family in need. If you are on facebook, and would like to RSVP to this event and spread it around click here. I will be baking some brownies for the bake sale tomorrow! And making a donation myself. Every little bit helps.
I am not a mother, so I can't even begin to fathom the idea of what this family is going through. What I do know is that they need our help. They need to be showered with love at support at this time.
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.- Hebrews 13:16
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. - Psalm 46:1
Please friends, I ask, if you are able to help in any way, prayerfully, financially, or just helping spread the word, please do so. Lift the Ford family up. You can leave words of comfort on their blog that is listed above. You can also click on the link on that page to donate, or donate at any bank of America to the account #229-036-893-907.
I will end this post with a dose of inspiration and talk about my little nephew(may not be by blood, but he is my little man in every sense of the word), who is quite the trooper <3
Meet Aidan. He was born in May of 2007 with one of the more common congenital heart defects - VSD or Ventricular Septal Defect. VSD is a hole in the wall between the heart's left and right ventricles. These can occur at different locations and vary in size from very small to very large. Some of the smaller defects may gradually close on their own. His was not going to close on it's own. He went into congenital heart failure at just two months, but surgery was put off so he could get stronger. That resulted in three more months of him not gaining once ounce, and the problem starting to back up into his other organs. They went through with the surgery when he was just shy of 6 months old. October 2007. I was up and driving to a different city very early that day, to ensure I was there with my friends, for the open heart surgery of this precious baby boy. I will never forget those hours as we sat around the waiting room doing just that. waiting. and waiting. Thankfully, the surgery was a huge success. They put a patch over the hole, the heart tissue grew over it, and almost 4 years later, no problems. Praise God. He is healer.
Aidan through the years...
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| 2007. One of the first times I held him myself :) |
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| 2008 |
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| 2009 |
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| 2010 |
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| 2011 |
This brings me back to my original post, Maddison Ford... While my nephew Aidan was so blessed and overcame his congenital heart defect, not everyone is so lucky... And I can't even imagine what any of these families are, or have went through. If you remember, a few months back, I posted The Irony of a first birthday, also about another precious baby boy that lost his battle to a congenital heart defect. These type of situations are all around us, every single day. Sometimes we are just in our own little bubbles and don't see.
Take a moment today, and be sure to say I Love You to all your loved ones. Tomorrow is not a guarantee. Be thankful for good health. It is so often taken forgranted.
XOXO
