So, if you read my last blog, let me tell you... the world feels so differently now. When I wrote that letter I was at the lowest point I think ever in my life. I felt that the world had literally failed us and I thought I'd be homeless at the end of the month, I thought I wouldn't be able to take care of my husband, I'm pretty sure I may have lost a few brain cells due to stress. I had a few break downs, basically every time I got off the phone with this organization or that. But now... now that has all changed.
It took a lot to write that letter and even more to actually post it and send it out into the world. I nervously awaited to see the response it would get and found myself incredibly amazed. We have had such an incredible sense of support emerge that not only has my faith in the human race been restored, but my heart feels so overwhelmingly weighted by the sense of love I've felt.
Wednesday I cried and cried. and cried. I cried due to the fear of the unknown, I cried because I felt like a failure, I cried because I felt helpless and I cried because I felt like if I couldn't fix this... I might lose my husband and this whole fight that we've been hardly persisting through at times this last year, I felt like it might have been for nothing. Now, I'm tearing up because I never... never in a million years expected the kind of response we've received.
Not only did people share our story and not only did complete random strangers donate to us just out of the kindness of their hearts, but an entire community has come together, for me and my husband. My hometown of Corning California, a place I haven't lived in over six years and a place I haven't even visited since Tom was diagnosed in July of last year... but still a place I grew up in and call home, they've absolutely humbled me to my core. One of my childhood friends and my very first Starbucks mentor and later photographer of my wedding began the ground work of a fundraiser which was an idea early Thursday evening.
By mid morning Friday, my childhood friend had secured more donations than I could even count. By that evening a website was built by one of Tom's old Chico work colleagues: www.helptomandlaura.com and it has all the information to do with the fundraiser thus far and the links to donate to us. We have had an incredible amount of support come in donation wise, from people we know, friends of people we know, and then complete strangers.
This weekend I had planned (a month ago) a trip to take Tom to San Luis Obispo to visit his brothers and to have some genuine fun before he has to go into the hospital for a long period of time and then be stuck at home for months and unable to travel for quite awhile. I was so excited about this trip and as it neared, so was he. When we got the awful news about our financial situation and then the stonewall of lack of organizational support, we informed his brothers we'd have to cancel the trip due to lack of funds. His brothers then came together and they paid for our visit. I can truly say I have not seen Tom enjoy himself so much as he did this last weekend... at least not in the last 8 or 9 months. I can't think of anything better and I am so incredibly happy that they made it happen for us.
Not only was it amazing for him, but while down there I kept receiving emails of donation alerts or emails of just incredibly supportive notes from people and it was seriously so ridiculously wonderful that I can't even describe it. I have tears streaming down my face of complete and utter joy in reflecting on this. To top all of this off, I got an email today from the local Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light the Night walk Campaign Manager... asking if Tom would accept the position of "honorable hero" for this year's campaign!
So yah, WOW. So blessed, so incredibly blessed. This weekend with the trip and with the incredible communal support combined, is precisely what was needed for the both of us before going into this next chapter... the transplant. So, this week we pack, pack, pack for our move that happens Saturday. Next week Tom goes in for the pre-transplant chemo at some point. I believe I was told either the 12th or 15th, but when I asked last week it still wasn't decided. Tomorrow he has a bone marrow biopsy, so hopefully we find out then.
If you have in any way been one of our saving graces, thank you.
