Everything was going great today…Jack woke up without having a fever and slept very well last night.  He ate well today, had energy, and never spiked a fever…until late tonight.  He threw up after dinner and up popped a fever of 101.5.  He is now sleeping next to me and his fever has gone down to 100.5 without medication…and this is a good thing.  The spike in the fever could be due to a million things…he got sick to his stomach, he was eating, it’s night time, he still has a head cold and cough…there is a million different reasons why this is happening but I am going to need to figure out why so we are heading to PCH tomorrow.  We will be getting a CBC as well as a blood panel done.  I may, and truly hope with all that is in me, that I am overreacting and that he just has a virus but I can’t go in to another day with the wonder of what in the hell is going on in his little body.  Something is off…it cold be the cold, but something isn’t ok.  I want nothing more than to be the crazy mom who worries far too much and have everything be ok with Jack.

I told a friend today that I saw this quote and it’s so very true:

“There are moments which mark your life.  Moments when you realize nothing will ever be the same and time is divided into two parts, before this, and after this.”

This is very true.  The moment Jack was diagnosed, my entire world was changed forever.  The way I act, think, react, feel, love, rationalize, the way I appreciate the little things (and the big things), the mission I have in life, the drive I have…everything has changed.   It took a moment.  A single moment to redirect my entire life….not only mine, but my families and many of my friends.  Things change and one of the small things that changed is the way I look at illness with my kids.  It freaks me out.  Freaks the living crap out of me.  It may not be what is “normal” but it is what is our life now and what it probably will be until my kids are grown men and have kids of their own.  I feel sorry for their future wives…I am on record now saying that I am sorry but I will be “that” mother-in-law.  My kids are my life…they are Zac’s life…we couldn’t live without them.

So, please….send your prayers, positive thoughts, energy, fairies, spells…whatever you wish…send all the good thoughts towards Jack.  Hopefully this is just a funky virus that he is having  hard time shaking.  Whatever it is, we will figure it out and we will get rid of it.  It’s what he does…it’s Jack.

I can hardly believe our 2nd Annual Comedians for a Cure event is only 4 days away!  We are so excited!  I cannot tell  you how thrilled we are with all the support we have received from AZ news and radio!  We are so thankful that so many want to do all they can to help promote our event and make it so successful!

Tomorrow, Boomer Nichols (our MC of the event) will be on 101.5 FM with Luis Gonzalez at 4:00 PM!  Be sure to tune in and listen!!

Yesterday we taped a segment that will air on EVB Live (channel 12) on Friday between the 4-5:00 PM hour.  They will air the segment on Jack and our family followed by one of our amazing comedians, Jill Bryan going on live!

Saturday Luis, Jack, Boomer, and myself will be going on News channel 15 at 8:30 AM and then heading over to Good Morning AZ (channel 3) at 9:40 AM!  We have a jam packed schedule and we couldn’t be happier about it.

This whole week 104.7FM and XTRA 910 AM sports radio have been promoting the event and hosting contests to give away a few sets of tickets.

Don’t forget to click on the link about to purchase your tickets…I promise you don’t want to pass up on this night!  We are through the roof excited about it!

If you can’t make it and still want to help, be sure to text “HAND” to 50555 and a $5 donation will be added to your phone bill in support of our night.

ALL proceeds will be going directly to PCH for Neuroblastoma research!  Please help us make this year beyond amazing!!

We have an amazing friend named Sue who is running 26.2 miles today in the PF Chang’s marathon in honor of all the little fighters who have been diagnosed with cancer.  I always say that everything doesn’t happen for a reason, but people come in to your life for a reason and there are many reasons why Sue came in to our lives.  Sue knew Zac from many years back, but I hadn’t met her until she found out about Jack having cancer and she wanted to reach out to help.  On March 8, 2010, Sue began volunteering at PCH…the same day that Jack was diagnosed and this was a total coincidence.  She would come and visit me at the hospital when we were inpatient to check in and see what she could do to help.  She would graciously walk in our room with that much needed coffee for me and a huge smile for Jack.  She has taken the hate for cancer that we all have and turned it into a passion to make a difference for these kids.  She is on the board for the Jack Morton Foundation and wants to do anything she can do to put an end to childhood cancer.  She is simply amazing.  If you could click on the link below and show your support for her as she runs today, that would be wonderful.  All donations to directly to fund childhood cancer research.

Sue wrote this today on Facebook:

Today I run 26.2 mies for the kids.
Because…. TODAY 7 beautiful warriors will earn their wings.
Because…. TODAY 46 families will learn their child has cancer
Because…. CANCER SUCKS!!

Please support the kids by clicking the link below and making a donation. 100% of all funds raised will fund childhood cancer research.

http://ccrf.convio.net/site/TR/Events/personalfundraising?pxfid=5850&fr_id=1140&pg=fund

It has been so long since I have done an update so this may end up being a long one!  We have had a very busy few weeks around here, as I am sure you all have!

The cold/flu bug hit our house the week before Christmas with Braden and has slowly made it’s way through our house.  I ended up with it on Christmas Eve and I was so bummed.  I have not been sick since Jack was in infant so for me to be sick, was honestly a shock for everyone!  We had our annual Christmas Eve dinner at our house with family and friends and I was stuck up in my room listing to everyone else have a good time.  Yes, I threw myself a tad of a pity party…especially when Jack started singing Christmas songs.  Naturally, I cried.  I was glad to hear them all having fun and after everyone left I made my way downstairs to keep up with the tradition of leaving reindeer food in the front yard for Rudolf and his friends as well as leaving a note and cookies for Santa.  Let’s not forget that Jack wanted me to make a scarf for Luigi the elf to take home, so we did that too really quick before I slipped back upstairs while  Zac and the rest of my family set up for Christmas morning.  I guess that is the good thing about being sick over the holidays…everyone is there to help!

Since I had to much time to myself, I found myself looking back at pictures and posts over the past couple of years.  2 years ago we were celebrating Jack’s 100 day post transplant.  Some of you may not realize what a big event that was…we were able to go outside again without wearing a mask.  Jack was able to leave the the house…period.  He could go to the grocery store, the park, a friends house, a restaurant.  My parents were able to stop flying here from CA with masks on the plane.  We could let up a tad on the extensive cleaning we did on a daily basis and we started to allow visitors in our house instead of having them sit at our entry way while we visited.  Literally…I had friends sit on the ground, outside of the front door while I sat inside on the tile and chatted just to keep extra germs out of hour house.  We were also able to celebrate with Jack’s helicopter ride with Bruce Haffner…what a way to celebrate such a big accomplishment!!!  We are still so very thankful for that!!

This year we were celebrating Jack’s 748th day post treatment.  My gosh how time flies!  Now he does everything “normal”.  In fact, he was one of the only ones out of all of us to not catch this awful cold.  Go figure!!

Zac and I were able to attend a comedy event on the 29th that benefitted Sandy Hook and that went really well.  It was so nice to be able to do something to give back to a community that was so devastated.   We are still working on our 26 acts of kindness but so far we have bought coffee for people at Starbucks, brought baked good to the baristas, left goods for our mail lady, adopted a US Solider, gave an Albertons gift card to a family in need, gave a Honeybaked Ham gift certifcate to our favorite grocery clerk at Bashas, gave goods to our crossing guard since she keeps us safe, Zac gave money to a homeless man in need, and we still have blankets to donate to the local family shelter, goods for the local fireman, and so much more.  I can’t tell you how good it feels to give back to so many.  We think there are things you can do every single day as “acts of kindness” but to do things specifically in honor of those killed at Sandy Hook…it takes on an entirely different meaning.

We are finalizing our next event, Comedians for a Cure, which will be on March 10th at Stand Up Live and we are so excited about it!  We expect this year to be bigger and better than last year and with your help, we can make that happen!  Mark your calendars now and please save the date and get a sitter!!

Last thing…we are putting in our 3rd “Stronger Than Cancer” t-shirt order this week!!  How exciting is that!?!  If you want to be included in the order, please email me at lmorton@thejackmortonfoundation.org.  We are also selling long sleeve shirts for $25…they are my favorite!!!

Saturday’s Ignite Hope Walk was beyond successful!  I am not sure yet of the total number that was brought in for PCH, but I do know that our “Stronger Than Cancer” team brought in just over $6800!  We are happy to say that we were the top team and we are thrilled about it!  Thank you for taking the time to walk with us or to donate.  We have some pretty amazing people who have stood behind our mission and we can’t thank you enough.  Nikki was a great team captain and did an amazing job putting this all together.

When we arrived at the hospital, the emotions were a bit overwhelming.  We walked up as they were paying Silent Night and you could see all the little heroes inside waving their lights down to us.  Since we were at the front of the walk, we were able to see over 1,000 people with their lights file in.  This year was the first time the walk was put on and I hope it continues for years to come.

Nikki and I are headed back to PCH to present the check with the rest of the Children’s Fight for Life committee  to the center for cancer and blood disorders. How amazing that the event brought in $100,000 this year!  I really look forward to giving them that money tonight!!

Now that the walk is over, we are starting to plan our event for March, Comedians for a Cure! I am really excited about this year!  Last year was our first year and you always learn something new each time you do an event so I think that this year is going to be much larger than last.  As we get in new details, we will release them to you!  As of now, we are looking at Sunday, March 10th for the event…mark your calendars!!

Last note:  I have been getting emails asking about shirts and if we still have them and yes we do!  We have most sizes left as well as some long sleeves now!  We will be selling the long sleeves for $25 (which are unisex and super comfortable!).  If we don’t not have your size, we will order it in the next order we place!  All you have to do is donate the appropriate amount for what you want and don’t forget to note the sizes!  If you have any questions at all, contact me at lmorton@thejackmortonfoundation.org.

Thank you!!!!

Some of our “Stronger Than Cancer” Team!

Kiddos having fun before the walk began:

Tons of activities for the kiddos to do before we began…

Nikki holding the flag since our team raised the most money!

Starting off the walk!

Braden was so excited!

My mom and I!  She flew in just for the day to be here with us:

Jack and Meg holding up his light so the little heroes inside could see us:

This is what it looked like form inside the hospital looking down…pretty emotional!