At the start of this preschool year Frank became friends with a little guy in his class named James.
Shortly after the Christmas holiday we received word from Frank's teacher that James was sick.
Here is James's story (taken from his Carepage - written by his parents)... "We wish that we didn't have a story, but the truth is we do. A few days after Christmas James experienced belly pain which was thought to be constipation. After visiting the pediatrician for an exam, we were sent for an x-ray. The x-ray confirmed a mass of some sort. At that time we were sent to Children's Hospital for an ultrasound which showed a 13 cm tumor in the left kidney. The probably diagnosis is a Wilm's tumor. James was originally scheduled for a left nephrectomy, however, the plan ended up changing due to a finding on the MRI. James has a small spot on his right kidney. This could be a "rest" which would be an insignificant finding -or it could be a bilateral Wilms tumor. Since we don't know for sure, he is being treated as though he has a bilateral Wilms tumor. The standard treatment for this is 6 weeks of chemo then surgery. James is a sweet, fun loving 5 year old with a big heart!"
With this being my first card drive to (kind of) initiate my wonderful and generous friend Heather is helping me to spread the word...and offering some prizes for those of you who send in cards! Although you may not be an avid card maker...any card with a heart felt sentiment, a joke, a nice picture, etc. will be sure to bring a smile to James and his family. Think about the joy that a personal letter or card brings to you...or better yet...your child! I know mine smile ear to ear and carry whatever it might be around with them for the next 5 days.
So, I need your help to make this card drive a success and put a smile on the faces of this family. All you need to do is create a card (or cards) with an upbeat cheery theme (please...no get well soon cards) and send them to me...
CARD FOR JAMES
c/o Shane Rieder
862 Gorham Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45245
*PLEASE INCLUDE A PIECE OF PAPER WITH YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, EMAIL, and THE NUMBER OF CARDS YOU SENT because there will be drawings for PRIZES!
We are also collecting cards for James's family ~
Sister ~ Grace (3 years) and
Parents ~ Matt and Heather
Thanks for reading...and I hope you'll join me in bringing smiles to the Overbeck family!
