Thursday, April 21, 2011

Card Drive for James...

At the start of this preschool year Frank became friends with a little guy in his class named James.




This is 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!

3 comments:

Judy1223 said...

What a wonderful thing you (and Heather) are doing for James and his family. I sent in a few cards already and I hope to be able to make more soon. May God bless you for helping, and I will continue to pray for James and his family in the days to come.

Shane said...

Thanks Judy! I received your cards...I can't wait to pass them along! James got to come to school the other day for a short visit. Frank was thrilled to see him and it was good to say hello to his mother. Any cards you can send I know will be greatly appreciated!

Judy1223 said...

Great...so glad you received them. I'll work on a second set (as soon as we have a rainy day and baseball and softball are cancelled!) and I'll send them along ASAP. Thanks again!

So glad James was able to come in to school, even if for a short visit. Probably so nice for him to see his friends...a nice boost!

Take care,
Judy