Stalbridge Vilage

Kate, my 11 year-old niece came to me to tell me she had been invited to a party. An 18th, as they call them here, which I have come to understand is quite a big deal here. A classmate of Kate's who is the sister of the girl turning 18 had invited her and she was allowed to bring another person. She invited me. Always up for a party, I accepted thinking that it would be a bunch of teenagers standing around doing their thing and a few younger kids running around on the fringes admiring the older kids with a couple adult chaperones. I was sure it would be a interesting cultural experience.

Kate was so excited for the days leading up to the party, talking about what we would wear, putting on makeup and doing our hair. To be honest I was getting pretty excited to. I remember those days before parties and getting ready with friends in the bathroom sharing a laugh.

The party was at the village hall, just a few blocks down from the Lindsells house. I made sure we were fashionably late as I was sure of one thing I didn't want to be the first to arrive into a huge empty hall.

We arrived in perfect time and to my surprise it was packed with adults and had a little bar with a few beer taps, bottles of wine and liquor. Kate shyly introduced me to her friend, Pippa and her sister Sarah who was turning 18th, both beautiful girls- real natural beauties. At first I mistakingly took Pippa, the 11-year -old as the 18 year-old when I first arrived as she was about a foot taller than Kate and had started to develop as a young lady. Kate's other friends who were also at the party were also a bit more mature physically and I felt a bit sorry for Kate a bit. It doesn't seem to bother Kate though and I think she barely notices much. She excels in a variety of sports, especially swimming which she continues to place first in all her races; has a great sense of humor and is very caring person. She has a lot of energy and likes to have fun.

Of course I headed straight for the bar where the beer was poured into plastic pint glasses, kind of cute I thought. Kate got a Coke and we headed of for spot where we would sit and watch people. We chatted with a few people and one fellow over heard that I was staying with the Lindsells. He knew them and actually went to school with Kate's father Ed in Zimbabwe. A great jolly fellow, Steve, originally from Zambia chatted with us and continued to buy me pints. We talked about Africa, the states of affairs in Zimbabwe and village life in England. His wife Kate, who is English worked at the post office and after we had all enjoyed a few drinks we got the gossip on the village.

Stalbridge is a very small village in Dorset county which is southwest of London and relatively near the sea. It is very rural, surrounded by small farms. It is quite pretty actually and incredibly gorgeous when the sun actually shines. The landscape is a variety of brilliant greens and at the moment there are wonderful fields of Canola, which are bright yellow and break up the landscape in squares of color.

http://www.pagemost.com/Stalbridge-Dorset

The village of Stalbridge, doesn't consist of much the basics really a post-office, butcher, lawyer, fish and chips shop, chinese take away, a couple charity shops, a couple churches and a huge glamourous new grocery store which is a bit out of character for a small village like this. I imagine it brings in people from all the surrounding villages. There is some discontent in the community about the shop as you could say it is so sort of a Walmart on a much smaller scale. It sells everything and is close to putting some of the smaller shops in the village out of business.

The village has a strange feel, it isn't like any of the other near by villages we have gone through. I can't really put my finger on it but I guess I would say it doesn't have the quaint feel and energy that some of the other villages do. It is definitely not as picturesque as the others where all you want to do is capture its charm.

As we drank our drinks more and more people came in, people of all ages. It was incredible, the place filled up and was packed in about 30-minutes. Most of the adults were hanging around the bar, the teenagers were outside away from parents and the middle school kids were hanging around the DJ waiting for the disco to start. It was so packed at one point you really couldn't move around. It felt like the whole village was there. The disco finally started complete with smoke machine and laser lights and the little kids went crazy for it. Dancing and singing to all the latest trendy songs. I joined in a bit but recently blew out my knee so I wasn't able to shake my booty as I usually do. I was invited to come and dance with 2 single ladies who were cutting it up. They heard I was on my own and from America and I guess felt sorry for me. Kate had a great time with her friends. I let her use my camera for a few shots so she was a popular gal for that.

We had a curfew of 11pm and in my typical style pushed it to 11:30pm. We walked back to the house, carrying on as if the pub had just closed down talking about how fun the party was stopping to take a few night shots here and there. I think both of us could have and would have liked to stay out later but I didn't want to get Kate in trouble, later we found out we could have stayed out as long as we liked. Oh well! it was a great cultural experience.

Stalbridge Village

Kate, my 11 year-old niece came to me to tell me she had been invited to a party. An 18th, as they call them here, which I have come to understand is quite a big deal here. A classmate of Kate's who is the sister of the girl turning 18 had invited her and she was allowed to bring another person. She invited me. Always up for a party, I accepted thinking that it would be a bunch of teenagers standing around doing their thing and few younger kids running around on the fringes admiring the older kids with a couple adult chaperons. I was sure it would be a interesting cultural experience.

Kate was so excited for the days leading up to the party, talking about what we wear, putting on makeup and doing our hair. To be honest I was getting pretty excited to. I remember those days before parties and getting ready with friends in the bathroom sharing a laugh.

The party was at the village hall, just a few blocks down from the Lindsells house. I made sure we were fashionably late as I was sure of one thing I didn't want to be the first to arrive into a huge empty hall.

We arrived in perfect time and to my surprise it was packed with adults and had a little bar with a few taps of beer.bottles of wine and liquor. Kate shyly introduced me to her friend, Pippa and her sister Sarah who was turning 18th, both beautiful girls- real natural beauties. At first I mistakingly took Pippa, the 11-year -old as the 18 year-old when I first arrived as she was about a foot taller than Kate and had started to develop as a young lady. Kate's other friends that were also at the party wree also a bit more mature physically and I felt a bit sorry for Kate a bit. It doesn't seem to bother Kate though and I think she barely notices much. She excels in a variety of sports, especially swimming which she continues to place first in her races, has a great sense of humor and is very caring person. She has a lot of energy and just likes to have fun.

Of course I headed straight for the bar where the beer was poured into plastic pint glasses kind of cute I thought. Kate got a Coke and we headed fo ra spot where we would sit and watch people. We chatted with a few people and one fellow over heard that I was staying with the Lindsells. He knew them and actually went to school with Kate's father Ed in Zimbabwe. A great jolly fellow, Steve, originally from Zambia chatted with us and continued to buy me pints. We talked about Africa, the states of affairs in Zimbabwe and village life. His wife Kate, who is English worked at the post office and after we had all enjoyed a few drinks we got the gossip on the village.

Stalbridge is a very small village in Dorset county which is southwest of London and relatively near the sea. It is very rural, surrounded by small farms. It is quite pretty actually and incredibly gorgeous when the sun actually shines. The landscape is a variety of brilliant greens and at the moment there are wonderful fields of canola, which are bright yellow and break up the landscape in squares of color.

http://www.pagemost.com/Stalbridge-Dorset

The village of Stalbridge, doesn't have much, the basics mostly a post-office, butcher, lawyer, fish and chips shop, chinese take away, a couple charity shops, a couple churches and a huge glamourous new grocery store which is a bit out of character for a small village like this. I imagine it brings in people from all the surrounding villages. There is some discontent in the community about the shop as you could say it is so sort of a Walmart on a much smaller scale. It sells everything and is close to putting some of the smaller shops in the village out of business.

The village has a strange feel, it isn't like any of the other near by villages we have gone through. I can't really put my finger on it but I guess I would say it doesn't have the quaint feel and energy that some of the other villages do. It is definitely not as picturesque as the others that is for sure, where all you want to do is capture its charm.

As we drank our drinks more and more people came in, people of all ages. It was incredible, the place filled up and was packed in about 30-minutes. Most of the adults were hanging around the bar, the teenagers were outside, away from parents and the middle school kids were hanging around the DJ waiting for the disco to start. It was so packed at one point you really couldn't move around. It felt like the whole village was there. The disco finally started complete with smoke machine and laser lights and the little kids went crazy for it. Dancing and singing to all the latest trendy songs. I joined in a bit but recently blew out my knee so I wasn't able to shake my booty as I usually do. I was invited to come and dance with 2 single ladies who were cutting it up. They heard I was on my own and from America and I guess felt sorry for me. Kate had a great time with her friends. I let her use my camera for a few shots so she was a popular gal for that.

We had a curfew of 11pm and in my typical style pushed it to 11:30pm.We walked back to the house, carrying on as if the pub had just closed down talking about how fun the party was stopping to take a few night shots here and there. I think both of us could have and would have like to stay out later but I didn't want to get Kate in trouble, later we found out we could have stayed out as long as we liked. Oh well!

The Wedding

It is hard to believe that I have been here 3 weeks already. It isn't flying by in fact it feels quite slow. This morning I woke up early and couldn't sleep thinking of all that I could be doing at home including working. I am so limited here by almost everything and I can't wait to make a date to come home and have light at the end of the tunnel.

Rafiki got out of the hospital 2 nights after his admittance when I arrived on the 10th. The good thing was he never got worse. His temperature fluctuated and he wasn't quite himself. We all felt a bit safer having him in the hospital under the watchful eyes of the hospital staff. He was already on antibiotics for another issue so we felt relatively safe about the situation. I imagine this will be a fairly common occurrence during the next 3 years. Always playing it safe and never doubting that a little thing could be a big thing.

I had a few days with the little guy and it was amazing to see how much he has grown into a toddler. He is really 2 now, complete with tantrums and the over use of No! and Mine! Although it is difficult I love it. I just love being able to be with him again and hearing him call me Momma. He has started pretending and imagining with his stuffed animals, he sings his own little made up songs, mimics what we say and tries to read. He has discovered his pockets which he loves putting coins into them. He calls money millwall, we have no idea why.

Rafiki has a lot of energy and is constantly trying to get his cousins to play and keep up with them when they are off on their own. The Lindsells (UK) have a big trampoline which he always wants to jump on and be a part of the big kid fun. There are a few neighborhood girls who are always over and love having Rafiki around. Rafiki has quite the harem now.

We were all getting use to each other when I had to leave again to go down to London to sort out a few things and get ready for my girlfriend Gill's wedding when I left Thursday the 15th. I felt a bit guilty about leaving Patrick on his own again and having time to myself when I only just arrived.

I took the train down to London, which really was a beautiful ride. The English country side at the moment is gorgeous; green and everything classic you would picture the country side to be. Unfortunately, the train I got on was an early one and cost me $80 for a 2 hour train ride, that stung a bit and was a bit of a shocker.

After arriving In London I spent most of the day on the phone with British Airways trying to change my ticket home and see if I could work on getting a refund for the 2 tickets we lost when Rafiki got sick in Zimbabwe. I didn't get very far with them as usual. I was hoping to be able to get a ticket for us all to fly back together but after Patrick's last few flights he doesn't want to fly back on British Airways, so it looks like we won't be flying back on the same flight anyway. Patrick feels confident he can do it on his own.

Friday, my good friend and photographer Bex met me to have a wreckee of the location for the wedding and plan out the shots. Gill and Charles put us up in a pub hotel which was fun and quite quaint. We had a nice pub dinner, a few pints and met some of Gill's relatives who are from "up North" near Manchester.

There is a bit of a war that goes on here between the English of the North and the those in the South.. mostly Londoners. I can't say what it really is about but I imagine it is something similar to the Northern California/ So Cal divide. They say the North has soul.. and that is where a lot of the music comes from. I have never spent any time up there but there accent sure is thick.

To be honest I was a bit neverosu about the wedding and glad to have Bex around. I love shooting friends weddings because I get to be a part of all the intimate details and I am able to spend more time with the bride and groom than the average guest but there is added pressure of making the best pictures possible as well since you will still have these friends in your life.. hopefully.

Saturday morning arrived and brought with it traditional grey and rainy skies. It was a disappointment to Gill and Charles and probably us as the photographers. For the guests I think it was just par of the course and they would have enjoyed the beauty of the wedding and the joining of their family no matter what.

The wedding was one of a life time. Gill and Charles were married in a beautiful 18th century gallery, after the ceremony, some champagne, appetizers and group photos, we took a short walk to the Thames to board a dinner boat. The three hour cruise down the river with a sit down dinner took us past the amazing scenery and landscape of London. It was amazing but the down pour of rain and gusty wind made it a bit challenging for the images we had hoped for. Despite the preconceived images we had in mind we still managed to make some incredible images and as usual over shot it just a tad... between the 2 of us we shot about 4000 images.

After the cruise we boarded a route master.. an old double decker bus. We traveled through the city past all the landmarks until we arrived at the The Crown a wonderful pub in Richmond. Where another 150 guests, a band and amazing food greeted us. It was hard to believe we had another few hours of partying and carrying on. I don't know how the bride and groom kept up their energy as we had all been up getting ready for the big event since early the early morning.

The wedding was stunning, with the bride wearing a lovely full length rich red dress with an elegant white beaded bodice. Her bridesmaids in gun metal satin and the groomsmen in full top and tails complimented the bride and groom with great elegance.


Gill and Charles are such an amazing friends. It was incredible to be a part of their union. They generously offered to loan Patrick and one of their cars. I originally declined but rethought about it and realized what an opportunity if would be for us to have a bit of independence.


Unfortunately, I couldn't get on their insurance without a UK driver's license but secretly that was OK with me. I spent 4 years here never wanted or attempting to learn to drive here which was fine for me. With my track record driving I wasn't thrilled about the possibility of me driving 3 hours away to get back to the boys.

Fortunately, for us great Zimbabwean friends of ours noticed my addition to Facebook and learned about Rafiki's illness. It has been so difficult to tell people especially the ones closest to us that there are still so many people we haven't told. I hate for people to find out through an impersonal way but it has helped us in our communication.

As most people have offered to help in anyway they can once they found out, Caz and Bren Sole reacted no differently. One thing have IO have learned through this situation is that we really can't make this journey without the help of others and to take advantage of people's offers of help should be something we are ashamed of. It is difficult to accept but as many of my friends have told me people want to help and it makes people feel good to think that they actually are.


I asked Bren if he wouldn't mind picking me up and helping me take the car back up to Stalbridge. It wasn't a small favor to ask as the drive back to the Lindsells ( UK) was a 2-3 hour drive and then Bren would have to take a train back down to London which would be another 2 hours. There wasn't a bit of hesitation as Bren agreed to met me Monday morning and drive the car for me. We are so thankful and blessed to have such amazing friends.

Return

The plane was almost 2 hours late. An hour in Denver, a half an hour on the tarmac in London, and another half an hour standing in the plane waiting for the doors to be opened.

I was greeted by my smiling and lovely friends Gill and Charles. which is always the best, nothing beats being greeted at the airport when you arrive, even if there isn't a sign there for you.


It was a gorgeous day which I didn't expect being England and all. We went straight off to the wedding venue, the Orleans House, a gorgeous, 18th century home/gallery where the ceremony will be, right on the river Thames.

We had a quick wreckee of the room where the ceremony will be. A lovely detailed little room in gold, white and light blue, full of ornate relief and lots of cherubs.
We planned a few of the shots hoping and praying for good weather and then had a bite to eat in the refurbished stables before heading off to catch the train.

http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/leisure_and_culture/arts/orleans_house_gallery.htm

I know it would be difficult to travel on the train with my luggage. Overwhelming really. I had to change trains in Waterloo to get on the train for Templecombe. I was on the end train where one of the conductors worked. I asked him if there were porters at the station, knowing that there really wouldn't be. He did tell me that there were trolleys though. He was wonderful and when the train stopped he helped me off with my 2 huge and heavy duffle bags and tracked me down a trolley. I have to admit I did play the part a bit of the dumb tourist.

Ian, I finally came to find out his name, watched my bags as I found out the train times, and then loaned me his company phone so I could call the Lindsells and let them know when I would arrive. He was on a 2 hour break and decided to sit and chat with me. It was really quite nice and comforting. I told him about our situation and of course he felt staying in England was the best.

He did say something that is staying with me and haunting me a little. He told me of a man he worked with who had some kind of cancer or illness. It took him months of leave to sort it out and just when he was getting back on his feet his teenage son also came down with some form of cancer. He said when one thing happens another always follows. I am hoping in our case that our other things is what is happening in Zimbabwe. Horrible to stay but I don't know what we would do if were hit with something else.

It makes me wonder about the decision to come home. Although everything here costs an arm and a leg, the weather sucks, the people are... well... English. The socialist system does seem to work when you have a devastating illness. When living here of course I never thought that; as we watched 40% of Patrick's wages go to people living on the dole, teenagers and adults hanging out in the pub drinking beer and eating fast food never thinking about the possibility of a job. Now.. I think a bit differently esp. after spending time on the children's cancer ward on my last visit. The idea that you have to spend your life savings, or work doubly hard to save the life of your child or even your self somehow doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Yesterday as we were leaving the hospital and the nurse was piling on all the meds, syringes, and rubber gloves, I couldn't help but think will my stomach turn every-time that happens when we go to the hospital in the states and I have to think how much is that going to cost me. There is so much about this situation that you can't put a value on. How much would it be worth not to have to think about money for the treatment of Rafiki?

There are community nurses who come to the house, social workers who also visit and help you find solutions to your problems. Will that be available to us in the States for no cost? I don't know but for now it is a huge comfort knowing it is here if and when we need it.

Ian got me settled on the train and we said goodbye. He was an older man with a kind face and I felt he represented another good omen in our journey. I got my window and seat and immediately feel asleep. I woke up 20 minutes later with a new passenger at my side, immediately feel back asleep again and woke up another 20-minutes later. This went on for the next hour and half each time waking up to someone new. I was bit nervous about my things but I felt I had to trust that nothing would happen as I couldn't keep my eyes open. About a half an hour away from my stop I realized I had to stay awake or I would miss my stop and end up God knows where.

When I arrived my heart dropped as I saw the only way to get across the tracks to be picked up was up and over a bridge. I just stood there in bewilderment and out of no where a woman came to my aid and asked me if I needed help. I accepted of course but Edward, Patrick's brother and his daughter Kate soon arrived and helped me haul my kit to the other side.

The train station was only about 15 minutes from the house but when I arrived Liz ( sister-in-law) was rushing to the car and told me the boys were on the way to the hospital. My heart sunk. I rushed inside and Patrick was headed for the door pushing my feverish little monkey out in his stroller. All I wanted to do was hug the little guy and hold him, but he turned his head from me and wouldn't even look at me.

I don't think I even gave Patrick a hug.

We loaded up the car and I jumped in as we rushed off to the local hospital in Dorchester.
http://www.dch.org.uk/index.html

We went straight to the children's ward and immediately got a room. We were seen by the nurses and doctors who were all pleased to see the Mum had finally arrived.

The good thing was they didn't' seem to be to worried but Rafiki's fever had been increasing. They wanted to do a chest x-ray and a few tests that night. It was late and the room was small, room for only one bed. I knew Liz probably didn't want to stay long esp. since it was a half an hour ride home and it was already 11pm. Patrick and I decided the best thing for me to do was go home and get some rest especially since he had it under control. I felt terribly guilty about it which I am sure is going to be a theme throughout this journey but I really couldn't' have done much

We made it home and I didn't get out of bed until 12:30pm the next day.

Fundraising Bash!

A bash it was!
Unbelievable!
Amazing!


We pulled it off with less then a month of planning. The generosity of the community was overwhelming; not only in the donations that were given to us to auction off but in the outpouring of support on the actually day.

Mia (Girard), my back bone, my constant support, had such insight into how the auction should run it was uncanny, it helped that she had been to a few auctions before. Believe it or not I never have been to an auction; Rafiki's was the first. We were lent a fundraising book from a friend who works at non-profit organization and we were surprised at how many of the suggestions for running a successful auction we had already put into play just by our fore thought and planning.

The auction items just kept coming in all the way to the end, photographers brought in prints, more gift certificates, more art, even another time share for 2 nights in Steamboat Springs.
We had over 20 gift certificates, ranging in value from $150 to $25 from restaurants, hair salons, massages, tattoos, clothing etc.

The whole night flowed with miraculous ease. I didn't do a thing to collect donations, they found us. One amazing stories was from a reporter I work with, Rachel Carter, who wrote about the fundraising bash and auction on her My Space page. A few of her fans read it and we received another restaurant gift certificate and a custom skateboard, from a guy who lives in Seattle and just happened to be in town. He even came to the auction. He was so willing to help and repeatedly told me if there is anything he could do just let him know. I really can't describe the feeling I got with all the outpouring of love and support, especially since a large portion of it was from people who never met us before.

We had a tight timeline which we had to stick to and that would be the one thing that I would change for future events. It would have been nice to have more time to for the silent auction, a few of the items went at bit below their actually value.

Friends came up from Denver, Longmont, Loveland and Boulder and most had never even met Rafiki or Patrick which I find so phenomenal.

I planned a speech and a slideshow for the evening. When I got up for the speech most of the folks were busy with the silent auction and having a beer. Joe (Vader) got their attention and I swear you could have heard a pin drop, in a packed bar, a pin drop and all eyes on me. Of course it was a bit nerve wrecking and luckily I had my notes, which I did my best to stick to as my hands shook.

I talked about the ripple effect and how many of the people there had come because they heard about the event through a friend and it spread from there. How the response said so much about the community and I couldn't wait to bring this feeling back to Rafiki and Patrick.

Because I had everyone's attention I felt I also needed to take the opportunity to bring awareness about Zimbabwe. I didn't go into any of the personal issues about the farm being taken over because I knew that could get complicated. I basically asked people to stop, listen and read if they heard or saw anything about Zimbabwe in the news, that what was going on there is a genocide and people need to be aware of that.

I talked briefly about Patrick and Rafiki's stay in the hospital in Zimbabwe which I am sure most people found horrifying and unbelievable, as do I. When Patrick sees Children's in Denver for the first time he is going to go into complete culture shock.

I gave a bit of history about Rafiki's health and how it was the Leukemia was discovered. When I mentioned Rafiki is in remission I got a huge round of applause, which I really didn't' expect, I could feel the tears about to jump out but quickly took a deep breath and held them in. I was determined not to cry!

We then took a group photo with a sign Bell and Evan (Girard) made welcoming back Patrick and Rafiki. I just want Patrick to know how many wonderful people are behind us and want to do what ever they can to help. There were so many people we couldn't even fit in the shot but the visual reference is certainly there.

We showed the slide show but it was a bit challenging with all the excitement and chatter. I few folks caught the images and complimented me on the photography. It was a bit self indulgent. But as my good friend Pat Farrington said this is the time to be self indulgent and this is what it is all about.

The sports writers at the Times-Call,( www.timescall.com) especially Justin William came through in spades. The piece de resistance in the sports department was a hockey stick autographed by Joe Sakic, the Colorado Avalanche captain. It went for $600! I couldn't believe it as the bids kept rising and rising. Poor Justin who was very impressed with himself when he presented me with the stick was a tad disappointed at the fact I had no idea who Joe Sakic was. I haven't really been paying much attention to big sports players lately unless they are in the news for murder, rape or dog fighting. I still idealize Joe Montana and Larry Bird.. do they still play? There was also a nice little bidding war over a basketball from Carmelo Anthony a Colorado Nuggets player. It was great fun to watch the tension between the two bidders.

Joe was an amazing auctioneer, who tried to constantly reassure me before hand I had nothing to worry about, as I continually rang him up with more " what about?" What ifs?" His humor, descriptions of items being sold, and auctioneer skills got everyone in the mood and having a great time. I think even the photographers who donated their photos were surprised and pleased at the same time as they watched the bids go up on their gorgeous work.

We roped in a few other volunteers for the live auction Karin, Julie Q and Mia's brother-in-law Paul to help with spotting out bidders and giving them winning receipts. Paul a giant and powerful presence added to the show of the auction standing on stage with Joe and pointing out bidders with a loud "Oh!"

Bell and Evan ran to find me after we hit it big on the time share jumping up and down to tell me we that we made over a thousand dollars on it.

Paul was so pumped up with adrenaline by the whole event when we finished and we saw each other he gave me a huge hug picked me twirled me around and we both hollered! It was such a rush to watch item after item rise and rise exceeding all of our expectations.

As the auction proceeded a few people came up to me and told me that their faith in humanity had been returned. Wow! How does one respond to that.

" We are supposed to be in the middle of a recession and look at this outpouring," said one supporter.

Two wonderful women from the community came up to me and mentioned that had never met me but know Patrick and Rafiki from the park and had come to show their support.

A guy sitting at the bar who just happened to be there for a drink and saw what was happening charged a $100 on his credit card, because he felt for us. Mia told me of a story of a man who was looking for something to buy in the silent auction couldn't find anything he liked and ended up throwing in some money into the tip jar, later as she counted it, she saw it was $250. We still don't know who the mystery man is but a big thank you goes out to him.

A girl in her 20's who I had never met before came up to me and told me of a coworker of hers whose son had recently been diagnosed with cancer and was struggling financially. She asked me how I pulled this off. She said I was amazing and so inspirational. To be honest my jaw dropped a bit, I had never thought of myself like that. How I pulled it off? Well it just pulled itself off really. I still feel the success of the fundraiser had more to do with the community than me as a person, and I feel proud to be a member of it.

People truly want to help. Hugs and wishes of support came from everyone.

The energy and buzz of the whole evening was overwhelming and the most interesting aspect of it was that everyone there felt it. I had the biggest smile on my face and just keep kissing and hugging everyone. At this point I still had no idea of what we had made and to be honest I didn't even care. The support and energy was and is priceless.

Mia, bless her heart missed the whole thing as she busily keep everything in order and collected money. Bell's friend Hannah, 9, and her mom Lynn helped to tally up the money. Once it was counted Hannah and Mia presented me with the total and I couldn't believe it. Hannah was so proud to have been a part of the whole event and was also grinning from hear to ear. I never let myself dream or think about what we might be able to make but I sure was shocked and overwhelmed by the total, and that is when I could no longer hold back the tears. The generosity of everyone melted me.


I didn't sleep much that night and woke up with a huge smile on my face. I couldn't wait to tell Patrick. When I rang and I finally got the chance to tell him, I asked him to guess what he thought we made. He guessed $500, I am not sure if he was just trying to be nice or not but I do think he was blown away, and at the same time had no idea what that meant. A few mortgage payments, tickets for us to fly back to the States and a start on our medical payments. but most of all a bit of time and a giant weight off my shoulders for a while. An opportunity for me to focus on Rafiki and not worry about ever cent we are about to owe. Some peace of mind and that once again that is priceless.

Auction Items

Rafiki’s Journey Fundraising Bash
May 8th, 2008
Lucky Joe’s Fort Collins, Colorado


Live Auction items
Begins 7:00
ß Broncos practice jersey- never been washed!

ß Chicago Bears signed Jersey-Brian Urlecker

ß Tiffany earrings

ß An autographed bat from Rockies Troy Tulowitzki

ß Autographed baseball from Rockies Todd Helton

ß Hockey Stick-Avalanche Joe Sakic

ß 2 passes Roller Mountain Roller Girls Derby Passes-

ß Broncos Selvin Young #35 –autographed football

ß Nuggets Autographed Baseketball- Carmelo Anthony

ß 7 nights at Celebrity Resorts Steamboat Springs August 1-Augsut 8, 2008 sleeps 6

PHOTOS- Colorado Photographers
ß Elk fighting Josh Duplician
ß Todd HeltonLewis Geyer
ß .Cowboy -Josh Buck
ß “Cowboy up” Rick Hackett
ß Cbina -Jackie Endlsey
ß Blue Heron – Paul Litman
ß Panorama Coors stadium- Josh Duplician


Silent Auction
Open at 6pm
Closes 7:15pm


PHOTOGRAPHY PORTRAIT SESSIONS-
ß Mary Piggen – Bare Bones Photography- Fort Collins

ß Nicole Joelle- Contempory Photography-Winsor

ß Shaun Hudson- Hudson Photography- Fort Collins

ß Patrick Kramer –Patrick Kramer Photography – Longmont



JEWELRY
ß Enamel pendent- Artist Mickey

ß You and Me Designs- Mia Girard
Double strand serpentine and silver necklace
Coin pearl and crystal necklace and matching earrings
Mother of pearl and coral necklace


COOL STUFF
Hand made walnut serving Tray – Tyler Morris Woodworking

American Crew- Men’s grooming kit Nicole Knauer of Nicole's Styling Studio

1554 New Beligum Hat

Red Sox - baby uniform

Nintendo Ds teenage Zombies-Victoria Cameron

Playstation 3 5 prologue- Victoria Cameron

Playstation 2 twisted metal Black-Victoria Cameron

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law for Nintendo Wii

Marna Widom-painting

4 tickets to Seasme Street Live in Colorado

2 passes to the Aggie

An autographed baseball from Rockies Larry Walker


New Beligum- Patagonia- Shirts
ß XL-grey short sleeve button down
ß XL-green sleeve button down
ß XL- long sleeve plaid button down
ß m-salmon

BAGS
Computer Bags
Red with hardware-
Black with hardware
Black computer bag
Green back pack


GIFT Certificates
$120 gift certificate Boulder Chop House- Amanda Reese

$150 Red Lion in Boulder- Amanda Reese

$100 Loveland Centerra Rock Bottom

$150 Tight Lines 1/2 day fly fishing per person 2 max - Mike Girard

$150 financial counseling or Life Coach – Rachel lane

$100 Gift Cert for Tribal Rites Tattoo- John & Curtis

$75 Hearne's Clothing and Shoes and Jewelry – Maia

$60 Life Touch Therapeutic Massage - Wendy Miller

$60 Life Touch Therapeutic Massage – Sarah Jane Baietti

$60 Party lite- Millissa Carlson

$ 50 Jax Penny Malsch

$ 50 Screaming Peach – Jen Eichhorn

$40 Plank Restaurant -Melise and Patrick

$38-Hair cut Kendra at Salon De Chelle- Kendra Bassett

$30 Rainbow Café- Gail, Lynn, Steve Jones, and Kathy

$25 Video to DVD transfer- Adam Silver productions

$25 Stamping up- Carey Payne

$25 Maya Cove Restaurant - Steve Fowler

$25 Gift Cert - Kansas City Kitty

$25 Henry’s –Loveland

Rafiki?

The photo was a large file and I was excited to see my baby finally, the picture loaded so big I could only see a portion of it and it was a bit out of focus. as I moved the mouse down and the pictured started to reveal, I saw a little boy but thought it might be a neighbor friend one of the cousins had coming around.

The boy was fat and had very little light blond hair, fuzz really. It was Rafiki. My son, I didn't even recognize my own son.

I feel terrible for that .. the movies.. .. a mother always knows her child no matter how torn up they are. I feel guilt for not recognizing my own child

I was shocked. I couldn't believe the transformation in Rafiki in a months time. It was incredible. Dramatic As I looked in amazement I did notice that in all the pictures he was happy. He didn't look like he was suffering or not wanting to play, he was with his cousins on the trampoline which I guess his his favorite pastime at the moment.


I couldn't bear it. I was at my friend Adam's finishing up a project when the messages came through. I had been waiting of pictures, begging of them. I hadn't seen anything in a whole month, it was a visual drought. I think that was why I was so socked. I had not seen the gradual transformation. I still can not believe it is my little boy.

I have been working with his pictures, using them for the fundraising promotions using a beautiful shot of him in Lee Martinez park in the fall, waving to me as I came to them at the park after work one day and the light was just right. He waved to me and I caught, when you see the picture you feel he is waving right to you, waiving for your to come over and join him and play.

In one of the pictures he looks like an old man.
His hands are chubby and swollen, he literally has ballooned he looks like has gained 15 pounds.

This was one of the worse days since the first day and the day I left the to return to the States. I had lots of good advice, people telling me he is the same little boy, the chemo is working and it is only temporary. Which I all know and believe but when I look at that little person it is hard for me to even see a hint of my son. Even his eyes, his signature feature seem to have changed.

There is no way I could have prepared for this. Patrick told me he wasn't the same little boy but I had no idea. I am sure you will all agree.