Below is an update on Andrew Smith about how the Lord provided for a very definite need in a very definite way. I trust you all continue to pray for Andrew and his family and I thought you would rejoice in this blessing with them.
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In the middle of May, while considering the ramifications of switching Andrew's chemotherapy to every three weeks from every two weeks, I paid careful attention to a very special little girl in Utah. Sadie Huish was in the midst of a valiant battle with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). Her parents had recently made the decision to honor Sadie's request to postpone treatment and hospital visits indefinitely. I had been following the blog for a while, had grown fond of sweet Sadie, and checked regularly for updates. Though I had never met her parents Zack and Tiffany, I was heartbroken for them as Sadie began to deteriorate. She passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, June 25th.
Early this summer when we began talking about bringing Andrew home from the hospital, we began to explore the possibility of purchasing a wheelchair-accessible van. Without it we knew that we would be extremely limited in our ability to transport Andrew, making even a spontaneous trip to get an ice cream cone a very complicated matter.
It was about that time that we had the opportunity to meet Keith and Brooke Desserich from Ohio, along with their daughter Gracie. The Desserich's older daughter Elena died in August 2007, 256 days after she was diagnosed with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. We became acquainted with Keith and Brooke through our connections within the DIPG community, and we became familiar with some of the details of Elena's story through the writings of her parents. Andrew enjoyed meeting Elena's companion dog Pablo, and he clung to the dollar given to him by Keith for days...even while he slept.
When the Desserichs became aware of our need for a wheelchair-accessible van, they set up the Andrew's Wheels Assistance Fund under The Cure Starts Now, a foundation dedicated to funding brain cancer research--a foundation born out of Elena's battle. As we searched for the perfect van, the Andrew's Wheels Assistance Fund accumulated cash. In the meantime we realized that we were looking at a $20,000-$30,000 purchase. By the middle of August I had decided that I really wanted to have the van by the end of the month. However, we also needed to order textbooks and DVDs for the new school year, and we had not even begun to think about how we were going to afford music lessons for Stephen and Charis Joy.
On the morning of Monday, August 24th, Make A Wish families in Utah received an e-mail letting them know about the sale of an orthopedic adjustable twin bed and a Chevrolet van with a wheelchair lift. A young mother in Utah thought of a little boy in Michigan who needed some wheels, and when I glanced at my e-mail that morning my eyes were drawn to one particular note.
Hi Sandy,
My name is Tiffany Huish, and we live in Utah. We belong to the dipg family, as our daughter Sadie passed away two months ago after a 16 month battle....
The note was signed with love, and the advertisement for the van was included. I responded fairly quickly.
Tiffany,
I know who you are. I have followed Sadie's journey and even shared parts of it with one of our oncologists....
By that evening I had spoken to Sam, the gentleman selling the van, several times. And Zack Huish, Sadie's dad, had stopped on his way home from work to take a look at it for us. During our conversations Sam also mentioned a motorized wheelchair. Zack checked it out carefully to see if he thought it would work for Andrew. We trusted his judgment without question...because we knew that, with very little explanation from us, he understood exactly what Andrew needed.
The van was advertised as a 2002 with 40,000 miles for $5,500. Sam's mom had recently died, so he and his sister were selling the van, several motorized wheelchairs, and some other things...simply because they were no longer needed.
At some point that day I made a phone call to Brooke in Ohio. I had a question for her, though I was fairly certain I already knew the answer. I wanted to know how much money was in the Andrew's Wheels Assistance Fund. It was $5,650. Within the next couple of days a check was sent to Utah, a title arrived in Michigan, and the Huish family picked up a white Chevy van...for a family they'd never met.
Sam and his sister were kind enough to throw in the wheelchair for Andrew at no charge, and I was intrigued when Zack commented in passing that it was burgundy and black. Burgundy? As in garnet? What more could a South Carolina Gamecock fan in Michigan ask for...than a garnet and black motorized wheelchair from someone he's never even met in Utah?
After finalizing the purchase of the van, the next step was to get it from Utah to Michigan. Zack was willing to drive it to us--that very weekend. But Keith Desserich thought he could arrange for transport through a friend. When both options were considered, all involved felt that it would be best to have the van transported to Michigan. The Desserichs set out to raise the remainder of the money needed for transport, and the van arrived in Michigan on Tuesday, September 8th.
Andrew was admitted to the hospital for chemotherapy Monday night, and I spent the night with him. He was delighted when Daddy picked us up Tuesday afternoon in the new van. The title had been sent with a card from Sam and Emily in Utah. They included $100 with instructions to take the family out once the van arrived. We drove straight to Olive Garden where the whole family ate an early supper with Sybil, one of Andrew's nurses, and Kurt and Brandon, two of Andrew's Spartan hockey guys. Between Sam & Emily's gift and Olive Garden's kindness to us, the bill was more than completely covered.
Over the past week, we have made up for lost time. We have enjoyed shopping at Toys R Us, eating at Bob Evans with our friends the Rardins who are missionaries to Mexico, and being present in the Michigan Senate to witness the resolution recognizing September as Childhood Cancer Awareness month. And the van means more to us than freedom to go.
When I climbed into my seat for the very first time on Tuesday, I noticed a marbled Team Sadie wristband hanging from the mirror--just as I had requested of Tiffany. This simple wristband is a reminder of a precious little girl in Utah who battled the same rare brain cancer that Andrew now battles, and a remembrance of the bond between two families who have never met.
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