Day + 370

Day +370... also known as Day + 1 year and 5 days.  That feels really good.

Rita and I would like to start by again thanking everyone that showed up this weekend for the blood drive/bone marrow registry and/or James' party.  I know there were some that could not attend due to illness or other reasons so thanks for the efforts, it meant the world to us!

The drives were very busy and many of you waited a significant amount of time to donate... I know that was a lot to ask, so thank you.  Many travelled from near and far... it was truly amazing.  From co-workers, friends, family that went way above and beyond to fly or drive here... and to James' donor, Spencer, his wife Diana and mom Pam... THANK YOU, the weekend would not have been the same without each and every one of you.  

It was surreal to meet Spencer and spend some time with him and his family.  They are all kind, generous, and so warm.  We feel so lucky to call them part of our new extended family! Couldn't think of a better match for our loving little guy James, and we can't wait to get out to Kansas City and meet the rest of the family sometime soon.

Our goal for the blood drive this weekend was getting to at least 250 units of blood... and we hit 251!  Since every unit of blood can help save up to 3 lives, these donations will help up to 753 people in desperate situations.  There were also many that came and waited in line but could not donate for various reasons... THANK YOU... although we couldn't take your blood it's the effort that counts :-). You showed up in support and we'll never forget that.  And to St. Andrew and St. Alphonsus, along w/ Vitalant, for the months work organizing the drives and dealing w/ me :-)
 
I spoke with Vitalant this evening and they agreed the drive was a huge success and that they rarely, if ever, see numbers like this for a first-time drive. It typically takes years of doing a recurring blood drive to get this type of turnout.  This makes me even more excited to do this annually and celebrate each year James knocks down in this ongoing battle.  Two years post-transplant is officially considered remission, so there will be a lot of celebrate in 2020.  We will target 12/5/2020 and 12/6/2020 for the drive so mark your calendars now.

We also registered roughly 50 new people on the bone marrow registry.  Spencer mentioned to us that this is how he signed up on the registry years ago... so one of these 50 could be the next to get called this year, next year, or in 10 years to save another life just like James.  If you are still not registered on the registry PLEASE sign up... it's extremely easy and you can use the link here:   

Click Here: bone marrow Sign Up 

Tis the season to share this as well when at family parties etc. for the holidays.  Every person added to the registry matters… there are people out there dying every day waiting for a miracle which likes exists but just isn't registered.  

Last but absolutely not least a huge shoutout to the D'Agostinos (Scott and Sara) for their generosity this past weekend, Shawn @ Hyatt for making Spencer & Diana's visit to Chicago special, our families (and especially my brother Ryan) for organizing a great weekend for them, our mom's for sacrificing their retirement and watching James this past year, Santa, Wrigleyville Engine Co.78, ... and everyone for all their continued support.

I also pasted links to all the media that was done to support the event here, from NBC to WBBM Radio, the Daily Herald newspaper, Lurie's, etc.  Additionally, I posted a video from WGN from the Fantasy Flight James went on Saturday and you an see him in the video w/ Ronald McDonald.  He had the time of his life, so thanks to Cal's Angels for making this happen!
 
You can see these videos here:  http://www.curiousjames.org/james-story.html#/

We will be posting pictures from the Re-Birthday party soon.  Thank you all again - we will never be able to say it enough.   Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas!!

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