Cure 4 Jackson

As you know, Steve is a producer for Channel 13, our local Houston ABC affiliate. Channel 13 is doing a story about Jackson this evening, Thursday, March 9th at 10pm.

They are doing a story on Jackson to try to encourage people to join come out for their bone marrow drive tomorrow, Friday, March 10th, 6am to 6pm. They have three major locations:
ABC-13 STUDIO / 3310 Bissonnet / 713-666-0713
CENTERPOINT ENERGY / 4300 Bissonnet / 713-945-4219
AND IF YOU LIKE EFFICIENCY, AT THIS SITE YOU CAN SIMPLY LOGON TO www.eblooddrive.org AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT ONLINE!
MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER / Alkek Hospital, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, 2nd Floor / 713-792-7777
Also, if you have a minute, you might want to check out Jackson's website. It's www.cure4jackson.org

Watch for Jackson LIVE on KTRK Channel 13 March 10, 2006 during the 11am show. Jackson will be at the KTRK studios to help promote the second annual Channel 13 Blood and Bone Marrow Drive. Due to his immune deficiency Jackson will have to be kept seperated from everyone while he is there, but he is very excited about going to work with Dada !!!! Everyone please watch, and get registered to be a bone marrow donor. You could be someone's hero. Maybe even Jackson's !!!!

Ally turned 2 on Saturday, March 11th. When we told her that we were going to go to the zoo for her birthday, she got this surprised look on her face and said "There's animals there!" We decorated the house with Dora the Explorer decorations and balloons so that she could see them when she woke up. She was so excited! We also got her a Dora the Explorer doll house. She got out of bed and went straight to the house and started playing. She LOVES Dora. Her Grandma and Grandpa Schneiders joined us for the day. Everyone had to wear Dora party hats. Check our our pictures to see the fun.

We were able to add about 400 people to the national registry at the drive put on by Channel 13 on Friday. Many of the people coming in said that they were coming to try to help Jackson. It's very overwhelming to see so many people that don't even know us that want to help. Never doubt that there are a lot of wonderful people in this world! Thanks to Christi Myers. She is the reporter responsible for the story and the drive. She's been a tremdous help to our family. It's obvious that Christi really cares about the people that she is reporting about.

See below for the story on the abc13 website. The link is http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=health&id=3979442

We have our wristbands that we are selling to raise money for Jackson's treatment. As I said before, they are green in honor of Ally "The Green One" (See Background Blog Entry). In honor of St. Patricks Day, be sure to wear your Green One. I've added a picture to our file showing Mira Bryant and her family wearing their Green Ones. Mira is the Administrative Assistant at our plant in Deer Park, and has always been very supportive of our family. She's been there since the beginning when Jackson got sick the 1st time, and knows how hard this has been on all of us. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to her. I know she's cried a few tears on our behalf over the years.

If you want your own Green One, you can order them from our store. We also have cure4jackson t-shirts available.
I spent the day today attending the funeral of the father of one of our employees. It was a long day (7 hours in the car), but well worth it. The gentleman who passed away had 6 sons. Each of them got up and talked about their Dad. They all said that their Dad was their best friend and they thanked him for teaching them how to be men. They thanked him for teaching them how to be husbands and fathers and church members and community leaders. it really touched me. What is a better measure of the success of a life than to have your children say such beautiful things about you. He has left an incredible legacy.

Happy St. Patricks Day everyone. Go Green!!

I want to thank someone who did something very special for our family. It was very unexpected, and I don't think that words can express our gratitude. So, the kids and I made a sign to say Thank you. You can view in our pictures.