Vision Walk 2010

This morning, the event for which we've been fundraising for a few months came and went. We braved the chilly morning temperatures and headed to the South Side (specifically, right in front of The Cheesecake Factory) for the 2010 Vision Walk, sponsored by Foundation Fighting Blindness. There was a really large turnout, and all-together $55,000 was raised for the foundation. Keep in mind that OUR team was the largest, AND raised 20% of the total amount. You're welcome, FFB.

It was really wonderful being there for Finley and the family. Finley is pretty famous - there were so many people there with her shirts on. And, she got to cut the ribbon at the starting line. She's going to get a big ego!

They had all sorts of fun stuff there - snacks, stickers, balloon animals. I asked the balloon people for a simple balloon for a 2-year-old boy. Twenty minutes later, Ethan had a pretty cool Elmo. He loved that thing. Until he tripped and fell and popped Elmo's legs...

Ethan had a great time playing with his cousins and running on the trail. We saw a few Steeler's, none of whom I knew, and got to enjoy what turned out to be a beautiful fall day.

We had a great, but VERY long, lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and got to visit with tons of fun people we don't get to see nearly enough. Ethan was a trooper and was pleasant the whole time. We were only in the car for 5 minutes when he said "Take a little nap?" and was out.

I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has supported our family, whether financially, walking with us, or supporting us via thoughts and prayer, through this time. It's still hard to believe that our Finley is in this situation, and is not fair at all. We whole-heartedly know that she will NOT lose her sight. We will continue to work to spread the word about her rare condition and get money to the right researchers so that never happens.

My sister-in-law and a few other families with children who have the same rare disorder have started a new foundation, geared specifically at researching the specific gene that could take Finley's sight. I can't say how important this research is! Finley is one of only 87 people in the entire country that have it. To fund research for one year, it costs about $70,000. Craziness. But totally worth it!

Jennifer has become a full-time fundraiser and is AMAZING! There are tons of items with the Finley's Fighters logo, and she makes BEAUTIFUL braille shirts. They are custom made by her, and she can put anything you want on it. I've thought about putting really inappropriate messages for my students on my shirts...Anyway, her goal is to make 250 of them by this time next year; she is in the 90's right now, I think. All of the proceeds will go towards The RDH Fund For Sight, which will put money in the hands of researchers for Finley.