Catie’s 11th Birthday

Dear Catie’s Wish Family,

     We wanted to send you an update to let you know of some of the wonderful happenings in the time leading up to and centered around Catie’s birthday.  So many of you continue to respond in so many ways to Catie’s legacy wish to eradicate pediatric cancer through prayer and research and we are so very thankful.  Amazingly through the efforts of thousands, over 650,000 prayers were offered in the days and weeks leading up to Catie’s birthday bringing the total from the last two prayer campaigns to well over 1 million prayers.  God and Catie have received them all and I am sure that miracles are happening every day as a result.  The battle to save our children still continues, but we are closer than ever before to a world without pediatric cancer.  Christine and I will be joining the St. Jude family on June 23^rd in Memphis to celebrate the wonderful progress that has been made in the last 50 years since Danny Thomas opened the hospital and looking to the future and the work that still needs to be done.

     While we are there, we will be presenting St. Jude with a check in your name from the Catie’s Wish Foundation.  The check is a compilation of your support and a number of special events that have been held in the last few months.  The first was the “Shamrock Showdown” sponsored by our favorite pizza shop and its owners Jeannette and Rick. 

Shamrock Showdown Start

They organized and planned a wonderful 5k road race that drew over 350 participants on St. Patty’s Day weekend and it was a tremendous success and testament to their passion for Catie and kids battling cancer.  We were humbled by the generosity of the participants, the support of the volunteers, but most of all by the selflessness of Jeannette and her wonderful attitude.

Rick presenting the check

     We received an email from a gentleman who is the advancement director at a school in Vermont.  He had heard about Catie’s Wish while listening to the Gus Lloyd show and was so moved that he contacted every one of the Catholic Grammar schools and High Schools in the state of Vermont and inspired them to hold prayer and fundraising events.  Each of the schools participated with Dress-Down Days, bake sales, Rosary rallies and class prayers.  We are so very thankful for this wonderful example of someone catching the “Catie Bug” and responding.

     Closer to home, the Good Shepherd school held its fourth annual Dress Down Day for Catie’s Wish and Principal Graf and the students and faculty continued the tradition of blowing us away with their kindness and generosity.  Christine attended Mass and a presentation ceremony and thanked the students and the entire Good Shepherd community on behalf of the kids at St. Jude. 

Christine and Mr. Graf

  At St. Josephs’s school where the Fab 5 continue to thrive, the student service council held its first ever Dance-a-Thon – Charging for a Cure, and the results could not have been more spectacular.  The students rallied to the cause, opened piggy banks, sacrificed, and wheedled funds from their parents and then danced the afternoon and night away; all to benefit kids battling cancer.  The proceeds of the event supported Catie’s Wish and the Four Diamonds Fund that benefits patients at Hershey Medical center where Catie had her surgery.  We could not have been more pleased by the loving support of Mr. Cominsky and the entire St. Joe’s family.  Each of these events as well as the success of the annual fund-raising donations allowed us to continue to help “pay for a day” in Catie’s name.

     As for us and the Fab 5, we are all well.  Christine has been busy being Christine, taking care of all of us, sharing her faith with all she meets, volunteering at school and Girl Scouts, and being a visible symbol for Catie and God wherever she goes.  M.E. has graduated Kindergarten and is just full of joy.  Molly has finished second grade and received her First Holy Communion this year.  Mia has finished fourth grade and now that she has glasses she is an even better student!  Max will be in eighth grade next year yet people think he is sixteen based on the depth of his voice and his height.  All five of the kids are on the swim team and are getting ready for the meets that start next week.  Maggie graduated from eighth grade last night and we are so proud of who she continues to become.  She is a poised young lady with a heart of gold.  As we sat at graduation and watched as awards were given out to some of the outstanding students, the St. Patrick Award from the Ancient Order of Hibernians was announced as being given to the student who most exemplified the qualities of “friendship, unity, and Christian charity”, Margaret-Mary O’Brien.  Congratulations Maggie!

     We know how very blessed we are.  We have 5 healthy kids, a loving home, the prayerful support of so many.  In each of these blessings we see God’s hand, Catie’s intercession, and your care.  But we also see an opportunity and a responsibility.  In response to the blessings we continue to see in our daily lives, we will continue to honor the wish that Catie left for us until no child ever has to hear the words, “you have cancer”.

May God bless you and the work of your hands.

Christine, Kevin, Maggie, Max, Mia, Molly, M.E., and always Catie

Posted by Kevin O'Brien Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 @ 9:34 pm

Follow responses through the comments RSS feed.
Comments and trackbacks are closed.