Friday, December 23, 2011

One of the greatest lessons I have learned this past year is how good people really are.  I have been so humbled being on the receiving end of such amazing acts of kindness, and it has taught me what kind of person I want to become.  As the holidays approached this year all I could think of was that I wanted to give back in some way.  When I think about Christmas, as sad as it may sound, I think of the PICU.  We didn't actually spend Christmas day in the PICU but we did spend most of December there.  My heart aches for the families that are going to be spending their Christmas in the PICU this year.  That is the last place anyone wants to be with their child, let alone on Christmas day so I wanted to let them know that someone cares and is praying for them.  I wanted to give a gift that was really helpful for me down there and one that was helpful to Skyler.  I remember at night when I was finally able to lay down in my "bed" for a couple of hours I froze to death under the vents.  A fellow cancer mom gave me a nice big blanket that covered my whole body and it was a life saver, so I wanted to include a nice big blanket in the gift.  The blanket was also really helpful when after finally getting to lay down the nurse has to wake you up for shift change and make you go out for an hour, and I was able to take my blanket and fall asleep for an hour in the waiting room.  The blanket was big enough to cover my head so I didn't have to see everyone.  When I asked Skyler what was the one thing that gave him the most comfort he told me it was a teddy bear he received, so I had to include a teddy bear for the kids.  Since everyone down there knows Skyler as Super Skyler I had to put a cape on the teddy bears, and since I think all these kids are superheros it just fit.  I also attached a tag that said "Hugs From Skyler." 


I am so grateful for the people who helped make this happen by donating some blankets and money.  I'm also so grateful for my grandma who made all the cute superman capes, and for my mom who helped me put this idea into action.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful support system and to have people really care and want to help with something I am so passionate about now.  I hope Christmas this year is as special to you all as it has been for me.


Here is the cute capes my grandma made.  The brown bears for the boys and white bears for the girls with pink capes.





I also got his cake for the staff as a thank you for making it possible to have Skyler here with me for another Christmas.


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

5 comments:

Beth Herring said...

Merry Christmas Crystal and Skyler! That is an awesome thing you are doing - may God bless you!

Anonymous said...

You are amazing.

Chelsie said...

What an amazing thing you've done! So glad Sky is here this Christmas! Merry Christmas, guys!

Tonya said...

What a wonderful way to pay it forward. That is exactly what the reason of the season is all about. What a wonderful thing to teach your son. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Erin said...

What an amazing thing to do for so many families who are focused on their kids instead of themselves. So awesome for them to know that someone else is thinking of them and not just thinking of their own holiday.

You are a wonderful example to Skyler.

Erin