Stories About Kids

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Ferris Falcons

I had the opportunity to speak last month at Ferris School, a facility for court-committed, juvenile offenders.  I shared my perspective about how life isn't always fair but it's up to us to decide what choices we are going to make.  I'm not saying it's easy.  I told them about Andrew's battle. I told them what I live with everyday.  I challenged them to create a legacy that they, and their families -present and future - will be proud of.  I like to believe that there's good in most people.  Not to justify their actions, but most of these kids have had some pretty horrible upbringings.  I honestly didn't know if I connected with any of them.

Until...a few days after my talk, they invited me to come back to one of their games so that they could present me with an autographed football. My brother, my daughter, and I worked the chains for the first downs and Ferris beat St. Andrew's, a local boarding school.  After the game, they dumped the Gatorade jug on my head and presented me with the autographed, game ball!  It was a cool experience.  I hope the young men of Ferris make the right choices as they show the content of their character while inside and, most especially, after they get released.


Heartbroken

I felt like I was punched in the stomach last Friday night.  Chris and I were having dinner and my phone rang.  Since I'm sort of always 'on-call', I took the call and I'm glad I did.  A Mom explained to me that her 3 year old son, Levi, had died on Sept. 11, 2016 and she didn't have all of the money required to bury him.  The funeral home was storing Levi's remains while Mom tried to raise the remaining balance.  Expecting a larger figure, I was surprised when she said that they will be able to bury Levi if they can just come up with $980. Can you imagine dealing with the unthinkable grief of losing your child and compounding it with the heartbreaking inability to bury him?  Thanks to you, B+ Nation, Levi will be buried very soon.


B+ Hero Feature -  Caison

Caison was born less than one month ago.  Just ONE DAY INTO HIS LIFE, this little boy was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma. He has had one exam under anesthesia (EUA) so far, and soon will have a port placed  begin chemotherapy.  His treatment plan consists of EUAs once a month for many years and chemo twice a month for at least 6 months.  He will be monitored for many years.  Please help us help Caison and all of the Caisons out there by donating today.

Live Like Andrew

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Ali & Andrew's Dad

www.caringbridge.org/visit/andrewmcdonough

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Kids - The Game Changers