Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Thank you is not enough



How do you begin to express gratitude for the many, many family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers who contributed to the fundraiser for Braden's medical fund? We are completely awestruck and blown away at the levels of generosity so many of you have bestowed upon our family. The fundraiser held at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Wichita, KS raised an astonishing $13,000 for Braden's medical bills! We are at a loss as to how to express our gratitude... we are truly blessed by all of you, and thank you all so very much. Braden's bills are mounting, and we are only beginning to see them trickle in. We do have good insurance, but not everything is covered, and our weekly routine includes co-pays, medicines, lab work, specialty visits, special dietary needs, medical supplies for all his machines and more - amounting to nearly $500 some months alone, not counting his regular daily care and the nanny, etc. We were starting to feel very overwhelmed in trying to figure out how we would even begin to pay for things like trips to Houston, his very expensive transfer care flight, the impending ketogenic diet supplies, and more.

We are just overwhelmed that God has put so many kind, generous, and compassionate people in our lives, we have never felt more blessed than we do right now. We are excited to announce that a family friend has gotten us tickets to fly home for Thanksgiving, when we will have Braden's baptism renewed in the presence of his family and friends. We truly have SO MUCH to be THANKFUL for!!

We say thank you to those who donated money, those who gave their time in planning and organizing the fundraiser, those who donated prizes for the bingo, those who provided food for the dinner, those who set-up & cleaned up, and those who came to support our family by going to the event. All of you will forever be loved in our hearts, and a special part of our growing "family" God has allowed us to be a part of. We truly appreciate your generosity and support.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

With our whole hearts,
Kodi, Brad, and Braden Wilson

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can say that for me, it was very emotional being there. Seeing all these people, none of which I knew except for Richard and Debby of course, and the love that filled that room. It was tryely amazing and a very ...somber moment for me. Made me realize how many people truely do love you guys and how many prayers are being sent for you. I was in aw and emotionally over whelmed. Had to excuse myself a time or two. I kept asking if I could help with something, every single person said, nope, thank you just enjoy yourself. That is exactly what I did. Everyone had a great time and it was a wonderful way to spend an evening. I left with a WARM heart. I too would like to thank everyone and anyone who attended or contributed to Braden's Benefit. Saying thank you seems like such a small token but know that your kindness and generosity are with us all and a rememberance of GOOD people DO EXIST. Love you guys~
I think I might be on my way to getting healthy again and when that happens, I will get there as quickly as my body will allow.

Anonymous said...

My family and I were also blessed to be in attendance at the Baby Braden benefit --- what a wonderful evening. God's presence was so real and you could just "feel" the outpouring of love for Braden, all the Wilson family and for each person there. God's people gathered together in His name for one of His dear children...it just doesn't get much more special than that. God bless the St. Andrew's "family" for all of their time, effort and prayers given to the "Food and Fun" evening. Brad and Kodi, bless you for allowing each of us to journey with you and to love and care for you during this new season of life. May God continue to bless and keep you!

Shala - it was so nice getting to meet you...like I said, I feel like I already know you and we have been "Christ connected," as well as "Braden-connected" for the past few months. You're an inspiration too as you journey through your own difficult season of life and you're in our thoughts and prayers as you heal and recover.

Dear Wilson family, we love you and thank you for your witness to God's unfailing grace, mercy and peace.
Tonya

Susanna said...

That is truely amazing. Wow! What an AWESOME God we have. It is so nice to know that so many came in HIS name to suuport little Braden! This money will definitely help you pay for those medical bills and Bradens needs! This is so wonderful!

Greg, Susanna and Lil Miss