Make-a-Wish

I don't write very much on my blog about my amazing nephew Jackson and the battles he's facing with his cancer. It's hard for me to put my thoughts and feelings on the issue into blog-form. My sister keeps a pretty good record on a blog for Jack and on her family blog and I write a lot about it in my journal. I've hated the things he's had to go through over the past 8 months since diagnosis and over the past year since his first symptoms showed up. But I'm learning so very much from him and his family.

As I've been home for Christmas break Jackson has finished up his second of three Bone Marrow Transplant treatments. He'll start the third one right before I go back for spring semester. He also attended a party in his honor, hosted by the Make-a-Wish foundation on December 22. For more details, see his cancer blog, but here's some pictures I loved from the event.

Make-a-Wish is an amazing organization that takes horrific experiences like childhood cancer and brings a light of hope to the situation. KSL news interviewed me for a news story while at the party and I said all sorts of eloquent things about Jackson, about Make-a-Wish, diagnosis, treatment, the journey he's traveled. I talked about how important this wish is to him and how thankful the family is for the opportunity. I used every one of my communication skills and applied all the public speaking skills I tried to teach my 1010 students. Somehow, though, my interview with KSL was cut down to one sentence on the news story. That's fine by me...

The news story on KSL was short but cute. They showed Jackson riding the zamboni and waving to all the people who love him. There's no clip available on KSL or Make-a-Wish, but if you ever want to see it, go to my parents' house and you can watch the recording of it.

Mostly I'm just excited for Jackson to get his Go-Kart. What an awesome wish for a six-year-old who is so much like his dad and who loves anything with wheels. I hope that the Go-Kart will always be a reminder of the people who love him and his ability to conquer hard things. I love you Jackson!