Monday, September 30, 2013

Walk Talk

When Rudy was excited he did his "Happy Dance."  I am sure he is doing it right now up in heaven.
The response for this year's Kidney Walk for the NKF has been amazing.  In fact, it's a bit overwhelming!
Friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and even some strangers have signed on to walk for Team Rudy.
One of the 10 year old team members made bracelets to sell so she could donate money to the NKF.  Hearing that story brought tears to Mommy's eyes.  It is a beautiful example of how caring people are and how much Rudy has touched lives.
Rudy's Little Walkers will have 33 members!  Mommy and Daddy have participated in the walk for many years and they don't remember seeing a team as big as ours.  What a wonderful tribute.
Both children and adults are honoring Rudy's memory and supporting a cause very important to him and his family on Saturday, October 12 at Thomson Reuters campus in Eagan.
Not only have we had a wonderful response from walkers, but donations from all over the country have made their way here so we know they are supporting the team and the NKF in spirit.  At the time this blog was written - we are just over $1000.00!  WOW!  If I could do the Happy Dance, I sure would.  I am a little to tall to do it like Rudy.  He had a way of bouncing and balancing on his back feet better then anyone else.  I will run around in circles chasing my tail.  I will call that my "Happy Dance" in honor of Rudy and his "Happy Dance."  I think Rudy would approve.
The only things we have left to worry about are weather and everyone making it to the event.  Neither of these are in our control.  (Tell Mommy that, she worries about everything!)  Thanks to everyone for the unbelievable outreach and support.
Love,
Boomer! the Proud Poochie Mellow Yellow Lab

Friday, September 13, 2013

One At a Time

Weather, like so many other things in life, is unpredictable.  You can't really count on what is going to happen next.  Monday, we had 90 degree temperatures.  By Friday, it was 60.  The only constant was no rain fell.  My beautiful green backyard is now dirt.  I can still play Frisbee, but the landings are a bit harder when I jump for it.
Recently, we have had contact with two of our young heroes.  If you read the Blog called, "The value of One," you remember our little friend that wanted to meet Mommy and gave her the poem, and the woman that gave Mommy and Daddy a hug because she realized her daughter would experience true love one day because of their story.
We were happy to find out both young heroes are doing well and are happily enjoying life.  We even found out one of them lives very close to us!  She was inspired by Mommy's writing and has been writing stories of her own.  We look forward to reading them.
The other young girl is now going to school full time and enjoys swimming.
In the last week, we were also contacted by mothers of two 7 year olds.  One is local and the other lives in Georgia.  They both had wonderful things to say about Rudy Gets A Transplant.
The local mom used the book to explain the transplant their uncle had 4 years ago.  She thanked us and the library for having a book like Rudy Gets A Transplant.  She said it described the process exactly and was very entertaining for her son, too.
The Georgia mom said her daughter loved the book and loved "that a little dog had a transplant just like me!"  She was so excited about the book, the mom just had to write and let us know.  She is also going to recommend it to her transplant team.
It's too bad large publishers can't understand the importance of books like Rudy Gets A Transplant.  Many children like to learn.  Not everything has to have vampires or princesses.  Just little dogs named Rudy explaining difficult topics.
It's nice to know that even though we are not reaching thousands of people at a time, we can still reach out to one at a time.  In some ways that's actually better.  We get to hear their stories and they get to know we've walked the same road.  That makes it worth the effort.
Love,
Boomer! aka El Poochino the Mellow Yellow Lab.  (I'm not sure what name I like better!)

http://www.rudyslittleworld.com/images/ELC%20Ariana%20and%20Stacy.jpg
Mommy and one of our little heroes