Goodness

There are always terrible stories in the news and I feel like recently there has been a lot of bad news. My grandmother died in November, a friend died in a car accident last week (I don't think I mentioned it was the night before his son's second birthday), a family friend died yesterday... They do say that death comes in threes, right? Through all this sad news, I was reminded of the goodness in the world.

A very kind man in the Pittsburgh area, donates to charities every year. He learned about the Cystinosis Research Foundation about 5 years ago and appreciated the cause and particularly, the effects of the disease on children. He has been receiving newsletters a couple of times a year, but for the first time, was sent a copy of Cystinosis Magazine. He read through the magazine but said that some of it was saddening and he decided to stop.. right after he read one more "story." He looked and saw that the family, our family, was from Pittsburgh, so said that he just had to read it. After reading the story, he decided to look up our name in the phone book. Jimmy and I no longer have a landline phone so are not listed. He did, however, come across my father-in-law's name and gave him a call. He spoke to my father-in-law about Landon and our experience with his diganosis. Following the conversation, he sent a check in the mail, and asked that it be given to us for Landon. Fortunately, he left his phone number. I had the pleasure of speaking to him on the telephone today. He asked some questions about how Landon is doing and about the medication he takes. Several times during the conversation, he asked, "what do you need?" and "what can I do?" My heart has been touched. Jimmy and I spoke last night about this man and what he did and were amazed by the kindness of someone who does not know us, or our son.

We have been overwhelmed by the support of our family and friends. We receive kind notes, phone calls and checks that read "This is for Landon!" on a regular basis. Strangers were so kind and generous when we were organizing Landon's fundraiser in October. This was the icing on the cake and the sprinkles on top. We are so blessed.

The money will be put in an account that we have for Landon and the money is used for various things that come up and expenses related to him. The first blessing is that we have this and that we won't have to stress about paying for things that come up for him, but the other blessing is simply that someone cared that much.