Monday, August 19, 2013

A life impacted


Dear Life,

It is amazing to watch when a life (or several for that matter) are impacted because of another person.

17 years ago there was a  17 year old boy.
He had a bright future ahead.
He was an up and coming young surfer.
Until the day his future was jeopardized when he was injured surfing at Zuma beach.
He suffered a spinal cord injury that left him a paraplegic.
The doctors told him he would never surf again.

Never say never.

Eventually he did start surfing again.
And then he created an organization to help others surf too.

His name is Jesse Billauer.

 Kumaka Jensen, Jesse Billauer, Katie Hull

As founder of Life Rolls On Foundation, Jesse now serves as 

the organization's Director of National Outreach. "LRO is an 

avenue to hope, independence, freedom, happiness, 

inspiration, and teamwork," he explains. "It is about bringing

people together and changing lives one day, one program,

and one person at a time.


Pic courtesy of Diane Edmonds, yourwavepics.com

This Saturday we saw so many smiles and so many miracles. 
So many of our friends surfed, some for the first time.

Pic courtesy of Diane Edmonds, yourwavepics.com


A beautiful smile from our dear friend Katie, after catching the first waves of the day.


Pic courtesy of Diane Edmonds, yourwavepics.com

Lourdes, catching a fun wave with a wonderful smile on her 

face.


Pic courtesy of Diane Edmonds, yourwavepics.com

Brock, smiling from ear to ear.

Pic courtesy of Diane Edmonds, yourwavepics.com

Carlos is getting his shred on.


Pic courtesy of Diane Edmonds, yourwavepics.com

First time surfing made Misty smile like an angel.



When it was Kumaka's turn, I watched from the shore as Kumaka was carried into the ocean.
Tears streamed from my eyes as I watched a team of twenty, all in red, waiting to catch him if he fell.



I knew behind me was our whole family, there to cheer him on.
I smiled... thinking about Kumaka's daddy, and two of his brothers who were there in that same ocean, helping him do what he "shouldn't" be able to do. 
As they paddled with him, farther and farther, I could barely see him.
I wondered what he was thinking.  
I wondered if he was scared.
And then all of a sudden I see them take off.....and it sounded like the whole beach let off a cheer as Cory stood up and then lifted Kumaka up in the air and they caught a wave just like that.


Pic courtesy of Diane Edmonds, yourwavepics.com

AMAZING.

Arms were in the air, tears were flowing, and all you could hear was "Yeah...go Kumaka"



Pic courtesy of Presley Photography




Wave after wave he surfed, until the last one...when his daddy got to surf with his boy for the very first time.




Pic courtesy of Diane Edmonds, yourwavepics.com

An amazing moment for Stuart...and a great day for a six year old boy.


And today, he told his daddy, 
"Thank you for being there for me daddy."

This made me reflect on the ripple effect from one person.
One person was injured...and made the choice to 
LIVE LIFE.
He shared his passion with others wanting to 
LIVE LIFE after a spinal cord injury.
That passion has created this movement called 
Life Rolls On.



All because this young man never gave up. 
Because he knew that Life Rolls On. 










Thursday, August 15, 2013

Diet Coke date Friday


Dear Life,

A get to know me post....

I have been married to this amazing guy for almost 19 years....(EEK...can't even believe that....it seems like yesterday we went on that fateful Disneyland trip that started it all....)


I have five boys.....and it's amazing and overwhelming and crazy all at once!  
I don't write about all of them all the time...especially the oldest two cause they don't like it and I'm trying to respect their privacy wishes.  

I love them all so very much....and I think it's so very crazy and cool that each and every one of them is SOOOO different! Their likes, their looks, their habits...all unique to them!  

In case we didn't have enough crazy in our town....

We decided to adopt a little girl from Eastern Europe.
She's four....with beautiful brown eyes and brown hair.
She has a different form of Spina Bifida than Kumaka.
I will get to visit her next month (eek)
So excited, scared, happy, nervous, etc about that!

This is my first time linking up with Rags to Stitches...and today she's asked us to share two things that are quirky...so here goes....

I like large diet cokes...and I cannot lie.
(Preferably in a Sonic Cup with that delicious crunchy ice)

Bling makes me happy. 
I am the nerdiest, sparkle queen you ever did see.  If I could get away with it, I would wear something sparkly every. single. day. 
(Yes..I will be the eighty year old bejeweled from head to toe...don't judge).

Thanks for popping over! 


Monday, August 12, 2013

Why she's ours


Dear Life,

As we have been waiting for a signature and a proper referral, I have been reading Sofi's medicals.
I have Google'd every word I didn't know.
I read her medical reports when we first looked at her file, but it was so confusing that I didn't read it with a fine tooth comb.
I am now if for no other reason than to feel closer to her.
What I found in those reports makes me KNOW she's ours...and we are SUPPOSED to be her parents.
They also make me wonder how on earth she's even alive.
God has a plan for my girl.

She was born on July 3.
She weighed a little over 5 pounds.
She was 18 inches long.
She had a lesion on her head (not on her spine like Kumaka's is).
The lesion was on her head where her soft spot was.
Her soft spot was larger than normal.
When they operated on the lesion, the fluid in her brain got bigger quickly, until she started seizing.
Five days later they put in a shunt and the seizures stopped shortly thereafter.
A few months later, they operated again to put a plastic piece over the soft spot (maybe to protect it??)

As I was reading this, I realized that my girl is so lucky to have made it this far.
And then I recalled a conversation I had with my facilitator about Sofi's file.

When Sofi was a baby, no one even LOOKED at her file.
Not one family stepped up to see what this girl was about.
When she was three, when we saw her picture, we were the only family to inquire after her.
Her file at that point was in a type of nowhere land...no agency had it because no one had expressed interest..her issues were just too much.

It hit us hard today that she was protected...she was waiting...for us.
She is ours.
I feel that in my heart.
I know it.

I don't like to imagine what would happen if she didn't come home to our family.
Thankfully, because of all of you, we are more than halfway through.
She has a family.
We will do everything we can to give her all she needs...a family to love her...big brothers to protect her...and mommy and daddy to rock her...and doctors to care for her.

We do have a way to go....but my heart is telling me we will get there.

If your heart is telling you to be a part of Sofi's story, please consider donating anything....every dollar helps us get to her.  In six months she will be ours.


Dreams

Dear Life,

Let's talk about life.

More specifically, lets talk about dreams.

When we are little kids we dream....

where do we want to live when we grow up? (A castle...in the clouds...with a unicorn)
where do we want to go to college? (Somewhere far away...from my parents)
where do we want to work? (Somewhere I can be famous)
how many children will we have? (two)
what kind of vacations will we have? (Hawaii, Paris, England...all of the cool places)

What if you were a little girl who didn't know how to dream?
What if you were just grateful when you got moved from one room to another?
What if you didn't have parents?
Or siblings?
Anyone to hug you or kiss you or read you to sleep?
What then?
You wouldn't know what a castle in the clouds looks like, or even know about school, or work, or even fathom what a family looks like, and a vacation??? What's that?

There is such a girl....in a country across the world from us.
She has captured our heart....and made us dream for something beyond what we already have.
She taught us to work hard...to pray more...to have more strength...without even meeting us.
She taught us that the bonds of love are as strong as the bonds of blood.
She taught us to think outside of our world....our little neighborhood.....she taught us to see.






We have worked hard...for a year.
We've signed papers, notarized papers, apostilled papers, over and over and over again.
We've written check after check for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
We've had our fingerprints done three different times.
We've all had physicals.
We've had background checks completed.
We've had a homestudy done.
We've fundraised....a LOT.
$18000.
That's a LOT of money.
We are so close.

In September I get to FINALLY meet this girl of our dreams.
This four year old, dark haired, brown eyed girl.
The catalyst to our life changing story.
For one week my best friend and I will get to visit her every day for five days. 
And then...we have to return.
Empty handed.
We will have to fill out more paperwork.
Wait for it to be approved.
Have it translated.
Wait for court.
Wait for a pickup date.
5 more months. 
January if we are lucky.
Could be March.

For now...as we wait...we continue to raise money.
Travel money.
Court fees.
Agency fees.
Money.
I wish I didn't have to worry about money...I wish it didn't cost as much as it does...I wish I had the money myself.
But our love for her...our desire to provide this sweet girl with a family...with LOVE...with a chance to dream.....
That love propels us forward.

We are still collecting used clothing.
We have 151 puzzle pieces that need sponsoring ($5 each...and you can win 2 Tix to Disneyland or 2 day Tix for 2 to Legoland)
We have a few other opportunities coming down the road (one of which is a matching grant we are so excited about).

Please....consider your dreams.....your children's dreams....and consider helping us...create dreams for another special little girl.





Monday, August 5, 2013

Life Rolls On


Dear Life,

There was a time, not so long ago, that being disabled was almost worse than a death sentence.  
It meant living in a chair.
Watching from the sidelines.
Not included.
Not talked to.
Ignored.
Avoided.
Talked about.
Pointed at.
Laughed at.
Not taken out in public.



The wheelchairs were heavy and cumbersome.
Nothing was accessible.
It was easier to be at home.
Maybe not even easier to be home, because homes weren't accessible either.


I know that people stare at Kumaka.
I see it.
I see kids do double takes, triple takes.
I know they want to ask their parents what happened to him.
It's natural. 
Parents shush their kids and pull them away.
It's happened.
Kumaka stares back.
I'm sure wishing they would come back and play.
Sometimes parents will "let" their kids come over to play.
Unless they start asking questions.
Then they gather them up.

This year something magical happened.  
Kumaka was given a different kind of wheelchair.
A WCMX wheelchair.  
It has changed his whole life. 

(This picture is when it was new....it was given to us after much use by Timmy "Fun Size")


There are a couple of things missing on this chair.
About twenty extra pounds.
Brakes.
Anti-tippers.

At first, he was afraid of falling.
Afraid of getting hurt.



Christiaan "Rollin' Otter", Kumaka

He rolled around in this wheelchair still living in the "wheelchair box".
Little by little he went faster, he pushed himself a little more.
He tried some new things.
Wheelchair basketball.
Wheelchair fun runs.

And then Venice happened.
We went to a Life Rolls On event at the Venice Skatepark.


Jesse Billauer,Kumaka,  Tiphany Adams

Best Day Ever. 
The event was amazing.
So many volunteers to make sure that everyone was safe.
And wonderful pros to teach everyone.



Aaron "Wheelz", Christiaan "Rollin' Otter"



Volunteer, Kumaka, Rollin' Otter





Kumaka, Lizard King




Aaron "Wheelz", Kumaka



"Wheelz", Kumaka


Fun with friends. 
Day of smiles.

Misty Diaz, Kumaka





Alanna, Kumaka



 Suddenly,  Kumaka has found that his chair is not a hindrance.
He's not afraid anymore.
His chair still makes him stand out.
But in a completely different way.
The chair is allowing him to LIVE.
Kids point still, and they watch him.
They want to figure out how he is balancing on two wheels.
Or how he hopped the curb.
Or how he does those 360's so fast.
They want a spin on those wheels.












When a toddler is learning to walk, they fall.  All the time.  Then they pick themselves up only to fall again.  Eventually, they fall less...that's when they start walking...and then running.

When a person in a wheelchair falls, people get scared.  They rush to help them up.  They check to make sure nothing is injured. They are told to be careful, to not hurt themselves. And of course that is all well meaning.  

But sometimes, just sometimes. people have to think outside of the chair.
That's the way the way they only truly live.

Kumaka is learning to fall.
He's also learning how to get up.
More importantly he's learning how to keep going.
He's learning how to think outside of the chair.
He's learning how to live....and really enjoy himself doing it.




Team Box
Left to right:

Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham, Lourdes Mack, Jonathan "Fatboy" Stark, "Rockin" Kumaka Jensen AKA "Little", Christiaan "Rollin' Otter" Bailey, Quinn Waitley, Timothy "Fun Size" Rodriguez, Mike Box (Wheelchair maker extraordinaire) , David Lebuser, Troy McGuirk

I am  grateful to Mike Box who listens to people and creates chairs that allow people to LIVE.  
I am grateful to all of the coaches and athletes that have gone before Kumaka...and work hard to show littles like him that there is a whole lot of fun to be had...whether you are in a chair or not.  
I am grateful for the friends we have made on this journey so far...they are near and dear to my heart...they've given my boy wings and a strength to do whatever he wants to do in his life. They've taught him that the sky is the limit. 

Be strong, and live beyond the chair.