Team Finn in 2nd Place!

Even though this is the inaugural year for Team Finn, we are currently in 2nd Place for donations raised, just behind Dancin Outlaw!

If you haven't donated yet, please consider helping our cause and putting Team Finn in 1st Place! We are just 2 weeks away from the tournament!

Team Finn - Reelin for Research

Dear Friends and Family,

On Tuesday our sweet son, Finn, had his 1^st Birthday and oh what a year it has been! 

Our family has been so overwhelmed with all the love and support you have given us as we try to understand Finn’s condition. As of now, we still do not know what is the cause of his hemolytic anemia, but we hold on to the hope that one day we will find an answer and get him on a path to recovery.  To date, he has had 13 blood transfusions under the care of UNC  Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic and is just as happy as can be! So many of you have asked how to support our cause, but without having any definitive diagnosis, it is hard for us to suggest an outlet…until now!

Reelin’ for Research is a charity fishing tournament that was started by a group of our friends to benefit the N.C. Children’s Promise and provides funding for the Tony Montana Fellowship at UNC Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic. The tournament is heading into its fifth year and has provided over $365,000 towards the costs of training young doctors who wish to learn the art and science of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. The majority of children at Pediatric Hem/Onc clinics are cancer related patients and the tournament was originally started to honor Mr. Montana’s personal battle with cancer. 

So how does this support Finn?

Children with blood disorders, like Finn, require the care of specialized doctors who can diagnose and treat their condition at Pediatric Hematology (blood) and Oncology (cancer) clinics. We are fortunate that our son is in the great care of one of the best, Dr. Stuart Gold with UNC Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. The money raised by the tournament helps to ensure a next generation of caregivers for both children with blood and cancer disorders. 

This tournament is dear to our hearts in many ways and we hope you will choose to help support their efforts. The opportunity to give has been made very simple through the tournament’s website,  http://www.reelinforresearch.org/donate.htm. We have a donation “boat” entered in the tournament, Team Finn, so please reference it as the recipient if you choose to donate. 

All donations to Reelin’ for Research are 100% tax deductible and go directly to N.C. Children’s Promise. For more information please visit the tournament’s website at www.reelinforresearch.org. We thank you for everything and hope that you will help us support R4R’s important cause to provide this critical care for children in the future!

Sincerely yours,

Craig and Beau

Time to get back to the updates!

Sorry for the extremely long pause in updates on Finn, but life with three children makes the time fly by!

We have had quite a month, with every flu imaginable hitting our household and Finn having another surgery. Finn had his last transfusion on Saturday 3/10 and all went well. That next Tuesday I took him to the UNC Ped Hem/Onc clinic for tests and his broviac line had clotted. There was nothing they could do to get the clot dissolved, so we had surgery to remove the line the next day. He now has a portacath, which will make daily life a lot easier. He was able to take his first real bath with his siblings last week and he will be able to go swimming at the pool this summer!

His HGB level was a 8.3 yesterday at UNC, but we are encouraged that it hadn't dropped further after 2 viruses, surgery, and mishaps with too much blood being drawn and being given too much of an antibiotic. Before his last transfusion he had gone 7 weeks which is great news! We just hope his body continues this positive trend!

I am going to immediately post again about a great cause to support in Finns honor, Reelin for Research! Hope you will take the time to learn more about this great organization!

Beau

Thank you for ALL the support!!!

Just wanted to give everyone an update on the blood drive and on Finn. The blood drive was a huge success and we reached our goal of 50 pints! In total 52 pints were given at the Red Cross of GSO and 7 pints where given by friends and family elsewhere. We can't say thank you enough for everyone's support in helping us get to our goal and providing the much need blood donations to area hospitals.

We found out first hand yesterday just how precious donations are, when we went to UNC and Finn needed another transfusion. The hospital was having a shortage of blood because of the previous holiday, but they did eventually find a match for Finn. Holidays cause problems for blood banks because less people donate and more accidents occur. Less supply, more demand.

As I mentioned, Finn did end up getting a transfusion yesterday, but there were two big positives to takeaway from his levels (HGB 6.2, retics 7). First, this was the longest that Finn has been able to go between transfusions, 6 weeks!!! Second, his retics (or immature blood cells) had spiked, meaning that his body is trying to compensate for the low HGB. Hopefully, it will continue to do this and he will be able to find an equilibrium that can sustain him for longer periods of time between transfusions.

Craig and I just want to thank everyone again for the show of support and encouragement that we received last week. It truly was a huge part of what our family was thankful for on Thanksgiving!

Ps. now that the ARC has your number, they ain't never going to leave you alone! So we look forward to hearing from you on the many donations to come in the future!

Thanks!
Beau and Craig

No transfusion last Friday!

Finn's HGB level was a 7.5 and his retics were over 4, which meant we were able to postpone the transfusion to this Wednesday! Still cautiously optimistic, but this will be the logest he has beeen able to go between transfusions!

The blood drive starts today and thanks for the overwhelming show of support! If you have any questions or problems scheduling an appointment, please feel free to send me or Craig and email. Looking forward to reaching our goal of 50 pints!

Beau

11/15 Update

Not much to update. We are heading to UNC tomorrow and are expecting to have a transfusion. We will keep everyone posted about what happens there.

In the meantime, a special THANK YOU to all the friends and family that have supported the upcoming blood drive next week in Finn's honor, especially Greensboro Day School and First Presbyterian Church for their efforts to get the word out! Y'all are the best!

Blood Drive Information

Below is a bulletin for the honorary blood drive being held the week of Thanksgiving, hope you can help us reach our goal of 50 pints! I also just posted the most recent update as well.Thanks!