![]() Two years ago today was our first official family vacation. We woke up early to get on the road to Hershey, Pennsylvania. Cassidy and Alec were so excited, we all were, this was huge. Up until now, we had only felt comfortable staying close to The Jimmy Fund and Children's hospital. Because Alec had a port, if he got a low grade fever for a few hours or a temp of 101 once, then we had to get him to the Clinic or the Hospital quickly for IV antibiotics in case of infection. So the furthest we ever went was 3 hours away (which was still scary to be this far) . We also could not afford to do a full week vacation, so it was usually just a few days or a free camp for families with children with an illness or my Mom sharing her time share with us. On one of our trips, we stayed at Terri's (my bosses house in NH, she was so kind to offer it to us), Alec and Cass both ended up so sick with colds and Alec got a fever, Keith called the clinic and we were borderline on whether to head to the Hospital or hope his fever went down, we decided that we would drive back to Boston if he needed antibiotics because we were scared that the hospital in NH was not used to children with ports and would hurt Alec even more. Luckily his fever lowered and we got to stay. The next day we went up to StoryLand with our Best Friends Nicole and Kevin and their kids and while we were there we bumped into one of Alec's head Doctor's at the Jimmy Fund. We told him what had happened and our plan to drive back to Boston for care, he told us that we would need to always take Alec to the nearest hospital for immediate care and going to Boston was not an option, it was too risky to wait that long. This made us want to stay close even more. But now, Alec had gotten his port out in April, so we could treat Alec like any child with a fever if he got one. This was all new to us and so wonderful and unusual to be able to know we didn't have to call the clinic if he had a fever. So we felt now was the time to take off, to finally go on a real family vacation, just us. Alec has always had the chance for a wish from Make-a-Wish ,since he was a baby . He was too little to make a wish and we wanted it to be his wish. We now offered it to him because he had said he wanted to go to Disney and the only way we could afford Disney was to use the wish. So we told him about the wish and told him he could use it for Disney or we could go to Hershey Park and he could save his wish. He decided that he wanted to go go to Hershey Park, (this relieved me, I always had a fear of using the wish). I had this very strong feeling that we had to go on vacation before Alec's next MRI, which was in July. We had to go while his port was out or else we may not get to. We had the best road trip, it was so fun to be traveling together and following where we were on the maps. Cass and Al were so excited. It took about 8 hours and then we got to The Hershey Lodge. It was huge; and the best part? They had escalators!! Alec loved escalators, we were just as excited as him, I mean what Hotel has escalators? And Giant Candy Bar Characters and a kids check in. Wow , it felt so great to be together, having fun, no worries, just us. ![]() Me and mom were driving to my horseback riding lesson Today and there is a car dealership place on the way there. a They have all the cars lined up at the front of the place. Usually they say SALE on the cars but this time it only said AL!!!! The car that was suppose to say E was gone and the car that was suppose to have the S on it was there with no S on it.! Cassidy One night Alec went to the bathroom in the middle of the night all by himself. In the morning mom told me that Alec went to the bathroom all by himself and I said , "Wow Al good job, did you wash your hands?". Al said "yup I did I wiped them on the wall! "Me and mom just kept laughing. After that I made Al show me where he wiped his hands so I wouldn't touch that spot!!!
![]() (I just read a story online about an 11 year old boy who is a Minister. He said God spoke to him in a dream and told him to read psalm 23. He said he gave his first sermon at 7 years old.) He reminded me of Al. As Halloween 2009 was approaching, I kept asking Alec what he wanted to be for Halloween. He didn't know, so I kept suggesting things; I said do you want to be a dinosaur?, he said , NO. I said do you want to be a Giraffe?, he said, NO. I suggested many more ideas and he said NO to them all. Then I said, Hey Al do you want to be a Priest for Halloween, like Father McCormick? And he excitedly said, YES! He said I want my priest costume to be Green like Father McCormick's. So I got Green fabric and cut a hole in the middle to slip over his head , then I put a white cross on the front. Alec did not approve, he wanted the cross bigger. So I made it bigger, Alec still did not approve he wanted it even bigger , he was very particular and wanted it to look just like Father McCormick's. I was not sure exactly what I was doing wrong, but it took me like 5 times of changing the cross before Alec was happy with it. He had to have it just right. I even asked him if he wanted to be something else and he said NO, he only wanted to be a Priest like Father McCormick. He was so proud of his costume, he loved being a Priest and he looked so adorable. It melted our hearts and it was quite fitting for Alec. Since he always had Great Faith and Love for God. Father McCormick loved this and it was clear it melted his heart to see Alec dressed like him and that Alec wanted to be him for Halloween. Here's a picture of Alec and Cassidy in their Halloween costumes 2009. Cassidy is a Witch and Al is a Priest in prayer . Alec always asked me whose hair I did at work the day after I worked. One of my clients name is Joan. I have known Joan since I was about seventeen, from when I worked at Dunkin Donuts, and we became like friends. Joan is in her seventies but she's acts and looks so much younger--she's funny. Anyway, Alec loved Joan, even though he only met her once.
She happened to have coffe at the Dunkin Donuts in Andover that was on our way to Cleveland's (the healer). She told me to stop and see her someday so she could meet Alec. So we did and they were both so excited to meet each other. Then one day Alec was in the pool, and we have this plastic thing that floats around the pool with chlorine in it. Alec named it "Joan". After my client Joan. We have no idea why, but that's Al-- always so silly. Whenever it came near him he'd yell " JOAN". He'd get so excited and spin around in his float giggling and cracking up. He always had the best sense of humor. I told Joan that Alec named our chlorine container after her, she thought this was hysterical. We all still call the chlorine thing, "JOAN". When we would visit my Nana , Cassidy and Alec's Great Nana, who they call Vovo , Alec loved to play with her cane. He always wanted to hold it and touch it . He always tried to keep it. Every time he'd ask if he could have it and we had to explain that she needed it to help her walk.
One day we were driving in the car, me , Cass and Al. And Al said to me, "Mom, when Vovo goes to heaven will she need her cane?". I said, I don't know Al, but I don't think so. Then he said all excited, "Then can I have it !?" In the summer of 2010. Me and Al were sitting on my swing together reading books and Cassidy was in the pool. I had brought out graham crackers and juice for Al. I had already made several trips into the house for books and snacks. So when Alec dropped his graham cracker on the ground, I asked Cassidy to go get him a new one. She said No, I said please, she said No, I said come on please it will only take a second. She finally agreed. So off she went in the house, she was gone for awhile, alot longer than it takes to get a graham cracker. So me and Al were saying to each other, "Where is that girl ?, What takes her so long ? , we were being silly together and wondering what in the world she was doing that was taking so long. Then she finally came out and handed Al his graham cracker and said, "Here Al, flip it over". So I took his graham cracker and flipped it over and it said, "I Love You Al" on it. It was carved into it. My eyes filled up, it was the sweetest most loving thing to do for her brother. I told Al what it said , and he said "Awww that's so sweet" and he yelled , "Thanks Taa". She said your welcome, just like it was no big deal. She said "It took me so long because I had to get a toothpick so I could carve I love you into it, it was hard to do". Me and Al were so mushy that she did this , and then we realized that is what took her so long.
It still amazes me and melts my heart, this is special love . Keith is the Best Dad ever . He has always showered Cassidy and Alec with so much love. He's a provider, supporter, and playmate. And loves them with his whole heart and soul. We are so blessed to have him, he is the most amazing father and husband.
Keith has always worked 6 days a week, rising at 4:30 in the am to be at work for 6:00. His commute to Avon was 45min-1 hour each way. He would come home and walk in to hearing, "Dada's home" with excitement, and be hands on right away. He never sat on the couch or needed unwind time. He was in full Dad mode. He would fix things for Alec, do homework with Cass and Al , and cook supper, (no one wants to eat my cooking). Then give baths, read books, brush teeth, tuck in and snuggle them to sleep. On top of all this, he has dealt with insurance companies making countless hour long calls to make sure Alec's care was provided for as well as working with Doctors to provide the best care and medicine/supplements for Alec. When Alec's favorite singing snowman would break , Al would wait for Keith to get home to fix it, Keith would solder the wires back together and then he would get my sewing kit and sew snowman back together. This was at least once a week. There is something so special about a Dad who will sew a toy back together for his child. He has done cartwheels and handstands with Cassidy and graduated preschool with her when she would not go on the stage without him. These are just a glimpse of what an amazing and loving Father Keith is. He amazes me everyday with his Great Love. When Alec was a baby and we were home with him, while he was slowly getting better, about a month or two after the healing service , My Mom had brought over a prayer to St. Theresa. It was a prayer to pray to St. Theresa for a miracle and she would send you a rose or roses to let you know that your prayer was being answered. I was new to all these Saints, but I prayed with everything I had to St. Theresa to get Alec better-- to heal him-- for the miracle we needed. While we knew Alec was doing better and felt so strongly that he was being healed, we had no proof,
(it was on faith alone), we were not able to get an MRI on Alec until August-- and this was either June or July. After I prayed to St. Theresa (maybe a day or few days later), the four of us went on a walk in our neighborhood ( I think we were going door to door to collect money to donate to The Brain Tumor Society and The Leukemia Foundation, this now seems crazy that we were doing this, but I felt we had to do our part to help and make a difference as a thank you for having Alec with us). On our walk , right there in the middle of a side street, I see a ROSE, one long stemmed RED ROSE just laying in the middle of the road. I didn't say anything to Keith , I couldn't, I froze in awe. I just kept staring at it. I wanted to pick it up, but I was so afraid of touching germs as we were so scared of Alec getting sick. So I just watched that rose til I could see it no more. I knew that was my Rose sent from Saint Theresa to let me know my prayer was being answered. I knew this because you don't just see a long stem rose laying in the middle of the street. After this Saint Theresa became a very special Saint to us. She sent us many roses when we needed them. Also Alec was baptized at St. Theresa's Parish, I had been to baptisms there after we had Cassidy baptized at our Church of St. Mary's, and it was done much more beautiful at St. Theresa's, so we chose to have Alec baptized there. Despite the fact that I had to approve it with St. Mary's, whose secretary was very rude and said that we would not remember that we had one child baptized at St. Mary's and one baptized at St. Theresa's. Really lady. This was all before Alec was diagnosed and it is proof that St. Theresa was watching over Alec then. Deacon Tom baptized Alec, and it was the most beautiful and touching moment, I couldn't stop the tears. ( I don't remember crying at Cassidy's baptism). After Alec was diagnosed, Deacon Tom would come over our house and pray and sit around and talk. We were nervous around him at first because we weren't church goers and didn't know how to act around him, we didn't know all the words to the prayers . He made us feel so comfortable , he was so real with us. I even felt comfortable enough to ask him the words to a prayer I didn't know, because I needed to know them for one of my prayers for Alec. Just to show that St. Theresa has been with us all along, -- Back before we got married, I decided to receive my first Holy Communion and Sacraments because I never got to receive them. I had always wanted to and I knew if I didn't do it then , that I would never do it. So I went to RCIA, a program for adults held at St. Theresa's, even though my church was St. Mary's-- this is where the classes were. I did not understand anything. I tried but it didn't make sense, the bible was like reading a foreign language. But I did get to meet Father Mc Cormick there, we actually asked him to marry us, the first time Keith and I went to meet him, he told us on the phone to look for him, he'd be the guy wearing a Patriots sweatshirt, we thought he was kidding,-- he was not-- he had it on over his Priest clothes. He could not marry us because he had a family wedding to go to that day. But Father McCormick is amazing, he's a regular guy, he's fun, he's understanding and he makes you feel so comfortable and so special. I had to go on a retreat for my Religious classes and we all had to go off on our own and then come back together and share how we had felt God. I was the only one that did not feel anything, I had nothing to share. I didn't know whether to make something up or be honest-- I was honest. And I had my first confession face to face with Father McCormick there, he made me feel so comfortable, I was trembling with nerves. From then on I would only have my confessions with him, face to face. He too has become such a special part of our lives in so many ways. (He has even played hangman with all of us in the hospital and at home, and he's GOOD.) All of this I feel was meant to bring us close to God, God was working and preparing us, and leading us to to St. Theresa's, because we would need God and faith and would find comfort and a home with the people of St. Theresa's. I shared my story of The Rose that was sent to me with Deacon Tom, and he shared it with Father McCormick. They were in awe of this and asked me many times to repeat it for them. It made them so happy, and it even amazed them. |
Use igive.com for online shopping and select the Alec Bulmer Benefit Fund as your cause
|