Mena, the director of Sole Sisters, is the mom of four boys. Her third boy, Jack, was diagnosed with ALL at the same age as our Jaxon. Her Jack finished his treatment 2 years ago (he's now about 10 years old.) Because of Mena's connection with the Pediatric Oncology program at Victoria General, she hears about other families facing similar circumstances. That's how she heard about our family.
Mena texted me on Friday of the week before last to say that she hoped we could make it to the beginning part of their Sole Sisters gathering on the following Tuesday (Oct. 7). All I could think of at that point was that I would already be making 4 trips in 2 weeks to Victoria for Jaxon's blood work checks, and adding in another drive down seemed daunting. She insisted that we do our very best to be there. Honestly, I thought they had a lot longer to go with their running clinic and it wasn't time for any special presentation to little Cub, Jaxon. She was really persistent, so I said we'd be there. Paul agreed to come down with us, and Marty eventually decided to come as well, despite the LOOOOONG drive to get there. Small town kids - spoiled by short drives to get to where we need to go. Max stayed behind with Oma.
We found our way to the gym where they meet, and sat off the the side, doing our best to keep an imaginary bubble around Jax to protect him from germs. His ANC was really really low so we had to be extra careful.
I soon realized that this was the final night of this particular running clinic, and we were there to collect some cash! Mena gave a very sweet introduction, and then another lady who was also collecting Quarters for Cubs gave a presentation as well. She has a small fit club that meets elsewhere, but still wanted to contribute. She shared a very moving story about why she does it, and presented us with about $100. Mena then announced that the 100-ish ladies had collected, raised, donated ... $1100 in 17 weeks! She then added the cash that had been given that evening - over $100. There was not just quarters in that bucket, let me tell you! Loonies, toonies, 5s, 10s, 20s. In total, we were blessed with $1353.99. What a gift! They even gave me a hot pink Sole Sisters tank top. Woop woop! A nice surprise was meeting two ladies who have connections to Imadene! They both knew who we were and came to chat with us. I recognized them both but had not met them officially until then.
I posted this thank-you note on the Sole Sisters facebook page:
Thank you all so very much for your contributions to the Quarters for Cubs, and for focusing your thoughts on Jaxon's battle with Leukemia as you gather each week to walk and run. Our family has been incredibly supported through these past 6 months, and your kindness to us over these weeks has added to that blessing. We are honoured to have had this special role in your "tribe". I love what you are doing together and for families like ours, and I really do wish there was a group like this closer to where I live! What a gift! Again, many many thanks.
