A Significant Day for Maara & Junior

Chemotherapy & Herceptin starts today....

Wow!!! From a standing start to almost $29,000 in 28 days. What incredible generosity people have shown Maara and me.

Yesterday I sent an email to colleague expressing my deep appreciation for a fundraising initiative that he and his team had organised in their office. They all wore mufti to work last Friday and for the privilege they donated money towards Maara’s herceptin treatment.

A few weeks ago Bill and Jo, donated $5000 to help with the fundraising. They have both known Maara for over 20 years and desperately wanted to do something to help. Bill keeps in contact with Maara almost on a daily basis to make sure she is okay and to talk about fundraising. Amazing!!!

Viv and Jane have treated us to some great lasagne in those times when some of our everyday fundamentals, like cooking, fell away. This is such a great demonstration of the thoughtfulness we have been exposed to by people.

Members of our church visited us last week armed with wonderful prayers and some of our favourite praise and worship songs. They overstocked our pantry with groceries and quietly handed over an envelope of money. We shared some laughs, discussed my poor attendance and as humbly as they had arrived, they blessed us and said goodbye.

The Cake Maker will be swimming in icing for the next twelve months because news of her fabulous masterpieces has spread faster than a decent rumour. For all, the work that will go into creating the cakes , the Cake Maker reminds me that it amounts to “nought” when you consider what Maara and others with cancer have to endure.

Help has come to us in so many different ways since the blog was published. People have not held back with their generosity. I recall telling someone recently that I feel so undeserving of the kindness and attention that has been shown. Maara and I are not Victoria Cross winners nor are we Nobel Prize recipients and we certainly don’t have a clue about solutions for achieving world peace. Yet friends, family and complete strangers have continued to support us. For me the greatest gift out of this whole experience is the knowledge that people appreciate and value Maara and me. That’s priceless.

Friday 20 July 2007 is a significant day for Maara because she begins chemotherapy at Auckland City Hospital. We are excited because we know chemotherapy is a great weapon against a formidable foe. There’s also apprehension because chemotherapy is like weeding a beautiful flower garden with a bulldozer. As I write this, Maara is busy reading Lance Armstrong’s book about his experience with cancer. I think she will find his story uplifting and that’s not a bad way to be on the eve of your first chemotherapy treatment.

Finally, thanks again everyone for the kind thoughts, prayers and monetary gifts. I will do my best to report back about Maara’s progress.

Tofa soifua,
Junior