My Friend

I have the most amazing friend. She is a mom of 2 boys. She is a kindergarten teacher. She is a Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. She loves to clean. Her house is spotless and germ free. She successfully gave up drinking cokes... only to become addicted to coke zeros. She is the Queen of the Crop at the Scrapbook weekend each year. She is overly organized. She is funny. She is thoughtful.

But maybe the most amazing thing about her is that she is a mom to a child with an immune disorder and yet she is so NORMAL. And her life is normal. mostly.

Travis, her almost 9 year old son, was born basically without an immune system. Remember the "boy in the bubble" from way back when? Well, Travis has the same thing, Common Variable Immune Syndrome.

My friend has learned how to give her son IV blood transfusions. Each Sunday, she and her husband sit Travis down and poke each little leg and he gets Gamma Gobulin (I don't know how to spell that) for 2 and 1/2 hours. This is his immune system... white blood cells that people have generously donated. It lasts about a week for Travis, so they repeat each Sunday.

It's a good system, but it's not perfect. When you or I get sick, our bodies make extra white blood cells and fight extra hard. Travis just has what he gets each Sunday, and throughout the week, those cells fight a bit, then die off, and he needs more. See the problem??

The truly amazing thing is that my friend trusts Travis to the Lord. He is fully in God's hands. They do an amazing job raising him and keeping him "normal." They have break downs in worry- but they are never consumed by it. They have taught me to rely more fully on prayer and its power.

Last February, Travis was granted a wish from Make-A-Wish. After he asked for tickets to a Texas Tech game (which he has gone to MANY times), he finally asked the Wish Granters for a trip to Disney World for ESPN week. And they went on the trip of a lifetime. The pictures are truly amazing, the stories are seriously unbelievable.

And now... its time for Travis to give back. On March 7th, Make- A-Wish is hosting "Race for Wishes" - a 5K run or 1 mile walk - to raise money for the wishes. And Team Travis has formed! So, Team Travis has 2 goals...

1. Have the LARGEST team out there
2. Raise $6,000 - enough to fully fund 1 wish for some special child.

So- you can help.... you can join Team Travis- and either come to the race or sponsor in money, but either way you'll be helping out other kids, just like Travis.

If you want more information, go here to Race For Wishes.

To follow my amazing friend's life and read about her weekly/daily victories/struggles, go here to The Shoemake Family Blog.

And if nothing else, pray for Travis, pray for my friend.