01/03/2010
by Michael Wells Sunday morning soon to be the afternoon on a frigidly cold and windy gray January day; I just finished picking “things” up as both Brady and Sherrie are napping. Brady has had a bit of a rough time sleeping in his crib since coming home so last night he and I slept on the couch. Actually he slept a bit more than me but he is just so damn adorable it’s truly impossible to say “no” to him. Sherrie is just exhausted and she too is in need of some good quality sleep and thank goodness they are both taking advantage of a day that is so appropriate for just that. Yesterday I mentioned our surrogate Aunt Ellen and her wonderful gift to Brady of a stuffed animal Aflac duck (see photo) which is about 3 feet tall and almost as wide; well there is a story that goes along with this I want to share. Ellen and her husband Frank (Gambatese) were attending the League of Municipalities Convention in November and the Aflac exhibit was raffling one of the ducks to people who placed their business cards in a bowl. Ellen had Frank enter the contest and everyone else she knew with the sole purpose of winning this for Brady. When she approach the South Brunswick Town Manager and told him of her plan he informed her that Aflac does business with the town and he was confident their sales rep could help Ellen with her wishes. Well, you already know the outcome to Aunt Ellen’s efforts but the rest of the story is; the Aflac office made a generous donation to the Leukemia Society in Brady’s name. Aunt Ellen and Uncle Frank are just incredible people and Aflac is just one outstanding company. I cannot begin to explain how many wonderful people we have encountered during tortuous challenge in our life. It just amazes me! And one last thing; the people of South Brunswick New Jersey should be thankful to have Frank as their mayor and he knows he’s blessed to have Ellen as his wife. Well, the troops are making noises in the other room so until next time hugs, prayers and good thoughts really do help… Quack, Quack!!!“8 Years Later—Still No Cure for Pediatric Cancer” is a series of posts revisiting the journal kept by Sherrie and Michael Wells during the cancer diagnosis and treatment of their son, Brady Michael. Hopefully these entires will provide an understanding of the journey families face when dealing with these horrific diseases and of the important work the Hugs for Brady Foundation does.