Sunday, September 6, 2009

What you can do: An appeal to the St. Ambrose & Cheverly communities

We are blessed—and so grateful—to be surrounded by such a supportive community. We know you care for us and want to help. Below are a few things you can do:

1. Pray for us and our doctors. And have faith that this will all be ok.

2. If you have questions or want information, please ask me or Jim directly, or read the blog. Please do not ask our daughters for details. We have asked a few familiar people to pay extra attention and watch over the girls when they are at school. It would be helpful if everyone else provides expressions of concern and support to me and Jim directly rather than to or through our daughters.

3. Offers of playdates to distract the girls and give us a break are welcome and appreciated. We are so grateful to friends who were able to watch the girls during our many recent appointments (even without knowing the circumstances--thank you).

4. St. Ambrose Students: One of the aspects that makes St. Ambrose such a wonderful place is the care and love shown by the students. The natural inclination for students may be to share a hug with our daughters or ask “How is your Dad doing?” This is sweet, but with over 200 students in the school, it would be overwhelming for Amara and Carrie. We ask that you allow the girls to go about their day without interruption or reminders that their Daddy is sick. Carrie especially is very sensitive to unwanted attention from her Dad’s junior high students. She wants to blend in with her class. Amara is very distractible and needs to focus on her work and activities in Kindergarten. Please respect their space and privacy and allow them to go about their day normally so they can continue to feel safe and secure at school during this challenging time. If you would like to show your concern, you are welcome to send a drawing or card to the house, or offer to come over after school/weekends to play with them.

Thank you for helping us keep the girls’ routine as normal as possible, and minimize anxiety and stress.

7 comments:

  1. You are all wrapped in our family's thoughts and prayers! We are with you on the journey.

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  2. Marcie and Jim- my husband and I will add you both and the girls to our prayers. My hope is that all will go well and we'll continue to follow you on your blog!

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  3. Hi Marcie and Jim,

    We just got news of Jim's upcoming surgery. We are old Cheverly residents and gave Jim a TV before we left. Anyway, Nando's sister just went through this surgery 2 years ago in Texas. She survived the surgery, but has had some complications with other parts of her body. (however, she is healthy and living a great life) I know she has found some online support groups that have been helpful. Please let us know if you need to talk to her. My e-mail: k_tanguay@hotmail.com You all are in our prayers. -Kristy and Nando Gomez

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  4. If you ever need some distraction for the girls we are right down the road and the boys and I would love to entertain them for you! You are all in our prayers!
    Jamie G.

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  5. I'll be shaving my head on the 21st as a sign of solidarity with Jim. Of course I'm bald already, but it's the thought that counts, right? Maybe I could add a wicked scar.

    I'll also eat nothing but soup as well. Campbell's Chunky Beef of course.

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  6. Jim and Marcie, we're keeping you both and the girls in our prayers.

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  7. Dear Jim and Marcie,

    My oh my, you have a LOT on your plate. We will be praying for all of you, but we can also help in any other way you would like---bring your dinner over, invite your kids over to visit the fish in our pond, play with our cats, etc. We also have a very handy son who is taking a semester off from college and is very underemployed at our house, so please let us know if we can help in any way.

    Regan Quinn & Jim McCord-301-773-3071

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