Welcome to our CaringBridge website for our sweet Gryffin. We are using it to keep family and friends updated. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement.
On April 22, I (Sarah) took Gryffin to the pediatrician who checked his blood counts and wasted no time in sending the two of us to Norton Children's Hospital via ambulance. On the 23rd, he was officially diagnosed with Leukemia and on the 24th he began chemotherapy. The doctors and nurses have a very detailed plan and optimistic attitude moving forward. It is going to be a long road, but we have trusted these medical professionals with one of our two most precious gifts and we believe they will provide Gryffin with the best care imaginable.
While we are happy to create this space to share Gryffin's updates, we ask that we all remember that even though he is a little guy, he is still a whole person. We want to respect his right to privacy as much as we can. Therefore, we won't share anything we would not be willing to share about ourselves.
Also, the four of us are still trying to figure out our new life. We are processing a lot of emotions, making a lot of decisions, embracing a lot of change, and trying to retain a lot of information on very little sleep and in a very small amount of time. We are so thankful for each and every person who loves our family so much and we would love to be able to answer every phone call and text we receive, but we just cannot at this time. Please use this space as a place to leave messages for us to read as we have time.
If you would like to help out, we have a few ways you can do so. ***All of these links are also available on the Ways To Help tab, above***
--Check out Gryffin's Get Better Wish List on Amazon. We update this list often as we discover new things that help him or as the nurses and support staff give us ideas for how to make his hospital stay comfortable and make the transition back to home ideal.
https://amzn.to/2zRHJAu--Sign up to drop off a meal (many thanks to Amanda for organizing this):
https://bit.ly/3deaDt2--Donate blood! There is not currently a shortage of Gryffin's blood type, but all blood donations are life-giving. It may not go directly to Gryffin, but it will save the life of someone's baby. We are thankful beyond words for the selfless people who have donated the blood and platelets that are helping keep our boy alive. Everything is a little crazy due to COVID-19, so call your local Red Cross and ask how you can donate. And if you do, please let us know so we can send you a special thank you from the four of us. You can let us know here:
https://forms.gle/KZKyDqTCiHyv7LESA—Drop off a casserole/meal we can put in the freezer. We will all be overwhelmed when Gryffin comes home and we learn how to take care of a toddler with cancer without a medical staff helping us around the clock. Having some healthy meals stocked in the freezer and ready to be thawed and heated would definitely make that transition a little less difficult. Due to social distancing necessities, we are requesting porch drop off for now. If this is a way you can help send us a message via FB messenger or text to let us know you are dropping something off so we can put it in the freezer quickly.
If you would like to mail either boy a card (they absolutely love getting mail) our address is:
104 King Arthur Circle
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
Thank you so much for all of your love and support and encouragement. It truly means a lot to us that we have so many loved ones who want to walk this road alongside us.
In Gryffin's words: Go away, leukemia! Bye bye!
