On Monday our family took a trip. A trip down memory lane for some of us but most of all a trip to deliver a very special gift to a very special person and place. We traveled to Toronto to give Dr. Ryan, the Fetal Therapy program and Mt. Sinai Hospital the donations that we gathered on their behalf from our friends and our family and our amazing community through our fundraiser held in late May.



We met with the staff from the foundation and were shocked to see that we weren't just meeting with their director of development. Instead it was a group of 5 or 6 staff members...PR staff, communications staff, special events co-ordinators. It was rather amazing and we felt like we'd made a huge contribution to them. They brought a huge cheque in and we filled it out.

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And then we got to meet with our hero, the namesake of our very special twin sons Cameron Cole Gregory and Cole Edward Ryan, Dr. Greg Ryan...the man who saved Cameron's life.



We spent a lot of time talking to Dr. Ryan. He as amazed at how well our little miracle is doing. He admitted to us repeatedly that he really was impressed with Cameron and that odds Cameron beat are pretty astronomical. He just kept saying 'I can't get over how well he's doing'. He even looked at Cameron's scar and gave us his best guess as to what caused it...amniotic band syndrome...and one more reason why it is just amazing that Cameron is here with no real issues affecting him. Though it was good to hear all these things, it was also another moment for me to realize how close we came to having a different result. Dr. Ryan told us that he really didn't think our outcome would be as positive as it was though he also admitted that upon seeing our initial admittance results when we arrived, he also hadn't thought we'd lose Cole either. It's good to hear that he's so pleased with the results of all our hard work but also very emotional to know that the doctor who was responsible for saving your son's lives wasn't sure he'd save either of them.


Dr.Ryan was also amazed at how well our fundraiser had gone. He asked tons of questions about how we raised the money and who the donations came from. He is pretty sure he's never had a 'tractor square dance set' sponsor any of his programs before. He was so very touched that we did this for his program and he has the perfect place for these funds....a new fetal scope (the instrument used in the surgery that was done to stop the connections in the placenta that caused the TTTS).



And then we presented him with our cheque...in total $3800. Truly amazing...we all felt this. Me, most of all as I had projected raising $2000 or less.
So thank you to everyone who helped us with this event...it was truly an event to remember from start to finish!
P.S. After some more totaling and our donation that I thought was in the envelope but was here at home...therefore not counted....the grand total is $3975!!!