As of Monday, Annie's ascent to normal blood counts was complete. And, like Sir Edmund, she was not alone in her expedition. On this momentous occasion she had the support of over 60 seventh graders who raised $7,600 for the hospital that gave her back her life. Her classmate A.J., who thought up and organized the fundraiser called "Hoops for Hope," was able to join Annie and present the donation. Both students got a VIP tour of the facility and a better understanding of how their group's donation would help bring this research hospital one step closer to curing some of the major health threats of their time.
Annie has been blessed by so many special people every step of her journey and our gratitude is boundless. One particularly poignant moment of the day came when Annie returned, for the first time, to the hospital floor where she lived for over a month. She received hug after hug from her former nurses as she showed her classmate around the floor. As we head out she turned to me and said, "you know it's really hard being back here." I pursed my lips and nodded and then she continued, "because I love it here but I know I can't come back." It's not just any medical facility that earns that response.
Now that this summit has been reached there is plenty to do for her to get back in the game. In fact next visit she gets to have her first round of newborn immunizations for the third time in her life. We'll update then on 12/12.
